Both Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray will be taking the court for the first time this week in Shanghai on Wednesday. Nadal is set for a second-round test against Viktor Troicki, while Murray is facing familiar foe Steve Johnson.
(4) Rafael Nadal vs. Viktor Troicki
Nadal and Troicki will be going head-to-head for the sixth time in their careers when they meet in the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Wednesday. All five of their previous encounters have gone the way of Nadal, who has won four times on hard courts and is 12-1 in total sets at Troicki’s expense. Their most competitive contest came on the Asian swing six years ago, when the Spaniard survived 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(7) in the Tokyo semifinals. They have faced each other only once since then–Nadal triumphed 7-6(3), 6-3 to lift a winner’s trophy last summer on the grass courts of Stuttgart.
This year has been a tough one for the 14-time Grand Slam champion, who has not yet locked up a berth in the World Tour Finals. Following a fourth-round U.S. Open loss to Lucas Pouille, Nadal’s Asian swing began with a quarterfinal setback at the hands of Grigor Dimitrov in Beijing. Troicki advanced through his Shanghai opener on Monday with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of qualifier Lukas Rosol. The 31st-ranked Serb has been extremely active already this fall, with a quarterfinal showing in St. Petersburg, a semifinal finish in Chengdu, and a first-round loss to Fabio Fognini in Beijing. Troicki may be in decent form, but not to the extent that he can be expected to reverse the course of such poor results against Nadal.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 8 games or fewer
[polldaddy poll=9547367]
Steve Johnson vs. (2) Andy Murray
Murray and Johnson will be squaring off for the third time in their careers on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at a perfect 2-0 in favor of Murray, who prevailed 6-2, 6-4 at this same event last fall (also in the second round) and 6-0, 4-6, 7-6(2) at this summer’s Rio Olympics. The second-ranked Scot went on to capture gold in Rio, highlighting a current stretch in which he has won four of six tournaments–Queen’s Club, Wimbledon, the Olympics, and Beijing. He hopes to continue the hot streak in Shanghai, where he is 17-3 lifetime with two titles and one runner-up finish.
Although Johnson’s 2016 record stands at a modest 29-24, he has undoubtedly been playing the best tennis of his career throughout the second half of the season. Among the 24th-ranked American’s results are a title in Nottingham, a fourth-round showing at Wimbledon, quarterfinal finishes in Newport, Rio, and Cincinnati, and a semifinal run in Washington, D.C. Johnson kicked off his Shanghai campaign on Monday by rolling over Martin Klizan 6-4, 6-3. Murray, of course, presents a much tougher test and this has to be considered one of the No. 2 seed’s favorite tournaments.
Pick: Murray in 2
[polldaddy poll=9547368]
who ya got?
“Troicki may be in decent form, but not to the extent that he can be expected to reverse the course of such poor results against Nadal.”
Why not? Dimitrov’s record was even worse with a dismal 0-8 when he beat Rafa last week.
Depends on Rafa.
Yeah, totally agree! Rafa’s records of the past mean nothing at this point, because he always beats himself..it’s not the opponent who is dangerous for Rafa…Rafa is so good at losing from the winning position that Troicki will most certainly try to take advantage of it, meaning he will believe he can win this match. If Rafa of late shows up trouble is granted.
No more predictions of Rafa’s matches from my side…with all the disappointments and losses that should have been victories, my view is that Rafa is facing serious issues and given the time of the year when he is mentally and physically exhausted, it”s unlikely he will be able to solve it….I hope Rafa proves me wrong though…
nats,
I feel much the same way that you and hawkeye feel. Rafa is vulnerable on these courts. He is not coming into this part of the tennis year with any momentum or real confidence.
I would like to see him get a decent result and gain points for the WTF, but it’s hard to predict how he will do. I am just hoping for a victory here.
Nadal is extremely inconsistent right now and I think it’s best not to try to predict his matches right now.
Is this THE Daniel (usually with all of the mobile device typos)????
Apologies if I’m mistaken.
But yeah, almost completely unpredictable (except I predicted Dimitrov to beat him last week).
well I just hope you aren’t comparing Troicki to Dimitrov. Don’t you? Or do you?
Yes I did. I say they are both opponents on the other side of the net like any other who can accept a gift when handed to them.
OK. Good.
#Pouille
#Dzumhur
#Cuevas
#Verdasco
#Fognini
#Lopez
But not exactly.
