Head above parapet again. I really think an option would have been to give the end of the clay season a miss and recouperate. I know nobody wants to miss a slam but with the stupid Olympics effing things up it should have been considered. Obviously it makes Lendl's contribution less relevant, but I see the US Open as being a real chance. Queens irrelevant, Wimbledon unlikely.
To me, Andy's general form, fitness willing, seems pretty good going into the grass court season.
Yes, I thought he played pretty well, and I was sitting there thinking to myself: "How the hell can ANYONE beat Ferrer on a clay court."
BUT ... the last time Ferrer beat Nadal on a clay court was 8 years ago, in 2004. Since then the tally is 11-0 to Rafa, and Ferrer has won only 2 sets in those 11 matches.
So I somehow don't think that Andy is ever going to win a clay court tournament.
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"Where Ratty leads - the rest soon follow" (Professor Henry Brubaker - The Institute of Studies)
Since Marat Safin (who he?) won the Aussie Open in January 2005, by the end of this year's Roland Garros they will have won 28 of the last 29 Slam events.
There's not really the faintest sign of this coming to an end, although I think that Wimbledon is now Federer's only shot.
(Of course, someone like Tsonga will now win Wimbledon .... or maybe Andy Murray?)
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"Where Ratty leads - the rest soon follow" (Professor Henry Brubaker - The Institute of Studies)