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Rafa's 2017 Post-French Open

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Patrick Kehoe

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Jun 12, 2017, 12:03:22 PM6/12/17
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arahim wrote:

"Counting up to the FO this is Nadal's best year results wise: Finalist at AO and winner at FO; He had the same results in 2012 and 2014 but in 2014 he only had one master's win (he has two so far this year). He had two in 2012 but this year he made an additional final. For the remaining parts of 2012 and 2014 Nadal was basically absent (no shows at USO, early exits at Wimbledon and except for one all remaining masters skipped). This year he does not seem to be in a state to quit for the remainder of the year. Additionally with Djokovic and Murray still not at their best can Nadal turn it around on Grass and second half of the season to have his best year ever (FO, W, USO in 2010)?"

Thanks for the post arahim!

Got me thinking: Just what kind of a) efforts and b) reliability and c) results will Rafa post (be able to post) for the balance of what has already been an astonishing tennis year. Having turned 31 and with his 'established' pattern of falling off after MONSTER AO/ClayCourt/FO runs, will he be able to break that patterns THIS year.

Can Rafa can his 'run' going?

Is he in for a serious 'corrective/correction'? Might this be the season he makes a concerted run through the USO? Can it be done in today's tennis?

P

Gracchus

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Jun 12, 2017, 12:06:41 PM6/12/17
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On Monday, June 12, 2017 at 9:03:22 AM UTC-7, Patrick Kehoe wrote:

> Got me thinking: Just what kind of a) efforts and b) reliability and c) results will Rafa post (be able to post) for the balance of what has already been an astonishing tennis year. Having turned 31 and with his 'established' pattern of falling off after MONSTER AO/ClayCourt/FO runs, will he be able to break that patterns THIS year.

> Can Rafa can his 'run' going?

> Is he in for a serious 'corrective/correction'? Might this be the season he makes a concerted run through the USO? Can it be done in today's tennis?

Interesting that you don't mention Wimbledon, since it's coming right up.

As for the USO, Nadal won't be "timed" for perfect performance anymore. Popeye will be all out of spinach.

Patrick Kehoe

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Jun 12, 2017, 12:23:21 PM6/12/17
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Personally, I don't see Rafa getting to the Wimbledon final; but, Rafa remains a guy who runs 'on fight and form' meaning playing a lot ties into his competences and ability to generate great play/results. So, without injury as a stopper, he has been able (when very young) to run his FO results right into a run at Wimbledon and do that successfully. Yes, it was a long time ago and he's 31; that's my core query. Can the mental, physical and emotional issues be dealt with to make that happen BECAUSE he isn't showing any 'limiting' PHYSICAL issues at the moment.

Mentally, he going to have to come down off an enormous high of attaining 'la decima' as it has been termed. That's not insignificant, obviously. And the reality of quick court tennis puts back in play NickyK, Zverev, Milos, along with Feds, Murray and Nole, even a mentally fractured Nole.

So more danger points for Rafa heading in than in Paris. We know that. I'm wondering how much sheer drive and confidence has he balled up; how much momentum can he really carry on the grass? Or does he hit a wall?

I say he hits a wall, but, I was wondering what others think.

P

PeteWasLucky

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Jun 12, 2017, 12:37:08 PM6/12/17
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> Is he in for a serious 'corrective/correction'? Might this be the season he makes a concerted run through the USO? Can it be done in today's tennis?

Rafa looked great during the clay season and it suggests he will continue the great run for the rest of the year but it's not only about the physicality of the game even he is 31 years old now but it's about the mental part as well.
I was saying that djokovic was due to mental burnout when he was dominating and said the longer he resists the mental burnout the longer he will stay in it when it comes and he we go watching him unable to recover.
So Rafa pushed himself hard during 2017 to stay peak after losing the AO and two HC masters, pushed himself to dominate the clay season, and this is what Federer expected for him in Miami final ceremony when he said he will tear the clay courts. So the question is how much mental pressure and efforts Nadal endured during the first six months of the year and how this will impact him.

Court_1

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Jun 12, 2017, 1:27:45 PM6/12/17
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On Monday, June 12, 2017 at 12:03:22 PM UTC-4, Patrick Kehoe wrote:

> Got me thinking: Just what kind of a) efforts and b) reliability and c) results will Rafa post (be able to post) for the balance of what has already been an astonishing tennis year. Having turned 31 and with his 'established' pattern of falling off after MONSTER AO/ClayCourt/FO runs, will he be able to break that patterns THIS year.
>
> Can Rafa can his 'run' going?
>
> Is he in for a serious 'corrective/correction'? Might this be the season he makes a concerted run through the USO? Can it be done in today's tennis?
>
> P

You never know with Nadal what will happen once he gets some confidence and if he can stay healthy. He could bomb out in the first week of Wimbledon again or he could win the whole thing. Same with the USO. The scary part about his current game is that he's playing more aggressively to compensate for the slight loss of movement/speed with a better serve and bh.

