Kei Nishikori’s winning streak will be on the line against the toughest of clay-court opponents on Sunday in Madrid. None other than defending champion Rafael Nadal stands in the way of a second straight title for Nishikori.
Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori will be facing each other for the seventh time in their careers and for the second time this season when they battle for the Mutua Madrid Open title on Sunday.
Nadal remained perfect in the head-to-head series and extended his edge to 6-0 with a straight-set but hard-fought 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-6(3) victory at this year’s Australian Open. The world No. 1 is 15-1 lifetime in sets against Nishikori and he has 14 in a row. They have squared off once on clay, with Nadal rolling 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 in the fourth round of the 2013 French Open.
Right now, however, Nishikori is playing the absolute best tennis of his life. He current registers one spot off his career-high ranking at 12th in the world and he has already assured himself of becoming the first Japanese man to crack the Top 10 in the ATP World Tour rankings when they are released on Monday. Nishikori has not lost a match since Indian Wells; a stretch that features a semifinal showing in Miami (withdrew due to injury), a title in Barcelona, and wins this week over Ivan Dodig, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Milos Raonic, Feliciano Lopez, and David Ferrer.
Nadal is also showcasing stellar form in Madrid, although for him it has been a much-needed confidence booster. The top-seeded Spaniard fell in the quarterfinals in both Monte-Carlo (Ferrer) and Barcelona (Nicolas Almagro), but he has already made it two steps further in Madrid thanks to scalps of Juan Monaco, Jarkko Nieminen, Tomas Berdych, and Roberto Bautista Augt.
“Psychologically, in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, whenever I had difficult moments I was not ready and I was a little bit down,” Nadal reflected after beating Bautista Agut during semifinal action on Saturday. “Here, I managed to be ready straightaway…. After a great match yesterday, I have the confirmation today that the improvement is real. It’s very good news for me. I think for moments I played great tennis against an opponent that is playing really well and improving a lot.”
The defending champion will have to do the same in this one, but he could get an assist from his opponent of all people. Nishikori dealt with a lower-back issue against both Lopez and Ferrer and a nearly three-hour showdown versus Ferrer cannot help matters. All things being equal, the underdog would have a chance based on his amazing current form. But on clay, in Spain, and almost certainly jaded either due to injury and/or fatigue, Nishikori cannot like his chances.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
[polldaddy poll=8037378]
Although it has come at a great cost, a positive here is how fresh rafa is heading into Rome. He has not expended that much energy in the clay court season this year so his body will be ready. He needs to be in the best possible mental state though..that’s equally important..
On averaeg, the net clearance on rafa’s backhand was too much throughout the weak, esp against Nishikori. He needs to be more confident with that shot and start mixing up the trajectory. We know his backhand is at its devastating best when he is ripping flat CC backhands along with deep top-spun drives in both corners of the court….Flattening out backhand DTL takes a lot of confidence for him… Slices can work well for him as they set up forehands for him but he has to be careful and not hit too many tentative ,short slices.. Rafa’s slices have a tendency to float and because he hits them with a more open racket face, his slices don’t skid that well….players who can generate good pace of their own punish those slices as they ‘sit up’ more … Rafa playing at his best , though, hits deeper, more penetrating slices that are tougher to attack.
Will be keeping a close eye on his backhand… THAT’s the shot djokovic often exploits (although it was a diff story in miami).
vamosrafa,
Thanks for the great analysis! You really have a grasp on the finer points of the technical aspects of Rafa’s game. I wanted to ask you about the net clearance with Rafa’s backhand. Could you speak a bit more about that? Was there too much clearance over the net? What kind of trajectory does he need? You have been focused on the backhand and with good reason. That is Rafa’s confidence shot. When he is on his game, he is hitting it with authority. I see him using the backhand slice quite a bit now. But it’s not always effective. They have been sitting up short and that doesn’t work well for him against certain players.
