You know Ricky, it's not entirely fair that you get to pick the nicknames every time.

not fair at all. but I'm not gonna complain!!!!

nadal in 2

7-5,6-4

lol ricky and cheryl :)

ricky are you changing sides? i thought you went for rafa over nole in another blog??

ok, i'm going for rafa in 2:

6-4 6-3

vamos!!!

I'am going for Novak in 3: 6-3, 2-6, 7-5

homos - that was 2 weeks ago. I've seen enough of Djokovic in Miami to know that he is going to win his 24th straight match!

boo ricky! not talking to you for the next 24 hours :(

i assume that means you are rooting for Nadal?

so why are you mad? Everyone knows Nadal always wins whenever I pick against him. :shrug:

Ricky, u r right this time..I totally agree w u..Novak in 3..

of course haha....always nadal!

not mad...just won't talk to anyone who roots against my man hee hee :) yes i do remember that and hoping once again you're wrong *praying to the gods*.

oops, i'm not supposed to be talking to you...

is zare's pick suppose be included in this one?

And I will be brave..The brave is....to say..that..Novak will take Roland Garros..I have some feeling,that he will do this..After US open,he will become No 1.....Wait and see

oh wait you're not actually rooting against him, just not picking him to win. doesn't matter... you're still on my enemy list ;-)

Marko

happy dreaming

VAAAAAAAAMOS RAFAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Boo to Ricky! You will be proved wrong! I am picking Rafa in three sets. I hate picking scores because I am never even close, but just for fun I will take a shot.

6-4, 3-6, 6-4

I really want to know what zare has to say! Now that's the person to watch! :)

yes, Zare has made his pick, but I'm waiting for more analysis before posting it

and Kelli is now in the house!

Nadal over Djokovic in straights? Haha, good one. If this is the Monte Carlo final, sure. I'll consume an entire box of crayola crayons if it happens on Sunday.

@vrael: why are you bulling posters that pick against nadal?

not at all....im just cheering for rafa and disagreeing with Marko....is that a crime?

rzfr...for your information im a big nole fan...second only to rafa....i would be here congratulating all nole fans if he wins tomorrow......may the best man win....VAAAAAAMOS!!!

Vrael, we'll se...This will be the bigger rivaly than Fed and Rafa...

Marko..i doubt it.....but it can be,they will have to play a lot of GS finals together to surpass the fedal rivalry...

@vrael: why are you bulling posters that pick against nadal?

The usual suspect souring what was a perfectly fun discussion between the fans!

jean,

You beat me to it!

vrael,

Don't you worry! You don't have to defend yourself! We know where you are coming from! :)

"The usual suspect souring what was a perfectly fun discussion between the fans!".

i've never had doubts bulling is perfect fun for you. enjoy.

I also say Rafa in straights. Kelli will have to eat crayons if Rafa really can do that. It's not that Nole is no good, it's just that he looks tired after three months of 23 + 5 matches. Rafa looks in killer mood and mode, so Nole has to be on the alert right from the start of the match. He can't give Rafa those opportunities that he had given to Anderson and Fish. Rafa will definitely capitalize on them.

"Nadal is just 24 and Djokovic 23 yet"
Are you sure? Nadal is almost a full year older than Nole (353 days exactly!).

My pick is Nole in two. Nadal's win over Federer is not real power ratio indicator. Nadal did not force Federer into un-forced errors. Fed did it for whatever reason. It will be different story with Nole.
If you are betting, this is the right time to make money (considering the current odds). Nadal does not stand a chance against Djokovic in this match.

I wish that I had the guts to pick Rafa in straight sets. I have been going back and forth since I made my prediction.

I just want to see Kelli eat crayons! :)

Rafa does not stand a chance? My question to you Albanese: is Nole playing better here in Miami than he is in IW? Is Rafa playing better here in Miami than he is in IW? From what I see, Rafa when not playing his best tennis in IW, still took it to three sets in the final. Now that Rafa is playing even better than IW, and having gone through a tougher draw here, he does not have a chance against a not so convincing Nole? Who had Nole beaten here in Miami? He even looked vulnerable in his own service games against Kevin Anderson! If it was Rafa or Fed he was facing in that Anderson match, you think Nole could escape unscathed?

