Is it just me, or is it a fact that whenever Rafael Nadal loses in a major he’s injured EVERY time? Can you name the last time Nadal lost at a major and an injury wasn’t part of the storyline? The answer – way back in 2007 – there were the knees (repeatedly), the torn stomach muscle, the exhaustion and now a virus and a hamstring tear. It’s quite the litany.
It will be my lasting memory of this year’s Australian Open – Nadal wiping the tears from his eyes with his taped-up fingers – he looked like a dead man walking – on the verge of tears. He was beaten in all facets of the game – but of course we were all led to believe he lost this match due to injury. Aren’t the Academy Awards later in February? Who are the nominees for leading man in a Grand Slam in Melbourne?
Ok – that might be a tad harsh – but in my opinion, there is more fact than fiction in what I know I saw!
Was Nadal injured? I would say yes, however, I believe he was mentally injured as much as physically. After losing that 17-minute game and dropping his serve and trailing 2-0 in the first set against David Ferrer I believe his mind (which is one of his greatest strengths – especially when facing a break point) let him down. Nadal knew he was in for a dog fight. Nadal could see this was going to be a long battle – and I don’t believe he was in the best state of mind to conquer the task at hand. Nadal’s leg injury was there but it was made worse in his mind by the tough opponent that was standing 80 feet away. I don’t believe Nadal was ready for the long enduring battle that lay ahead. So he packed it in and blamed a slightly torn leg muscle. If he was that injured how did he continue to compete at such a high level?
Nadal was hurt, not injured, and was far from helpless in his quarter final match. He broke Ferrer’s serve three times after the injury. When the ball was in his strike zone, he still managed to hit winners and won 17 of 23 points at net as he attempted to shorten the rallies. This was a match Nadal could have won if he had the correct mind set. No question about it – this is a match he should have won.
This is not to say I believe Nadal is inventing injuries. I’m certain that every time he’s said he’s been injured, he has indeed been injured. But the thing is; every player on tour plays with chronic aches and pains and various niggling injuries. It’s an 11-month season, and the modern game puts incredible stress on muscles, joints, ligaments and immune systems. The turn of the screw comes with how players manage these unavoidable physical stresses. And it seems Nadal doesn’t manage them well at all.
The memory is so crystal clear – his Rafa Slam was evaporating. The 25-match winning streak in Grand Slams and his bid to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major titles at once was three games from ending.
He was hurt – how badly we’ll never know. He was down two sets and a break. It was the same court and the same round where he retired in the Australian Open last year. Yet the idea of packing it in didn’t even enter his mind.
“I hate the retirements,” he said, “This wasn’t the day. I did last year. I hate that moment. … Didn’t want to repeat that.”
Six games later, Nadal was out of the tournament, losing 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer on Wednesday in Rod Laver Arena, the center court at Melbourne Park named after the Australian great whose four consecutive majors he was trying to match.
Why is it that when Federer loses he never has an injury? And if he does, we don’t know about it or hear about it until years down the road!
To be a great champion you have to play with injuries, you have to play while you are hurt. Nadal can’t do this. His injuries are often too painful for him to cope and he uses these injuries as an excuse to losing.
Nadal is a fantastic tennis player – and may win more Grand Slams than anybody, however, part of the game is losing with grace and right now Nadal seems incapable of this. Its black and white with him right now – win the tournament or lose due to injury.
I must admit, I am not in his body – so I don’t know the scope of the injury and I don’t know what he is feeling. However, the evidence is there – he is ALWAYS injured when he loses a major. And this trend is becoming tiresome. I am not saying he is faking these injuries but I am saying he is magnifying them as a result of poor mental toughness. I truly believe these injuries are there – but they are not as debilitating as he makes them out to be! Consistently making excuses for Grand Slam losses will only hurt his overall legacy.
To be the greatest player of all time – which is currently Federer by a huge margin – you have to play through the pain/injuries and figure out a way to get it done. With all the injuries and all the excuses, the tennis community is wondering if this guy has what it takes to win 10 more majors. As soon as he hits a bump in the road, he can’t seem to fight through the difficult times and unfortunately for him he uses the injuries as a scapegoat. This will end up costing him the chance at being recognized as the greatest player of this generation or any generation.