I really like analyzing where Rafa’s game is at now. There were so many good thoughts in your comments. Things to think about.
We tend to forget that Rafa did struggle last year at RG in the early rounds. I really enjoyed reading what Rafa had to say about his feelings now. I think he is going to take a lot of positives out of Madrid. The way it ended may have been unfortunate, but overall I thought this is the best he’s looked so far on clay. There’s more work to be done, that’s for sure. But he is getting there.
Thanks for all your posts! Great stuff! 🙂
NNY, thank you for the kind words and your valued inputs. Regarding rafa’s backhand I will try to give some detail from what I know/understand.
Net clearance is obviously the height over the net that rafa’s ground strokes achieve. When he is playing tentatively and passively, his backhands clear the net with plenty of height. While this provides more safety on your shot , it put you on the back foot against aggressive baseliners. When rafa rips those short angled CC backhands, the net clearance is much lower due to the flat trajectory. Rafa at his best in an artist on clay; he hits one shot deep in the backhand corner of righty’s backhands and the next shot he often hits is a very flat one CC… A hesitant rafa often hits floating backhands with a high net clearance in the middle of the court ,only to be punished by attacking players…
Rafa’s open stance backhand is also destructive only when he is hitting them with good penetration…
About his backhand DTL, he usually aims for depth by hitting high backhands..works fine as long as they are landing deep but trouble other wise…he usually flattens out his backhand DTL only when he has opened up the court …
AO 2009 is the prime example of rafa mixing up his backhand trajectory to perfection.. It was also very effective in montreal last year …
I would also like to talk about rafa’s forehand. Tv channels often show the avg.net clearance of his forehand and it is usually in the 90-95 cm ….its a bit higher on clay which is understandable… but when rafa is really feeling the ball well and flattening out his forehand DTL and inside-out forehand, his avg. net clearance is 85-90 cm ( a very dangerous range for his opponents). I wish they show the avg net clearance in every match because I believe its a good barometer of rafa’s confidence…. Against nishikori , there was a period in the match when he was giving his forehands ‘too much air’ and nishi was pouncing on those shots…
There have always been comparisons of rafa’s forehand and federer’s forehand and votes are almost equally split …. I think it depends on the surface…One superior aspect about fed’s forehand is that it is a more aggressive shot. By that, I mean two things: first is that fed can step inside the court more comfortably. Second, the net clearance of his forehand is lower which makes his shots more aggressive , esp on faster surfaces… Both men hit with tremendous spin (though rafa’s topspin is a level above)… because rafa hits with much more spin ( 3200 RPM on average vs fed’s 2700 RPM), he is bound to get more net clearance. he has , however, over the years learned to strike a better balance, esp on non-clay surfaces. He flattens out his forehand more now and I would love to see more incorporation of that, esp with his inside in forehand…
Rafa’s forehand has improved TREMENDOUSLY over the years. His backhand peaked in Aus 2009 but his forehand in 2013 was a lot more potent than it was in Aus 09…
The guy just keeps improving…love that about him !
^^^^^Thanks for the above analyses Vamos.
Something I only spotted when replaying the match was that not only did he raise his level significantly his serve was dramatically better.
76% points won from 97% first serve. What a contrast to the first set.
good point…the serve did improve considerably in all regards…. Rafa has to get his ‘calm’ back…. when he lacks ‘calm’ EVERY single aspect of his game gets affected..
vamosrafa,
Thanks for the more detailed explanation of the net clearance with Rafa’s backhand. Now I understand. I well remember the 2009 AO and the damage Rafa did to Fed with that cc backhand. He used it to devastating effect throughout the match. When I watched him play in Montreal, I thought at the time that this was the best he was hitting his backhand since 2009, maybe the 2010 USO. It’s amazing what that shot does for Rafa when it’s working right. I am talking about both the cc and dtl backhands.
