Comments on: Indian Wells draw

By: sia

sia — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:37:29 +0000

Just remember 2008, Rafangel … that year had a humble beginning … but oh what a finish!

By: Rafangel

Rafangel — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:40:18 +0000

Sorry, that wasn’t very cheery. It will be good to see him back fighting again :)

By: Rafangel

Rafangel — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:39:21 +0000

Yeugh I think that’s a horrible draw :( There are a lot of dangerous HC players there especially of the hard-flat-hitting type that Rafa particularly hates (and lots of tall guys too). They may not be the very high seeds but they’re the type of players that Rafa struggles with.

It’ll be interesting to see how quickly he picks up where he left off this time. Personally I’m not that hopeful for IW/Miami and suspect he may not be warm enough in time to defend Monte Carlo…but I really hope some of the points made here are right!

By: faeaki7

faeaki7 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:26:26 +0000

Yep any Masters series is gonna be real tough and they aren’t getting any easier, too many dangerous player here and it will be hard for Rafa to come back to competition to a strong field like this, its not like he can ease himself into match play is it, but on the positive side it will be good match practice with top competition!

By: Ch F

Ch F — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:12:40 +0000

Although I haven’t got great expectations, since our Rafa has been off competition for a while (again), the only thing I seriously hope is for Rafa to get his rhythm back a lot faster this time and to manage his nerves and mental part as well as he did in the AO. Some momentum is gone, I guess, but hopefully not all of it.
For some reason I think this time it will be better than last time, given that he is now convinced he can bounce back even after bad injuries and play at a very good level.

By: CC

CC — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:15:31 +0000

Yes, An. You’re so right. One match at a time. Always.

By: Karen

Karen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:20:04 +0000

It’s still early in the season and most of the top 20 players have already had injuries, illness, or longish breaks for 1 reason or another so this could be anybody’s tourney, but hopefully Rafa’s. Would so love to see him beat Koyla,Nole & then Fed in final. That would shut the critics up!On the other hand they’d be all over him as he’d have just killed 3 birds with 1 stone. Beaten 3 top 10 players, retained a hard court title for the 1st time & won his 1st title in 10 months! Come on baby bull I know you can do this!!!

By: An

An — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:02:31 +0000

We’re gonna take it one match at a time, No?
And hopefully will enjoy 6 in a row!:)

You can Rafa, we know you can!
VAMOS!

By: djb

djb — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:55:33 +0000

I’m not gonna lie, it’s not gonna be easy, especially if he has to play Isner or Querrey in the 4th round. Davydenko is not 100% and I doubt his wrist will hold up that well, so if he has to play Rafa in the quarters, I can see Rafa taking full advantage. If Rafa plays Fernando instead, I still see him getting through to the semis.

If he can overcome Davydenko/Verdasco, and Djokovic, I think he can go on to repeat as champion, and honestly I think he deserves to win, considering what the last 12 months has been like.

Deep down, I know that in the back of Rafa’s mind, whether he admits it or not, that he definitely cares about his ranking. I truly believe he wants to be be back on top at No. 1, winning the big titles again, and that he’s desperate to make a statement. What better place for Rafa to make a statement than Indian Wells, a place where he’s had a lot of success!

So many people have written him off already, and it’s sad! Rafa’s FAR from done and I truly believe his best is yet to come. Good players like Rafa always find a way to bounce back.

Vamos, Rafa!

By: SHerry

SHerry — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:46:32 +0000

I agree, the draw could have been much worse. And I also agree a lot of these guys are out of energy, Novak especially. Rafa could potentially meet him in the semis but to frank I don’t think Nole will even get that far. :(

I’ve got a good feeling about this tourny. I think Rafa will surprise just about everybody. Except us of course! :)