Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will be hoping to snag spots in the Paris semifinals when they take the court on Friday. Standing in their respective ways are Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych.
(4) Stan Wawrinka vs. (7) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Wawrinka will be facing each other for the 16th time in their careers and for the second time this fall when they meet again in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Masters on Friday night. Nadal extended his head-to-head series dominance to 13-2 by hammering Wawrinka 6-2, 6-1 in last month’s Shanghai quarters. The Spaniard is 8-1 on hard courts (2-0 indoors), with his only such loss coming in the 2014 Australian Open final. Wawrinka’s second victory came earlier this season on the clay courts of Rome via a 7-6(7), 6-2 decision.
Nadal is through to a fourth consecutive quarterfinal, having previously reached finals in Beijing and Basel in addition to the Shanghai semis. But the world No. 6 almost bowed out of Paris on Thursday, when he saved one match point to overcome Kevin Anderson 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-2 in two hours and 26 minutes. Wawrinka has advanced with straight-set defeats of Bernard Tomic and Viktor Troicki. The fourth-ranked Swiss is 11-2 this fall and bouncing back nicely from a first-round Basel loss to Ivo Karlovic. Although the surface is conducive to Wawrinka’s game, by hard-court standards it also plays into Nadal’s hands. The world No. 1 should be able to bounce back in fine fashion from his third-round tussle, just as Anderson recovered to come within one point of beating Nadal after getting past Dominic Thiem in two hours and 44 minutes one day earlier.
Pick: Nadal in 3
[polldaddy poll=9165437]
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (5) Tomas Berdych
A similarly lopsided “rivalry” will be taking place when Djokovic and Berdych collide for the 22nd time on Friday. Djokovic owns a 19-2 record in the head-to-head series, including 16-0 on hard courts and 6-0 indoors. Both of their 2016 showdowns have required decisive third sets. Berdych pushed his opponent the distance in both Dubai and Monte-Carlo but lost 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 at the former and 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 at the latter. The Czech’s victories have come in the 2010 Wimbledon quarterfinals and at the 2013 Rome Masters.
Berdych had been thriving at 250-pointers while struggling at more prestigious events of late, so his 6-3, 6-4 rout of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday came as a minor surprise. The world No. 5, who preceded that performance with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 defeat of Edouard Roger-Vasselin, is 57-18 for the season and 12-3 this fall. Djokovic has not yet reached peak form in Paris despite having showcased more than enough to see off Thomaz Bellucci and Gilles Simon in straight sets. The top-ranked Serb has not lost prior to the final of any tournament since the first tournament of the year in Doha (l. to Karlovic). Nothing suggests Berdych will be the one to end that impressive streak of Paris’ two-time defending champion.
Pick: Djokovic in 2 losing 8-10 games
[polldaddy poll=9165435]
@ augusta
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CTOaxnlUcAAqT3_.png
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Just as I said. He didn’t play a good match probably due to fatigue.
Mostly mental though because he mostly had bad UEs on the important points.
Yes! Absolutely agree! Let’s not parse what Rafa himself said and only take the part that we wish to hear. He said he didn’t deserve to win when he missed so many big points. So why did he miss them? Mental!
Is it the end of the world? No way! I guess we can’t expect Rafa to sort this all out and never have a step back. I like to think that this loss can only motivate Rafa to work harder.
I would like to see Rafa try to win more efficiently, capitalize on his break opportunities and close out sets when he needs to do so. Will it happen all the time? No. Rafa has had trouble closing out matches even when he was at his best.
Think about the 2008 Wimbledon. Rafa was up two sets, yet Fed came back and won two TB’s to take it to a fifth set. Think about the 2013 RG. Rafa was serving for the match in the fourth set and couldn’t serve it out. He ultimately lost that set in a TB.
So we know that Rafa can have these kinds of troubles. But it didn’t cost him the match. He found a way to win.
Too bad he didn’t get Cahill for co-coach.
Halep is lucky to have him as coach now. I bet it pays big dividends for her.
Halep has appointed Halep as coach.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CTOaxnlUcAAqT3_.png:medium
Rafa needs someone who can communicate in Spanish.
No he doesn’t. His English is great.
