Madrid Friday ramblings
Photo by Mike Hewitt/ Getty Images
Random Thoughts because there was no Rafa today
Some additional thoughts on Rafa’s loss
I read in the comments that some people thought Rafa was not trying to win his match against Verdasco. I don’t believe that and for evidence I will site the last game. If he didn’t want to win, he could have spun his serves in and let Fernando whack them, or even thrown in one or two double faults. No instead he threw down 3 aces. Unfortunately, you need 4 points to win the game. Also, unfortunately when Rafael Nadal thinks he needs to serve aces to win a game, the man is out of ideas. He lost because he couldn’t figure out how to win, like he said. Someone who is tanking doesn’t go to deuce on the last game.
Now I would believe he felt better about the loss today, relaxing rather than facing a possible injury.
Some additional thoughts on the slippery surface
While I was watching Alexandr Dolgopolov from behind the baseline on court 3, I had a sudden realization. It’s not that you can’t slide on the blue clay, it’s that you can’t recover from the slide. Sasha was sliding but he couldn’t stop and he couldn’t change direction to go after the next shot. That would be why most of the players had abandoned the sliding altogether.
People have said that Rafa played his first matches against Davydenko as if he was playing on a grass court, playing quick points. But Rafa spent both of the games he played 20 feet behind the baseline. That’s not the way Rafa plays on grass. Well, was it more like hard-court then? Not really, because you can still move and change directions on a hard-court. So how do you play on it then? I think Rafa had it right in that 12th game of the third set. You have to serve aces.
I go to hard-court tournaments in North America because that’s all we’ve got. When I come all the way to Europe to see a clay court tournament, I want to see a CLAY-COURT TOURNAMENT! An ace in a critical moment can be exciting, but ace after ace is just monotonous. I feel like I’ve been ripped-off.
Remember last year when Spain lodged a protest about the court the USA selected for the quarter final Davis Cup match, which Spain felt was not one of the types in use on the tour? So if it’s not kosher to throw in a unknown court for DC, why is it okay to throw that curve in an important masters event, leading up to a major? Try out the court in a challenger or 250 level event first, get it right, and then send it to the big leagues.
Well, whom do I root for now?
Obviously, I can’t root for Fed because of the ranking thing and the things he said at his press conference after his match with Daveeed. As the president of the players council, he needs to be taking a leading role in making the sure everything is safe for the players. I shall refrain from further comment.
So, what about Janko Tipsarevic. I have mixed feelings for Janko. I like the fact that he is a well-read intellectual kind of guy, but he sure wasn’t thinking when he posted that picture of himself pointing a gun at Nole and enticing Rafa to make him an offer. You can make that kind of joke with your friends, but when you’re a public figure, you don’t post something like that on Facebook. But I will definitely root for him against Federer.
Berdych gets low marks in my book for refusing to shake Nicolas Almagro’s hand at the Australian Open after Nico hit him with a body shot while Berdych was set up at the net. This was a perfectly reasonable shot selection from Nico, it’s not Clemens beaning Piazza (oh another baseball reference). Boy, with that and Radak Stepanek’s behavior at the Davis Cup in Serbia, the Czech’s have shown themselves to be poor sports this year. Besides, Berdych’s game is serve big. As I’ve already mentioned, that’s not the kind of game I find most interesting.
That leaves Delpo. I root for many Argentines, but Juan Martin is not one of them. Mostly it’s because he is also a big server (see comments above). I also resent how poorly he played against Fed in Indian Wells when I actually was rooting for him. Expected a good match, but Delpo rolled over for him. Of course, when Rafa got kicked by Fed the next day, I only had comforting for him. Yes, I play favorites. But I guess I will be rooting for Delpo over Berdy.
Here’s my ranking of whom I will root for:
- Del Potro
- Tipseravic
- Berdych
- Federer
Good luck with that.
Things I can’t get used to
After a week in Madrid, these are things I continue to get wrong.
- Even though Spaniards drive on the right side of the road, the Metro trains run on the left track. I am continually looking in the wrong direction for the train.
