The Clayman Cometh ...

Hello!  *waves*

Can you believe that we're now in the middle of April and the tennis tour is in Europe for the clay season??  No, me neither.  I must admit that due to the time difference, I didn't see anything of Rafa in South America, but facing match points, a sluggish final display and a tournament withdrawal kind of gave you an idea of where he was at physically then.

Indian Wells perhaps showed again just how vulnerable Rafa can be with an immediate change of surface.  Poor Larry.  How gutting for him to be left alone at his own tournament and subjected to the Gruesome Twosome of Smugly and the Prince of Darkness.  More disappointing to me than Rafa's exit was the lame way in which the PoD managed to win the title, and then with what happened in Miami, this momentum shift in his direction has perturbed me somewhat.

I thought that in Miami, Rafa started like the rocket that blew his way through last year's US hardcourt season. His first two matches were a joy to behold, where you think to yourself that he only plays that aggressively when he's confident and trusts his body and his game - and how super is it to be able to sit calmly back and watch him bulldoze his opponents?  But then Raonic came along, and he slipped back into his negative style of standing on the back board because he was a facing a big, fast server ... and all of his tennis turned on a sixpence.  Does Toni being back in the stands emit the negativity and passive tactics?  Do those voices in Rafa's head continue to tell him that everyone is better than him, that anyone can beat him, that only if he is playing his very best tennis (and then some) does he ever have even the remotest of chances of winning, of beating Djokovic?

Because if I'm being truthful, for however well the PoD played in Miami, I was pretty disappointed in Rafa's tactics in the final.  It was a back paddle to 2011 and like he'd never operated such effective play to see him to the victories he enjoyed post AO-2012.  Why?  Why so negative, why no confidence?  Was his body still not up to the task that day?  Henyways ... if it was one of those matches, I could shrug it off.  But it was one of those matches that followed one of those matches that Djokovic shouldn't have won (if you get my drift) ... and now here we have him going into the clay season with a head of steam winning 2 consecutive Masters titles when he hadn't had a sniff all season ... and beating Rafa and Smugly to boot. All I can say is that I'm glad Becker has been seen in Monte Carlo ... 

And so to the clay.

There were some staggering stats released the other week regarding Rafa's record on the surface which I'm sure you've seen on the forums and Twitter.  They are amazing, but I don't feel that sometimes they reflect the true story - like statistics sometimes fail to do.  They almost compound the view that all he has to do is turn up on the clay and the titles are his.  In 2010 at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel, Andy Murray told my pal Denz that "the clay season is Rafa's to lose" ... and I always found that such a defeatist attitude - dismissive even - because it doesn't reflect what bloody hard work it actually is and has been for him to rack up those record breaking stats.

Because if I'm honest, I feel that Rafa has almost squeaked his way through the tournaments at times in the past 3 years. Squeaked and stormed his way through matches, in some less than equal measures.  Now I don't don't want to be alarmist ... but think about it.  No PoD at Monte Carlo in 2011 and the losses at Madrid and Rome.  Then the PoD being taken out at the French Open and Rafa making strange comments to the media about feeling like he's a 100 years old - that after being 2 sets to 0 down against Isner in his opening match.  A great display in MC in 2012, being taken to the edge by Ferrer in Barcelona, the blue clay exit in Madrid, the rain delay in Rome, pushing himself to the absolute limit in Paris till we almost ne'er did see him again. Monte Carlo was a match too far in 2013, Barcelona was moody and uninspiring.  Again, Ferrer could have well taken Rafa in Madrid but didn't ... and then he had a storming weekend.  Similarly in Rome, where I watched from behind the couch during that dreadful match with Gulbis, only to see him then play like a God to beat Berdych and Smugs and was looking forward with gusto to the French Open.

But I sat on Philippe Chatrier in his opening match with my heart in my mouth as he played a tie-breaker to stop himself going 2 sets to 0 down.  I thought the French woman in front of me was having an orgasm.  I hold little sway and patience with people talking about Djokovic's "nearly" match last year.  He "nearly" got bombed out limply in 4 sets if Rafa had held his nerve in serving for the match twice.  Yes, twice.  And as for the infamous net touch ... the PoD won the point right after it and so had game point to keep his break.  But Rafa fought hard, levelled the score, created his own game point ... and won it to bring himself right back into the match.  Rafa played hard to win ... and I won't have it any other way.  Djokovic shouldn't have even been given the opportunity to play a 5th set - never mind to touch the net.

But will we ever see the utter prowess that Rafa's 2008 and 2010 seasons gave us?  Now that was when he was exceptional, but I very much doubt it.  But likewise for those so-called tennis journalists and writers and the keyboard jockeys that hide behind their computer screens and predict year after year after year after year of Rafa's clay court demise ... well, if you say something hard enough, and more to the point - long enough - eventually it will happen.  But I don't think we're quite there yet.  Sorry hatahs ... keep predicting.

Because I don't think there's many beyond Djokovic who are good enough to challenge him on clay.  Sure, he can be as vulnerable as the next player to some streaky defeat, but that's just tennis, not time to sound Rafa's death knell.  And good as he may be, I still don't think Djokovic has the calibre to dominate the whole of the clay season ... he may have his Miami victory, but we're on Rafa's best surface now.

So as Rafa takes to the court tomorrow, let's get behind him and wish him well.  To hell with the other players ... we've all been watching and suffering with him for many a while now so I think we've got a pretty good idea of what's to come.  There will be excruciating moments of tension, there could be that odd moment of sadness ... but for any lows we have ever experienced, Rafa has given us much, much more in the highs.

Good luck Rafa!!  And VAMOS!!!!!!!