Thanks for the additional clarification. I am pleased to be having a real discussion about the various aspects of Rafa’s game. But I think you feel as I do, that the backhand is so crucial to him and is an indicator of his confidence level.
vamosrafa,
Regarding your post @ 8:24 am, it’s great to also discuss Rafa’s forehand. It’s hard for me to get the cm because we have inches and feet in the states. But I know that during matches, many times they show the net clearance for Rafa’s forehand. I can see now why Rafa runs into trouble when he gives the forehand too much air, as you said. So it’s not just about hitting short, it’s about net clearance. If there is too much air then the opponent can jump all over it, which is what Nishi was doing in that first set.
I totally agree that Rafa has improved his forehand. We saw that in 2013. That dtl forehand did a lot of damage in his matches with Novak.
NNY, exactly !! Depth is very important but aggressive players who stand on the baseline will pounce even on the shots that are NOT short…Djokovic, Nishikori, Davydenko in the past, Murray,Del Potro…These guys are good examples…
The worst scenario is when he is giving too much air to his shots and they are landing short as well. Recipe for disaster ! depth saves him but to a degree…net clearance, esp on the backhand side is crucial because the spin on the backhand is not vicious enough to make attacking difficult for opponents…
Yes! This is what I have been trying to say here and elsewhere. Playing with calm is everything. Then the game just flows and the groundstrokes are deep and penetrating and accurate, the serve is good, the ROS is accurate. It all comes together.
They did flash the serving stats for Rafa on the tennis channel during the match. He did improve his serve dramatically in the match. That’s such a good sign, because it indicates an awareness on Rafa’s part, an ability to adjust and raise his level of play. This is what he wasn’t doing in his previous losses.
I have read online that some keep saying Nishi was only two games from winning. My answer to that is – Rafa was only two games from winning the 2012 AO! Take that! You never know what can happen in a match. It’s not over until it’s over. Even Tignor seemed to bemoan Nishi getting injured and not being able to play. Tell us Rafa fans all about it! We know too well! But people don’t seem to realize that some of it was due to Rafa playing so much better and really going after his shots and making Nishi run all over the place.
nativenewyorker7 (at 7:08 am)
—I have read online that some keep saying Nishi was only two games from winning—
It’s our own dear Ricky! See his article “Nadal goes back to back in Madrid…”
Uh oh!
I did not watch the match, I was too nervous and thank God I did not :-). I would have freaked out 🙂
Few things though to put in perspective.
How many of us expected Rafa to win in Madrid firstly? Atleast before Djoko pulled out? I think none of us. I think given how he played in MC, Barcelona- Madrid was a write off esp as conditions are not right for him here with the altitude. Today he stands the winner, has captured his 27th Masters, earned 1000 points- so its all a bonus.
Is Rafa the first person to benefit from an injured opponent? Did Fed not benefit from Djokos in MC? Did his fans complain? Did Stan not benefit from Rafas that too in a GS final? Did Fed not benefit from Rafas in WTF 2010 when Rafa could barely move in the final set after the 3 hour marathon with Murray the day before?
Secondly what was the score when Nishi retired? Rafa had won the 2nd and was up 3 0 in 3rd. Its not as if Nishi was leading and had to quit. Did Rafa not fight back from 4 2 to 4 all, so he was on level terms. Is there a guarantee that had Nishi been okay he would have closed it and won? Esp when the guy at the other end was Rafa. Why speculate?
Finally who will remember few years down the line how Rafa won his 27th Masters. All that will matter is how many Masters he has, not how he beat the opponent? And atleast now hes standing tall and far head over Fed (21) and Djoko (18).
Yes Rome is the key as its a full field. His performance here matters the most.
Sanju@May 12, 2014 at 8:16 am
—How many of us expected Rafa to win in Madrid firstly?—
You have asked this question about (almost?) all the tournaments.