- The light to the bathroom in my hotel room is outside the room behind the door. If you go into the bathroom, without turning on the light, it will be necessary to come out of the bathroom to turn on the light. I do this at least twice a day, and I’m not spending that much time in the room.
- When you want to go to the outside courts, you must walk away from them to get to the staircases so you can go down a level and go to the outside courts.
- The time zone. On top of the jet lag, Madrid is in a time zone one hour east of GMT even though it is west of London. That means it get light late and stays light late. And I stay up late.
Random thoughts: when people walk together, they walk slow and they walk wide. Can you tell I’m getting a little tired of crowds?
All that blue is giving me the blues!
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Not going to be a fun final for you, is it?
Ha ha :(
For some reason Berdych has actually said he “likes” these courts … yet another reason to question his judgement. ;)
I really, really wish Milos had beat Fed in the second round; (Not just because I’m Canadian ;) or that I wanted Roger to lose … but let’s face it these terrible courts would be history … no ifs, ands or buts or references to whiners.
Deb, I think we saw that too … that inability to change direction was hard for all players, even today Delpo had problems. That physical problem becomes more and more of a mental challenge as a match progresses … I think that played with Rafa’s mind for sure.
Not surprisingly we have a big hitter like Tomas in the final and Fed, who let’s face it, never really touches the ground ;)
Yes I didn’t like what Federer said after the match with David. What does he do exactly as president of the players council? Just say yes to the ATP chiefs? He will not back any change the other payers want cos he is in the twilight of his career and it benefits him to keep it . Two year ranking system etcetera ….will make it harder for him to achieve his goals .
He mentioned during hits career he has had to adapt to different conditions ie…slow,fast courts etc but we are talking about a bad dangerous surface here in Madrid but with an easy draw and winning he wouldn’t say anything bad would he?
Just replying to a comment made above as I know this is a Rafa site.
Right or wrong, he tends to do his complaining privately. I can see pluses to that – it tends to make the person you are complaining about less defensive and more open to your ideas. I can also see pluses to speaking publicly – it raises awareness. I think it’s good we have players using both approaches. (But I agree – this isn’t about speed, it’s about safety.)
Well federer hasn’t spoken out in Madrid the same has he didn’t speak out when there were problems at last years USO with the surface of some of the courts and playin back to back matches cos of the rain and why? Cos it didn’t affect him, but he ad plenty to say when they moved the men’s final to Monday cos that does not suit him!.
Do you really think he does his complaining in private? He doesn’t need to cos everyone bends over backwards for Roger.
Maybe he should start showing some allegiance to the other guys on he tour.
And maybe we should stop passing judgement without knowing the full picture.
Sorry Miri for my rant but I didn’t take to kindly to Mr Wonderful insinuating that Nole and Rafa were overreacting in Madrid.
It’s okay because you were fairly polite about it – well, except for the Mr. Wonderful thing ;)
I do understand the frustration and I often feel annoyed that more players don’t speak out as well. But I also know that politics inside large organizations are…horrid. They are even more horrid in one that as dysfunctional, full of huge egos, and haphazardly thrown together like the ATP. It’s made even worse if you know your comments are going to be in headlines all over the world. How will those comments be portrayed? Will you be called brave for speaking out or a rich spoiled cry-baby? Will they bother with publishing the whole comment or just pick the bits that fit their agenda? So, I tend to cut people a lot of slack.
I absolutely agree that players have the right to choose whether to voice concerns privately or publicly. However I think as soon as you let yourself stand to represent the players on atp council, you need to be prepared to advocate strongly and publicly, for the people you represent. To me that is the purpose of the position, all the more if you have accepted the President’s role.
Thanks Deb for sharing your experiences with us watching from afar. It seems with the ct conditions, to be successful, need big serve and stay inside the box and not behind the base line. Not too many rallies this week, so typical of a typical clay match.
I have complained so much this week about the conditions from afar – seems unfair and inappropriate for the middle of European clay series on way to Paris/RG.