Novak successfully added Becker and Fed added Edberg.
You don’t give Rafa enough credit on his language skills.
Rafa needs to find ways outside of his comfort zone or it will continue to shrink.
So you now know my frustration after the Basel loss. I knew then at that time that Rafa was still way off from getting back and I wasnt sure that Rafa would be ready for 2016 as there’re only two events left this year. So, Paris gone and Rafa wasnt doing any better.
BTW, physical exhaustion does affect the mind, resulting in not being able to think clearly. Rafa was certainly not good enough on the HCs hence all the three set matches and sometimes coming back from the brink of defeats. Fatigue has finally caught up with Rafa as he admitted to feeling tired.
If he hadn’t been doing it all year and this was an isolated incident then I’d agree.
I’d also tend to agree had I missed some or all of the match. The scoreline was no indication of Rafa’s problems. Stan was not good. He had over 40 UEs.
Stan made 42 UEs but he had 37 winners; Rafa made 30 UEs but he had 22 winners. You cant just look at UEs esp when the player concerned is playing more attacking tennis.
Stan won 94 points to Rafa’s 88.
You know what kind of year that he has, so?
I’m not.
Too often this year that differential has been negative this year compared to other years.
Again, it was when he struggled that was similar to earlier this year. While not near as bad as his worst level this year, it was a backward step and a lost opportunity to face Novak which he needs to do win or lose.
We are agreeing to disagree as per your earlier suggestion, are we not? 🙂
In other words, for the last few posts we are adding nothing new and obvious that we won’t change each others minds on the matter.
In the first place why the frustration (over this loss)? As I said, fatigue caught up with Rafa and so he had a bad day at the office. I have already seen that Rafa is/was still some way off from his normal level, when he lost the final match at Basel. No loss is a good loss esp when the loss happens in a final.
Whether he’ll still have matches like this after a good week’s of rest, or he’ll get better and wins more easily instead of still struggling, we have to wait and see how he fares at the WTF.
Nothing new here. Frustration already explained. How he lost.
I agree to disagree.
Yep, I agree to disagree.
Luckystar says:
November 7, 2015 at 5:49 pm
Rafa said it himself, he was tired, that explains everything.
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What Rafa says is all that counts.
Exactly but that’s not all he said.
#CherryPicking
hawkeye,
Sorry, I didn’t see your comment before I posted mine! But we did say the same thing! Yes, this is what happens all the time. Comments from Rafa are selectively reposted, sometimes leaving out other points that he made.
You have been trying to make the point for months now, that Uncle Toni has been critical of Rafa’s tennis and Rafa has been, too. Yet as you rightly noticed, there is no response when you make these points. Rafa called his forehand “vulgar” after that loss in Rio to Fog. Yet if any of the Rafa fans here dares to be somewhat critical of Rafa, then they get slammed.
The truth is that players must look at their games with a critical eye. They must figure out what is working, what they are doing well and what is not working. That’s the only way they can get better or continue to compete well. If Rafa and Uncle Toni just kept saying all year – oh everything is sunshine and roses, they would be lying to themselves and the rest of us.
Well said NNY. You have to look at the full picture not just cover up what you don’t want to see.
So disappointed Rafa didn’t try to land Cahill as co coach once he was available.
I think he could do wonders and still for Jalep even though English is not her first language.
Rafa said more than that. So don’t just quote part of what he said. He said that he deserved to lose because he didn’t play the big points well.
Rafa doesn’t make excuses and neither should his fans. Things are taken out of context or ignored entirely and then people parse what Rafa just to support their view.
I am with hawkeye and nats regarding this issue. If it was tiredness, then Rafa would not have been able to make the match competitive at all. Tiredness doesn’t just affect a player on the big points. That’s what hawkeye has been trying to say. Rafa has been doing this all year, flubbing on the big points. He wasn’t tired all year, was he?
How about that overhead smash that he would make 99.9% of the time? That was mental, too. He lost it in the crucial moments. If he was truly that fatigued then there is no way he could have even got it to two TB’s. So that does not hold water with me.
