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Post by Old Hag on Jul 22, 2012 13:57:21 GMT -5
Rafa is a terrible matchup for Roger. That's all.
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Post by Traveling Man on Aug 15, 2012 11:05:40 GMT -5
Rafa Nadal
I am very sad to announce that I am still not ready to play ad have to withdraw from this year's US Open in NYC. I am sorry since I always found great crowds and great support, but I have to continue with my recuperation and preparation to be ready to play in the right conditions. I want to say hi and thanks to all the fans in particular to the new yorkers. I'll miss you all this year at the Open!
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Post by DBBN on Aug 15, 2012 11:06:42 GMT -5
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Post by Grarliner on Aug 15, 2012 14:35:15 GMT -5
The question here is ... do you believe the injury is physical or mental?
Rafa has been bitching so much about the schedule and the Tour and all that. I don't cheer for him but I sincerely hope he's not going to pull a Borg. That would be stupid.
I wonder if setting the new record for RG titles has sapped a bit of motivation? It was a great achievement, especially because it came over Djokovic.
So ... if I'm being too melodramatic and this is a real injury, do you suppose he comes back during the fall indoor circuit? Or does he bag the remainder of the season?
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Post by Denise49IQ on Aug 16, 2012 3:34:30 GMT -5
Anyone going to call doping here? Leelee?
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Post by Traveling Man on Aug 16, 2012 12:43:49 GMT -5
The question here is ... do you believe the injury is physical or mental? Rafa has been bitching so much about the schedule and the Tour and all that. I don't cheer for him but I sincerely hope he's not going to pull a Borg. That would be stupid. I wonder if setting the new record for RG titles has sapped a bit of motivation? It was a great achievement, especially because it came over Djokovic. So ... if I'm being too melodramatic and this is a real injury, do you suppose he comes back during the fall indoor circuit? Or does he bag the remainder of the season? I would've thought it more mental than physical had it come after the AO but not now that he's regained his dominance on clay and there's more parity amongst the top four versus the Novak Show in 2011. I'd imagine he'd be more motivated to continue and think his prospects were bright seeing as Roger just won Wimbledon and became #1 again. I think he bags the remainder of the season and returns in Australia 2013. No point playing a handful of MS events and the WTF where nobody's getting past Federer.
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Post by Grarliner on Aug 16, 2012 13:19:09 GMT -5
That would be ridiculous, though. He's not Serena and this isn't SEWTA. He's not going to be able to shake off 6 months of rust and play a Slam.
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Post by Traveling Man on Aug 16, 2012 13:35:22 GMT -5
I don't imagine anyone would expect him to win it, even if he does play the warm-ups. What's the point in returning any earlier, though? To play TMS events in Shanghai and Paris? The WTF maybe, but it doesn't make sense for him to enter that cold either - and at most play 2-3 events then another month of rest before the Aussie summer?
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Post by Traveling Man on Aug 16, 2012 13:38:12 GMT -5
Also, IIRC the last time he skipped a Slam was Wimbledon '09 after a bad loss at RG. This is somewhat similar in that regard. He came back for the US Open where he got hammered by JMDP in the SF, retired injured against Muzza in Melbourne and won the rest of the Slams in 2010. While I don't expect him to go on such a Slam winning spree again, he will take his time playing himself into form just like last time.
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Post by lexpretend on Aug 16, 2012 13:40:11 GMT -5
He's never spent as much as six months out before. If he sits out the autumn, it'll be a sign that Something Serious is up, rather than just an inopportune flare-up of a problem that will go away like it has in the past.
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Post by Traveling Man on Aug 16, 2012 14:24:52 GMT -5
Also not sure where it goes, but this video cracks me up!
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Post by Traveling Man on Sept 11, 2012 9:09:49 GMT -5
So what the hell does happen now?
Each of the top four holds one Slam title each plus Anduh with the Olympic gold and Roger with the WTF. Definitely makes for an interesting 2013, dependent on when and how Rafa returns.
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Post by Denise49IQ on Sept 11, 2012 10:07:26 GMT -5
I don't think Muzza will win that many more Slams.
Well, I don't know. But he was damn lucky to win the USO with how he played and all that gagging... geez. It was like SEWTA watching him try his hardest to choke away that match. I don't know what was happening with Nole, but he would have won this match in 2011 in str8s.
Too much fucking around most likely.
If Nole hasn't got the desire to regain his 2011 form and Roger and Rafa begin the inevitable decline in the next few years, he has a nice window to snatch up a bunch, I guess. The Q is how motivated will he be to win several. Maybe 2/3 including a Bimbledon will be enough.
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Post by lexpretend on Sept 11, 2012 10:25:57 GMT -5
Rog's age + Rafa's injuries were why I never really doubted Murray would win a Slam even if he continued to flop. Nole's been like this all year - sustaining his 2011 level was probably impossible, and he's still damn good, so I think 2013 will see him regain his focus to a degree, though not necessarily dominate to that extent again.
Murray gagged a ton but winning despite gagging can really unlock a player's potential. It was quite striking how he seemed to take up the psychological space of the match in a way he'd never done before. I think the way he won despite the quality at times was even more impressive to me.
They're all really close now, it's getting to be an exciting time on the ATP again. Enjoy it, before Rog and Rafa retire and we're left with SEATP's own Generation Suck.