Nadal, 24, has an intense, punishing style of play, and his latest injury underscored the durability of Federer, who at 29 is playing in his 45th consecutive major tournament. Federer has proven that his style of play is much more conducive to longevity on the courts and this will definitely be a major factor when we are evaluating the careers of both future Hall of Famers.
Nadal said all the right things in the press conference after the match – but the reality is simple – he can’t seem to ever lose with the other guy playing better than him!
“But you know what, for me is difficult come here and speak about. In Doha I wasn’t healthy. Today I have another problem. Seems like I always have problems when I lose, and I don’t want to have this image, no? I prefer don’t talk about that today. If you can respect that, will be a very nice thing for me. Thank you.”
A virus hit Nadal earlier this month which seemed to have dissipated Monday and was the apparent reason he lost in an Australian Open warm up tournament. The list of recent injuries in the Slams reads like a grocery list.
Nadal battled a stomach injury in his lopsided loss to Juan Martin Del Potro at the 2009 US Open. At the French, that year, it was a knee issue he said derailed his title chances in a loss to Robin Soderling. And of course a year ago, in the 2010 Australian Open, his knee flared up in the quarterfinals on this same day (Australian Day) to Andy Murray. In 2008 his losses in the Slams were due to exhaustion. The list goes on and on and on! And quite frankly it is getting to be a joke.
Call it bad luck, over playing, poor training, or whatever you want – the Spaniard to some degree is simply snake bit or mentally fragile. And if this trend continues the Rafa Slam and the talk of the greatest player of all time will go out the window.
Nadal doesn’t exude the fighting image of a Jimmy Connors from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Simply put, he’s not as confident. He is famous for being a warrior — when he’s physically at 100 percent. He’s got game up the ying-yang, but mentally — emotionally — he depends on pure physical strength for his confidence. He learned early in his career that he could beat the best player in the world — Roger Federer, then clearly better than Rafa — on raw power and will. That attitude is ingrained in him. It doesn’t matter if he’s got more talent, more shots, more everything than his opponent; he believes that he wins with blunt force. So when he’s physically off, however slightly, his confidence evaporates. Whatever injury is affecting him becomes larger and larger in his mind until, by the third set, he isn’t even moving for shots he could easily get to.
That’s going to be a big problem for Nadal as he moves into the second half of his career — where Federer is now — and younger, stronger, healthier players start regularly pressing him to reach to his physical limits and beyond.
Filed under: Squash
When playing any squash match whether it is for fun or in a tournament, always make a habit of concentrating on your return of serve.
The return of serve should be like a conversation in squash not an argument. It is not necessary to try to immediately win the point, but it is necessary to gain some advantage, by putting your opponent behind you if possible.
Let me explain. You are returning serve in squash for only one reason, you have just messed up and lost the point or even the spin that decides who serves first.
This circumstance automatically puts you in a negative head space “I never win the toss” “I should never have tried for that drop shot” “Why didn’t I hit it straight instead of across the court”
“The Rot” occurs when the first return is ineffective and consequently the point is lost causing an even more negative mind set for the next return, which often is ineffective also, on the other side of the court. Many times players will lose up to 3 points in a row simply because of this mind set.
Your body can only follow physical instructions. Once you tell your self to “Win the next point”, you must now train your body with a physical instruction as to how to do this, for example you could and should say to yourself something like “Move your racket from low to high”, in order to execute a shot that has a chance of going over your opponent’s head thus taking them to the back of the court.
Train yourself to notice this conversation and turn it into physical instruction and then look at the outcome. If you hit an effective return and your shot went past your opponent taking them to the back of the court, you will now be on the “T” and in a good position. If the ball was cut off by your opponent then you are still under pressure and will have try again on your next shot to hit the ball past them in order to gain the advantage.
In squash this sequence occurs over and over again in a single rally, therefore the better you are at your return of serve the less you will have to do is as you will be serving! The better you are at hitting the ball past your opponent from the back of the court, the less you will have to do it!
