Talk About Tennis 2.0

ti-amie wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 1:54 am

Also, just an FYI. I just checked and this is I guess an old video. If you click on her account, it shows another video saying that she has finished her 6 chemo treatments.

Kevin

Ok. If I get this straight, it flares up on him. It is not as if he got injured today. But that is even worse: you just don't know when it will strike.

But he didn't 'retire' from the match.
Even though he was clearly nowhere near 100%... even though he was clearly in pain... even though him losing the match was a foregone conclusion in the 3rd set - he DID NOT QUIT.

A growing number of professional players should definitely start following his example, as more and more players are quitting in the middle of matches - or not even taking the court - unless absolutely everything is perfect. If they have so much as a hangnail today, they don't play.
Today's players are so spoiled that it has become pathetic.

So... the players of 30 years ago must have been superhuman, then, as quitting in the middle of a match back then was a VERY, VERY, VERY RARE occurrence.

I'm not in the camp of playing through a serious injury or illness as heroism; in fact, I think it is kind of...not smart.

I've never really felt that Nadal has managed injuries very well. He almost always comes back too early.

JTContinental wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 4:09 am I'm not in the camp of playing through a serious injury or illness as heroism; in fact, I think it is kind of...not smart.

I've never really felt that Nadal has managed injuries very well. He almost always comes back too early.

Despite almost never withdrawing or retiring from matches, players of 30, 40 years ago were no more likely to miss weeks/months because of injury than are players of today.
In fact, I'd say that players of the past missed weeks/months less frequently than today's players do.
And they didn't have all of the advanced training and conditioning equipment and methods that are available to today's players.

But the reasons that players quit (or withdraw) today often have very little to do with serious injury.

“I imagine there will come a time when my head will say ‘Enough’... That is my reality. And there have been many days, like today, when the moment comes that I can’t do it... I play because it makes me happy, but the pain takes away that happiness.” ~ Rafael Nadal, May 12th, 2022.

Tennis ultimate punk, young Andre Agassi, slowly got that lesson. He understood that it brings a bit of an aura to you, and that translates into a little pressure for your opponent. And sadly, he showed how much he had learned that lesson during his final match at RG. Playing against Paul Henri Matthieu, his chronic sciatic pain flared up. He knew he could not win, but toughed it out, limping to defeat. He almost won me over that year, especially because you could see he was in real pain but he wanted to walk off the court honorably.
The sport is not only about winning or losing. Substance still matters. I wonder how proud Federer is of the fact that he has never retired from a match. To me, it says a lot.

I hope Rafa can retire in his terms. It is already bad that Delpo is being forced to retire due to injuries. Roger looks that way. If Rafa also ends his career because of an injury, it would be sad to me.

JTContinental wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 4:09 am I'm not in the camp of playing through a serious injury or illness as heroism; in fact, I think it is kind of...not smart.

I've never really felt that Nadal has managed injuries very well. He almost always comes back too early.

I guess in this case, a lot depends on whether playing makes his condition worse. If he's just as likely to be fine in a day or two because the foot issue flares up regardless of whether he plays or not, then he did the right thing. But if playing when his foot is hurting actually makes the condition worse, then he definitely should have retired, especially with RG right around the corner.

Kevin

dmforever wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 3:24 pm

JTContinental wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 4:09 am I'm not in the camp of playing through a serious injury or illness as heroism; in fact, I think it is kind of...not smart.

I've never really felt that Nadal has managed injuries very well. He almost always comes back too early.

I guess in this case, a lot depends on whether playing makes his condition worse. If he's just as likely to be fine in a day or two because the foot issue flares up regardless of whether he plays or not, then he did the right thing. But if playing when his foot is hurting actually makes the condition worse, then he definitely should have retired, especially with RG right around the corner.

Kevin

According to the comms yesterday, regular play actually helps with the foot pain, and it is usually worse for him when he’s coming back from a break. He did look agonised yesterday, but it’s hard to tell if it was from physical pain or the fact that it was going to stop him competing

Liamvalid wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 3:29 pm

dmforever wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 3:24 pm

JTContinental wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 4:09 am I'm not in the camp of playing through a serious injury or illness as heroism; in fact, I think it is kind of...not smart.

I've never really felt that Nadal has managed injuries very well. He almost always comes back too early.

I guess in this case, a lot depends on whether playing makes his condition worse. If he's just as likely to be fine in a day or two because the foot issue flares up regardless of whether he plays or not, then he did the right thing. But if playing when his foot is hurting actually makes the condition worse, then he definitely should have retired, especially with RG right around the corner.

Kevin

According to the comms yesterday, regular play actually helps with the foot pain, and it is usually worse for him when he’s coming back from a break. He did look agonised yesterday, but it’s hard to tell if it was from physical pain or the fact that it was going to stop him competing

I wonder about that. He's played a fair number of matches. Maybe "regular play" means having played for months or something. But that's good to know. It was not fun to watch.

Kevin

I didn't think it was 'fun' to watch Nadal vs. Shapovalov... but it was enjoyable - and most of all, inspiring.
When a player is gutting it out like that, it's a good thing for the sport, and for everyone.
Sure, it's always unfortunate when someone is in pain. But there's an element more important than that.
Call it honour, call it pride, call it respect... whatever words are used, it's a positive thing.

I'd much, much rather witness what Nadal did vs. Shapovalov than see what Raducanu did vs. Andreescu (and vs. others, as well).

JazzNU wrote: ↑Mon May 16, 2022 5:50 pm

This isn't going to help my Slide into Paris score at all.

Horrible