First

Kinda think that a beach vacation with 8 of his dearest friends was maybe not the best prep for Rafa for the Thai tournament. I'm a LOT older than Rafa, but that vacation sounded to me like the kind you come back from thinking, "I need a vacation!" Photo ops, practice, football, playstation, late night parties. Did they sleep? I guess...Rafa did cancel the elephant, lol. I was not surprised.

THIRD

Um no, baked at Wimbledon please and rained at RG!

Rafa decided to give his countryman some crumbs of a 250 title to add to the only other title he already had, being the considerate guy that he is. He believes in sharing. lol

I'm 4th on this thread, do I get a prize, or shall I come back to be the 500th poster?

Great article!
That's tennis for ya... We keep hearing from the Regal Rackets, Roger and Rafa that winning so many majors and masters is a lot harder than they make it seem. Their power of concentration is nothing short of superhuman, yet they are as mortal as everyone else.
So they give it their all when it counts most, mentally and physically... that's their talent. It's not that they lose on purpose. Rafa may look fresh, but let's be real, there is no way all these won tournaments aren't gonna take their toll. There is a reason why no one has done what Rafa just did since Rod Laver!

Great article!
That's tennis for ya... We keep hearing from the Regal Rackets, Roger and Rafa that winning so many majors and masters is a lot harder than they make it seem. Their power of concentration is nothing short of superhuman, yet they are as mortal as everyone else.
So they give it their all when it counts most, mentally and physically... that's their talent. It's not that they lose on purpose. Rafa may look fresh, but let's be real, there is no way all these won tournaments aren't gonna take their toll. There is a reason why no one has done what Rafa just did since Rod Laver!

sorry about the double post. Also correction... Rafa is the first EVER to do what he just did: Win the French, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year... in 3 surfaces.

deuce - admittedly no rain at Wimbers this year, but you have to admit that the clay court season was COLD. Damp and 50 degrees are not exactly ideal playing conditions.

Must be hell trying to predict small tournament results after a major. Who's tired, who's hurt, who's slumping, who's gotten motivated, who gives a d___?

Ah cheryl, haven't u noticed since new roof installed, NO rain at Wimbledon...;)

I watched the highlights of the Nadal-Garcia Lopez match and thought Rafa played fine, didn't seem tired to me, I just though credit to Lopez who played a fantastic match, played like a top ten player not like a player ranked 35!

Your article about "Post-US Open tennis remains as unpredictable as ever" was interesting.

Rafa played OK against GGL in the first set, but went on to become too defensive and his break point conversion was horrible beyond words. One break taken in the second set and we won't be talking about GGL now, and we'll be happy that Rafa won two out of three tournaments played during this Asian swing. (sorry no disrespect to Niminen). Rafa wasn't physicallly tired but more of a mental fatigue. We know Rafa plays with high intensity and mental focus, all this would take a toll on him mentally, especially after such a fantastic season he had so far this year. That's the way Rafa plays and I don't think he can change it, though I believe with improvements in his game every year and new weapons added to his arsenal, he'll be able to finish his matches a lot quicker than before and the mental toll would be reduced according. His mental strength, his focus and his consistency during a match are what make him so special; just like Fed's easy fluid style is Fed's trademark. I prefer Rafa's intensity and his competitive spirit over any other qualities of other players. Why? Because I never see Rafa giving up, unlike some other players, when they are 1-5 down for example, they'll most likely give up on the set or even the match and stop fighting, and that is basically unpleasant to watch for a spectator. Rafa will fight till the end and won or lose, he brings lots of pleasure for those watching.

luckystar, you've said it in a nutshell.

Rafa was mentally exhausted. He just lost his intense focus in the 2 matches he has lost recently, and I don't think they were on his list of things to do. His next target is the WTF, if he bags that title this year, he'll be a happy man. Being the kind soul that he is, he doesn't want to win every single title going, so he tries to spread it out a bit. Lol

You could tell that he was playing the Asian season because he had to, at least he did not leave empty handed. He kept saying I've only got 3 tournaments left this season.

As long as he starts 2011 with a bang, he'll be on track to keep his No1 ranking at the end of 2011, and there is the calendar slam to go for.

I agree with nadline and luckystar. It was always going to be tough for Rafa to try to play the Asian swing after his great win at the USO. How do you follow something like that? On another tennis forum, someone said they felt that Rafa's season ended with his USO win.

I am proud of Rafa for getting the win in Tokyo! It was very obvious that he was battling mental fatigue throughout these tournaments. After the loss to G-Lo, Rafa fought his heart out not to lose to Troicki. Then he came out strong in the final to beat Monfils.

I hope that Rafa can do well at the WTF. That would be a nice exclamation mark to what has been an unbelievable year.

The big prize is the 2011 AO. If Rafa can manage to win that, then he will make the kind of history that will put him among the greatest to ever play the game.

I like the WTF prediction Cheryl. Brave but not foolhardy. But does he still have enough left in the tank after playing so many singles and doubles tournaments?

Yes, cheryl a brave pick and Meltzer has certainly had a gr8 year..but...even if he makes WTF, agree with ed., he looked tanked against AHM.