Yea, tough draw again for Rafa, but who knows, he might just overcome all the obstacles.


VAMOS RAFA!

hi carrie.just thought i would touch base with you.i am posting for a while today,i have been reading posts over the last few days but not really wanting to get involved.i miss federer playing of course,but to be expected i suppose with the incredible year he has had. i would be disappointed that rafa lost,but also he got to the SFs and i think that is a great achievement.he just keeps at it, doesn't he,never gives up.i just felt that he wasnt mentally in the game against cilic yesterday and cilic played a similar style to when he played murray earlier in the year and then went on to beat murray.nobody expected it.not even ricky (I read his earlier post). it does make for exciting tennis though.?anyway am sure i will catch you later.hope you are well.i feel pretty rested now.just cant wait for the next slam!

Rafa is just trying to play some games,get his confidence back and get back into the rhythm of things.This has been a tough year for him(mentality) and he is just trying to close out the season without getting re injured.
Steady as she goes Rafa!
If he could just defend his points from last years madrid open then i know that he will be happy and so will his fans.

That IS a tough draw... But we have to keep up our faith. It's not that he hasn't beaten them all before, right? So he can do it again. ¡Vamos, Rafa!

I think Rafa will do better in Shanghai than Beijing. With some matches under his belt, he certainly will know by now which area of his game he has to improve on. I think first thing is his serve. His opponents in Beijing keep feeding on his second serves so its vital that he improved on his serving so that he offered no cheap points to his opponents. Second thing, he has to improve on his court positioning. I dont understand why after he comes back from his injury, he has reverted to playing his clay court game on a hard court. He is standing so far behind the baseline that his return shots always land short in the opponent's court and allowing his opponents to attack them. I also hope his backhand and forehand are clicking well, esp the DTL forehand and backhand; he has been using his forehand crosscourt shots far too often, even when his opponents are waiting there to receive his crosscourt forehand. It seems that he lacks confidence in his DTL BH & FH.

hmmm, no preferences for Rafa's opening round. Both Blake & Ivo are tough, but I suppose it's a bit annoying playing against Ivo's aces, so maybe Blake's the preference.
Vamos!

Luckystar,he was instructed by his doctor not to serve full force until shanghai cause of his abs.And i think that he stands so far back is cause of his confidence level.He knows what he needs to do but for some reason just won't.
I wish that we could make a big sign and put it on the big screen...MOVE UP! :)

It's a been awhile since Rafa bit a trophy, hasn't it?

i think it's a mental thing with rafa at the moment. and his first tourney back from (another injury), so he's playing his way back in

signs are encouraging. i think the problem at the moment is that players like delpo/cilic etc are not bothered by his topspin, so they can take him apart that way. but i'm not gonna worry about that at the moment

and as for the crap draw: well, there's nothing that can be done about that. best thing to do is sit back and see how he does

Very tough draw for Nadal in Shanghai:

Blake/Karlovic in 2nd
Robredo in 3rd
Monfils/Verdasco in QF
Delpo/Tsonga in Semi
Djoko/Roddick in Finals

Maybe Rafa should focus more on the slower courts and get his game back. I think the problem is that most of his tourneys post injury are on fast hardcourts, where he's not close to his best (usually). Not only do his knees take a battering there, but also the beat-downs that he's got are surely damaging his confidence a lot which is why he seems to tentative at important pts. This seems like the biggest crisis in his career, very close to the foot injury in '06. I would think that in the future Nadal should organize his calender with less emphasis on faster surfaces.

Come to think of it, what a terrible year Rafa's had. Fate cut a scissors through him in 2009. First the knee injury (costing him 2 slams, #1 and #2) after which he has to return back on his least favorite surface (bcoz of the calender) . Subsequently just when he seemed to be getting his game back in the UsOpen, he suffered this ab injury. Anyway, I think he shouldn't read too much into these losses and focus on remaining injury free for the rest of this year. So that he can peak at the slams next yr.

Despite all this, incredulous as it may sound, Nadal is still the #1 player on hard-courts from the stats perspective. He's got 1 slam + 1 ATP 1000 masters on hardcourts, which is more than anyone else!!

Here's hoping Rafa can overcome these setbacks and returns strong next yr. It will be a different Rafa on slower plexicushion at AO, and the clay and grass later in the season.

I had mentioned previously that something's not right with Nadal health-wise, even though he claims he's 100 percent fit. And, the more I watch him play, the more I'm convinced that there is definitely something wrong.