That says it all.
nativenewyorker7 says:
November 7, 2015 at 8:49 pm
—Rafa said more than that. So don’t just quote part of what he said. He said that he deserved to lose because he didn’t play the big points well.—
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People know. Scroll up until the comment nadline10 says:November 7, 2015 at 5:28 pm.
augusta you and I accept that there’s nothing to be added to what Rafa has said. Others can talk amongst themselves it won’t change anything.
nadline (at 10:34 pm),
http://emoticonhq.com/images/ICQ/thumbsup.jpg
There is a basic flaw in the argument of all those who claim Rafa’s problems this year are mental.
Rafa’s problems are physical . So this causes him anxiety as he is used to relying on his game and he is used to winning. Not only did he undergo surgery last year, he has been repeatedly injured , knees, back, wrists. especially last year. Piecing together statements made by different members of his team, they have said they need to extend his career.What this means is his career cannot continue with his old game i.e. his body can no longer take it like Delpo’s couldn’t take his game. We have also seen that his forehand is AWOL. His serve is bad. His legs are not that fast. Probably the damage to his body has reduced his speed and movement so that he is no longer in the correct position fast enough to make his lethal shots. If he tries to force his body he will end up like Delpo.
It has been repeatedly stated that he is adopting new patterns of play. If he was mentally ill, why would his team adopt this inopportune moment to cause him more problems by forcing him to change his game?
No, the problems are physical. He is adopting new patterns of play to adapt to his physical limitations so he could still win like Fed adopted more net rushing after 2013.
As for native’s assertion that he makes the overhead 99.9% of the time, I am sure she cannot find 99.9% THIS YEAR but only in earlier years which is not relevant for the argument.
I think nats agrees with me at least on the main argument: Rafa’s anxiety is the effect , not cause of his poor game. hawkeye and native claim Rafa is mentally ill. But their contention cannot be fitted to a rational model ( no pun intended).
Mary,
Reading your post one might think that Rafa should just throw in the towel and call it a career! What I said about Rafa stands. Your laundry list of Rafa’s problems indicates that he might as well hang up his racket!
The way Rafa played against Stan is not going to benefit his body. Playing a lot of three set matches is not going to help his body. While it’s great to see Rafa coming back and fighting the way he has been able to do in the past, it’s not doing his body any favors.
I don’t know what you think can be done at this point in his career. Rafa cannot change his core game. It is what it is. He’s not going to play serve and volley for heaven’s sake! Adopting new patterns of play is not going to change his physical condition as you describe it.
Also, please do not presume to speak for me or put words in my mouth. If you have been reading my comments, then you would know that I have made it a point to say repeatedly that Rafa does not have any kind of specific anxiety disorder. Unless you are reading selectively you would know that! In that regard, hawkeye and I do not agree.
Your last sentence is kind of insulting. Rational models have nothing to do with it. If you want to disagree, then try to do so without insulting those with whom you disagree.
Rafa makes that overhead! Enough said. What’s more, you know it and so does everyone else.
You are describing Rafa as a player who has been ravaged by injuries. Suffice to say, I do not agree with you. We can disagree without stating that those who differ are not using an argument that can be fitted to a rational model. That is a kind of insult that is wrapped in a sentence designed to make it not to be an insult. But that is precisely what you are saying.
native, are you saving Rafa has not suffered serious injuries? He has probably not played any full season at 100%.
Obviously you prefer to be in denial about physical injuries of Rafa which are a matter of record.
But what puzzles me is why do you prefer to believe Rafa is mentally sick?
If Rafa is mentally sick, no rational team would try to put additional pressure on him to make him change his pattern of play if his game was prime. Why fix what ain’t broke. Clearly his game was broke hence the need for changed patterns. The rational model referred to is for the team’s actions, not your thinking.,
I do not know that Rafa makes that overhead. If it is 99.9% this year as you claim, then you should produce evidence of 999 instances out of 1000 opportunities this year when Rafa made that overhead to support your statement. A tired Rafa with the game he has displayed this year is more likely to not make that overhead. I am sure you know that right position and timing are essential for success of overhead shot. His mental illness had nothing to do with it.
Physical injury along with the new time violation rule turned to anxiety.
Rafa’s not doing anything that new. He’s trying to play like he did in 2013.
