Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Return of the King

First off, the post title is not a reference to myself for finally getting around to blogging again. It has been crazy buys in the office and I have been running around running junior programs all over the place. I am talking the return of the King of Clay himself, Mr. Rafael Nadal.

First off, it was a complete bummer to yet again have a major final finish on a Monday. I hope they are aware of how many people they are losing from their audience. Hopefully we will see roofs and lights sooner rather than later at ALL of the majors. Nadal started off on fire and then gave his 1st set lead back only to get it back again. The play on Sunday was completely up and down on both sides. I really think Nadal got a huge benefit from the stoppage in play. At that point, Djokovic had started rolling and they had gotten into their recent pattern of Djokovic playing well inside the court and dictating the points while Rafa scrambled. Consistency really seemed to be at a premium through both days of play and in the end, Nadal had just a bit more when it mattered most. Novak has lost some of that super-human consistency that he had throughout last season, which is to be expected honestly. I really think Nadal winning allowed him to exorcise some of the demons of the last year or so when it comes to Djokovic. He even said later that losing to Djokovic again in a major final, particularly the French, would have been devastating. Now, he has 3 finals wins over Djoker this year and has gotten over the hump in a major against him. Will this translate to newfound confidence for the grass and hard court seasons?

Wimbledon is next up and with the events of the French, it is shaping up to be an interesting tournament. Make sure and cast your vote in my Wimbledon poll!