All aboard the Rafarollercoaster!!
What a stomach churning, sick inducing match that turned out to be. To be honest, I didn't really fear for Rafa in this match. I'm not convinced of Delpo's fitness yet and as his record is poor on grass, I thought Rafa would be able to get this. Sure, I expected close sets, but I still thought it was his. But what I didn't bargain for was the drama at the end of the first set.
Such was my belief that he would be OK, I concentrated on Feli's 5 set thriller and only tuned in towards the end from about 4-4 but you could tell a great match was taking place. With Delpo serving at 5-6, Rafa hit a stunning forehand to get set point, but he immediately pulled up. Barely an attempt was made to go for the next point and he gave up on the following two, to which he then went to the chair and immediately asked for the trainer which the umpire allowed to happen straight away. Cue a lot of opposition from Delpo as it was immediately before the tie-breaker, but Rafa looked like he was in pain. The doctor also came on and we could hear Rafa saying something about the bone and then he was taken off court for a medical time out treatment and an injection. He also got his foot re-bandaged in such a way the pressure was taken off Rafa's sore point.
When play resumed, Delpo rushed to a 3-0 lead and I felt sick that the set was surely Delpo's and hoped that Rafa could recover enough to make a fist of it in the next. But slowly Rafa gained some more confidence in his foot placement, made his way back into the breaker, and when Delpo served at 6-7 points down and double-faulted, by some miracle, it was Rafa's set.
Rafa did lose his own serve in the second set, and it was enough to see Delpo through and win it, 6-3. However, Delpo then had his own fall, hurt his hip and mid-game, had his own medical time out.
So like two heavy weights, both men slugged it out to 6-6 in the third and another tie-break ensued. But this was where Rafa came into his own, and he majestically took it, 7-4. He then managed the only break of serve he had on Delpo in the fourth set which was enough to see him through and take the match.
Rafa went to hospital after the match to have an MRI scan on the injury, which showed the next day that there was no serious damage. Thank God. But the fact that Rafa called an MTO sent the tennis forum of 606v2 that I'm part of into meltdown with the usual accusations of cheating and faking. Stuff too awful to even begin to contemplate and the ridiculousness of it all beggars belief. I would like to add though, that whilst I've previously been promoting 606v2 on this blog, and whether any of you have taken a look because of it, I don't know, but what I wish to now point out is - don't bother. Its as much a rabid Rafa-haters' forum as any other you would find, again with no strong support by the people that run it, some of whom join in with it all. It is utterly dreadful, and avoid at all costs.
But that was a terrific match for Rafa to win, and here's hoping that he can learn to cope with what may be ailing him and that he batters Mardy Fish in the next round. Hehe.
What a stomach churning, sick inducing match that turned out to be. To be honest, I didn't really fear for Rafa in this match. I'm not convinced of Delpo's fitness yet and as his record is poor on grass, I thought Rafa would be able to get this. Sure, I expected close sets, but I still thought it was his. But what I didn't bargain for was the drama at the end of the first set.
Such was my belief that he would be OK, I concentrated on Feli's 5 set thriller and only tuned in towards the end from about 4-4 but you could tell a great match was taking place. With Delpo serving at 5-6, Rafa hit a stunning forehand to get set point, but he immediately pulled up. Barely an attempt was made to go for the next point and he gave up on the following two, to which he then went to the chair and immediately asked for the trainer which the umpire allowed to happen straight away. Cue a lot of opposition from Delpo as it was immediately before the tie-breaker, but Rafa looked like he was in pain. The doctor also came on and we could hear Rafa saying something about the bone and then he was taken off court for a medical time out treatment and an injection. He also got his foot re-bandaged in such a way the pressure was taken off Rafa's sore point.
When play resumed, Delpo rushed to a 3-0 lead and I felt sick that the set was surely Delpo's and hoped that Rafa could recover enough to make a fist of it in the next. But slowly Rafa gained some more confidence in his foot placement, made his way back into the breaker, and when Delpo served at 6-7 points down and double-faulted, by some miracle, it was Rafa's set.
Rafa did lose his own serve in the second set, and it was enough to see Delpo through and win it, 6-3. However, Delpo then had his own fall, hurt his hip and mid-game, had his own medical time out.
So like two heavy weights, both men slugged it out to 6-6 in the third and another tie-break ensued. But this was where Rafa came into his own, and he majestically took it, 7-4. He then managed the only break of serve he had on Delpo in the fourth set which was enough to see him through and take the match.
Rafa went to hospital after the match to have an MRI scan on the injury, which showed the next day that there was no serious damage. Thank God. But the fact that Rafa called an MTO sent the tennis forum of 606v2 that I'm part of into meltdown with the usual accusations of cheating and faking. Stuff too awful to even begin to contemplate and the ridiculousness of it all beggars belief. I would like to add though, that whilst I've previously been promoting 606v2 on this blog, and whether any of you have taken a look because of it, I don't know, but what I wish to now point out is - don't bother. Its as much a rabid Rafa-haters' forum as any other you would find, again with no strong support by the people that run it, some of whom join in with it all. It is utterly dreadful, and avoid at all costs.
But that was a terrific match for Rafa to win, and here's hoping that he can learn to cope with what may be ailing him and that he batters Mardy Fish in the next round. Hehe.
No comments:
Post a Comment