Not saying that Rafa sure would win, but I'm also not saying Nole sure would win.

I'm not pickin cos I'm chickin ;) Also, if I pick Nole, homos won't speak to me and if I pick Rafa, stu won't speak to me so, ........ ;)
Just hoping for a really good, competitive match, unlike the semis....

@deuce,

Everybody who came here to post in this thread should make a pick, so make yours now. It is assured that after this match, they will both speak again to you as they surely offer you commies since Andy looks dismal as far as his recent performance is concerned :-)

So here's mine (with eyes shut because I like Nole too), Rafa in 2, 6-4, 6-3.

LuckyStar, I watched all games. Do not underestimate Kevin nor Fish. I am not sure Nadal could pass them so easily as he did with Federer.

OO, ouch Raindrops, stop twisting my arm.....ouch, ouch... Well OK then, if u insist Rafa in 3. 6-4, 3- 6, 6-2. Just bcos Rafa is after revenge for IW.

So here we are.... In front of another Nole's victory...
As I said to Ricky... first set to Rafa....6:4
...two next to Nole with same result... 6:3 for Novak....
...tako mi se javlja....:)

zare, good luck with that :) If u r right, u must ask for job on tennistalk. U can be our resident clairvoyant, or does it only work for Nole? ;)

Albanese,

One thing I have learned is to never say that Rafa doesn't stand a chance! Once Rafa gets to a final of any tournament, he always has more than a chance. I happen to agree with luckystar about how Rafa and Nole have played in Miami.

really? the experts minus cheryl picked Nole?

i'm starting to think you guys may be right, Nole in 3 with the first set being tight, but I can't. pick against Rafa, especially after his loss @IW. Rafa in 3. 6-4, 6-7, 63.

deuce, maybe i shouldn't be speaking with myself now...

I HATE BOTH......hope NEITHER win!!!!

yes, that's true...in finale, it's never easy and he always has chance...(big understatement)

missyRF.... oh this is goin' to be fun:)
You are Mirka? ...I thinking about your nick... hehe... go and cry with your idol :)

Once again I have to say...
I am big Nole's fan, but Rafa... For me you have to be jealous or delusional or extremely stupid... not to feel and show enormous respect for Rafa...
His fighting spirit, his hunger for every point... are LEGENDARY!
So it will be pleasure to watch match between two great champions and friends.
Nole's winning streak has to ends sometimes...of course... and if Rafa wins... Nole is still in finale... he is still best momentarily... he is still adding points and distancing himself from ExFed... no reason to be in bad mood.
If he wins... well euphoria will continue...
So basically Nole is in super position...
Lets enjoy and let the better man...and tennis wins!!!

stu,

Do you have your days mixed up? It's not April Fool's Day! Come on, this is a joke, right? You are picking Rafa over your guy? Is this a jinx thing or a hex?:)

Oh stu, so hard being a fan. ... :)
zare, this is why I respect u so much...and am glad u r coming round to my Andy ;)

hope i am not bullying or anything but i have to say this

missyRF....some tennis fan U ARE....hating...probably the best two tennis players on the planet...both exceptional sportsmen and athletes......u really must be a sour federer fan....

Albanese, have you seen Rafa playing against Anderson before? Rafa won that one even when not playing his best tennis. Rafa is certainly playing one of his best tennis here, compared to the previous time he met Anderson. Fish wasn't playing his best tennis in that semifinal, mind you. I've seen him playing better, against Fed last year at the Cincy final. So please don't talk as if you're the only one watching tennis. If you think Nole is playing as well as he played in IW, then I'm sorry to say that you'll be disappointed.

Nadal over Djokovic in straights? Haha, good one. If this is the Monte Carlo final, sure. I'll consume an entire box of crayola crayons if it happens on Sunday.

Kelli , 4/3/11 6:41 AM


Did you see the USO final?

Just asking?

vrael, congrats on cricket :)

Nadal 7-6 (36-34) 6-3 .Novak will be exhausted after marathon 1st set.

April 2nd, 2011

Roger Federer: I?m Picking Rafa to Beat Djokovic Sunday

by Tom Gainey

A disconsolate Roger Federer spoke to the media last night and he picked his friend Rafael Nadal to beat Novak Djokovic Sunday in the Sony Ericsson Open men?s final.

