Hehe ... couldn't resist the above. But ... Rafa now has won 6 of the 9 Masters, and Cincy to boot! Who would have ever believed it?? Not me ... but today, Rafa took his 26th Masters on the so-called fastest court of them all.
Not bad for a clay court moonballer, eh?? ;)
I won't talk too much about the match because I can't say I particularly enjoyed it. John Izzzner might have saved tennissss the other day by taking out the Prince of Darkness, but seriously folks, I cannot bear his brand of tennis. I hope never to have to watch him ever again.
Half the time you want to say, let's fast forward to the tie break and get this over with ... and that was the case in both sets today, with Rafa having to work harder in the first one than the second. But the joy on his face when he won and the fact that he fell to the floor, this really just shows how much today's victory meant to him.
And is he just the most remarkable player, ever?/ I'm having to pinch myself now with all he has done in his comeback, but "comeback" it is no more. Stunning. Apart from the Wimbledon aberration, he's reached every final, and bar Monte Carlo and Chile ... has won them all. I know I'm like a cracked record as the stats just keep racking up ... but Rafa has won 5 Masters and a Slam this season, after starting it only in February. So far, he's the player of the season and after falling to No. 5 ... his fantastic success now means that he goes into the US Open as the No 2 seed!! Bravo, Rafa!!!
Djokovic ... can you feel his breath right down your neck?? Can you???
Last year when Rafa started to pull out of one tournament after the other, I wrote a post called, "Dear Rafa" ... and it was about if you could write him a letter, what would you say? And I concentrated on talking about his courage, because his courage - for me - is the most outstanding quality he has. Time and time again he comes back from aversion, and triumphs. Whether it be his health issues, the difficulties his opponents put to him, he has the courage to keep hanging on there, working hard, and with that rugged determination and lion hearted courage ... he succeeds. He is the outstanding player of his generation, the ultimate role model, a complete and utter treasure, and I adore him.
With the big one of the US Open now just round the corner ... Dear Rafa, just do your best. xxx
I agree that his courage is the best. But is he also the tennis player with the best patience? After the match he said he knew he had to be patient and wait for his chances...and so he waited. Who else would be able to do that? And then take advantage of those chances! He is just amazing!!
ReplyDeleteHe had better patience than me! Good old Rafa. Such a star!!!
DeleteHis courage is indeed unmatched, as is his tennis playing ability. How does he hit some of those shots????
ReplyDeleteOne thing that's pleasing me lately is that he's starting to get more credit for his tennis rather than just being an amazing physical specimen. Ever since Gulbis made that stupid comment that he should have won in Madrid? Rome? and Rafa shed his humility for a moment and said in his opinion the better player was the one who had a strategy and figured out how to win. That seems to have woken up a lot of people and I've heard it over and over again lately on tv and the streams and even read it a lot on the internet that Rafa is such a smart player. Such a treat to hear him finally given his due. :)
Hasn't he won 6 of the 9 Masters? He hasn't won Miami, Shanghai or Paris, I believe. I know the numbers are stacking up in multiple wins in some of them, so I may be slightly confused. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
ReplyDeleteBut anyway, lovely words on your post as always, a real pleasure to pop by here and read.
Good spot, Jackie, and you are of course correct. Post amended. I forgot he's never won Miami. BOOOO! Hehe.
DeleteOh and thanks for always coming by to support the blog, Jackie. It's appreciated.
DeleteJackie, Rafa has 7. He won the title in Madrid when it was on hard court before it was moved to Shanghai so he's considered to have won that one. He's only missing Paris and Miami, but big whoop, he's got so many others he doesn't need those! ;)
DeleteYou are so good at actually saying what I (we all) are thinking. Thank you for that. And, thank you, dear Rafa, for being our hero. You are precious & amazing. Oh, can someone put a flipping muzzle on Jim Courier? He never shut up for one single second during that match! Ugh.
ReplyDeleteWe had the "delight" of Jim Courier at the French Open ... so I started watching another channel. :D Thank you for your nice words.
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