Why did Nadal Withdraw from Wimbledon?

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4272802&categoryid=2491545

I have updated you on this story in my previous post but this is big enough news to deserve it’s own post. In the above link you will find Darren Cahill’s opinion on the matter, and it is the stance I am taking as well. What Cahill is saying is that his withdrawal is more a mental thing as it is a physical thing and that Rafa has hit a wall. It goes back to his schedule and that he didn’t need to play so many tournaments. Rafa played that tournament on hard court in Rotterdam where he played several long, tough matches and almost withdrew in the final due to the knee. Then as if that wasn’t warning enough, he played a packed clay court schedule. At least he should have skipped one tournament, either Barcelona or Madrid.

But he was stubborn and now he is paying the price, and he is paying it big. Already in the match against Del Potro in Miami there were signs that he was tiring. That should have been a sign that he does not need to play every single tournament in the clay court season. I must say I was quite surprised to see Rafa play Madrid. He was complaining about the conditions before the tournament already and he needed to take the rest. Yet he played and had a very tough semi-final match against Djokovic and after that he lost his invincibility against Roger in the final. It just boggles my mind. Instead of going into the French Open unbeaten and rested, he got a good beating by Roger and on top of that he was a tired man.

So losing to Soderling in the fourth round was not that big a surprise to me. It was for most people, but my readers know that I kept saying Rafa is looking vulnerable. The loss at the French Open, coupled with the fact that Roger went on to win the tournament has had a big mental impact on Rafa. How much confidence does he have going into Wimbledon knowing that he lost in the fourth round of the tournament where he was the overwhelming favorite? And aside from that his main rival goes ahead and steals the title, going into Wimbledon with his confidence sky high. This is why Cahill is saying it is mental. It is physical as well, but that doesn’t tell the full story. I mean he played a full match against Wawrinka today.

It’s disappointing to me that Rafa would not defend his title knowing this. Even if he is not 100% physically he should still try, Wimbledon is the biggest tournament of the year and he is the defending champ and world number one. He could still have battled through some matches and gained confidence. Maybe Rafa isn’t a mental giant after all. I’m not trying to kick Rafa while he is down here. I’m just saying that there is no excuses not to play when it comes to confidence. If it was clearly just a physical problem then fair enough. You don’t want to make it worse. But since he seemed to be moving fine against Wawrinka today I don’t think it was all that bad. I think it’s pretty obvious that it is at least 50% mental. I don’t think Roger was wrong about Rafa’s injury, I think he was spot on in fact.

But this will just give Roger more confidence knowing that Rafa goes away so quickly when he is under the gun. It is obvious Roger handled adversity very well, but I can’t say that this is a good start for Rafa. If anything this will just make it harder for him to come back. In a very short space of time Rafa has now gone and basically handed Roger dominance of the tennis world again, after being utterly dominant. This just shows me how uncomfortable Rafa was in the top spot in the first place. For four years he was chasing Roger and when he finally got what he was looking for he was not ready for it. Being number one is not for everyone. It’s the only position where you are chasing no one, and everyone is chasing you.

It can be daunting. Rafa was obviously not dealing with it very well. He had the position well under control, yet he was still playing tournaments as if there was someone right on his tail. While Rafa and Djokovic were both playing a packed clay court schedule, Roger was calmly doing his work off court and improving with every tournament he played. While Rafa and Djokovic were engaged in a marathon semi-final in Madrid, Roger was just about to peak in time for Roland Garros. And not surprisingly, both Djokovic and Rafa went out early at Roland Garros after playing gruelling clay court schedules, while Roger snapped up the title. The big boys come to play when it matters right?! Looking back now it almost seems like Roger was in control all along, waiting for his main rivals to self destruct.

You see being a champion is not just about dominating all competition in sight whenver you can, it’s also about scheduling smartly and peaking at the right times. Both Rafa and Djokovic had obviously warn themselves out by the time Roland Garros started, while Roger had just hit his stride. I mean is this man great, or is he great?! He has now basically taken over control of the tennis world again while Rafa is down in the dumps. The Wimbledon crown is now all but his own again, while the nr. 1 ranking is within his grasp as well. As far as I know, he would be nr. 1 again should he win Wimbledon. There is now very little standing between Roger and his 15th grand slam title, which will make him the first man to win that amount of grand slams!

Andy Murray is now the only guy who I can see giving Roger any problems at all, and I am hoping he makes the final to meet Roger. I know I’m looking way ahead, but now that Rafa is out it would be nice to see Roger square of with another one of his main rivals. I think it would be awesome if he could beat Murray in another slam final and deny him again. That’s right, I don’t mind much for Murray and by beating Murray again when it matters most, Roger would strike another killer blow to one of his big rivals. OK now I’m really getting excited! A lot of people are disappointed about Rafa’s withdrawal, which is to be expected after last year’s epic final. But personally I don’t think Rafa deserves too much sympathy.

By constantly pushing his body despite the warning signs, he has robbed his fans and the tennis world. Luckily I am not one of his fans because I would be really mad by now.  For me it’s all about Roger’s success. I’m smart enough to know that the fact that Rafa is injured is no coincidence, and that should Roger win Wimbledon again it would be utterly deserved. The fact that Rafa isn’t there doesn’t matter at all, it just means he couldn’t deal with the pressure of being nr. 1. Do I sense a new era dawning of Federer dominance? And people were starting to write him off…

 Loading ...