When Rafa usually announces he's playing doubles, its met with absolute derision ... and probably for the right reasons. We all concern himself with his schedule, the number of matches he plays, the impact on his knees ... so when he says he will play, its frankly annoying. Particularly when sometimes it appears to be done as a "favour" to friends to help them along in their career because they may have hit with him in down season.
So when Rafa announced he will be playing doubles with his surrogate coach - Francisco Roig - eyebrows were raised. But I think this is part of "new Rafa". "New Rafa" is not playing doubles as a favour to his mates, but to effectively get some match practice in whilst receiving on court coaching. Rafa's first round opponent is David Ferrer, a man he knows well, and a man capable of beating him on a hardcourt ... remember the 2007 USO?
The rights and wrongs are there for debate (note that Nole and Murray are both playing doubles to get themselves into it) but what I want to bring up is far more important than that ... NO SLEEVES !!!
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