His problems began in Cincy with the abdominal muscle tear and IMO, it's still there and has not healed sufficiently. I think Nadal playing at Beijing was not a good decision as it will only retard his progress and make the abdominal tear more difficult to mend. I know of someone, who's had a similar problem, and is not an athlete, yet it took 3 months to heal, and still there's some pain at times. I believe that until the problem is completely healed, Nadal will only be able to do well against the not so difficult opponents, but when he's up against another who'll make him work hard, his performance will dip and he'll lose. Case in point, it has taken him 3 sets to beat every opponent he faced in Beijing until he finally succumbed to Cilic. This is not about flat and/or power hitters, it's about an injury that's in a bad place, which will affect his serves and his returns, especially his forehand, and it's why he's making so many UEs off that wing. To hit accurately with his FH is contingent upon his stomach muscles being healthy, especially because the action entails contraction on the stomach muscles when hitting. Each time he contracts those muscles, there has to be pain = UE. I also think that he has to stand behind the baseline due to his inaccuracy on the FH wing, as he has a tendency to hit long when he's off in accuracy. There's a method to his madness, and he knows what he's doing, except that execution does not always run true to form as planned.

maxi, nice to see you back. I'm pleased to see all the positive take on Rafa's game at the moment, right now I am a little down about it. I did not see his match with Cilic so I have no idea what happened there, I was rather shocked to see the result.

I'm pleased for Djokovic taking the Beijing title, he has been playing well lately.

VAMOS RAFA!

Von,

And again I cannot be more with your point of view. But I would add something to your explanation: sometimes you become so used to a player that there's this feeling when something is going wrong. You cannot explain it certaintly, but you are so used to seeing his moves that it's pretty easy to see he's not comfortable somehow. Now all Federer fans are gonna jump on me for saying this, but I really don't care if they interpret this as fanatism. The truth is I started seeing Nadal uncomfortable on court since Miami... I just thought: Ok, he's winning tournaments, but not how he used to win. Even his facial espression was different. And nothing of it has really changed during this season. Some people say it is because Rafa is more mature now, an adult that behaves differently on court. My point of view is different. Whether it is because of his injuries or not, the truth is I don't see him enjoying tennis like he did in the past, but that's only my point of view, could make no sense to the rest of you... But if that's the case, I hope the reason are his injuries, not that he's lost his interest or his confidence.

as the first fedfan to read your post, alba, i would never jump on you for what you are saying. i completely get it. but i am the same about federer. i watched the davis cup highlights and watched the first serves going into net, he won the match but he was serving like he did during the us open final. i might even get flack from my own federites for worrying too much but... there you are.

most of the time, rafa and roger are not going to say to the media specifically what is going on if it is an injury bothering them, until down the road, after the fact, or if it becomes so obvious there is no denying it. the reasons for keeping it quiet are -1) hey , it will only help opponents take advantage 2) maybe it is something they can play thru. 3) if they say what it is ahead of a match it sounds like an excuse and 4) detracts from their opponents win.

i understand how you are feeling....believe me, i do! rafa is a champion... an extraordinary champion and he is not finished at 23. true, he is not playing like he did at ao09 and that's a hard pill to swallow. but he'll do what is best, figure out how to get back to where he was or at least close. he needs to make the adjustments so he does not re-injure his knees especially. and the abdominal tear is no joke. such a large, important muscle takes time...he may be guarding it, playing it safe and smart. i did not watch beijing, just speaking from what i have read. take care-

alba: I don't want to mislead you, but I'm not a Nadal fan per se. I root for him and admire him a lot -- I'm somewhat of a neutral admirer and supporter. I'm not going to become angry over comments as a normal Nadal fan will, but I will speak up if I see something's not right. That said, since he began having all the knee problems, I began to root for him more and take a lot more interest in his tennis.

I agree with you that his problems began in Miami. I remarked on that to a Nadal fan on the other site. He stated that Nadal was just getting tuned up, and things will get better. But, to me, it didn't, it only got worse. I recently mentioned that I don't see the joy and enthusiasm he used to have and he's 'spark-less'. Even after his match wins, the fist-pumps, clapping and celebration looked very lack-lustre. His smile appears forced. It's more of a grimace than an actual smile. That's the face of someone who's in pain, either physically or emotionally. From a psychological point of view one could say he's apathetic. and, that's how I perceive it to be with him.