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Post by Traveling Man on Feb 26, 2013 10:04:59 GMT -5
So I heard on the radio today that Rafa is skipping IW and Miami, exclusively playing clay events in prep for RG.
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Post by janie on Feb 26, 2013 10:09:32 GMT -5
Oh no! It really is the end of an era, then, isn't it.
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Post by Lady on Feb 26, 2013 10:57:32 GMT -5
So I heard on the radio today that Rafa is skipping IW and Miami, exclusively playing clay events in prep for RG. It seems like Toni Nadal said it's not decided yet. But whatever, after another prolong absence because of the knee problems, it'd make sense to me not to change surfaces so soon after the return. Maybe it'll help in the long run.
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Post by Grarliner on Feb 26, 2013 16:56:53 GMT -5
Interesting news if he sticks to it. I don't know what to make of it. Is he protecting his confidence or his knee?
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Post by Traveling Man on Feb 28, 2013 8:44:31 GMT -5
I don't see any good coming out of playing IW and Miami and thought it was a good idea when I heard the original news. Playing two hardcourt TMS before 3 claycourt TMS and a claycourt GS? Why bother playing on hardcourts when the focus should be on clay and it's not good for the knees either?
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Post by Old Hag on Feb 28, 2013 12:00:02 GMT -5
If I were Roger and Rafa where ranking means little at this stage in their career (and they're probably not getting to #1 soon anyway), I'd skip at least 3 MS events.
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Post by lexpretend on Feb 28, 2013 12:56:40 GMT -5
I guess the only differences between this situation and Serena's are 1) Roger and Rafa have many years of full, committed service to the ATP behind them, 2) Roger and Rafa aren't solely carrying the tour.
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Post by Old Hag on Feb 28, 2013 14:22:55 GMT -5
There's a couple differences. Serena showed up to slams occasionally fat and halfassed them. Rog/Rafa never do that. Also, Serena withdraws from tournaments at the last second with her bogus flu and silly injuries. Although, that's probably SEWTA's fault. At least Rog/Rafa withdraw well ahead of time, and Roger even admits that he wants time off.
SEWTA has serious image problems with their players not caring, that can't be denied.
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Post by Grarliner on Feb 28, 2013 18:29:21 GMT -5
Well, I don't either deserves the Serena comparison. Roger in particular never retires and almost never withdraws. He also played quite a bit last year for someone over 30 (even if he did take Leena's advice and skip three MS tournaments).
There might be an argument that as you pass 30 the Tour should grant you a more lenient schedule?
Anyway, I still wonder whether Nadal's absence was partly due to burnout. He seemed pretty grumpy in 2011/12 about how many tournaments he needed to play. I'm still on the lookout for a Borgian flash retirement. If he fails to win the French, he might not stick around?
As for the rumors about not showing up for IW and Miami, I am of the mind that it's a good idea for him. Why bother? It's unlikely he will do really well. And didn't his knee problems start in Miami last year? Why not keep practicing on the dirt for his run-up to the French?
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Post by Old Hag on Mar 2, 2013 0:47:27 GMT -5
The ATP schedule should be more lenient for all. 12 mandatory tournaments on your Best 17 is harsh, and can be unfair if you get injured at any point.
I'm against any mandatory tournaments. If that leads to a Muster type being #1 again, than so be it. At least he earned it. Nobody complained about Sampras being #1 forever and winning virtually nothing on clay.
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Post by Traveling Man on Mar 2, 2013 5:32:47 GMT -5
Federer was finally "allowed" to drop one MS from his schedule for the first time this year since he crossed the winning X matches mark, as well as being over 31 and one other clause. Basically, having to do everything possible and be OLD to be allowed one less MS event.
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Post by Wagasi on Mar 2, 2013 8:10:39 GMT -5
The multiplicity of back to back masters is nuts. Weirdly, the current ATP calendar would work better for the flakey XWTA where Serena has no qualms about skipping things because she feels like it, no one but Azza is consistent enough to consistently make the finals weekend and the weeks before slams are mostly devoid of high level events..
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Post by Grarliner on Mar 3, 2013 0:24:27 GMT -5
You know, also killing the week in between PMS and the WTF ruins that part of the schedule. PMS was always undervalued and little-loved. Now what will happen to it?
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Post by Lady on Mar 3, 2013 5:03:57 GMT -5
And now after all this Rafa is going to Indian Wells. I'd actually prefer he didn't.
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Post by lexpretend on Mar 3, 2013 10:21:49 GMT -5
Masters events have always been b2b, though. It's tough to think of a workable solution because so many a paired geographically - put a week between Doha and Dubai on the WTA, or Rome and Madrid on the ATP, and are players just meant to hang around in the Middle East or Europe for an extra week with no tournament to play? They whine about being away from home as it is.
You shouldn't need mandatory tournaments, but the players don't self-regulate the system if you do away with them - you just get top players who take the piss and never play, à la Serena at her worst, or top players who never play each other enough for rivalries to build up. The ATP mandatories were key in giving us the Big Four's rivalries over the past decade.
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Post by Grarliner on Mar 3, 2013 21:01:03 GMT -5
I agree. Mandatories are totally necessary. The ATP used to get some bad fields when they didn't have that rule at the end of the Sampras/Agassi era.
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