The problem with this surface is it does not play like a real clay surface as the composition of the “clay” has been changed. All the iron oxide has been removed and dye added. So this event is not good preparation for the other clay events including Roland Garros. That is why Rafa and Nole were so annoyed I think. It does not suit their style of play or help them prepare for the next events. It is more like another hard court event where a player like federer can do well as his style of play is less affected by the condition of the court. As there are plenty of hard court events I sypathise with Rafa. The fact the final will be between a player like Berdych and fed supports that conclusion. It also puts the other Spanish players at a disadvantage for the same reason. And in the Spanish capital as well. Lets hope Tiriac never gets his hands on Wimbledon, or it will be turned purple probably, with people in clown costumes to act as ball kids.
I was only able to watch the beginning of the third set (on CatchUp) and couldn’t believe the skating rink that is that court!!! And then to see that Hot Sauce up and lost his next round :(((
It’s just a disastrous event.
typical federer only looks after himself i am very surprised that djokovic agreed with rafa about the state of the court
Again – we don’t know Federer’s motivation. I always ask – how do I feel when people say the same thing about Rafa? (Because they are saying that about him.) If hearing it about Rafa makes me grumpy, I don’t say it about someone else.
Let’s be polite and not insult or I will shut the topic down. Thank you.
how come federer and djokovic always get the easy draw when was the last time rafa got an easy draw
The draw isn’t on topic here. You already posted your conspiracy about the draw. As fans of Fed and Nole and they will tell you Rafa gets the easy draws. It’s all perception. In short: stop it.
really dont agree that rafa gets easy draws WHEN
I said stop it – the draw is the draw. It’s random. If you’d like to engage in conspiracy theories, go elsewhere.
The Djokovic picture referred to in the thoughts above wasn’t with Tipsarevic but viktor troicki, I think?
It was Janko… on his Facebook page.
Rafa did not throw the match against Verdasco. But maybe he didn’t go out of his way & risk injury to win it?
What do Miri and others think?
I agree with you. He was trying to win it without moving so much. His game plan did not work.
Having read Rafa’s book and having followed him all those years, I think he doesn’t have it in him to tank any game. He’s too much of a competitor. I just think his negative attitude towards the tournament and his state of mind when playing on these courts was so bad that he wasn’t calm when he had to. Plus he couldn’t move freely and that’s a big part of his game. And points go by so fast, even for Rafa, when you don’t have a clear mind and can’t focus. The best description I read about Rafa concerning this match was that he was “very angry with himself’. I can really picture that. But that cannot mean he is tanking anything.
No lint tid-bits to pluck this morning, so I read this post. Although well written, I’m not really sure why a post where somebody is listing tennis players left in a tournament and commenting on their “faults” belongs on a website with Rafa news. Let’s face it, all players have faults, Rafa too. I guess they just express themselves in different ways. Am mightily fed up with people here moaning about other players’ behaviour. It really bores me to despair. Pfffttt to that.
No I don’t think Rafa tanked it but only had aces up his sleeve as a last resort to get him out of trouble. I am sure he decided a long way offthat he aint moving to risk injuries, and hence he ran…. (excuse the pun as of course he couldn’t run on this stupid court)… out of ideas as he said. It clearly shows up. He wasn’t sliding as bad as Djoker, that’s because Rafa refused to slide and preferred to keep still rather than risk injury. The reason he won against Davydenko was Davy has a rubbish serve, he is pretty slow now – not like he used to be and he doesn’t hit hard shots.
As far as smug (and I am sorry but that is the best word I can describe him!) Fed is concerned you cannot deny what Fed’s said in his presser after the match with Daveed. I am sorry to say that whatever way you look at it or interprete it, it was a definite dig at Rafa and Djoker. Now whether he complains in private or not is hypothetical. He did an interview. I saw the whole interview on Sky tv and was pretty shocked and disappointed what I heard from Fed about his years where he had to adjust to all the different courts and they were faster etc. and it’s a question of adjusting That was not the point of the complaints from Rafa/Noel at all and he has taken it out of context. I am furious with Fed. I really really hope that Berdy wins. His serve was awesome against Delpo. I will certainly forgive Berdy after the Madrid match with Rafa a few years ago and the lack of handshake if he wins this. IT’s about time he won a title and will show that the tourney is in fact a hard court tournament with someone with a full blooded serve. I am sure if Raonic had got through Fed (he was unlucky and was slightly inexperienced) – he would have won this!