#NothingNew
Yes, he is trying 2013 so it is not entirely new but new as compared to his default game. But as he said at the beginning of the year, he is 2 years older and we shouldn’t expect the same results. Obviously he was referring to his body being in not so good condition compared to 2013 and not to any mental illness. Uncle T said it was tough for Rafa to accept losses.
Mary,
Since you are stating that I believe Rafa has a mental illness, I would appreciate you backing up that claim before you ask me to back up my claim that Rafa would make that overhead 99.9% of the time. Apparently, I have more faith in Rafa’s ability to hit overheads than you do.
So please show me where I specifically stated here that Rafa has a mental illness. The only way to have a reasonable and respectful discussion, is if my words are not twisted or distorted or outrightly misrepresented.
I also don’t think hawkeye ever stated that Rafa has mental illness. Any kind of anxiety issue would not fall under the category of mental illness per se. Millions of people have various degress of anxiety. Even though hawkeye believes that this some kind of specific anxiety disorder, I have disagreed with him on numerous occasions. He did provide an interview with Rafa in which he does use the word “anxiety”. So since you are equating anxiety with mental illness, do you think that Rafa was calling himself mentally ill?
I was willing to have a discussion with you with the caveat that it was in good faith. However, deliberately continuing to misrepresent what I said about Rafa, is not showing good faith. Therefore, I have nothing more to say to you on this subject.
nativenewyorker7 says:
November 7, 2015 at 11:10 pm
–I also don’t think hawkeye ever stated that Rafa has mental illness…Even though hawkeye believes that this some kind of specific anxiety disorder…—
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You contradict yourself. Anxiety disorder is a mental illness.
(I’ll continue in next Reply)
nativenewyorker7 says:
November 8, 2015 at 4:33 am
—He [hawkeye63] did provide an interview with Rafa in which he does use the word “anxiety”. So since you are equating anxiety with mental illness, do you think that Rafa was calling himself mentally ill?—
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I have posted this interview (The transcript of Rafa’s post-match press conference in Miami on March 29) several times. It has been hawkeye63, who has equated Rafa’s sentence “I was anxious on court” with ‘anxiety disorder’ (i.e. a mental illness).
¤¤ March 29, 2015
Rafael Nadal
MIAMI, FLORIDA
RAFAEL NADAL: “Because I was playing with too much nerves. I was anxious on court…” ¤¤
http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=108015
That’s an inaccurate misrepresentation of my reasoning.
@ Mary 10:42,
I actually agree with your points. In fact I think we are pretty much saying the same thing.
By “physical” you mean deterioration of Rafa’s game mainly due to multiple injuries throughout his career, his grinding style of play and age to the certain extent. That I fully agree. It took toll on his body. It leads to Rafa not trusting his game as he obviously is no longer able to execute his shots as accurately and efficiently as he used to. His on-court speed reduces thus problems in court positioning and sometimes missing the shots that he otherwise would have done in his sleep. It all naturally causes Rafa to become anxious and less confident when under pressure ( and when he becomes conscious that “his game does not reflect his will”).
His serve has always been his weakness so it’s the first to be affected when he is anxious. It deviates and becomes his biggest enemy. At those moments, when feeling nervous, for Rafa the only way out would be not to play long points, but to find his way out through a good serve. If that does not work out, he is forced into rallies…What I noticed this year that most of his opponents do in such situation is keep the ball in and wait for Rafa’s error or a shorter ball to punish him with the easy winner.
However, the argument around here was (again subject of a different opinion which I respect) that Rafa lost to Wawa (who BTW had 40 UEs) because he was TIRED. IMO the reason is not in being tired (he had two set points in the second set tie-break!), but rather in the fact that Rafa was nervous on key points and losing them for the obvious reasons aforementioned. One cannot talk about ‘physical issues’ in a sense of Rafa suddenly not being able to compete at this stage because he had to play several tournaments in the row. C’mon, Rafa has always been one of the fittest persons on tour and it does not disappear just like that. While we can certainly agree he was feeling fatigued, it is IMO not the reason why he lost.