While I picked Dum Dum to beat Rafa last week, I won’t be picking Troicki, But I’m not picking Rafa either.
Rafa and Andy in 2, easy!
I’ve forwarded this to Benny (Rafa Nadal’s PR Manager) so all should be fixed in time for tomorrows match!!!
Vamos!!!
https://twitter.com/TennisChannel/status/785895576239878144
Rafa to win in 3
Andy in 3
Paire in 3
Sock in 2
Murray in three and Rafa in two losing more than eight games
Yep…Rafa and Murray, both in straight.
Be focused, be confident, be strong and enjoy the game, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CuiwLzLXgAE1ZeL.jpg
I agree… I don’t foresee an easy Rafa match. And that’s not just from laSt week… he is struggling in serve… netting so many back hands and is a stretch from an even 90% Nadal… I say he will win but won’t be a cake walk
Murray in two… guy is just playing great tennis… even when it serving well he wins and really seems to have it going for him now
Rafa looking very tense – bad sign
Not helped by giving Troicki the first break of serve 🙁
Well I just hope that Ricky doesn’t confuse Rafa beating himself to someone never have beaten him in the past beating him. Dont you? Or do you.
#HerbertWillWin
#AnxietyIsEverywhere
getting manhandled 🙁
OMG. Please pull yourself together Rafa.
Poor Rafa, looks like the disaster continues for him. He just can’t handle aggressive players on the Hcs anymore.
Looks like Rafa may have only 3300 race points after Shanghai if he continues playing like this. He’s not willing to step inside the court and prefers to rally even though he’s losing most of those.
Rafa clearly being outplayed out there…just about anyone feels confident against Rafa nowadays…this is such a good match to watch if one is a Troicki fan…
give it a rest Nadal…no one is even scared of playing him anymore….all this players turn up now and expect to beat him…u look at him and he doesnt have the fire in him anymore….just a lost soul…back Nadal at your own risk
Hate to say it but Rafa really looking one dimensional these days; other than rallying and trying to outrun his opponents, he seems to run out of ideas how to play winning tennis out there. It’s only with a partner playing doubles that he’s able to win. Perhaps he needs his partner to cover one side of the court for him as he no longer can cover the full half of the court!
Not sure I can bear to watch much more of this 🙁
just come on site to see what was going on. not watching as working thank god. if i was watching i would probably explode with rage!!
just get out of your denial rafa!! make some changes and get some helpt!
rafa has mostly been humiliating himself on the tennis courts these last 2 years. this has to stop! ie practice, practice practice..endless excuses…
Rafa without his mojo is a sitting duck for anyone playing halfway decent tennis. Tragic to watch.
Like I said this wont be an easy match up at all… Rafa at the moment is like the West Indies of cricket, everyone can walk over them if they just apply themselves…
His 2nd serve is getting punished and just looking or waiting for Troicki to fade but it wont happen…
The break and the match is coming in this game, I can just feel it
i mean the dimi match was bad….but this right here…..this is just tragic
well it’s partly a result of the terrible performance against dimi isn’t it?? he’s always on edge after playing really badly..
It is, and to be honest, one can see how its affecting him, rally after rally instead of playing inside the baseline and finishing the points off by being way more aggressive!!!
Commies to Ricky and anyone else that Rafa beating anyone is a given at the moment.
Exactly, the whole match he’s unwilling to step in to attack, just stays back to rally and hoping for Troicki to miss! TBH, I’m simply fed up with Rafa playing like this! He’s just not making full use of what he has, he’s simply lost out there!
i just saw a rafa fan in the stand crying……loooool this is what he has reduce them to
Even if Rafa holds his serve he’ll lose the TB. Not helped by the umpire who has his knife into Rafa big time.
Agree, ill be amazed if he manages to win this TB unless all of a sudden he changes something or Troicki misses and feels the pressure…
Troicki has been smirking throughout the match. He can’t believe his luck 🙁
This tournament is brimming with upsets today. Is Rafa really gonna add his name to the list? What in the world. I’m not watching but he’s losing to Troicki right now? Damn.
hardly an upset right now benny. rafa will lose to almost anyone the way he is playing. he’s lost it mentally.