?Novak has been playing great this season,? Federer said after suffering a 63, 62 semifinal loss Friday night to Nadal. ?I think Rafa is going to give Novak a run for the money, and I?m going to pick Rafa.?....................

"Last time I played defensively but it's impossible to beat Djokovic like that. I have to be aggressive."
Nadal
Nadal admitted that defence does not work against Nole. It means that we are going to see many un-forced errors produced by Nadal. He will try the style that does not suite his natural approach to game (defence).

Yeah, Rafa should play like he played in the first set of the IW final, that's certainly not defensive tennis. He was certainly playing defensive tennis in the third set, when his serve was gone, hence he failed. He should play something like the first and third sets of that Berdych match and also that Fed match too. Nole wasn't playing all out attacking tennis too, he was playing like the way Rafa played in 2008/2009, ie strong defensive plus good offensive tennis from the baseline, very effective and hard to beat, though not too exciting tennis. In fact I like how Fed plays the hard court game all along; how Rafa plays the hard court game now; and how Nole played in the past, his brand of 'paint the line' high risk tennis. In my opinion, Nole played his best hard court tennis in that match against Rafa at the 2009 Paris Masters, truly all court tennis, very efficient at the net, anticipating all of Rafa's moves and trapping Rafa until Rafa had no way out. Right now Nole is playing more a solid baseline game.

Poor Ricky has had a phobia about picking Rafa ever since 2009 when he got egg on his face by stating categorically there was no way anyone was going beat Rafa at RG that year. The anti-jinxing tactics seem to work though so keep it up Ricky.

I like Cheryl's scenario but I'm going with Rafa in 3: 6-7; 7-6; 7-5

Nole will eat Rafa's dust.......don't care about the scoreline

ed, ricky was not the only one to pick rafa in 2009. we all had egg on our faces :P

deuce my friend, you know i'll always talk to you. i might sometimes put your name next to ricky's on the enemy list but i'll still talk to you...after a while...;) but you pick rafa so it's all good! ;)

I'm looking forward to RIcky's posting of zare's scoreline and analysis.

We all know this is not a new rivalry, by far. But this new phase started with the UO '10. Nole did not play convincingly against Roger but good enough and then he showed his potential in the final... and is delivering on it now.

Hard to predict this one. Rafa in three. Rafa will only get so many chances of adding this trophy to the series and he was very promising on Friday. I know he will play much better yet today. Hopefully no lapses of confidence... I think there will be some but shortlived. Both deserve this win and Nole might get it but I think Rafa will bring his competitiveness and mental strength and find a way to get past Nole.

Rafa 5-7, 6-4, 6-4

Kelli, let me know how those crayons taste, won't you? :D

rafa's service is not going to desert him this time and he knows that only aggressive tennis can win the match for him. Rafa to take revenge, 6-4 6-4

I concur with vamosrafa, but I think 7-5, 6-4. Rafa likes the challenge of having to beat someone who beat him the last time they met.

Ricky- Thanks for changing your mind of picking against Nadal. For some reason everytime you pick him to win he loses, and if you don't he wins.

Nadal to win 7-5 6-3.

just being realistic about his chances, NNY. still rooting for him, but picking Rafa.

and the match is in the middle of the afternoon too (not sure why - aren't the miami finals usually in the evening?) so sublime Nole who showed up against Blake won't be around...

I think the Miami final is always during the day. I remember the final of 2008, when Davy beat Rafa. He was handed the trophy and was reminded to be careful as the trophy was hot, hot as it was under the sun for the whole afternoon, during the match. I also remember that 2009 final between Murray and Nole, and Nole was almost half dead due to the heat, and he lost to Murray then.

ZARE: "When you are fan it's not so easy... heart says something, brain says something other...So I will go for Nole... in 3... 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Djokovic 6-3 7-5

Stu: I'm SHOCKED at your pick. Tsk tsk.
I hope and hope it'll be Nole, but with Rafa out for revenge it's gonna be so much harder than IW. Nole hasn't really looked all that sharp in his last couple of matches, while Rafa practically made mincemeat of Fed (didn't watch this however, was rafa good or did fed suck?)...