I say Rafa’s problem in making uncharacteristic errors on key points is due to him being too nervous (therefore being anxious) but I repeat the reason for it I see in Rafa not trusting his current game. Therefore I agree that the origin of Rafa’s anxiety issues is in his game in decline, including his physical limitations caused by his grinding style of play and the multiple injuries throughout his career. It is certainly not ‘mental illness’ and I do not think anyone here is saying that…we certainly have no competence or knowledge on the subject to make such statements…we are here to observe Rafa’s tennis and analyze… that’s all…
I agree with everything in Nat’s great post. Beautiful.
Not rocket science.
I am happy Rafa lost to Wawa as I do not want this Rafa to face Djoko. I want Rafa to meet Djoko only when his game has improved to the point we can say he has at least a 50% chance of winning. Right now, with his vulnerable 2nd serve and his missing lethal shots, Rafa meeting Djoko is like my lamb being led to his slaughter which I cannot bear to see. Rafa will probably be ready by the clay court season next year. If he is not, then he is done for good.
But I do not expect to see a dominating Djoko next year. If not Rafa, Muzz or somebody else is going to stop Djoko.
Under what circumstances would Nada have a 50 percent chance to beat Djokovic? Maybe if they were playing soccer.
Spoken like most federazzi after Nole beat Rafa seven straight and again after Rafa missed seven months and everybody assumed Muzzole was the new world order.
+100 to hawkeye. -100 to Ricky.
I would rather Rafa win than lose regardless of who he is to play next.
I would never wish for Rafa to lose.
^I agree!
Unless Rafa gives us the details, we can argue till the cow comes home but still won’t be able to agree with one another over the reason why he lost.
I do think that given how badly Rafa played his last match, even if he were to win, he would most likely be destroyed by Novak in the SF, and I doubt that would benefit Rafa. I doubt he could be as competitive as in that Beijing final, where he was physically fresher and played freely with no expectation to win hence no mental burden.
There’s still the WTF and if Rafa lands in Novak’s half then playing against Novak will be unavoidable; if not, making the SF in the other half may get him to face Novak, unless he plays poorly not to make it (IOW he won’t be good enough to even make it to meet Novak). We’ll see how much Rafa has progressed vs Novak should they meet at WTF.
Lucky,
I can agree with everything you said in your post @ 11:56 pm. I was the one who begged you to come back. I would normally never do that, but I wanted you here again that much. Over 90% of the time I am in complete agreement with you. However, there will be some times where we disagree and will just have to leave it that way. I am still glad that you are here. I always remember some of the great discussions we had at TT about all things tennis. You and vamosrafa. are the best tennis brains here. I value what you have to say. You will have my respect always! 🙂
It is true that Rafa would most likely have been been destroyed by Novak and no one wants that for him. He would not have been as competitive as in Beijing. He was already tired, so playing again after such a late, difficult match wouldn’t have helped. Although I never want Rafa to lose, in this case maybe it was for the best.
I will look forward to seeing Rafa meet up with Novak at the WTF. After a bit of rest then Rafa can come back and hopefully get a good result..
Hi NNY,
I can explain why I was frustrated when Rafa lost the Basel final but not so much this QF match. After the Shanghai SF when Rafa faltered in his last service game and lost the match, I was hoping he wont do that again but its disappointing he had to repeat that in the Basel final. Fed might be playing well but Rafa had to lose his serve in critical moment during a final was hard to swallow.
I have since come to terms that Rafa is still not back to his usual self and there’s still some way to go. He wasnt clutch when it mattered. He did show improvement in that Anderson match but I feel that match took alot out of him, ending late. As I said, I could sense that he wasnt playing well in the QF match; though I wont say Stan was playing at a high level throughout, Stan did take advantage of Rafa’s short balls and errors. Physical fatigue does affect the mental aspect; maybe Rafa was tense in crucial moment because he knew he couldnt go the distance (due to physical fatigue) should he fail to win the point and then the set.
After the Anderson match, I do feel Rafa has improved on the mental aspect of his game, but he’s not in tip top conditions to do that again and again and so he lost in his next match. There’s room for improvement so maybe we have to adjust our expectations, perhaps the slow HC season will be too soon for him to fully recover; maybe its clay again for him.