And that is that folks… Thanks for tuning in for another Rafa … whatever you wanna call it… Quite disturbing
I think the word you’re searching for is ‘debacle’ 🙁
It’s like second half of 2009 for Rafa all over again, losing to about anyone. So sad, that we have to witness all these again.
wish it was 2009! i always believed then that rafa would come back and win multiple slams in 2010. not now.
It’s just the way it is…Rafa needs some serious regrouping and some substantial changes…sad to warch him being humiliated by the opponents he owned… however, this did not come as a surprise to me…this is the pattern of the last few years…injuries, comebacks, loss of confidence, mental blockades, disappointments, lack of belief…these words describe Rafa…
Reckon that puts paid to his chances of getting to the O2. Just as well with his game in tatters – bearing in mind how badly he played there in 2009.
Well after he losing so often to any Tom, Dick or Harry, I’m quite immune to such expected losses by now. I expected this loss to Troicki, this is easier to swallow after that Dimi loss. I don’t expect him to go far here at Shanghai so not too disappointed, just sad that Rafa being reduced to such a sorry state.
These losses are unfortunately necessary to break Rafa’s delusion.
This result is not a shock. I spoke to it when Ricky said I was comparing Dimitrov to Troicki, who had been a combined 0-14 vs Rafa prior to last week.
Dimitrov lost to Pospisil for crying out loud.
It’s not about his opponent.
#NotRocketScience
you think that these losses will break rafa’s delusion?? honestly?
i will be astonished if anything changes from the usual practice practice practice mantra..
#NID
I just think that they are a necessary evil (not that it will work for sure – probably won’t if I were to guess).
You can only lead a horse to water.
Limping into the WTF by making a few quarters and semis certainly isn’t the way to substantive change.
Wake up Rafa. You are asleep – paralyzed by fear of change.
what would it take for rafa to make changes though??? even if he keeps losing he will probably say that he was where he wanted to be going into rg and injury stopped him. ergo all he and toni have to do is get back to that…
(that’s a contentious statement anyway as we don’t actually know that he wouldn’t have freaked out at rg – it’s entirely possible… )
Hawkeye,
I am in complete agreement with you! Well said!
ed said troicki was smirking during the match. one of the things i hate most is seeing journeymen smirk away while rafa self-combusts..
Has anyone heard or read Rafa’s presser? I thought someone twit that Rafa may shut down this season and work on his game. I certainly hope so,given not much progress he could get out of the current situation should he continue. Rafa may have changed his mind about qualifying for the WTF.
Luckystar (AT 12:23 PM,
A journalist tweeted: “Nadal hints he could shut down season…”
SH Rolex Masters tweeted: ¤¤ Rafael Nadal: “I have 2.5 months (until the end of the season) to put myself where I want to be [at the start of 2017]” ¤¤
https://twitter.com/SHRolexMasters/status/786175000755798016/photo/1
So, it’s not clear what he’s going to do.
I repeat: it’s not clear what Rafa is going to do this year.
Rafael Plaza (a Spanish Journalist):
¤¤ Nadal: “For me the season is almost over, and I accept that”.
Nadal: “I cannot say now what I gonna do during the next month. I’m not sure about my calendar”.
Nadal: “I’m not sure about the things that I need to do to try to be at 100% ready for the next year”. ¤¤
Certainly agree, it pointless you have a Rafa in the WTF that is low on confidence, game plans that are not working and just so much more… not playing aggressive enough and the amount of tough points he faces on his serve is alarming. Even with Fed at his age, he could always rely on getting a few free points on his serve… I honestly think Nadal needs to employ a serving coach, getting taken to deuce so often or 40/30 will take its toll on you if your other game isnt there from the back of the court, both physically and mentally
Denzil,
We have had discussions about Rafa needing a serve coach in the past. I don’t see my reason not to do it. At this point, it can only help. Rafa is struggling too hard when he serves and not getting cheap points when he needs them.
His serve has been a liability for a while now.
Berdych, Kyrgios and Cilic all equally inept losing today keeping Rafa “safely” in the Race to London Top 8 despite his recent slide.
I think Rafa will make WTF no despite his continued struggles. He’s not having to do much to stay in the Top 8 race.
We are in a collective post Golden Era hangover.
Can a player who qualifies for WTF but doesnt want to play there, ie skipping it even when qualifies but not due to illness or injury?
If I am to understand your question, strictly speaking, no. Not without penalty.