If Rafa wins the first set the match is his, I don't see Nole coming back. But if Nole wins, then I think he'll get the job done in 2 or 3.

mriiidula... Rafa was awesome... but not even close as Fed sucked... ( cold grinning on my nasty face)...
stu ... yes... you will be sorry for mistrusting Nole...
Today... Nole will eat fire and fart thunders ... it will be lighting and blaze... just wait to see...
AJDE NOLEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

VAMOS RAFA!!!

LOL zare...

VAAAAMOS RAFA....

Rafans - altogether now

"Stand up and fight until you hear the bell,
Stand toe to toe, trade blow for blow
Keep punching til you hear that final bell,
Show them folks what you know.
Until you hear that bell, the final bell,
Stand up and fight like hell!"

^^^^Ed we echo your words.



Vamos Rafa!

ed i am with you! ;)

break to rafa but i am still so nervous! why can't he finish this in 5 minutes and spare my nerves!

that should be the official rafa war song for fans at TT....nice ED

So nice to be watching this on the sofa :) homos, r u sure u can see from behind
there ;)
Initally some gr8 ball striking but alas Nole's level has slipped.

deuce i could see fine but am coming around to join you ON the sofa now.

Such confidence suddenly :) I think Nole made Rafa very, very cross by winning IW ;)

no, it's just very uncomfortable on the floor ;) not used to it tee hee

poor from rafa...nole a bit better now

great! now rafa, if you would pls take the next set 6-3, my prediction will be perfect! ;)

First set to me 6-4...oh and Rafa of course ;)

@cmuzza-

Before I'm sentenced to eating crayons, just remember Nadal won the opening set in Indian Wells. We'll see. :D

I did see the USO final, yes- totally different story in a best of 5 at a Slam. Beating Nadal in a 3 set final is far different than taking him out in a best of 5. Mentally/physically the challenge is nowhere near the same.

^^^ me too, deuce. Come on 7-5!

Group hug Rafans!!!

Rafa get a grip!!!!!!

Ooh Nole bites back :) Now an xciting tense match. Love this "New Nole."
We'll see cheryl..;)

Nole taking control, as expected

that wasn't very convincing, actually. If Rafa can hold here, he might just break back.

Vaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmooooooooossssssssssss!

Rafa is just not serving well.

46 perc first serve in for rafa...winning 29 perc second serves...not enough rafa...STEP It UP

Rafa not serving well because Nole is putting pressure on his serve with excellent returns.

Rafaaaaaaaa wake up!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW...audacious...too good....nole on fire

double break point for double break lead

SAVED

Rafa is playing defensive, he needs to go on the attack.

WOW...audacious...too good....nole on fire

5-2 one game away from 3rd

nice playing from Rafa this game. One more chance for the Spaniard to break back.

On to the deciding set.

So this is it. Three sets it is to decide the winner.

Ahem..2nd set to me 6-3.....and Nole :) bye bye cheryl, nice sharing a bit of the journey with you...;)
Hmm, not sure about my pick for the third. Rafa really needs to step up his game here.

My mouth is getting dry with anxiety.

crazy first game of the third set. Thanks to Fergus Murphy for muddying the waters as usual.

nadline,

Hang in there! Did you see that fist pump from Rafa after he just held his serve? He's still fighting!

Yes the fist pump was very encouraging.

Bit of a knife edge this one...an immovable object meets a brick wall! But fabulous ball striking and competitive spirit from both, brilliant!

Low water was at the end of the 2nd set. I sense the tide just might be turning.

deuceI'm lad you are enjoying it, I've nearly worn the sofa down wriggling with anxiety.

this is tennis

(unlike the 2 semifinals)

I think ed is right. Rafa is really hanging tough here. Better body language, better serving, hitting some great shots. I feel like I can't breathe, though!

Completely agree Ricky, it's fab :) And I still don't know who will win!
Oh nadline, I feel for you, after all Andy fans know....:)

Rafa needs to hold on to his serve now or it's all over.

Wake me up when it's all over, I've fainted with worry.

nadline,

Wake up! Rafa held his serve!

"Stand up and fight until you hear the bell,
Stand toe to toe, trade blow for blow
Keep punching til you hear that final bell,
Show them folks what you know.
Until you hear that bell, the final bell,
Stand up and fight like hell!"