My answer is (& will be) the same: I always hope Rafa to win and always support him, no matter what.
i think sanju is talking about ‘expectations’. The expectations were , as a matter of fact, quite low after rafa lost in Barcelona. All rafa fans here HOPE rafa wins and majority of them always SUPPORT him.. but expectations vary depending on what has been happening. This clay season has been an exception…in the past, we expected rafa to win every single match in clay..
vamosrafa@May 12, 2014 at 10:00 am
Read my comment: ‘hope’ = ‘expect’.
in the context I am using the two words, they have different meanings
I was spared the angst of the 1st set because I got home half way through the 2nd set at 2-3 to Nishikori. I was shocked to say the least, but thankfully things turned round soon enough so I didn’t suffer too much.
It’s hard for Rafa because he is a target for everyone. They all come on with a game plan and he has to deal with whatever strategy they bring along. With the other top players, it’s a case players thinking that they may have a chance if they play well, but they don’t have a strategy as such.
I think it i because Rafa plays differently (left handed, lot of tp spin) compared to anyone on the tour, people come with a proper strategy to play him. I am not sure if that much planning goes behind any other player.
Did Fed, Murray etc not say Rafa is the toughest player to play? Not sure if Djoko said that too.
Also, no other player dominates any surface like Rafa has dominated clay. It used to be the same with Federer at Wimbledon although in his case players had no ambitions to beat him because bought into the GOAT title, apart from Rafa.
Novak said during the ceremony of USO 2010 final ‘ rafa, you are the best ever’.
But on other occasions , he refers to rafa as’ one of the best players ever’…
on another note, novak said after hamburg 2008 that rafa has the best defensive skills in the history of tennis. Last year, he said rafa’s forehand is the toughest shot in tennis to deal with
nadline28@May 12, 2014 at 8:42 am
—It’s hard for Rafa because he is a target for everyone—
The legion of the Federazzi desperately want Rafa to be beaten by somebody. Everybody who beats Rafa becomes a hero in their eyes (and in the mouth of pro-Fed TV commentators). That’s why every player wants to beat Rafa.
I agree with this! Well said! 🙂
Also home tourney though advantageous puts an alltogether different pressure on you. You have to live upto the expectations of everyone in the crowd who want you to win badly.
Did Fed not lose Basel for 2 years in a row to Delpotro? I m sure in the tighter crunch moments, it adds to the pressre.
yup…home tourney can surely put more pressure on a player..
^^^^^An interesting point Sanju. Normally playing in front of the home crowd is perceived as an advantage but as you say the fear of failing in front of them can also be inhibiting for high profile players. Never seen Ferru so devastated as when he lost his SF. One also sees this happening a lot in Davis Cup. Some rise to the occasions and play at a level way above their norm: others fall apart and under perform.
You should listen to what Rafa says.
Video. Madrid 2014 Friday Interview Nadal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_UdWilvuTY
The presser on Sunday.
¤¤ QUESTION. The crowd were right behind you, did they help you through the difficult patch you mentioned. Does the crowd help you or add pressure?
RAFA. Throughout my life I have had the feeling that the crowd adds more pressure than support. It’s true that today, while I was struggling on the court, playing at home causes more difficulty because you want to do well and not let your people down. But it is true that thanks to their support I began to compete. If you gave me the choice I’d always choose to have the crowd behind me.¤¤
Having now watched the replay of the final yesterday, I feel more at ease that Kei wasn’t so much outplaying Rafa as Rafa was playing really badly. He seemed to get himself into a panic after he was broken the first time and Nishikori obviously got a lot of courage from that. I would not be at all worried when they meet again. Rafa got himself into defensive mode, for reasons best known to himself.
Rafa should realise that everyone is afraid of him not the other way round.
^^Actually, I thought Rafa came out feeling sorry for Kei….I mean, he had an injury, no? Then when Rafa saw Kei skipping around like a rabbit in heat, slapping FHs and BHs with willful abandon he figured, hang on, what’s going on here? The rest is history……….
uncle toni said it all! I don’t understand you guys!