Case in point was when Murray mused about skipping WTF last year to be ready for Davis Cup final. He would have had to claim an injury or be fined.
luckystar (AT 1:03 PM),
The ATP Rulebook, page 42:
¤¤ 1) If a player, qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals as a direct acceptance or designated as the alternate, fails or refuses to participate in this event, except for bona fide injury or other reason which constitutes good cause, the player shall not be in good standing.
…
Failure to appear shall result in a penalty of five percent (5%) of total ATP prize money earned during the ATP circuit year. ¤¤
I already answered this here.
https://tenngrand.com/2016/10/11/shanghai-r2-previews-predictions-nadal-vs-troicki-murray-vs-johnson/comment-page-2/#comment-194873
Rafa can afford to pay that 5% penalty; hes not earning much prize money this year. Its just that he’ll look bad not attending when he qualifies and is fit to play.
He’s really not.
I hope Rafa can qualify to keep the streak of qualifying each year from 2005 onwards, but not to play there when he’s not playing well.
Just saw the highlights of the NK match and then read an article about what he said afterwards… thats just pathetic, if you manage to see that match, just basically threw the match away, walked to the chair on some points before the serve even landed
And Ricky picked him to beat Nole in the semis lol.
It will be a bigger failure of the ATP if Kyrgios is not fined for insufficient effort.
Couldn’t agree more. I never did understand why so many people insisted tennis needed ‘characters’ like him. He has always been an uncouth lout in my eyes in spite of the fact he has an abundance of natural talent.
Well I just hope that you don’t compare Kyrgios to McEnroe.
Don’t you? Or do you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8Nyc9jzSDg
#Epic
Another gem LOL…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmJi_oc7t10
(BTW ed, I know you don’t compare them.) 🙂
#ApplesAndMorons
Ed,
I agree with you about NK and always have. I simply never understood why the sport needed someone with such a poor attitude. He should be fined for lack of effort if it was that bad.
Being very takented is all well and good. But acting like a boorish spoiled brat is not something the sport needs.
Yes, I hope he is fined for lack of effort – hope they have the guts to do it. When the umpire comments on his lack of professionalism during the match you know it is serious.
Carole Bouchard
@carole_bouchard
Interesting Rafa saying he was maybe scared to go fully on his FH after the wrist injury or that maybe there was still some limitations here
Rafa’s FH has no ‘bite’, cant kill anyone with that FH now. Troicki even out rally Rafa! Since when Troicki has turned into such a good baseliner?
Something is wrong with Rafa; I thought he had improved his BH and he did hit some good BHs earlier on prior to the Asian swing. His FH was also quite solid during USO even though not up to his normal level but come the Asian swing, everything had deteriorated! But.. how come he was winning 6-1 sets thrice at Beijing and was obviously hitting and playing well? Why then the sudden downturn?
We’ve talked about this.
It takes great effort for him to overcome his anxiety at times but it is not sustainable.
This is how anxiety works. It is Rafa’s biggest career challenge IMO and I don’t say that lightly.
Carole Bouchard @carole_bouchard 1h1 hour ago
Nadal hints he could shut down season. Needs time to think and talk about it. Wanna work for 2017. “I need to create pain again with my FH”.
I think Rafa may play for another season and if good results dont come his way, he may call it quit.
I doubt he’s going to change anything given how stubborn, or how timid he is when it comes to making changes. He’ll probably stick with the same way of playing, maybe hitting harder and running more, but refuses to move forward to the net as often as possible. He’s just not a confident person and prefers to stick with something he does week in week out all his career – be it with his game or his team or his coach.
Its ironical, that the mental aspect was being talked about so much in Rafa’s success and now its his mental collapses that caused his downfall.
Toni is coaching Christian Garin of Chile, I wonder will he apply the same training method, ie emphasizing on mental focus more than anything else.
You can’t fire your family.
#TooBad
Nicholas Kyrgios @NickKyrgios 1h1 hour ago
Not good enough today on many levels, I’m better than that. I can go on about excuses but there are none. Sorry #StillAWorkInProgress ????
#Whatevs
Ben Rothenberg @BenRothenberg 2h2 hours ago Jecheon-si, Republic of Korea
This week is first time without Federer or Nadal in top-4 since 2003. After Nadal’s Shanghai R2 loss today, neither will be top-5 next week.
#FedalRIP
I am eager to watch Rafael vs Fed beginning 2017 to revive past memory. It will be interesting. It might help to stop deterioration.