3-hour mark

match of the year

What a match! I hope these two aren't ending up frying eachother for the rest of the season like they did in 09...

nadline,

Are you there? Have you fainted again? Rafa held serve! Now it's 6-5 and Nole has to hold to take this to a tiebreak!

I hope my nerves survive this!

wow match

I'M GUTTED, FULL STOP!!!!!!!

Sorry all u lovely Rafa fans but no losers in that terrific match!
stu, mriiidula, zare...just WOW! Nole was tremendous! Bring on the red stuff!
mriiidula u r the bracket champ! Well done!

Well Done Nole and his fans.

We have to hand it to Nole, Rafa had better brush up for the clay otherwise he'll lose his No 1 ranking.

No expectations from Nole now, at least for the next couple of tournaments. Rafa, you can win the big ones on clay :)

We have to thank two great competitors for a fabulous final. Rafa was outplayed and outwitted by Nole on the big points - it was as simple as that.

i've managed to take control of my emotions, and can finally type.

first off, WOW. what a match! one of the best of the year so far, if not the best. i didnt watch the entire match unfortunately, tuned in only when it was 4-4 in the third. incredible shot-making.

did NOT expect nole to come from a set down for the second time in 2 weeks. as a fan i already had so much respect, but against nadal, well who's done it before!? great mental strength displayed, im so impressed. i was so sure that when he had all those match points that he would channel Madrid 2009, and when he lost the first two i was sure i was right. but, third time's a charm.

next, he's finally managed to break the streak of losing in finals against rafa. it'll bode well for the rest of the year, and the rest of his tennis career.

then, the unbeaten streak continues. not a single match lost so far this year - may not be the longest streak, but im sure its the longest he's ever had, and im SO happy for him, very glad that it remained unbroken tonight.

and finally, its a hard court sweeeeeeep!!!! i have absolutely no expectations now for the clay court season, lose in the second round next week, i dont care. in fact, i hope he doesnt play. he's earned some rest.

oh, what a lovely time to be a djokovic fan!

deuce: thanks :) and yes i noticed, shame you guys didnt even crack 100 ;) haha

yeah, Rafa and his team will now have to focus on Nole...in the past they worked Rafa's game around Fed and he has specialized in how to beat Fed...but Nole, as we witnessed today, remains to be enigma for Rafa...Rafa ROS was poor...all those wasted second service chances...at some point I thought how Rafa did not deserve to win this match with these poor returns...and the key points were just in Nole's favor...Rafa was too defensive when it mattered...Nole was brilliant today and all I can say is Congratulations Nole!

Conclusion, Nole is simply the better hard court player than Rafa. All along he is, and it takes a great effort for Rafa to beat Nole on the hard courts. Their H2H on hard courts, 9-5 in Nole's favor, reflects this. Davy is another one, 6-1 H2H. There are just some players who are better than Rafa on hard courts, we have to accept that. Thankfully this number is small, and Rafa is the best on clay, with positive H2H against all players. His grass court credentials is also great.

As great as Fed is, he also has some negative H2H against certain players, so Rafa is not alone there.

Cheryl - did you ACTUALLY think Nadal was going to win? Or were you just trying to be different because you knew Kelli and I would pick the Djoker?

Cheryl, I would not pay attention to Ricky's provocations...Ricky 'the teaser' :-) this role suits him perfectly...he is simply too confident at the moment, just like Nole is...he is in the clouds right now...but it will end, it sure will...I just hope that when he hits the ground it doesn't hurt too much...:-)

Deserved win for Nole......good luck to him for the rest of the season.

To hear some people talk, you would think he steam-rolled past Rafa, he did not. He did that at IW.

However, I am flabbergasted at how some people are already writing off Rafa.......For the record, here are the facts:

1. Rafa's start to the 2011 season is better than his start to 2010
2. Nole had, and still has, a better H2H against Rafa on hard courts, so beating Rafa in Miami and IW should not come as a complete surprise, he is a better hard court player than Rafa
3. Rafa improved his game in Miami, it just was not good enough to beat Nole, although he came close against the run of play.


So, when I consider the above, Rafa is in the right place. The real test will be Monaco. Monaco will tell us whether Rafa is continuing on his improving trajectory. If he is, he will overcome Nole and all will be well in the world. If he has hit the wall, Nole will beat him and go on to claim the #1. Make no mistake, NOLE CAN be #1 in 2011, but it is not a given that he will be.