Written by Barbara Cooper
Filed under: Spa
You know winter is here when you find salt stains on your brand new leather boots and got brown colored ice under the front tire of your car. These are just some of the winter pet peeves that we have all grown to live with. Don’t let cold temperatures and dry air wreak havoc on your beauty routine. Follow these quick easy steps and you’ll be able to keep that healthy glowing skin all year round. Don’t be surprised if you find others asking you what your secret is!
1. MAINTAIN A LUMINOUS GLOW ALL YEAR ROUND
Hydrate:
Quench your skin’s thirst by switching out your foam cleanser with a gel or cream cleanser to increase the moisture and avoiding dull red skin. Try Phytomer’s Gentle Cleansing Milk.
Hydration’s best friend is TONER. Toner rebalances your skins pH level by bringing back the production of your natural oils to keep your face from drying and avoiding tightness. Too much tightness from the cold can result in cracking and redness. Try Phytomer’s Rosee Visage Toner.
Exfoliation:
Exfoliation is an amazing way to make dull, flaky skin shiny and new like a brand new car. It gets rid of all the dead skin cells giving you a better surface to reproduce new skin cells. With proper exfoliation you will have that baby soft skin you thought you could never get back. Try using Phytomer’s Resurfacing Peeling Duo.
Protect:
Just because the sun isn’t blazing and the shorts are put away doesn’t mean we stash the SPF with it. SPF is as much needed now than ever!! Your skin is exposed to higher UV levels due to the extreme light-reflecting properties of snow. The dehydrating effects of wind and prolonged exposure to cold temperatures are also added concerns. You should keep in mind that free radicals from indoor light are also damaging to your skin so make sure you top off your skin with a strong SPF to help fight the signs of aging all year round. Try Guinot’s 30 SPF protection.
2. SHINY HAPPY HAIR
Yes your hair needs some loving too!!
A weekly hair mask to hydrate those hair follicles before they break off into those oh not so attractive split ends will help your hair look its best. Deep treatment can be done with your own conditioner just apply and leave over night, rinse in the morning and style as usual. A simple tip to remember is to avoid tying up you hair when it’s still wet, doing so causes unnecessary breakage leading to dry brittle hair.
A dry scalp is an unhappy scalp so get some fingers planted on your pretty noggin and stimulate those oil glands with a scalp massage.
3. MOSTURE DOES A BODY GOOD….
Cold weather gives moisture a hard time to penetrate the skins surface leaving it itchy, red, and blotchy. A great way to break those barriers is to apply oil on your skin before you put lotion after your shower. This seals the deal and keeps moisture in. Try Spa Ritual’s Infinitely Loving Oil.
4. PAMPER YOUR HARD-WORKING HANDS AND FEET
Your poor hands and feet take the brunt of all the hard work you do, they are what gets us through our day and take all our abuse without complaint. Paraffin treatment is just the solution to give them a mini vacation. Paraffin is a soft wax that is applied to feet or hands for about 15mins locking in moisture leaving your hands and feet silky soft. Also, for those who are suffering from the aching effects of arthritis, this is a great way to sooth muscle and joint pain.
Now that we’ve basically covered all your body parts lets recap. We can see a basic theme here which is cold=dry so moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!! Although we have busy schedules and the hustle and bustle of the winter distractions lets not neglect ourselves. So dust off your winter boots and follow these easy to do winter skin ready tips!!!
Written Liz Ortiz from Mayfair Parkway’s Spa
No. 1: Someone Other Than Nadal or Federer Will Capture a Slam!
It is time for one of the top 10 players on the ATP tour to break the stranglehold and take away a major trophy. And this is the year it will happen – as good as Nadal and Federer look – one of the challengers – perhaps Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic – will get it done. Here is tennis’ most preposterous stat now that Federer’s streak of 23 Grand Slam semifinals is over: Since the 2005 French Open, only two men not named Nadal and Federer have won a major title (Novak Djokovic at the 2008 Australian Open and Juan Martin del Potro at the 2009 U.S. Open – denying Federer his sixth consecutive US Open title). Ridiculous! Yet it’s about time another player broke through.
No. 2: Tennis will be Rocked by a Match Fixing Scandal!