This is what Uncle Toni said, “Toni Nadal says: “We don’t deserve the victory, (Nishikori) deserves it, he played better than us the whole time.”
@rafaelo, here is my take on this comment, please feel free to disagree:
At face value I would say Uncle Toni is telling it like it is, being honest. However, I see more to this statement than the face value. That statement was more about preparing Rafa for a future meeting with Kei than an opinion on the just ended final itself. In keeping with his coaching style, he is withholding his approval to keep Rafa on edge, so that the next time Rafa plays Kei, Rafa has to earn Uncle Toni’s approval.
Also, this is a message to Kei and his team. Let’s see what they make of it. If they take it at face value, they will become complacent, reveling in the “near” victory that never was. If they are smart, they will see it as it is: your boy brought his absolute best…………but still lost to a Rafa playing his D-game.
A lot of people do not approve of Uncle Toni’s coaching style but it has worked………….so far.
Uncle Toni’s job is not only to help Rafa with the technical side of the game, he also has to prepare Rafa MENTALLY for his up-coming matches. Of all people out there, Uncle Toni is the one who knows what sets Rafa off and what does not, what gets Rafa motivated and what does not. Have you ever noticed how focused and dialed in Rafa gets when he is mad on court e.g. after a time violation warning for example? I have noticed, on more than one occasion, after a time violation warning Rafa serves an ace or plays the point and wins it.
This was the first time Rafa played Kei 2.0. Uncle Toni is no mug, he saw that this Kei is the real deal and Rafa has to be wary of him in future. If Uncle Toni showers Rafa with praise, Rafa will become complacent.
The only person who “deserves” a victory is the victor. Uncle Toni knows this, just won’t say it publicly.
#ToughLove
^^^^ Agree 100%. I won’t have a word said against U.T. He’s been coaching Rafa since he was a toddler so, yes, he understands how to guide him through the good times and the bad. He is truly Rafa’s secret weapon.
UT is so epic
Hahaha! Even Nick Bollettieri “gets” Uncle T:
RT @NickBollettieri: “Very impressed with Toni Nadal’s comments yesterday. World needs more of that”
Vamos Uncle T!
I have to agree with rafaelo here: There are positive things go take away from this final – a title is a title, and leading the race to London isn’t too shabby either – but as far as Rafa’s game is concerned, I’m worried. Granted, Rafa didn’t give up, but IMO Rafa only turned it around, when Kei was already hampered. So, lots of luck there. And that’s maybe another positive thing: Often enough Rafa’s body betrayed him at crucial matches. This time it worked in his favour. Hopefully this fitle will take some of the pressure away.
It has been a strange season so far, and it feels strange, that Rafa is leading the race to London (and that normally matters more to him than the No 1 ranking), despite all his recent troubles. But there has been no truly dominant player this year so far. Everything seems possible, and the stranglehold of the big four onto the important tourneys might finally slip. Rome will be very interesting. I think, Rafa might even have a better chance at the FO than in Rome. Novak is definitely on the other site of the draw this year, and to beat Rafa on clay in a best of 5 setting, is still a monumental task, if he is more or less healthy.
Rafa played even worse against Gulbis last year in Rome, Gulbis even bagelled him in the first set, but Rafa found a solution and beat him and went on to win Rome and RG. Don’t worry about Rafa, he’s building up nicely and will peak at RG.
The old Rafa is back. How many times have we said Rafa is the guy who wins more matches playing ugly than most? Yesterday, Rafa won ugly, business as usual. Rafa showed tremendous testicular (am I allowed to say that? If not, I apologise) fortitude to withstand an onslaught from an inspired opponent with nothing to lose and everything to gain. This is what was lacking in MC and Barcelona.
Against any other player Kei would have won yesterday. Rafa is not any other player.
if Wilander can cast aspersions on the size of Roger’s nuts I’m sure you can admire Rafa’s 😀
Gulbis didn’t bagel Rafa
Gulbis did not bagle Rafa.
Gulbis didn’t beguile Rafa.