Me?I am reserving judgement until after Monaco.

For now, I am very happy with where Rafa is........all he has to do is keep his cool, not get drawn into the Nole superstar orbit.........it is his moment. I trust Rafa.

I think that everything is open still...
mriidula, stu... why do you don't expect something from Nole, during the clay season...
OK... Rafa IS king of clay... but Nole can have very good clay season also... he will be in semis, he will be in finales... and maybe he will take some title... why not?
As rafaisthebest say we shall see in one week!

zare, of course i expect him to do well, but i have been hoping since Feb that he would win the IW-Miami double, which was a big ask, and i'm just so glad he accomplished it that i don't want to have any unreasonable expectations. he needs a break and cannot win everything. he needs to not get carried away and stay healthy. and yet, he needs to maintain this momentum. it's not easy, and it's a new experience for him and his team. from now until wimby, as long as he does not disappoint at the Slams, i'll be happy!

but when the USO comes around, i'm buying tickets to the final and will be extremely shocked and disappointed if I don't see him there!

Aha US Open, I have tickets for Monte Carlo, only 500km from here, so will see what'll happen. He is there as at home. if you follow the matches and find an extremely handsome guy, that's me.... :)

Ricky dimon you must not pick Nadal to beat Djokovic before the tournament and then pick Djokovic to beat him before the final. You must stick to your picks made before the event starts.

tennis2011 - no. but thanks for the advice I will keep it in mind.

natashao - I hope it hurts a LOT. :D

Kidding. I don't mind...I DID think Nadal might win this one. OTOH, it might be better that he didn't. The few times he's done well before the clay season, he struggled later in the year. I'm so interested in Monte Carlo now.

The only thing worrying is that he seemed to have some fitness problems. I have never seen Nadal so knackered.

Cheryl,

Well, for what it's worth, you were not the only one who actually thought Rafa would win. I did, too. Am I the fool, too?

holdserve, didn't you watch Rafa's match against Murray at the USO 2008? He was even more knackered then he was at Miami this year. In fact that was the first time I've ever saw Rafa so knackered, he closed his eyes, bent his knees and panting heavily. Rafa also looked exhausted last year at IW and Miami, understood as he was also coming back from his injury break then.

NNY, I was also predicting a Rafa victory at Miami because:
1)from what I saw from his matches, he was fininshing almost every match effciently, with the exception of that Berdych match.
2)Rafa didn't look exhausted during his matches prior to the final, so little did I know that he would be bothered by the heat and that he was tired.
3)Nole didn't look convincing during his matches against Anderson and Fish
4)the final was played at 1pm under the hot sun, so I assumed that Nole would be bothered by the heat. It ended up Rafa being the one more knackered than Nole!

luckystar,

Thank you for answering my question. I don't see any reason for Ricky to be quite so smug about the result. That match hinged on a few points in the tiebreak. Even Nole said that it could have gone either way in the end. Rafa was exhausted and unable to make the shots in crunch time, which is not like him. However, I hardly think it unreasonable to think that Rafa had a good shot at a win, for the very reasons you stated so clearly.

Rafa was getting better with every match. I think the Berdych match was tough because of whatever was going on with Rafa's shoulder and arm that was causing him pain. Maybe the fact that Rafa played mostly at night wasn't the best indicator of how he would be tested in the middle of a very hot and humid day. I also agree that Nole wasn't playing his best in the matches leading up to the final.

There are some fans on a Rafa forum who are still questioning exactly why Rafa became so uncharacteristically fatigued. Yes, the conditions were terrible and both players were feeling it after more than three hours out there. However, Nole was able to hang in there better than Rafa and make the big shots for winners when it counted.

I don't want to overthink what may have been going on with Rafa. There are some wacky theories floating around on other forums, but I prefer not to speculate. For now I will just assume that Rafa isn't at his best fitness level right now.

I expect we will know more once we see him at MC.

