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#Post#: 11793--------------------------------------------------
Re: Indian Wells 2014 : 3/6/14 (Men's Main Draw Post #1)
DIR By: masterclass
Date: March 11, 2014, 4:48 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I couldn't agree more general. I think it's time to call it a
day on the hard courts. He's had a lot of success there in the
last year, but you can't cheat the odds so long.
"Clay is the wellspring from which his game flows."
Now I'm not in Rafa's camp, but if it were me, here is what I
would do. I think I would withdraw from Miami. Other than last
year's anomaly, nothing good in Nadal's career came from playing
the late winter, early spring hard courts. They have been the
source of many injuries and his later problems. Use the time
between now and Miami to completely rest and recuperate any
remaining back problems. Then when it looks good, get on his
Manacor clay courts (not his practice hard court abomination),
and get that needed foundation under himself before playing
Monte-Carlo.
If he doesn't do this, I think he'll be facing much of what
Federer did last year. Poorer play caused by compensating and
trying to protect his injury, followed by declining confidence
levels leading to bad decisions, leading to more poor play and
more lack of confidence. He needs to halt this spiral in its
tracks now.
His serve is inconsistent at best. He did serve some 120 mph
first serves yesterday, but had only a couple of aces. His
second serve was very returnable.
But the serve has hardly been his forte anyway. What is hurting
him is his return. It is woeful. He's again returning from the
fence, maybe he should stand in the desert. This is just a big
signal to his opponent that he has no confidence. The return
comes back short so many times with nothing on it and his
waiting to be punished. But now this trend is carrying to his
ground strokes. He's fallen into that pattern of running around
his backhand and opening up his forehand side because of the
lack of confidence or power in his backhand. Dolgopolov took
full advantage of that yesterday and spanked so many balls with
angle on Rafa's forehand side beyond Rafa's reach that I lost
count. Rafa needs to get out on the practice court and just hit
backhands for about 3 or 4 hours per day once he is healthy
again.
I'll stop now. I'm sure general Hercules could come up with
other things that need sorting out.
As far as the tournament goes, this upset in the top half adds
to the big list of upsets in the bottom half and will send
another shock-wave throughout.
I wouldn't be surprised to see another upset of one of the big
guns remaining in the top half.
Tommy Haas plays Roger Federer next. Raonic plays Mr. Murray,
OBE, and Spartan Stan Wawrinka plays Kevin Anderson.
It starts to get very interesting now for these players with
Nadal out of the picture. It's one less hurdle to climb to get
to the final.
Respectfully,
masterclass
#Post#: 11794--------------------------------------------------
Re: Indian Wells 2014 : 3/6/14 (Men's Main Draw Post #1)
DIR By: thetruth
Date: March 11, 2014, 6:01 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Clay Death link ---
>
> I am afraid its is going to be an early exit in Miami also at
this current rate.
>
> I know what he said in his interview: he is full of shit.
>
>
> he said his back is ok but that the problem was the backhand
the forehand. bullshit.
>
> the problem is the bloody back. it is keeping from doing his
thing out there on the court.
>
> the guy can barely serve at the moment. the hard courts are
not really helping right now with the back issue that wont go
away.
>
>
> that back should have healed and gotten stronger by know. that
is my biggest worry.
>
> I don't really give a damn about indian wells and Miami
masters titles for him right now.
>
> my worry is the back, the clay season, and RG. he really cant
afford to falter on clay.
>
>
> he nearly lost to andujar and should have in Rio. he was not
playing well at all.
>
>
> rafa and his camp need to make some quick adjustments now to
minimize the damage and get healthy fast. that means getting off
the hard courts ASAP.
>
--- End Quote ---
Agree with everything you've said. Sometimes an early loss works
for Rafa, because otherwise he won't stop playing. It's always
better to sacrifice the smaller prizes in this instance.
Plus, we can't expect him to win everything, so let's save our
"grief" should a more devastating loss occur.
I also like Dolgopolov, so it wasn't too bad.
#Post#: 11795--------------------------------------------------
Re: Indian Wells 2014 : 3/6/14 (Men's Main Draw Post #1)
DIR By: thetruth
Date: March 11, 2014, 6:03 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Mr.Tee link ---
>
> Rafa played like crap for a second match in a row and
deservedly lost this time. Happy for Alex, one of my favorite
players.
>
> Now I am wondering if he is going to go to Miami and win some
points back. Monte Carlo starts on April 13 which is 34 days
from now. If he chooses to play Miami and let's say reaches the
Final, he will have less than 2 weeks before Monte Carlo.
Interesting decision coming up in the next couple of days.
>
--- End Quote ---
He may play a few matches, but not go all out, just for the
points. I think that's what I'd do.
#Post#: 11802--------------------------------------------------
Re: Indian Wells 2014 : 3/6/14 (Men's Main Draw Post #1)
DIR By: Emma
Date: March 11, 2014, 9:13 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I only found out this morning Nadal lost. I was following his
match on my phone last night and the last time I checked the
score they were in the 3rd set, Nadal was serving to stay in the
match at 4-5.