It can happen in round 3 or 4 of Australia open given the possibility ranking of both plummeting by then.
The lower their ranking goes, the lower the probability of them meeting.
(This assumes a random draw.)
This Shanghai tournament is such a disaster, so many seeded players falling away – Rafa, Berdych, Cilic, Kygrios. Also Dimi and Delpo.
The season is long and they’re at the tail end of the season, so many are simply exhausted. Those who played and went deep in back to back tournaments esp were susceptible to early losses – Dimi and Kygrios for examples. Thiem didnt even play, and Kei was injured and skipped it.
Not many could play well in back to back events not to mention winning them, making Rafa, Fed and Djoko so special.
Well, it all came to what I was saying the other day! Rafa’s game is so bad that playing WTF ( even though as I stated I’d expected him to qualify mainly because the other certain contenders are failing too) wouldn’t do him any good but would kill his fragile confidence even more – if that’s possible..,he needs quality time to prepare for the AO open, to implement some needed changes and to work on his “calmness” whatever that implies…
Ditto.
The problem is – will he work on his problem(s), or still in denial and just keeps practising and practising and ie playing the same way again and again?
exactly. this rhetoric about practice is central to his denial. he was practicing incredibly long hours before the ao and look what happened there. and that was off the back of a good showing at the wtf!
why is he always telling reporters now that he knows what he has to do as if he wants to show that he is in control of everything? that hasn’t exactly worked has it?
Natashao (AT 2:56 PM),
Dropping out of the top 8 (= not qualifying for the WTF) wouldn’t do Rafa any good. It means that he’ll face the top 4 players before QFs at the 2017 AO. (I don’t think he could be back into top 8 after the Brisbane tournament).
I repeat. The poster AT 3:51 PM is factually incorrect.
Drooping out of the top 8 DOES NOT mean Rafa would face a top 4 player BEFORE QFs.
#B1PrNews
nats,
Yes, your comments were pretty accurate. Rafa can’t even string together a few wins in a row at a tournament.
This has never been a great part of the tennis year for Rafa. He has had some good results, not many titles when he was playing well. But he hasn’t been able to generate much since he came back from the wrist injury.
You can’t be confident when you don’t have the wins and good results to back it up. Rafa
can’t seem to get himself together right now.
Things couldve been so different had he won against Delpo in the Olympics, or even against Kei there; and/or against Pouille at USO. All those matches were winnable ones.
I do think that had Rafa won those, he would have beaten Dimi and Troicki too. After all Rafa had it in him to play offensive tennis to beat Lorenzi and Mannarino.
Of course, if he didnt have that wrist injury earlier on this season, things would even look more positive esp during the clay season and he would have qualified for the WTF already.
Such terrible luck! He has injuries in practically every year since 2011, with 2015 being the exception.
He won’t work on his problems – he’ll just keep on practising and practising as Lucky Star suggests.
“I know what I have to do and I’m going to do it,” scowled Nadal, who has dropped to fifth in the world after a misfiring season.
“I’ve got two-and-a-half months until next season starts so I have got two-and-a-half months to put myself at the level I want to be.
“And I’m confident I’m going to do it.”
#WeGonnaSeeNo?
But the 30-year-old admits that calling an early end to his 2016 season is a possibility as he looks to prepare for next year.
Nadal said: ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks. It something that I need to think about and let’s see.
‘I cannot say now what I am going to do during the next month. I’m not sure about my calendar. I’m not sure about the things that I need to do to try to be at 100 per cent ready for the next year.
‘I need to speak with my team. I need to speak with my uncle [Toni, also his coach] too and prepare myself for the calendar to try to do the things that I need to do and to work on things I need to work, because sometimes to keep competing is not the solution.
‘Sometimes the solution is practice and stop and have a process of training. Maybe that’s an opportunity to do it. I’m not sure about that.
‘I know what I have to do and I am going to do it. I have two months and a half until the next season starts, so I have two months and a half to put myself at the level that I need to be and I have the confidence that I am going to do it.
‘For me the season is almost over and I accept that. Just looking about what I need to do to be 100 per cent ready for the beginning of the next season.
‘That’s my motivation, that’s my goal. I am going to do all the things that I need to do to make that happen.’
‘I need to recover the forehand. Every time that I hit the forehand, I need to create pain to the opponent, something that is not happening today.