Good for you hawkeye! But are you not contradicting yourself? If you never wish to see Rafa lose you shouldn’t be wanting this Rafa to play Djoko because in the present state of his game defeat is ensured. If he loses to Stan or Fognini or Fed or whoever, Rafa’s legacy is not hurt. But if he loses to Djoko, even if Rafa is not the prime Rafa, it would not only impact his legacy, the Djoko fans would make our lives miserable. When Rafa was winning, he was supposed to be doping. Now when he is losing, the new story is he has stopped doping because of BioPassport. As long as Rafa stays out of Djoko’s path in his present condition, life is simpler. But if and when he regains his form, he can answer all questions on the tennis court and we can cheer him on in every match because we know he has a more than 50% chance of winning his next match, no matter who it is.
To put it simply, if the choice is between Rafa losing to somebody not Djoko or losing to Djoko, which would you prefer?
lucky,
Thanks for your response. This is why I have always enjoyed our discussions. We can talk it out without attacking each other personally or distorting each other’s words.
I can understand the frustration with Rafa losing his serve at the end and thus giving Fed the match. Considering that he played well to even it up in the second set, it was unfortunate that it had to end that way.
I have been thinking about the Anderson match since the loss to Stan. As happy as I was to see him come back from the very brink of defeat, it may well have taken a good deal out of him. I do agree with you that Stan was not playing at a high level and I think that was part of my frustration with Rafa muffing the crucial points he had. I don’t know if we will ever know for sure how much may have been Rafa being tired and how much may have been mental fatigue. It is what it is.
I think you are correct about adjusting our expectations. In fact, last night while we were still here discussing the match, Ricky posted something that I think was quite accurate. He said that expectations here were too high. He also said that this kind of a result in taking someone like Stan to two TB’s, would have been considered a good result earlier this year. He did have a point. He can be the voice of reason when some of us are having a difficult time with Rafa losing.
I know that some have hopes for the 2016 AO. I don’t know that Rafa will be ready at that point. I think you are correct in saying that this may take more time. I will try to do my best to adjust my expectations and be realistic. There will be ups and downs. I am trying to focus on the positives with Rafa in these last few tournaments.
Thanks for talking it out! 🙂
NNY, you’re welcome.
“To put it simply, if the choice is between Rafa losing to somebody not Djoko or losing to Djoko, which would you prefer?” The question implies Rafa in current form. If and when prime Rafa returns, the question is irrelevant as we can cheer him on knowing he is ready for Djoko..
I’d rather Rafa to have beaten Stan rather than lose the way he did.
One win is better than nothing.
I’ll never wish a loss on Rafa.
Easy. I pick the scenario where Rafa doesn’t lose like he did last night.
Stupid choice.
I already said I’d never wish a loss on Rafa.
Not rocket science.
hawkeye,
I agree. It’s not a fair question. It’s also not the right question as far as I am concerned. I am with you in wanting the scenario where Rafa does not lose the way he did last night. Now that I have had some time to think about it, I guess it’s best that Rafa didn’t have to face Novak in his present form. After that tough battle into the wee hours, he wouldn’t have much left. But that doesn’t change my belief that I always want Rafa to win.
We had this discussion earlier this year when Rafa lost to Raonic. He would have met Fed in the next round. Some here were pleased because Rafa wouldn’t make Fed fans happy. That is the kind of thinking to which I do not subscribe. Why would I want Rafa to lose to someone to whom he had never lost? That was also a match that was winnable. I wanted Rafa to win and didn’t care that he would be meeting Fed in the next round. He would have gone deeper into the tournament and gotten more points.
Life doesn’t always go the way a player’s fans want it to. Rafa may meet Novak again when he’s not ready or at his best. That’s the sport, as Rafa likes to say. We can’t control it. Neither can Rafa or Novak.