Court_1

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Jun 12, 2017, 1:29:14 PM6/12/17
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Don't be so sure. With Djokovic and Murray out of form and two generations of useless younger players, Nadal could do some damage. You can't write him off.

PeteWasLucky

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Jun 12, 2017, 1:31:45 PM6/12/17
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> Don't be so sure. With Djokovic and Murray out of form and two generations of useless younger players, Nadal could do some damage. You can't write him off.

It's about time Zverev and Kyrgios to do some damage.

Gracchus

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Jun 12, 2017, 1:36:35 PM6/12/17
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Obviously he's won before, but look at his pattern over the years. True though about Djoke and Murray. These days we have TWO capons.

SliceAndDice

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Jun 12, 2017, 2:12:09 PM6/12/17
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Wimbledon is going to be tougher, especially in the first week. There are many more players that can play well on grass, compared to the paucity of competition on clay. I am not ruling him out though. He seems to draw confidence from his clay seasons, and by any standards, he has had a great one.

Court_1

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Jun 12, 2017, 2:21:40 PM6/12/17
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Who knows if he'll even play Wimbledon. He's already bitching about his knees because of the bending he has to do on a grass surface. I guess he'll see how he feels at Queens.

TT

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Jun 12, 2017, 2:30:17 PM6/12/17
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We can feel your pain...
:-P

Gracchus

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Jun 12, 2017, 2:38:22 PM6/12/17
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No pain here. Last I saw, Rafaela Marcellus Clay was still trailing the Great Man. Should he win Wimbledon, I might feel some twinges.

heyg...@gmail.com

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Jun 12, 2017, 5:07:54 PM6/12/17
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On Monday, June 12, 2017 at 1:27:45 PM UTC-4, Court_1 wrote:
He's serving his second serve 9mph faster than before. Probably his biggest area of improvement.

Carey

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Jun 12, 2017, 5:14:11 PM6/12/17
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On Monday, June 12, 2017 at 2:07:54 PM UTC-7, heyg...@gmail.com wrote:

> He's serving his second serve 9mph faster than before. Probably his biggest area of improvement.


spinich™


Guypers

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Jun 12, 2017, 5:51:04 PM6/12/17
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Not his bh?

bob

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Jun 12, 2017, 7:24:17 PM6/12/17
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i'd think so.

bob

bob

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Jun 12, 2017, 7:26:00 PM6/12/17
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nadal said he could always serve much harder, just wasn't in his
strategy. now that he is, makes me think i was right about what he's
been doing as far as being more aggressive to make up for his
diminished defensive skills.

bob

Court_1

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Jun 12, 2017, 10:00:50 PM6/12/17
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Twinges? You'll be full-on disgusted if Nadal wins Wimbledon. Whom are we kidding?

Gracchus

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Jun 12, 2017, 10:50:28 PM6/12/17
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It's called understatement. :)

Whisper

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Jun 13, 2017, 7:25:15 AM6/13/17
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Rafa may well have his best ever yr on tour. He needs to win Wim/USO
again though. That would take him to 17 slams.



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Whisper

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Jun 13, 2017, 7:32:07 AM6/13/17
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Well, historically that seems to be the case. However he has a new
coach & looks like a new outlook on life/tennis. Who knows - he may be
pumped to carry on, possibly play even better now that he's achieved
this stunning goal.

I'll keep an open mind. It wouldn't surprise me if he lost early at
Wimbledon, or played his best stuff & won the title.

Whisper

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Jun 13, 2017, 7:37:32 AM6/13/17
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I think this is a different Rafa to earlier yrs. He knows the clock is
ticking so probably won't be taking his usual sabbaticals. He may carry
this form the whole yr.

Whisper

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Jun 13, 2017, 7:46:39 AM6/13/17
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Yes, this looks like a new Rafa so we should ignore what he usually did
in 2nd half of yr in the past.

Pelle Svanslös

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Jun 13, 2017, 7:59:33 AM6/13/17
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:)

--
“Donald Trump is the weak man’s vision of a strong man.”
-- Charles Cooke

ahonkan

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Jun 14, 2017, 2:00:04 AM6/14/17
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On Tuesday, 13 June 2017 17:07:32 UTC+5:30, Whisper wrote:

>
> I think this is a different Rafa to earlier yrs. He knows the clock is
> ticking so probably won't be taking his usual sabbaticals. He may carry
> this form the whole yr.

Note that this is a different Fed too, as consecutive wins over Rafa have
shown. Fed had never beaten Rafa at AO and Rafa had played him tough in Miami
before. This 'different Rafa' has so far won only on clay & nowhere else
like every year, so how is that 'different'?
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