Hold the Basel ...

As you'll all know by now, Rafa has withdrawn from Basel.  And I do genuinely feel sorry for those fans that have bought tickets on the back of him being there, but sadly, this is something that we've all, more or less, had to encounter over recent times.

I actually think it's a wise decision of Rafa's.  And to be honest, I raised my eyebrows when he committed to going in the first place, and more so recently as I thought he looked tired in the Asian swing and couldn't really understand the sense of playing 3 hardcourt tournaments in succession.  I know it will probably make things very tight between him and the The Prince of Darkness for the Year End No. 1, but for once, Rafa has very sensibly put his body and health first over a potential tennis accomplishment.  

Very wise - in  my opinion - although you would not think so considering the furore over Rafa this past week.

What I'm talking about are so-called articles from Fedtards Pacquin and some Argentinian bloke (whose name evades my memory), with a little dose of Juan Carlos Ferrero thrown in for good measure.  Now then, I'm making comment about articles that I haven't actually read, and I'm not going to, because I've read enough bilge about Rafa to last me a lifetime, thank you.  But from Twitter this week, I get the gist that Rafa is once again under the cosh because he's either greedy for money, has royally shafted a wickle old tournament director, refuses to support a countryman's tournament and thereby not saving the Spanish economy ... and he probably pulls out the whiskers from kittens with a pair of tweezers and bares his famoos ass in Burton's shop window too.

My point being ... has there ever been a player like Rafa whose every move, word, action and raise of the eyebrow is so poured over and scrutinised and commented on and criticised ... even when the guy is not playing!!

Basel's tournament director fell out with Federer earlier this year over money (I believe). Federer therefore tripped over his bottom lip and took his curling tongs home and said, I'm not playing ... so there.  No doubt the TD went courting Rafa's management and I'm sure he accepted to play for a hefty fee.  Feddie is now turning up anyway, but all the money the TD has spent in promoting Rafa has now left him with egg on his face and the man has been "let down".  So Rafa is criticised for being a money grabbing 'ho, for letting a TD down, upsetting fans, ruining a tournament and not keeping his word.  But had he have played and say at some point before the end of the year broken down, then the critics would be at him for not managing his schedule correctly, for moaning about the number of hardcourt tournaments and yet playing three on the bounce, that wear and tear on his knees is all his own damned fault ... see, either way, the most talked about player in tennis can't win.

And over in Spain, we have Juan Carlos Ferrero - the tournament director of Valencia - desperately vying with Basel to have the top players come play at his tournament.  So I can just imagine how he felt to find out that Spain's No. 1 superstar had opted to play in Switzerland and not the land of his birth.  I used to once really like JCF - I thought him a very classy player and very classy man - but I'm changing my opinion. There's this oft mooted grudge that JCF still apparently holds about Rafa in that he was passed over for this young upstart in the singles of the Davis Cup final of 2004.  And you perhaps wonder if there's not more than a tad of jealously considering that JCF was once a Slam winner and World Number 1 and yet has never had any of the amount of adulation that seems to be held in Spain for Rafa.  And it's this scab that JCF is seemingly prepared to pick, ie. Rafa cares more about the money on offer in Switzerland that what he does about competing in Spain.  That Rafa's presence in Valencia would be a fantastic boost for the Spanish tournament, tickets sales would rocket, Rafa would therefore get the depleted, dire Spanish economy moving again ... but no, the selfish creature prefers to take his bat and ball and go and play elsewhere.

Give me strength.

Rafa makes more than enough of a contribution to the Spanish economy by the taxes he has to pay for continuing to live there.  Unlike some I could mention - Djokovic - who beat their chest and swear (literally) to Serbia whilst living in Monte Carlo and evading paying tax.  And he's certainly not the only one.  Yet Rafa still continues to be criticised regarding tax, and if anyone has served his country well in the Davis Cup ... then you can look no further than him.  Who was it that turned up just days after winning every single match he played in the US hardcourt season in order to make sure that Spain didn't drop out of the world's elite in the Davis Cup?  Indeed ... and in spite of Rafa turning up in the capital of Spain, to play for Spain it didn't seemingly make that much of a difference to the Spanish economy considering the number of empty seats there were around the place.

This is what I mean about Rafa.  Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.  There's always someone around to have a petty snipe at whatever he either chooses to do or not to do.  Everyone wants a piece of him, and he's criticised for giving it.  And then when he makes a decision to benefit himself, he's criticised for that also. When he wins it's because he's a cheater, a liar and a doper, and even so-called respected newspapers weave doping in tennis into their Rafa Slam-winning articles - but in a responsible way, obviously ...  :-/ When he loses people dine out on the name of his victor for months.  When he's injured, he's not injured. When he utilises advancements in medical science that are approved by WADA he's masking other sinister activity. When he's polite, respectful and good mannered, it's all fake.  And let us never forget how meticulously he lines up those water bottles ...

So you see, even this hardened blogger is just becoming a little word weary of it all and in a lot of instances now ... I just choose not to.

I look forward to seeing Rafa play in whatever tournaments he chooses to play for whatever reasons he chooses to play them because folks. simply put ... he really is that good.