NNY, as Ive mentioned before, coming back from injury, Rafa's stamina will be affected and he needs time to get back to his normal level. It's similar to what he was experiencing last year same period. I still remember last year this time, I was saying the same thing about Rafa's stamina. Rafa could be knackered due to the long hard season especially when he was winning many tournaments, like he was knackered and really ran out of steam at the USO
semfinal in 2008. He's human and sometimes we tend to expect alot out of him. He, like us, is getting older every year, we can't expect him to stay as fit as ever like he is still 22 years old.

In fact in that final, I could see that Rafa's face was really red and he looked uncomfortable out there. I was wondering in weather like that, maybe Rafa should wear a cap like Nole, avoiding direct heat from the sun right on his head. No wonder he said he had nothing left after the match, just imagine standing out here for three and a half hours without any protection over your head, worst still if you have to run around so much all the time!

NNY: Whenever I visit other forums I find the sycophantic tone and almost sickly adoration rather off putting. It reminds me too much of teenage groupies drooling over pop stars. The reason I prefer hanging out at TT is the quality of the blogs and the lively exchange of ideas with fans of all faiths many of whom have a wide knowledge of the game. BTW: Congratulations! I've noticed you've gotten much better at avoiding rising to the bait when goaded by the Fedups who have since slunk away to lick their wounds ;-)

Lucky: What was amazing was Rafa survived in the USO long enough to play that SF against Murray. Dont forget Andy had exited the Olympics early and gone straight to New York to prepare whereas Rafa and Djokovic were both playing up to the last day and then took part in the lengthy closing ceremony. They must have been emotionally and physically exhausted on top of dealing with jet lag from the Cincinatti-Bejiing-New York round trip in the space of three weeks.

You have a point about Rafa wearing some head protection. Just so long as he doesn't wear a baseball cap back to front as he does in practice.

Hey ed, I love a bit of sychophancy. It's just day dreaming really, and if pop stars can have it why not sportsmen.

ed,

I still let myself get pulled into it at times, but am trying very hard and making a conscious effort to try and rise above it. I would love to say that I am perfect, but I don't know that it's possible. People here are a great help when I find myself starting to get into it. They remind me to just let it go. It seems that every time Rafa loses, the usual suspects come out again to do their worst. :)


I noticed how red Rafa's face was out there. It's interesting that Nole was wearing a baseball cap and maybe that helped a little. However, it was Rafa's sweating that must have caused him to become so tired. I started thinking back to this year's AO, when he was coming back from the viral infection and was sweating so profusely and looked so tired.

The only issue I have with some of the fan forums is that some seem to overthink and overanalyze Rafa's health. There are those who feel the need to look for physical problems in every single match or who decide that they are doctors and say that Rafa needs some blood tests to rule out mono or this or that. We know that Rafa has a great team and wonderful doctors who take good care of him. It's these incessant rumors that drive me away.

Someone finally said on a forum that it seems to be hard for a few to simply accept that Rafa got outplayed at the end by a Nole who was a bit less tired than he was. They would rather think up possible mysterious illnesses. That just gets me worrying and I don't want to go there.

nadline, yes but only a bit of sycophancy! :)

NNY We have to remember at the end of the day it is just two men hitting a ball backwards and forwards - not a matter of life or death. We can fret and agonise. We can speculate and postulate. But we cant influence the result. The best we can do is 'to lie back and think of England' - if you're familiar with that expression. lol

^^^ that's a little naughty :-) just a little

as for Rafa's sweating, that slick Nike shirt fabric isn't helping any...

and that's even naughtier chlorostoma :-D

ed,

That is an interesting expression - "to lie back and think of England". Could you enlighten me, since I am an American?

Of course, you are right that some perspective is needed when talking about tennis. I guess one has to have a sense of humor and some wisdom. :)

chlorostoma,

Do you really think it's the Nike shirt that is making Rafa sweat like that? He wasn't sweating profusely at IW where it's much drier with less humidity. I also think that they did redesign the shirt after that debacle with the red one that looked like a rubber wet suit!

It seems to be a much lighter fabric with some shine to it. I wish it was only the shirt that made Rafa sweat like that!

NNY: The expression is believed to have originkky come into use amongst British ex-pats when faced with discomfort and conditions which they found disagreeable. It then went on to acquire a different connotation - i.e. thinking about something else to take your mind off the job. Chlorostoma inferred I was referring to the sexual sense of this saying. As if.

ed,

Thanks! Chlorostoma's mind was somewhere else! :)