Every few months we hear about information from online tennis gamblers informing the tennis world of “irregular” betting patterns on certain tennis matches. It’s never the top guys and it’s never the top events. We’re talking about players who lose the first set, only to have the odds move in their favor. Then they miraculously pull out the match. The Tennis Integrity Unit has been around for two years and while several “courtsiders” have been chased off the grounds — allegedly for taking advantage of a time delay and wagering on-site from their laptops — no player has been taken down. Expect that to change in 2011. This will be a major story in 2011.
No. 3: Caroline Wozniacki Will Win Her First Grand Slam
Caroline Wozniacki will not go the way of Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic, who were ranked No. 1 briefly but never won a major championship. Wozniacki will go the way of Kim Clijsters and Amelie Mauresmo, who were ranked No. 1 first and then went on to win a major. Look for Wozniacki to break through in Melbourne or Paris.
No. 4: Rafael Nadal Will Reach Double-Digit Slam Totals
Some things in life are sure things – like death and taxes. Well, we can add a third to that list!! Rafael Nadal will reach double-digit totals in Grand Slam titles in 2011. He may well add 2 or 3 more this year if he stays healthy. Two more championships would put him on equal footing with Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver, who each hold a total of 11 Slams. Right now the Majorcan owns nine. Six men sit ahead of Nadal in Majors ––Bill Tilden with 10, Borg and Laver with 11, Roy Emerson with 12, Pete Sampras with 14 and Roger Federer with 16. So how high will Nadal go in 2011? Remember if he stays healthy – and that’s a big if – he could be playing for another 10 years. If that’s the case, look for the Lefty to get to 20 or more! But he won’t win in Melbourne – see 7B!!
No. 5: Daniel Nestor will not win a Major in 2011
Max Mirnyi is Nestor’s new partner and the two are fantastic doubles players. But a partnership takes time and this is the major reason I believe they will struggle in the beginning. Many players on tour would tell you that Daniel Nestor is the best doubles player in the game right now – yes better than either of the Bryan brothers – but doubles is a team game and the two need time to gel before they can think about winning major championships. I believe it will happen – just not in 2011.
No.6: Aleksandra Wozniak Will Make a Return to the top 50
Remember a few years back when Wozniak was the toast of Quebec? Well, in case you forgot this talented young tennis professional took the tour by storm in California a few years ago! The 21-year-old women’s tennis professional became the first Canadian to win a singles’ title on the WTA Tour in 20 years, and is just the fifth ever to do so. She’s also the only Quebecer to win a singles title on the women’s tour. Wozniak highlighted her breakthrough season with a straight-set win over France’s Marion Bartoli in the championship match of the 2008 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford’s Taube Tennis Center. She beat American Serena Williams (who retired due to a knee injury trailing 6-3, 3-1), Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, Australia’s Samantha Stosur and Austria’s Sybille Bammer along the way. Great wins for a Canadian tennis player – now can she re-gain her form from 2008 – that is one of many questions for Canadian tennis fans across the land!
No. 7a: An Australian Will Win the 2011 Australian Open
It is time for an Australian to win the Grand Slam down under in Melbourne. With Serena Williams sidelined, the Aussie who will win in Melbourne is Samantha Stosur, who has a game that will challenge for all the majors this year. Enjoying some success in 2009, Stosur decided to concentrate her efforts on singles in 2010. Stosur has one of the best serves in the women’s game, and she is one of the most athletic women playing the game. It makes perfect sense for her to capture the Australian Open in 2011 because she has all the tools and the crowd support, and the defending champion, Serena Williams, will not be present. It seems right in 2011 for Stosur to bring the Aussie championship back home.
No. 7b: Nadal Won’t Win the RAFA Slam!
Rafael Nadal owns the final 3 majors of 2011- and is looking to become the first man since Rod Laver to win hold all 4 championships at the same time. A win in Australia would be historical to say the least. Nadal’s career seemed to be in shambles after a loss to Robin Soderling at the 2009 French Open. Who would have predicted such an amazing turnaround?? Now, just 18 months later he is on the verge of tennis history – but not so fast! I don’t believe the Spaniard will get it done. 7 matches away from immortality – but in my opinion, it won’t happen. Nadal will come close but a quarter-final loss will end his chance to equal tennis legend Laver.
No. 8: Juan Martin Del Potro Will Be a Factor Again!