And before anyone says. I am not bashing Fed. I have the upmost respect for him and his years at the top of the tennis but as someone else said his support for the players re: USA courts and this court – surely he can’t agree it’s fine to have a hard blue court as ideal buildup to the clay french slam. Instead using the presser to turn it around to say that for many years he has had to play on super fast, super slow courts and have to adjust and its good to have innovation etc. etc. Yes he better sit down with the players and all players and see what they think – and I hope everyone who is a claycourt specialist boycotts it next year and have serve and volley of two points and half hour matches played. Wouldn’t that be fun! End of rant
RF likes Madrid cos its a faster court, his serve is more affective. one thing not on his side is age and to continually play and win finals, could be gruelling against Rafa and Nole is gonna take its toll, like it did in Miami when Roddick beat him. He is grabbing the limelight at the moment but its a hectic schedule up to the olympics and after that he will have alot of points to defend up to this time next year. We all know what happens when you have a good season it’s hard to follow it up.
No more comments from me now about Madrid,players,courts etc ive had enough of the awful week. Looking forward to the rest of the season starting with Rome.
Let’s also remember it was easier for Roger to adapt to this awful court as he had not played a tournament on the usual type of clay this season (he came to Madrid after having five weeks off). I also think his comments in the interview with Sky were a bit harsh. I am sure when he first played years ago he did not have to adjust his style every week as he said, because they still had hard, clay, grass and indoor seasons, they did not change the surface from week to week. My opinion anyway! I’d like Tomas to win for Rafa’s sake.
Verdasco deserved to win.
But it still annoys me that he barely shook Rafa’s hand last year in Cincy. And Verdasco was downright shameful in Davis Cup 2011, relying on a fatigued/injured Rafa to bail him out in both the semi-finals and finals. Rafa’s injury problems got worse because of Davis Cup finals; if Verdasco had done his job in doubles, Rafa wouldn’t have had to play that final rubber against Del Potro. Verdasco should remember that Rafa did him a big favor last in Davis Cup.
What do you all think?
Me thinks you hit the nail right on its head! Initially I liked Verdasco, but slowly (especially in DavisCup) I lost my respect for him. Remember France – Spain 5 – 0 June 2010?? Rafa did’nt play because he had treatment (serious treatment) on his knees and was in SouthAfrica for the Soccer WC final. I could not believe my eyes when I saw that scoreline — 5 bloody 0! And USO 2010 the match against Rafa, his demeanor on court was shocking (just like Cincy)last year. I remind me of a tweet or something last year or 2010 where he even implying that he wants Rafa to loose and apologised afterwards to Rafa. OK this is not about Verdasco, but ya he is one of those Spanish players I think is jealous on Rafa’s success. I
Seriously people. Just fucking stop it. There is no need to criticize other players here. The internet is full of sites that thrive on that. Go find one if you need to vent.
I did say that Verdasco deserved to win, right? I’m simply pointing out that Verdasco’s behavior toward Rafa has been bad, like when he barely shook Rafa’s hand in Cincy. Rafa, even after he lost, gave Verdasco a warm embrace in Madrid. And of course Verdasco should be thankful for what Rafa did in Davis Cup, after Verdasco blew his doubles matches.
Could someone PLEASE provide a link an article or video of the Federer press conference that is being referred to? Or even let me know what his comments were that are ‘controversial’.
Thank you – I cannot find anything about his comments.
Yes..can we get a link of that Fed interview..I can’t find it either..
This post is one of the better summaries of the surface and issues this week in Madrid. I think Madrid may be better off being moved to the first part of the clay season as it appears to be a better transitional surface from Miami to the clay of Monte Carlo, Rome and Paris. They really need to fix the inability to slide and regain your footing irrespective of whatever color they want to make it. I think having this tournament smack dab in the middle of the clay season and having so many changes is what goofed up a lot of players. This is the third surface change in Madrid in 5 years. To me it is no coincidence that the two players that won the singles titles in Madrid hadn’t played any other clay tournaments this season.