Alright, alright! I got my bakery products mixed up mmmmm’kay??
Gulbis bread-sticked Rafa, it’s the true, no?
littlefoot,
Respectfully, I disagree with rafaelo. He has an absolute right to have his opinion. But I think at times people don’t realize what it takes for a great champion to do what he does. Borg was my first tennis love and he made it look easy. I thought it was so simple for him to do what he did, It wasn’t until I watched the great documentary, McEnroe/Borg: Fire and Ice, that I realized just how tough it was for him. He had all these little rituals, like sleeping naked in bed at the same temperature for the same amount of time every night, taking the same route to the tournament, using the same towel and the same chair. He trained like a beast to be so physically strong. But he broke down and lost the will to win.
Rafa is having a bit of a loss of confidence and maybe mental strength right now. It is going to be a process as he works to get it back. Winning is so important, but the problem is that you need confidence to win and you need to win to be confident. It can be a vicious cycle. Rafa has made strides in the right direction. The pressure on him during clay season is enormous. I don’t know how he has managed to handle it thus far. Sometimes a player shows that he is mortal. This is what happened to Rafa this year on clay. I am just grateful that he hasn’t walked away like Borg did. He still wants to compete. But it’s little steps, one at a time to get himself back to his best. Winning ugly, or not playing his best and still winning, is something he has done many times in the past. This win may not have happened the way we would have liked, but it is what it is. Rafa will take positives out of this win and his good performance in Madrid. Maybe he will still have his ups and downs in matches, but he’s going in the right direction.
^^^^I know what U.Toni said. What are YOU saying?
Rafa set a new record by being the first player ever, to defend the Madrid title.
Well said ritb and nadline. (except the part about the old Rafa being back already). He is slowly moving in the right direction.
#YouAreNotaJediYet
RT @PatrickMcEnroe: “And by the way, RAFA is back. Not quite sure where he went however”
This, coming from a Fedfan…..believe.
IMO Rafa is not back yet but he is on his way back… 🙂 there are still specific ‘trajectories’ to cross though…Firstly, I am afraid Rafa’s game have become way predictable and easy for the players to explore…I would love to see some more tactics to Rafa’s game…he should mix more his wealthy arsenal of shots…I tend to believe Rafa and Uncle T. work out the tactics for every opponent he faces but it requires a confident, mentally strong Rafa to implement it…so, there is room for improvement in this regard…
Secondly, Rafa’s shots are not as strong and fast as they used to be…in the past, even if they landed short they would have been difficult for Rafa’s opponents to return as Rafa was hitting hard top spin shots…these days they lack the intensity, the speed…in the second set with Nishi Rafa changed the court positioning, increased the speed and hit harder, and the results were immediately visible…so, go for it Rafa…hit it HARD!
Serbian commentators repeat the same sentence as parrots every single match Rafa plays no matter who the opponent which says:”Rafa is easy to beat. You just need to play faster than him”…it becomes an anthem of the Serbs…
Rafa should employ fast, hard hitting mixture of shots which push his opponents further behind the baseline simultaneously making it easier for Rafa to dictate…I hope to see more of this aggressive Rafa who believes in his own success.
I will never criticize Uncle T. I love his style and I think it is the right way to deal with our Rafa…I think Rafa was somewhat puzzled with Nishi being injured & tired to begin with so maybe he underestimated the Japanese a bit.. 😉
Vamos Rafa!
natashao,
The reason that Rafa’s shots were landing short and not having the intensity and the speed, is mental. If the mind isn’t working, then the game can fall apart. The mind is so much a part of this sport. That’s why Rafa was able to turn it around in the second set. He realized that things weren’t working, his mind clicked and then he knew what he had to do. That’s a good sign. He wasn’t doing that in his previous losses in MC and Barcelona. That’s why his shots were much more effective in the second set. He was more present in the match, focused and concentrating.
