I like the semis except for Berdych. I don't really think that he has the kind of clay game that Soderling has.

SF: Nadal d. Gonzalez, Ferrero d. Soderling

F: Nadal d. Ferrero

destruction has hit europe in the form of nadal. watch out cos when he goes on a tear nobody can stand it.

ricky..
i hope the draw goes just as you predicted..

So you also think we might see a Rafa v. JCF final, Ricky? Interesting.

I am intrigued that you picked Tommy over Ferru as Rafa's quarters opponent when Ferru was in the final last year ...?

mara,

I had the same thought about Tommy over Ferrer in the quarterfinals. I don't know about that one. We will see.

Just out of curiosity has any players been unable to make it to Barcelona or Monte Carlo because of the ashcloud?

My tip is Nadal:Almagro in the final, Nadal to win.

nadline, I'm ... a little confused. What makes you think Nico can take JCF?

mara, I would be the first to say that I am absolutely rubbish at predicting the outcome of matches, it's just a hunch. I also think Nico is playing much better than JCF at the moment. JCF doesn't look too hungry to me, and Almagro still has something to prove.

I have been right on the few occasions I have looked in my crystal, but as a rule I tend not to do predictions because I think it's tempting fate, however I've stuck my neck out this time. I'm also so biased towards that I cannot make an objective assessment, even if he was playing on one leg, with a patch on one eye, I would still pick him.

Re: volcanis ask flight disruptions, I thnk those players who are in Europe can drive to barcelona quite asily , eg those who are in Monte Carlo or france or Spain.

Dont know about the North European players like Soderling.

We gonna see , no?

Europe has a fantastic grid of ultra fast trains.

Nadal OUT

Ricky, you got a lot of us worries. Is Rafa injured?

Ricky: reason?

from http://twitter.com/JamesLaRosa

Rafa: "I regret not playing in Barcelona, but this year after winning in Monte Carlo asks me to rest my body."

Spanish & italian media hav said rafa withdraws to rest his knees. Any official news yet Ricky?

what a shame. I just checked google.es and Rafa said much as he would have like to play Barecelona he needs rest as he played MC with knee pain.

all is fine, but the knee pain????? :O :(

chloro, i did not find any mention of the knees!! plz dont scare me

he cited "knee pain" but thats only because you have to cite an injury when pulling out

that's reassuring, Ricky.

I was getting very worried of course. Now that you've mentioned it ... you must be right: his movement on court showed no sign of pain. (Not that you can always tell with Rafa whether he is feeling a little or even a lot of pain, but he was moving as well as ever yesterday, no?)

The ATP should reduce the qualifying tournaments to 15 + the year end Masters. All the top players are feeling the strain, Delpo has been out for ages, Federer, Murray and Djokovic have not been at their best, Nalbandian is injured again, Simon has not been right for ages, Monfils, Fish, Blake and Soderling have all taken a knock recently.

The players are only human, and the top players play more than most because they go deeper into tournaments.

Rafa's withdrawal proves that he is not chasing the rankings, if he wins the big ones the ranking will take care of itself.

i am happy with the decision..its a tactical one...he wants to in the bbig ones this year..surely...he is gona play madrid now. and RG + wimb are the main targets...i just hope its 100% true that the knees are perfectly fine

i guess he learnt from last years mistakes :).

he'd be stupid not to withdraw. good on ya Rafa!

I came here to get away from the Rafa forums. They are driving me crazy. I keep hearing them quote Spanish news sources as saying that Rafa had to get "infiltrations" for the final at MC. Translated to english, that means injections, as in cortisone. I have been hearing this for at least a week. Then he had a bandage on his knee in practice and they were saying that it was evidence of a cortisone injection. I had a cortisone injection in my knee ( it gave new meaning to the word pain) and there was no mark and I didn't need any bandage. The speculation continues like crazy. I can't stand it anymore.

I hope to see the press conference and get some real information from Rafa and his doctor. I can't stand all these rumors.

the presser conference has been conducted, rafa fans ..NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT... it was a FINE decision ,indeed. here are some handy parts of the presser:

?For me, not being able to play here is a tough blow. I am playing at home, it?s my club and apart from that I have won five consecutive times and would have liked to have the chance to continue. Next year, the conditions will be more favourable, with a week off after Barcelona. I will definitely be back next year, and the calendar will be organised in a manner that will also encourage other players to come.?

, ?The last year was difficult, with a lot of problems. I started this year playing well, and apart from the small problem in Australia, I felt I was playing well enough to have chances to win at all of the tournaments I have entered. I needed the win in Monte Carlo. But with everything that has happened to me, to play for three consecutive weeks, taking into account that we are on clay and the matches tend to last a little longer, would be almost impossible.?


When asked about the actual condition of his knee, Nadal confirmed that he preferred to be cautious rather than to take risks. ?Yes, [the withdrawal] was a preventative measure. Luckily last week I played very well. I feel fine right now, but I have had many problems in this last year and can?t afford to take any risks if I want to be in my best possible condition on court. That?s my main objective.?

oops !!... vamosrafa.
I have also posted the presser on the other post 'Nadal pulls out of Barcelona'. there are some queries though and i would like any one of u to respond to them which i have rasied on the other post.

In the provisional 2011 calendar it looks like there will be a break in between Barcelona and the next tournament ( an extra week) ... then Madrid, then Rome leading up to RG.

http://www.atpworldtour.atponline.net/en/tournaments/fullcalend ar/2011_atp.pdf

Berdych is out too with a bad ankle.

(Remember his injury against Fer in 3R in MC?)