Simon Reed asks - is it time to start worrying about Rafa?

Some quotes below:

"You have to be worried about the noises he is making though."

"You are naturally going to be more worried when Rafa gets injured than with anyone else simply because of the way he plays."

"...because it is Rafa and because we all care so much about him, you do wonder what might be in store - when he gets injured it certainly is more concerning than when it happens to Novak Djokovic..."

So what do you say 606? Are you worried just like Simon Reed?


http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/simon-reed/time-start-worrying-rafa-055443788.html

I wouldn't be surprised if Toni Nadal was to blame for continually forcing Rafa to do training and probably aggravating his knees more than he should. From what I hear he's "the boss". I don't like Toni; I never have. People talk about Federer not being a good loser. From what I've seen, Uncle Toni is worse. Whenever Rafa loses he disappears quicker than Lord Lucan. There's no question he's been a massive part of Rafa's success, but perhaps it's time to part ways.

Edit: I hope it's not the beginning of the end for Rafa. I hate to see a player's career cut short by injuries but if it is (and again, I hope not) he's had a brilliant career. I can't see that record on clay being beaten ever.

I would say I was concerned for him. From a health perspective you could say that the effects of 2010 are starting to catch up with him. I don't like to see any player have their career's cut short through injury. I think when Rafa does come back we might see a slower moving player. I think the fact it has been this long raises concerns. Is this an injury which is having him fighting for his career? It is possible to speculate, but I do feel there is some decisions going on in the background. He himself hasn't come out and committed to a time when he would expect to be back or thinking of coming back. He might even be making changes to his game because of the demands it has on his knees. I know many who post here have being saying his style will come at a price. I guess I didn't expect it to be so sudden as it has. His performances weren't that below par that I thought something physically was not right.

IF and I do mean IF this is to be the start of the end of his career, then many players who have invested so much physically might have a re-think.

I would be worried for him if the condition continues through the autumn and he is looking creaky at the AO. I would be positively alarmed for him if he struggled through the clay season.

At the moment, that while his woes are frustrating for his fans, according to his uncle and coach they are 'not career threatening'.

Just noticed your post legend as I was about to press 'send'. I think Nadal has already changed his style quite a lot - okay Djokovic pulled him all over the court last year and made him run, but how many players do that to Rafa nowadays? He is very dominant on the baseline and usually is sending everyone else belting from corner to corner - that wasn't always so. Of course there are exceptions (take a bow Mr Rosol!) I'm actually surprised we haven't seen him having more stress related injuries to his left shoulder and wrist because of the way he pummels the ball, but I guess it is the weight of shot that is causing is left knee to feel the strain as much as movement around the court?

TP,

He did make changes in 2010 in a bid to compact his game and then from 2011 onwards he kind of went in reverse once Djokovic was bludgeoning him on court.

This year he is using a heavier racquet and it seemed like his movement looked at lot better. He managed to survive the 6 hour epic with Djokovic and still win a Slam this year. I still felt his best attribute was the movement and running. I can't say I have noticed wholesale changes that put the emphasis of his game into the grounstrokes.

There's a nice write-up of his tactics against Djoker here, though I'm not sure I entirely agree with the title of the article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303753904577452512483827188.html

Ha ha! Why is it that Nadal's detractors enjoy worrying about Rafa so much?

Erm well Simon Reed, one of your favs has asked the question and it is a legitimate question. No-one in their responses thus far has used it as a stick to beat him with either.

hawkeye wrote:Ha ha! Why is it that Nadal's detractors enjoy worrying about Rafa so much?

I think everyone on this thread has admiration for Nadal as a great tennis player even if some of us have been a bit critical/sceptical about some of Team Nadal's relentless PR or some of Rafa's on court etiquette. It does not mean that it is impossible to enjoy watching him play, nor should it preclude any of us commenting on topical press releases.

I would be very sorry if this injury was to prove to be insurmountable for him.

Some of us are a little more objective than purely avid fans of one player and indefatigable critics (hint, hint!) of another!!!!

Indeed, I would not wish a career ending injury on anyone! Well said time please.

I would be very sorry if this injury was to prove to be insurmountable for him.

He's had knee problems since he was a teenager, infact could be before his first slam. Didn't stop him getting to the top.

Alot of drama queens surface when a big name is mentioned.

legendkillarV2

Simon Reed? One of my "favs"?

Wishful thinking can come in many forms. Sometimes it takes the form of speculation and worry about some sort of dramatic event that might take place. With Nadal the "worry" is often accompanied by stern lashings of blame. As in "it's all his own fault for insisting on running about so much"...

I guess we should just all ignore topical pieces of news unless we have the correct fan credentials then H_E?

Oh wait a minute...............

time please

Of course you can worry about Rafa as much as you like. But I can also speculate about the source of that worry. That's fair isn't it?

hawkeye, are you not worried about the latest development then? Hoffitis sounds pretty bad.

He's more worried about the TV ratings than his favourite player

hawkeye wrote:time please

Of course you can worry about Rafa as much as you like. But I can also speculate about the source of that worry. That's fair isn't it?

If you wish to pass the time speculating on my motives etc, please be my guest - I'll try to make it as much fun for you as I can

I am curious though H_E - I'm not sure if you have no self-awareness at all because you seem to think that everyone has the same modus operandi as you - a Squirrel Nutkin like insistence on teasing Old Brown (Murray fans) at every opportunity that presents itself to you. Sometimes I just think you have a very dry sense of humour - you're a conundrum to moi!

I'm afraid I don't have the same inclination to bait, as I think you do, but I do just like to debate or chew the cud with other tennis fans on here

So you like to "debate" with other tennis fans but only tennis fans that share your perspective... Or maybe even tennis fan's who's views differ as long as they present their views in a way that you approve of?

Isn't that the definition of civillised debate?

hawkeye wrote:So you like to "debate" with other tennis fans but only tennis fans that share your perspective... Or maybe even tennis fan's who's views differ as long as they present their views in a way that you approve of?

No, I is not fussed

A seemingly chilling lack of concern about the knees of Nadal from 606.

Toni says he'll be playing Davis Cup, way ahead of the 6 months it takes to recover from Hoffitis, so perhaps you're right to be unworried.

Given Nadal has said this.... "We will adopt a new approach and probably from now on, I will have to play more on clay, than on hard, which hurts me more. If I have to play less matches in the year, I will. If I have to change the tournaments I play, I will. I will do anything to prolong my career"....what will he do? Play South American clay season before and after AO, and also clay after Wimbledon...the problem is that he'll just mop up on lower clay events, could b almost boring for him, plus I don't think he wants to become a claycourter per se...but then perhaps he now has no choice? What does everyone think his calendar will start to look like?

It depends. He will certainly sacrifice a lot of ranking points. What about the mandatory Masters events?

I will have to check the calendar and see where he might crap out on.