I don’t think Rafa needs to reinvent the wheel. It’s not complicated. Winning will help get him back to his best. Now he has a win under his belt. That makes all the difference in the world. We saw what Rafa did against Berdy. He was able to produce a very high quality of tennis in that match. That’s because he feels confident against Berdy. He knows how to beat him. So the core game is still there. That was important for Rafa to know. But he can’t do it all the time right now. He took a step backward in the final, probably due to the pressure of being there and also with Nishi playing very aggressive and confident. But he regrouped in the second set. He turned it around. That’s the key for him.
I have no problem with Uncle Toni. He and Rafa have been together so long and trust each other. Rafa can take what his uncle dishes out. He knows where it’s coming from. I like the fact that Rafa has stayed with his team since the very beginning. No adding more people to try and compensate for not playing well, no looking for the quick fix. He has his people and doesn’t need to make any changes. He has this stability and continuity of an inner circle that gives him the support and advice and guidance that he needs.
BTW, Gulbis has never bageled Rafa! 🙂
^^et tu, @nats?? A bakery product is a bakery product, no? It’s all carbs, no :/
true indeed…sorry, I did not know about your nutritional skills… 🙂
You mean, in addition to my tennis prediction skills? I did pick Rafa to win all 4 Slams in 2014. To say I am way off the mark so far is an understatement. But this much I know: Gulbis fed Rafa a bakery product at Rome 2013!
^^^^^ Perhaps he should brush up on the history of the Samurai Warriors to understand what shapes the Japanese psyche. Nishi’s body gave up not his spirit. Retirement was a better option than to disgrace himself by playing badly. Interestingly one of the commies said his camp were signalling to him not to retire.
^^Interesting point @ed251137 about the Samurai warrior spirit, I think this has merit. I am of the opinion, though, that his spirit gave up after he couldn’t put Rafa away in 2. His body had no business being in that match anyway, he was hurting from the get-go. It was his spirit that saw him through that blinding 1st set and a half. But when Rafa refused to buckle, his spirits sagged and with that gone, he had nothing but his aching back………….
I’ve watched the match a few times and it seems like Kei hurt his left leg when Rafa wrong-footed him and that was his problem. He kept shaking he leg and it seems as if he couldn’t put pressure on it to serve. I feel the back massage was just a red herring.
Since I have suffered from serious back problems all my life, this is something that I have experienced all too often. I also watched the match more than once, but paid particular attention to that long rally where Rafa was bullying the ball and running Nishi back and forth. That was when Nishi was up 4-3. At the end Nishi came up kind of gimpy. But if one is wrong footed or trips or stumbles, that will affect the back. It’s also common for someone with a back injury to limp or walk gingerly or tentatively. That was what was happening with Nishi.
I don’t think for one minute that the massage was anything other than treatment for a back injury. Nishi was getting these treatments in his match with Lopez and again with Ferrer. Now one might argue whether this was a violation of the rules about not allowing MTO’s for a pre-existing injury. But the massage on the lower back which was meant to loosen up the area and maybe alleviate some muscle spasm and tightness, along with the stretches that the trainer was doing on Nishi, are entirely consistent with a lower back problem. I recognized those stretches immediately. I have been doing those and others morning and night for decades.
I might also point out that sometimes there can be actual leg pain with a back injury. If one has sciatica, then the pain can radiate down the leg. It’s not uncommon for pain to extend to other areas, including the leg.
I don’t know why we can’t just accept something at face value. The constant refrain that it’s not done for Rafa, again is not excuse for doing it to other players. It is what it appears to be, nothing else.
I agree with Nadline, the first massage treatment was superfluous. I think it was Koenig who was joking Nishi had developed it as a ‘lucky’ routine since it had worked twice before. However IMO the umpire was right in allowing the later MTO for a injury which was patently not evident at the outset of the match.
NNY is correct in saying the leg injury could well be connected to the back problem. Many injuries can give rise to secondary problems which frequently cause more trouble than the initial injury.