This is probably not a bad loss for Nadal if he's having back
issues. His confidence might also not be there as much after the
AO final debacle. But the upcoming clay season should really
help to repair all the damages.
#Post#: 11806--------------------------------------------------
Re: Indian Wells 2014 : 3/6/14 (Men's Main Draw Post #1)
DIR By: Clay Death
Date: March 11, 2014, 9:55 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: masterclass link ---
>
> I couldn't agree more general. I think it's time to call it a
day on the hard courts. He's had a lot of success there in the
last year, but you can't cheat the odds so long.
>
> "Clay is the wellspring from which his game flows."
>
> Now I'm not in Rafa's camp, but if it were me, here is what I
would do. I think I would withdraw from Miami. Other than last
year's anomaly, nothing good in Nadal's career came from playing
the late winter, early spring hard courts. They have been the
source of many injuries and his later problems. Use the time
between now and Miami to completely rest and recuperate any
remaining back problems. Then when it looks good, get on his
Manacor clay courts (not his practice hard court abomination),
and get that needed foundation under himself before playing
Monte-Carlo.
>
> If he doesn't do this, I think he'll be facing much of what
Federer did last year. Poorer play caused by compensating and
trying to protect his injury, followed by declining confidence
levels leading to bad decisions, leading to more poor play and
more lack of confidence. He needs to halt this spiral in its
tracks now.
>
> His serve is inconsistent at best. He did serve some 120 mph
first serves yesterday, but had only a couple of aces. His
second serve was very returnable.
> But the serve has hardly been his forte anyway. What is
hurting him is his return. It is woeful. He's again returning
from the fence, maybe he should stand in the desert. This is
just a big signal to his opponent that he has no confidence.
The return comes back short so many times with nothing on it and
his waiting to be punished. But now this trend is carrying to
his ground strokes. He's fallen into that pattern of running
around his backhand and opening up his forehand side because of
the lack of confidence or power in his backhand. Dolgopolov
took full advantage of that yesterday and spanked so many balls
with angle on Rafa's forehand side beyond Rafa's reach that I
lost count. Rafa needs to get out on the practice court and
just hit backhands for about 3 or 4 hours per day once he is
healthy again.
>
> I'll stop now. I'm sure general Hercules could come up with
other things that need sorting out.
>
> As far as the tournament goes, this upset in the top half adds
to the big list of upsets in the bottom half and will send
another shock-wave throughout.
> I wouldn't be surprised to see another upset of one of the big
guns remaining in the top half.
>
> Tommy Haas plays Roger Federer next. Raonic plays Mr. Murray,
OBE, and Spartan Stan Wawrinka plays Kevin Anderson.
> It starts to get very interesting now for these players with
Nadal out of the picture. It's one less hurdle to climb to get
to the final.
>
> Respectfully,
> masterclass
>
--- End Quote ---
that is a perfect post. you could not be more spot on if you
tried.
this is not rocket science and his camp should be figuring this
out by now. basically he gave all he had last year. he delivered
the world a year for the ages. 10 titles and #1 ranking that
included 2 slams on 2 completely different surfaces.
but the point is that he went all out on the hard courts until
he snatched the u.s. open. something had to give so his level
started to drop rather significantly after the u.s. open.
fatigue is cumulative for him because of his demanding style of
play. he continued his hard court activity which, in turn,
continued to exact a toll on his body which would finally quit
on him in Melbourne. sooner or later something had to give.
and then he goes farting around with nole in south America that
nets him $10-$12 million. the cost there was much needed rest at
home and the resumption of serious training at home. so he
basically shows up with less than optimal preparation and even
some accumulated fatigue. he never let the last season end.
so that $10 million meant a much more serious opportunity cost:
he lost a slam which he could have easily won. and now his body
is in dire straits still because he would not let the last
season end.
he is not hurting for money. his 8 RG crowns are worth nearly $1
billion over the next 40 years.
and as you have pointed out, this is not a new revelation. this
has been happening to him over and over again his entire career.
he played and won more matches on the hard courts than anyone
alive or dead in 2008.
so what happened? he took home the Australian Open but he was
nearly dead by the time Oz ended. instead of going home and
resting and recuperating, he went to Rotterdam where his body
would finally quit on him. he had to finish the final against
andy murray on 1 leg.
they offered him a massive appearance fee in Rotterdam so he
felt obliged to go take it then try to put on a show for them.
he worked way too hard for his wins there while already having
been depleted of his mental and physical capital.
he does not know when to back off.
only clay can fix all that ails him now. his ground game is shot
now as a result of his back. the bad back wont let him get into
any kind of rhythm.
clay is forgiving and soft. he has to go get on it asap after a
few days of rest. and even when resting you never take a day off
in this sport. never.
vilas, lendl, and muster never did.
lance Armstrong never missed a single day of training. even
after his heavy chemo treatments he would go on 50-60 mile
training rides.
brian Gottfried practiced for 6 hours on his wedding day.