Juan Martin Del Potro was well on his way to establishing his place at the top of the game when a wrist injury sidelined him for an extended period of time. In January of 2010, Del Potro reached the world ranking of No. 4. But unfortunately, the wrist injury slowed him down until he decided to have surgery and withdrew from competition in May of 2010. The Argentine returned in September to compete in the Thailand Open, where he lost his opening round match to Oliver Rochus. Del Potro then traveled to compete in the Japan Open, where he once again lost his opening round match—this time to Feliciano Lopez. 2010 was a non-factor for the Argentine since the injury limited his play at the beginning and the end of the year. He will begin 2011 ranked No. 258 with only 180 points to defend. Yet the Argentine enters 2011 with his mantle as the giant killer still intact. He owns a five-match winning streak against the top two—Nadal and Federer. Who else can lay claim to such an unbelievable stat? Nobody!
No. 9: The Old-timers Will Continue to Win on WTA Tour
Women’s tennis will continue to skew old. Remember the debate over teenagers and age eligibility rules? Kim Clijsters, 27, a mom, wife and “unretiree,” was the youngest Grand Slam winner of 2010. Yes, youngest – is that not unbelievable? For much of last year, there were zero teenagers in the ATP’s top 100. Why? We can debate this. One explanation: It takes a body of full physical maturity to play the sport at the highest level these days.
No. 10: Roger Federer Will Add Another Slam to his Illustrious Total
Roger Federer will win Slam No. 17 in 2011. The question is – which one will it be? Will the mighty Swiss win in Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon or Flushing Meadows? Most would excuse Federer from the French Open championship at Stade Roland Garros – yes, he won there 2 years ago but this was without beating his nemesis – Rafael Nadal. But he is playing his best tennis ever – right now – and many pundits are picking him to win in Melbourne. I believe his serve is the key to any success – and right now he is serving as well as he ever has in his storied career.
No. 11: No Match Will End 70-68 in the Final Set!
Filed under: Fitness
Here are ten Strategies to keep it moving!
1. Walk up the stairs instead of taking the escalator.
2. Park furthest away from the door.
3. Get up every 30 minutes from your desk and take a walk or stretch.
4. Instead of sending an email to a colleague, get up and deliver the message personally.
5. Instead of using the drive-thru, park your car and walk in.
6. Throw out your remote control!
7. Instead of sitting on a chair at your desk, use a stability ball.
8. Each time you reach out to open a door contract your abdominals.
9. Practice deep breathing once a day.
10. Instead of drinking a pop with your lunch, drink a glass of water.
Remember the good old days of tennis? John McEnroe vs. Bjorn Borg – serve and volleyer against counter-puncher – lefty vs. righty – whatever one guy did, the other guy did completely the opposite. This made for great theatre. Today is all about power and blistering groundstokes. Players today can’t get to the net because the ball is traveling too fast and the geometry/angles of the court have increased tremendously with better equipment.
Serve and volley tennis is gone forever. So sad but so true! The reason is simple – TECHNOLOGY. The strings in the racquets are so much better today – players can hit scorching groundstrokes from all areas of the court with pin-point accuracy. In many rallies today you will see 10 to 15 great shots that comprise of only one point. Back in my generation – one good shot meant the point was over. Players can’t get to the net because the baseliners are too good! There is too much court to cover and today’s players don’t think it is worth the gamble. The only time we see players venturing to the net are when they’ve hit a ball that is so far out of reach that they know, without a shadow of a doubt, that they will receive a floater – one that is easily picked off and hit into the open court.
The strings have made mediocre players decent, good players very good and great players almost unbeatable. 35 years ago, with wood racquets, and low budget strings, these mind-boggling shots from the baseline were impossible. When a penetrating forehand or backhand was hit to a corner in the 70s and 80s the point was basically over. And if it wasn’t over in one shot it was most certainly over in two shots. Strings have given players of today the ability to counter-attack with incredible success – the shots that these baseliners hit when they are stretched to maximum capacity would have been impossible with the old technology. But today, the ‘so called’ miracle shots happen on a regular basis. Players can hit the ball in all parts of the court with power from areas that were once thought of as impossible. Highlight reel shots are a common occurrence in the 21st century. Back in the previous generations – with continental grips, steel racquets and goofy looking string – players couldn’t muster up enough racquet speed, or spin to hit the kind of shots being executed on a daily basis at today’s major tournaments. Sure the athletes are better today than in yester-year but the discrepancy is gigantic now in the shot-making and it is all because of the strings and the frames. If you like players blasting the ball from the baseline and never relenting – then this is the kind of tennis you will enjoy for quite some time. This new game is here to stay and for those who witnessed the game 30 years ago and beyond and admired the craftiness and thought patterns on a point-by-point basis – you will be disappointed by today’s brand of tennis.