I never wish a loss on Rafa. Period.
nativenewyorker7 says:
November 8, 2015 at 2:10 am
—We had this discussion earlier this year when Rafa lost to Raonic. He would have met Fed in the next round. Some here were pleased because Rafa wouldn’t make Fed fans happy. That is the kind of thinking to which I do not subscribe. Why would I want Rafa to lose to someone to whom he had never lost? —
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OMG! You never let anything go, don’t you. You have brouht my comment up several times! And I have explained you several times that the fantasy stories you have constructed (about my comment) have nothing to do with the reality. The reality is that I have ALWAYS wanted Rafa to win! I never give up during his matches – I’m rooting for him until the end of every match. In March, I expressed my POST-MATCH opinion – i.e. I was realistic AFTER the match. It’s solely YOUR fantasy (or ongoing intentional interpretation) that I have WANTED Rafa to lose!
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BTW, I wrote my comment (that you brought up) in March, but you wrote (become a realistic?) a week ago:
nativenewyorker7 says, Nov. 1, 2015 at 4:34 pm: “If this was back in the summer, Fed would have cruised to any easy win.”
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CTSg2ydUwAATc7b.png:medium
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Your current comment is addressed to hawk. It reminds me that in Spring you were encouraging each other to construct fantasies.
🙂
Never let go… Interesting
My question is this. Is Rafa’s vulnerable second serve due to injury? Are his missing lethal shots due to injury? Rafa hasn’t indicated that he is suffering from some injury this year. In fact, he has said that he is healthy. However, he has spoken about this lack of calm in his matches, especially at crucial moments. So that’s Rafa’s assessment of what has been going on.
If you do not have the speed and reflexes and trying your old serve or hitting that forehand the same way gives you back or shoulder or wrist problems, you try preventive measures. You play differently which may not be as effective when you first try them out. Obviously he cannot play with calm when he is trying new things which aren’t working as well i.e aren’t as reliable as what he was used to. So his changed game is to ensure he can carry on playing ( extend his career). Look what happened to Delpo.
Rafa’s changed game does not necessarily mean he is already injured but that he is trying to extend his career by not doing certain repetitive movements he was used to making but which if repeated could have him out of the game.. His lack of power on his forehand seems to indicate he is trying new movements to power his shots and they are not working as well so far.
How has he changed his game?
hawkeye,
You are correct. Just look at the reaction when I bring up that point. Capital letters, too! I guess that I touched a nerve.
How can I be creating fantasies when all I did was say the truth? Again I repeat, I never, ever want Rafa to lose depending on who his next opponent happens to be. I did say that Fed would most likely have cruised again Rafa and got some grief for it. I do think that Fed could have beaten Rafa back then. So what! He’s still got a ridiculously lopsided advantage in the H2H.
I still wanted Rafa to beat Raonic. I am not the one who talked about Rafa beating Raonic and facing Fed would make his fans happy. Rafa still would have gotten to the semis and had a better result. In fact, I think if someone asked Rafa about it, he would of course always want to win and most likely would not be thinking about his next opponent.
The intensity of this response says it all. 🙂
nativenewyorker7 says:
November 8, 2015 at 4:55 pm
—Just look at the reaction when I bring up that point…—
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Oh, I understood now. You are looking for possibilities to fight for whatever reason!
😆
(I’ll continue in next Reply)
nativenewyorker7 says:
November 8, 2015 at 4:55 pm
—How can I be creating fantasies when all I did was say the truth?—
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Your current fantasy is that you wrote your comment @4:55 pm about something I didn’t write in reality!
🙂
NNY respectfully, I wish to stay out of any altercations with augusta and would prefer to stick to tennis.
I respectfully ask that she return the same respect under the spirit of the site rules.
@5:26 pm
I respectfully ask you not to construct fantasy stories.
🙂
If you are referring to me and Benny, sorry, I can’t see how that personally offends you or in any way violates site rules here.
I will continue to make jokes in good spirit.
Now, you will have to excuse me. I have to get on the horn with Benny now to pass on everyone’s thoughts here on what Rafa needs to do next week!
November 8, 2015 at 5:34 pm
—If you are referring to me and Benny..—
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Oh, not at all!
But, speaking of “Benny”, I’ll keep making jokes of you making your imaginary friend out of Rafa’s PR manager – I guess it’s between the ears.
