ARTICLES:
- Rafa Nadal: “I am not afraid of my expiration date” | El Español
I know I’ve been doing things the right way. The work that I’ve done is well done. Tuesday’s loss does not change the reality: I am well and I hope it continues this way from now on. Yes, I had lost in Qatar against Djokovic in the final, but I’m on the right track. I will try to follow a similar work line, and I will try to leave the match against Verdasco behind me.
In any case there are no excuses. I failed to take advantage of what I should have and when the match goes sideways it is impossible to fix. I could have won in the fourth set. I think I did the right things to finish it, but he had an adrenaline rush that lasted until the fifth set.
The loss to Verdasco cannot take my current perspective: I’ve been playing at fairly high level since Beijing. I’ve been playing at a high level regularly in the last few months, at a level that I hope to have. Yesterday’s defeat is a stone in the road of this recent positive streak and I just need to assume it.
Está claro que Rafa está en una etapa de cambio, de cambiar cosas y de evolución en general. Puede estar algo confuso por ello, lo que puede inducirle a más presión, errores, falta de confianza… pero le veo jugando un buen año, en general, aunque esta derrota sea dura de asimilar: un partido al límite, primera ronda, etc. Pero Rafa ha salido de peores situaciones. Estoy seguro de que en solo dos o tres semanas volverá a estar bien.
- The Numbers Game: Anatomy of an upset | Australian Open
When huge upsets like these occur, our natural reaction is to search for explanations. Was the underdog simply playing out of their mind? Did the top seed not have enough tournament play after the off-season, or was this just an off day?
- Mouratoglou believes a slower Nadal has tough challenge ahead | Sports Illustrated
“Even if somehow he finds a way back to full confidence, I’m not sure he’d still beat [Novak] Djokovic. And getting back to this state of mind while you keep losing against Djokovic, it’s not easy,” Mouratoglou said. “If [Nadal] starts to think that he won’t ever be back then he’s going to stop playing tennis. If at some point he stops believing, he’ll stop. That’s not someone who’s going to hang in there between the fifth and 10th spot in the rankings. But he still believes he can. For how long, I don’t know. But the results will have to arrive quickly.”
“He’s going to be so good when the clay court season comes along. He’s got a couple of tournaments now, so he’s got an extra 10 days to practice before he goes to South America, he’s going to go down there, he’s going to win one of those (tournaments), he’s going to get a lot of matches. He’s going to be so dangerous when the clay court season comes along, and if he gets a good clay court season then the confidence comes back,” said Wilander.
Rafa makes me excited to watch tennis. I’ll always be his supporter. And besides he’s such a good man at a very early age. You just want the best for him.
To All Rafa Fans: Never lose hope. Not just in tennis but in all aspects of life. Yes I am always hoping and very often praying for Rafa. I hope and pray that he will find a way to win tournaments and defeat Novak as well. Whether or not he does it with the help of another coach is yet to be seen. I, or none of us have control over that. Personally, I feel that bringing a different and new perspective to his team would only help him and not hurt him. But that is Rafa’s choice. I am a fan of Rafa, and always will be – whether or not he gets additional coaching or not. God bless you Rafa, and Good Luck & Good Health!! Love, Marylynn
Thank you both to Maria and you Marylynn for some sane and lovely comments as I, too am a huge Rafa fan since he was 18 years old and ever since, he just appealed to me with his obvious talent and his passion for his game, he has never changed in that regard but only he knows what he has to do to progress his game. I always lose interest when he goes out of a tournament and cannot wait until the next one. All I can say is all the very best in South America and the rest of 2016. We, your true fans, are always with you Rafa.
Rafa dosent need to see a therapist but a few of you on this site should seek out a Psychiatrists for yourselves. And J Beer some of your comments might have been OK back when you were young but times have changed and this is 2016 and your comments and what they suggest are not
Serena Williams dropped in the rankings after one of her sisters was murdered. Rafa has no such excuse for his decline. Serena regained her form and surpassed it by seeing a therapist and hiring a new coach. Rafa stubbornly and stupidly refuses to do either.