John McEnroe, who won 7 grand slams in his hay-day, is a better player today than he was 20 years ago – the reason is technology. Even Johnny Mac, playing on the senior circuit, is playing predominantly from the baseline because he just can’t find a way to get to the net because there is too much court to cover.
Today’s strings allow players to dip the balls and create angles while still accelerating through the ball giving the net rushers no time to react. Modern technology has given players the ability to swing without fear. ‘Unloading on every shot’ makes it impossible for the “chip and charge” mentality from the previous decades. Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Clijsters, and The Williams Sisters – they all swing out on every ball with unbelievable success – penetrating all angles of the court – and this makes it very difficult for guys like Isner, Querrey and Fish to advance to the net. When you can hit the ball on a dime from 80 feet away with maximum power – something has to give! And unfortunately, the volley game is what’s disappeared.
I once witnessed Nadal at the Rexall center while warming up for a match. He’d receive ball after ball with speed, spin and depth. And he could hit random targets at ease – targets I would have thought too tough. For sure Nadal is an incredibly gifted athlete but these targets he was picking off were tight to the lines, tight to the net and virtually impossible for players from past generations who didn’t have today’s technology. No wonder, Federer has difficulty getting to the net against such a precise baseliner.
Technology isn’t solely to blame, however.
Coaching is a major culprit as well.
Tennis coaches and teachers are under tremendous pressure to produce quick results. So what is the easiest way for them? Simple, put a bunch of kids on a tennis court and make them hit balls from the baseline. This is the way the coaches of today are instructing their kids to play tennis.
It takes many years to develop all the skills and the athletic body of a decent serve and volley player. And sadly, many coaches don’t have the skills to develop a player’s volley the way they can develop the groundstrokes. Coaches of today don’t understand the importance of learning how to volley.
To give an example of how easy it is to develop baseline ‘robots’; I saw a teacher (from a ‘famous’ school in North America) with four kids on the court and he was having the kids hit balls from the baseline to each other, which would have been satisfactory if not for the sixty balls that were spread all over both service boxes! These balls were in the way – but no-one moved them once throughout the entire practice. And in my opinion, this is a horrible way to teach groundstrokes – it’s just what many coaches in this generation do!!
The most appalling part of this exercise is that this went on for almost forty five of a sixty minute lesson and the scene repeated itself for the next four hours with the next group of youngsters every afternoon, the whole forsaken winter long and the parents where sitting and watching! This is disgraceful and the coach should be reprimanded for his laziness.
This is the way many kids are being taught all over the world – it is a consistent trend. A trend that will continue as long as we see the professionals playing the baseline game! Do I need to tell you that those kids will never volley in their lives? Children warming up for a recent OTA tournament at our club didn’t even come to the net to practice their volleys in the allotted 5 minutes. And, of course, in their match they never came close to hitting a volley.
Sure those teachers/instructors are incompetent and should be fired or re-trained, but the truth is that the lack of interest in giving youngsters the full package of tennis happens at the highest levels. Take for example: While coaching ITF and ETA tournaments, I have seen coaches allowing 14 and 15 year old boys and girls to play entire doubles matches with both players on the baseline whether they served or returned, as a team they both stayed on the baseline! This is wrong – and any coach who teaches this way should be instantly fired. Doubles is meant to be played at the net. I explained above that court coverage is difficult in singles when at the net, but not with 2 players in doubles!!
This lopsided vision of coaches toward the development of their youngsters, only reveals that everyone; Federations, parents, coaches and players are more concerned about winning and not reaching their full potential.
And sadly, it’s ruining the game!
A Fitness, Tennis, Squash & Sports Blog by Mayfair Clubs 