#Post#: 11820--------------------------------------------------
Re: Indian Wells 2014 : 3/6/14 (Men's Main Draw Post #1)
DIR By: Emma
Date: March 11, 2014, 11:45 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Some good matches today:
Robredo vs Cilic
Thiem vs Benneteau
Gasquet vs Verdasco
Gulbis vs Dimitrov
Gonzalez vs Nole will be quite flat I take it - given first time
meeting, even so.
#Post#: 11882--------------------------------------------------
Re: Indian Wells 2014 : 3/6/14 (Men's Main Draw Post #1)
DIR By: Emma
Date: March 12, 2014, 11:18 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Lots of good matches today. I am really hoping they will call it
a day at work any moment and let us go home because of the snow
storm situation. We are likely to get 15-20cm today so the
commute will be abysmal.
#Post#: 11884--------------------------------------------------
Re: Indian Wells 2014 : 3/6/14 (Men's Main Draw Post #1)
DIR By: Emma
Date: March 12, 2014, 11:34 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I have lots of expectations from today's matches but I can't
state those, alas.
#Post#: 11940--------------------------------------------------
Re: Indian Wells 2014 : 3/6/14 (Men's Main Draw Post #1)
DIR By: masterclass
Date: March 12, 2014, 10:28 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
With both Mr. Murray, OBE's, and Spartan Stan's departure,
there are now only 2 Top 10 ranked players left in the draw
before the quarter finals. Roger Federer is through to the QF
with an excellent straight set performance versus Tommy Haas who
played fairly well in a losing effort, but couldn't win enough
of the big points. Novak Djokovic will be taking the court
later with Marin Cilic, to whom he has never lost.
Andy lost a tough one, but Raonic played well in the final two
sets to snatch it. Milos was misfiring in the first set,
especially on his normally reliable forehand wing, which might
have made it a bit easier for Andy to win the set. I still
don't think Andy is quite right with his back, especially when
stretching to his backhand side. There was a point where he
doubled over and clutched at his left hip where I thought he
seemed in real pain. Hopefully it is nothing serious, but
thereafter, I didn't see him trying as hard when going wide to
his backhand. Also, as the match went on, Andy's 1st serve
weakened significantly, and we won't talk about the 2nd serve.
Milos, on the other hand looked stronger as the match went on,
and in the final game produced aces with about 140 mph speeds,
and he also shored up his forehand. Raonic will face the
streaky Dolgopolov, who blew away the Fog, in the top bracket of
the quarterfinals. I think Andy is capable of making a better
showing in Miami, but as I said at the beginning of the year, I
don't see him being near his best form until somewhere between
the start of the grass season and the US Open hard court series,
that is if he stays healthy.
Spartan Stan lost a hard fought 1st set in a meek tiebreaker to
Kevin Anderson, after late in the set appeared to suffer a
mishap with his back. He went off the court to have the trainer
work on it, came back, was a bit tentative at first as the back
seemed to be still affecting him, but later seemed to be feeling
better, perhaps as some pain killers took hold and took the
second set. However, the effort seemed to be too much for him,
and Anderson served very well in the 3rd set, while Stan just
didn't have it, and Kevin took it easily. His reward? A
meeting with Roger Federer in the quarterfinal.
The bottom half has seen Ernests Gubis defeat Bautista-Agut in 3
sets, John Isner beating Verdasco also in 3 sets, and the last
Frenchman remaining in the draw, Julian Benneteau, straight
setting the last Spaniard in the draw, Feliciano Lopez.
Bennetteau will play the winner of the Djokovic-Cilic match,
while Isner will face Gulbis.
Which players do you see taking the men's single's
quarterfinals?
Oh, by the way, Federer is one of the two last remaining
single's player, along with Isner, also alive in the doubles as
of now. He and Stan are scheduled to play the #4 seeds, Paes
and Stepanek in the doubles QF later on in this evening, but I'm
not sure if Stan will be able to play.
Respectfully,
masterclass
#Post#: 11945--------------------------------------------------
Re: Indian Wells 2014 : 3/6/14 (Men's Main Draw Post #1)
DIR By: Clay Death
Date: March 12, 2014, 11:51 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
there have been lots of surprises in Indian Wells. that is for
sure.
Federer is having a great year. he made the semis in Melbourne
and he snatched Dubai.
I think he eyes an opportunity here. his serve is there and he
is still armed with a massive game.
I don't know why some of the other players don't learn from
Federer: he is a family man and now also old as dirt.
and he is still out there schooling them. it is called
intelligent fitness training and intelligent scheduling.
he has never ever had to retire from a match.
he is so fit and so healthy now that he can do both: he can
shine in singles as well as in doubles.
general masterclass and I had an advice for him about doubles
fully 2 years ago: we suggested that he should start playing
more doubles to go along with his singles. why? because it works
for him. it actually makes his singles game sharper because he
plays his doubles the right way.
for instance, doubles did not help my singles game because I
stood on the baseline rocketing forehands and backhands. I
played doubles purely for a social activity. but for those who
play doubles as it is supposed to be played and needs to be
played, it can help your singles game to some extent.
doubles can also help extend your tenure on the ATP circuit well
into your late 30s and even 40s. so you want to stay in the
sport for a very long time. no problem.
start playing doubles.
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