😆
native, Obviously you cannot back up your claim that Rafa made at least 999 overheads this year out of 1000 opportunities!!! So you might as well accept that your argument was not based on fact. You are attempting to create diversion from this fact by claiming I should produce evidence that you said Rafa is mentally ill. What you said about Rafa flubbing his shot as the reason for his flubbing is evidence enough that you think Rafa is not mentally ok i.e. he is mentally ill. Anxiety when it interferes for nearly a year with a person’s job performance is a disorder and is a mental illness.
Those who claim Rafa’s poor performance this year is due to anxiety, lack of calm etc, and he needs the services of a mental health professional are saying he is mentally ill. A djokovic fan here even claimed Uncle T is selfish and preventing Rafa from seeking help. As if Rafa cannot make decisions for himself. Even assuming Uncle T is a monster holding mentally weak Rafa in thrall it is stretching the limits of credulity to believe Rafa’s parents and everybody else in his team are also held in thrall.
There are so many different discussions and differing opinions on this thread it is hard to assimilate them all, or even keep track of who said what to whom in the tit for tat arguments. It’s too late to enter the fray now but I found myself usually agreeing with Mary, Lucky and Hawks all of whom try not to let emotion get in the way of objectivity.
Rafa and his team know where the problems lie. They are searching for ways to combat them. Rafa is in the process of learning how to deal with the changes called for And has admitted himself how difficult it is to actually put them into practice. He has also said he is going to do it his way.
The practice courts cannot simulate live match conditions. ergo he has to play matches before he can progress. The more matches he wins the better the prognosis. But we have to come to terms with the losses too. Rafa has said more than once ‘you learn more from losing an important match than winning it’.
ed,
Is there a reason you left me out when it comes to agreeing? Or do you think that I have said that Rafa is mentally ill.
Hawkeye. The reason I was depressed post the WaWa match was it because it seemed more like one step forward and three steps back ?
He should have hired Cahill.
It was a horrible match for him in light of his chronic struggles.
All mental mistakes as Stan wasn’t near his best.
It will be a slew road at best.
Rafa’s post-QF-match interview:
(Rafa is staying positive; he needs a few days of rest; he’ll keep practicing hard to be ready for London)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3crc0u_atp-bnppm-rafael-nadal-trop-d-opportunites-manquees-contre-stan-wawrinka_sport
NNY: I dont think you are always as objective as the people I listed. You occasionally react very strongly at an emotional level to things people say. It is not a criticism merely a observation not linked to specific points being argued. I thought I made that clear in my first paragraph when I said I was not entering the fray.
ed,
Then that’s your opinion. Considering some of what has transpired on this site in the past, I hardly think that I have been the sole person to react emotionally. I do not like anyone stating that I said something that I actually did not say. It happens all too often here and I think the purpose is to try to start trouble.
You have reactly very strongly when someone posts something that you believe is false about yourself. So please give me the same rights. I try to ignore as much as I can. I believe that you agreed that Rafa has some kind of anxiety issue. Yet I don’t see you being accused of saying that Rafa is mentally ill. The truth is that certain people are targeted here by the person repeatedly.
I was the one who rejected this idea of Rafa having a specific anxiety disorder. It appears that I can’t win no matter what I say. It’s beyond frustrating and you know exactly what I am talking about.
I think that I deserve better than this from you. We’ve been through a lot on TT and this site. Anyone can react emotionally when they feel that their words are being deliberately misconstrued, including you. I don’t have exclusive rights to that.
Thanks for making yourself perfectly clear on this matter. Now I know where I stand..
You have just confirmed what I said:
You OCCASIONALLY react emotionally to what people say.
If your response above is not an emotional response I dont know what is 🙂
I repeat. All I said was I found myself agreeing most often with the three people I mentioned. You are conveniently forgetting an earlier post I made:
Nov 7th 9.04am
NNY: Good on you for keeping it real.
I tried not to have overly high expectations beforehand but that didn’t stop me from a sense of bitter disappointment when he messed up on that smash which sealed the loss in two sets. Koenig kept rabbiting on about the brilliant tennis and what an exciting match it was. I agree with you – it was more about mistakes from both players. In other words an ugly match rather than exciting.
I suggest we drop this storm in a teacup matter and continue our friendly discussions as of old.