‘Maybe because I had an injury on the wrist, I am scared. Maybe because I still have some limitation in there.
‘I need to know what’s the best way to try to make that happen. If that happens, then for sure I need to recover a little bit the electricity on the legs.
‘I need to move faster to hit more forehands, but I need to be more confident with the forehand to make that happen. Everything is a cycle. I need to do the things together.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-3834447/Rafael-Nadal-fails-commit-ATP-World-Tour-Finals-loss-Viktor-Troicki-Shanghai.html#ixzz4MsxNtBQy
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TBH, if Rafa plaid WTF and lost most matches by 6:2 6:1 (which sadly can be quite possible) I don’t see him gaining any confidence for the beginning of the season. It will take time and tremendous effort to try to recover from that! Rafa has been losing to nobodies, I can just imagine what top inform players would do to him. He definitely should not go through such pain…
With game like this Rafa has nothing to do at the AO! We do not need to worry about top four in that case! He would most likely end up losing to likes of Pauille, Fritz or Sock…the young big hitters who have belief…
If Rafa implemented some much needed changes he would not need worrying about meeting any top player because none of them are in top form right now anyway and an in form Rafa who is mentally strong can beat them all…it’s about realizing what doesn’t work and fixing it, so that Rafa goes on the court to play to win, instead of just trying to avoid defeat which is his current tactics…
Other than Djoko and Murray and maybe Stan, most of the other top eight will be exhausted or injured come the WTF. Remember WTF 2014? Fed and Djoko annihilated the other top eight guys, beating them 6-1,6-0! Rafa may be beaten by the others not named Djoko (or Murray) but I doubt it would be 6-1,6-0 as they themselves would be struggling too.
I really don’t know what Rafa would do to fix his problems. He’s been saying he knows what to do but so far no improvement shown. Can he fix his problems in two and a half months?
By now, I truly believe that Rafa is in irreversible decline like Fed. Fed still could reach slam SFs or Fs because he still has his great weapon working for him i.e. his serve, even when his other weapons are not as sharp. Rafa doesn’t have such a luxury of winning cheap points the way Fed does so it’ll be very tough for Rafa as he gets older.
Agreed. I am not sure either if Rafa will be able to fix his issues, but I hope he and his team will try something different. Rafa is in decline, is lost his speed, his serve is liability and he does not seem to find solutions out there! His game is so predictable and on top of it he is completely lost his mental toughness. Those are the obvious issues that even we as spectators could see. Can he fix it? Can he improve his game? Is it too late for some substantial changes? Well, it could be.,,But he sure can find some experts to work with, especially when it comes to his mental toughness. Rafa distrusts his own game to the point that his opponents feel his discomfort and often capitalize on it…
Agree with the posters here, dissapointing and frustrating to see such a great champion fall such a long way, when at one time these players(no disrespect) were easy pickings for him, the old Rafa wouldve beaten anybody ….
I have to agree with Alison, although it pains me to do so. I also agree with natashao and hawkeye. Reality is tough sometimes, but it’s hard to ignore the problems Rafa is facing.
I am not sure if he can turn it around and find some answers, but I really hope he st least tries to do so. He needs help with his mental focus and confidence, his serve and forehand. I do not believe that more practice is the answer. Rafa needs to find ways to compensate for the loss of foot speed and the inevitable loss of reflexes and mental concentration that are all a part of the aging process. Rafa cannot afford to work so hard to win points. He cannot engage in grueling baseline rallies at this point in his career.
We saw what Fed did to try and stay competitive as he got older. It’s not just anxiety now. Rafa has to make adjustments as his skills inevitably deteriorate.
Rafa owes it to himself to give it a shot.
So Dimi lost to Pospisil, Troicki about to lose to Agut and Pouille about to be bageled by Murray. They are oh so beatable, yet Rafa couldn’t beat them!
It speaks volume about Rafa’s level of play..,this is what I meant when saying what would then likes of Murray, Novak or Nishi do to Rafa…sad indeed…
TBH, I know Rafa will beat them once his wrist is back to normal. Rafa is mentally bode down by his wrist, not wanting to over exert it so he’s serving poorly and hitting poorly. He was trying his best to win at Olympics because thats very important tournament for him. He might have done some harm to his recovering wrist at that time and so thereafter his FH was again misfiring.