I understand when you say you know your player. I know mine so well that I can tell when he's nervous against an opponent, especially when he double-faults, or his serve is not clicking. It's somewhat like looking at our kids and knowing when they are coming down with something, we sense it happening. So too, we sense the same with our fave players. In sum alba, you are bang-on in your assessment, and I wouldn't think you're being fanatical, but just human, and a fan who loves her player. Don't be afraid to voice your opinions, as long as you're not being derogatory, you should speak up.

Thanks Zoey for your words, I totally see what you're saying and it's great to see we all feel the same with our favorite players. I only said that about you Federer supporters because I didn't want it to sound like another excuse to defend Rafa's defeats. Maybe I've failed at explaining myself. Surely I did lol

So if you don't mind me asking: who's your player, Von? Btw, it's not that I'm afraid to voice my opinions, it's just that English is not my first language and I don't feel as confident as you guys to express my opinion. It's all blur and frustrating when I try lol But thanks for the support :)

alba: Roddick's my fave player. I support all the Americans,, but I don't like Isner's fist-pumps too much. I like other players also, and I root for them to win due to different criteria, but never when they are playing against Roddick. LOL. I understand about English not being your first language and the level of difficulty of expression experienced when trying to interact with English speaking writers. To tell you the truth, I admire that a lot and they are to be commended. I couldn't do the same. Which country are you from alba?

Roddick, I truly love him. Honestly, one of my favorite players too. And he has my heart for being hilarious. Love his sense of humour. I'm from Spain :)

Glad to hear you love Roddick, alba. I've noticed some here like to bash him, but I'm going to ignore them as much as possible.

I Love your country, especially the Lladro figurines.

i like to bash crass big mouth roddick, please do ignore me as i do ignore your posts, thanks.

Yep, I'm planning to ignore some comments as well. Specially those with no common sense.

I love your country too, been there quite a few times but not a lot these days. Too bad.

Talking about the Lladró figurines, let me know where you live. I'll steal some of my parents' and send them your way. They look quite obsessed with Lladró, their house has at least ten and I'm bored of them. LOL

Ok, I better go to sleep, it's getting quite late here. Catch you up some other time. More tennis coming this week! Let's see what happens in Shanghai.

I agree with you Alba and Von, that Rafa didnt look good since Miami. In fact many Rafa fans have noticed that. He started playing badly in Miami, shanking his forehand and backhand and his serve was horrible. I dont know at that point was it his family problem or any injury that bothered him. According to him, his knee injury only started after he left Miami, so I presumed it was his family problem that bothered him. Throughout the clay season, we noticed a 'not so happy' Rafa, even when he won the tournament(s), it was more a show of relief than real happiness.
It was sad to see a Rafa like that, in the past, he was so lively and happy. In 2009, we hardly see him fist pumping, he is like showing relief after each match, more than actually enjoying playing the game. Now that we know of his problems, we can only hope that he get over them and focus on his tennis once again. All the best to the Rafa that we support and love! Vamos!

Playing Blake or Ivo in his first match is like being between a rock and a hard place for Rafa. If he wins his first match then he stands a fighting chance of going deep into the tournament, but if he is struggling mentally, he is going to find it tough.

I so hope he finds his form soon, tennis for me is not much fun when Rafa isn't biting trophy after trophy. I've always loved tennis, and I go back a long time as a tennis fan, but since Rafa came on the scene, for me it's been all about him, sad really, but that's the truth.

VAMOS RAFA!

Well now we know. He has to face Blake in his first match. It will all hinge on whether he can hold it together mentally face to face with a rejuvenated Blake.

Blake it is then. Vamos Rafa!

lol carrie...he'll be biting those trophies once again...hopefully sooner rather than later. But these things happen. It's impossible for any player to keep 100% physically & mentally at all times. They all experience down-times... Roger had it, Djokovics had it, & now Rafa (hopefully it's ended already though! 'coz a semi last week is still a good showing)...& they all come out of it. Also each player has an opponent he struggles against...just a matter of sometimes being lucky while figuring them out. Ups & downs is the nature of the game, so do take heart.

Vamos Rafa!!

Good post Alexa:)...Carrie(xoxo)
Just think this time last year we would have given anything to see him play in shanghai.Now you can at least see him play!!!
How do you think the fans of murray and federer feel now.They can't even see them play:(
things could always be worse.
So chin up sister girl..Rafa needs us to cheer him on:)