I do hope he really is shutting down now for the season to let his wrist fully recover and then work on his serve, FH, footwork and timing. I think he will qualify for the WTF given how poorly the other contenders for the last three spots are doing at the moment. The question is, can Rafa excuse himself from the WTF if he qualifies, without facing any penalty?
I know how much Rafa wanted to play the Olympics but I was so strongly against it as I was really worried that Rafa’s wrist could have not healed properly and that it was too early to compete…it turned out I was right since in USO Rafa complained about ‘feeling the wrist’ and was too wary with his forehand…well, damage is done and I agree Rafa needs time off to heal and work on his issues…
Natashao (AT 12:09 PM),
Rafa was happy at Olympics – take a look at the pictures of Rafa carrying the Spanish flag at the opening ceremony and celebrating after winning a gold medal in doubles. He would have been very unhappy if he had skipped the Rio Games.
Rafa was mentally bode down a loooooong time before the wrist.
Started shortly after the time violation rule was redefined and enforced after Roger complained. Started with ATP level and eventually was enforced at slams primarily against Rafa even though Murray, Djokovic and many others frequently violated the rule. That’s why I’ve advocated for a shot clock to show what a farce it is.
There were signs of Rafa’s anxiety becoming a problem at times even during his great year in 2013 but he was still able to quell his anxiety effectively before it became a serious problem.
The back injury in the 2014 AO final was the last straw and he really hasn’t been the same since other than his last hurrah at the French.
I’ll never forget a tweet I read just after Rafa’s 2014 win that Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg bet Mansour Bahrami that Rafa would never win another slam.
Even though, Rafa had not been his best in 2014 and signs of anxiety were steadily worsening, I thought that it was audacious to make such a bet. But it’s held true so far and looking more and more likely with Rafa’s streak of early slam exits continuing and now becoming a common trend even in non-slam events.
And he’s talking about more practice???
Rafa, you are sleeping. You do not want to believe.
#DefinitionOfInsanity
Nah, anxiety or not, Rafa did overcome it in 2013/2014. Its because of his multiple injuries – back, wrist and more wrist plus appendicitis – that made things worse for him.
Just imagine, if he hadnt had his injuries, he would most likely still be YE no.1 in 2014 (given how poorly Djoko played at Canada, Cincy, USO that year), until after the AO in 2015 when Djoko would take over the no.1 ranking. I bet we wont be talking about his anxiety issue should Rafa retained his YE no.1 in 2014, and who knows Rafa might just took back the no.1 ranking again from Djoko should Rafa remained healthy in 2015 and/or 2016. I even bet that a healthy Rafa would beat Djoko at FO 2015 and 2016 and Djoko would still be waiting to complete his career slam.
Both BB saw an injured back Rafa in 2014 hence their statement about Rafa not winning slam again, because they knew back issue could be career threatening or even career ending.
Rafa had shown at FO2016 that he could be back on track to win the FO if not for his wrist injury. He won MC and Barcelona beating Murray and Kei, two top ten players, so my take is, as long as Rafa has the desire, his wrist is fully recovered, he’s fit and healthy and work on improving his serve,the timing of his FH and footwork, the power on his FH, he can win a slam – at the FO if not at the other slams.
Rafa may not change the way he plays (much to my regret as I truly loved how aggressive Rafa was during his younger days in 2003 to 2005 and that Rafa had disappeared without a trace now) but I really hope for that Rafa of 2013 US HC series to appear come 2017. Though that Rafa wasnt playing much attacking at the net, he did play close to the baseline and was more offensive than defensive. I do feel playing that way will be good enough for Rafa to beat most players, and will help him win on clay.
The poster who inserted the comment AT 1:09 PM has been inconsistent:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cr2WkjWW8AAJRmz.jpg
luckystar (AT 11:49 AM),
I think, Rafa can withdraw from the WTF due to a ‘recurrent’ wrist injury. 🙂
Thanks augusta for the info.
Or for a “mental problema”.
#ImWithRafa
#B1PrNews
I add to my post AT 4:08 PM.
Rafa says, “Maybe because I had an injury on the wrist, I am SCARED.”
#NotScarred
I add to my post AT 4:10 PM.
After losing to Dum Dum last week, Rafa said:
“I fighted until the last ball, but going all the time against the score and all the time against the bad feelings, psychologically bad feelings, because I was losing and suffering later with my serve all the time.”