Few days early, but I’m starting the 2013 thread right now because:
Nadal has pulled out of the Australian Open.
Stomach virus, the same that pulled him out of his return tournament.
I’m sensing a little bit of skepticism that the stomach virus is to blame here. Yes, a bad stomach bug could have screwed up his rehab plans, but Nadal and good old Uncle Toni also keep saying his knee isn’t 100% yet and they’re not sure what is going to happen when he gets back on the court, and they are being very careful: he’s not playing in Melbourne because he can’t play enough pre-Australian warmup tournaments. I wonder if he’s going to go out for the big hard court events after the Australian. His health is going to continue to be the biggest question mark on tour for the first half of the year at least.
I’m majorly bummed that Nadal will miss the Aussie Open. He’s my favorite player and a great draw for fans, including me. However, I’m deeply troubled by the rumors that he’s feigning injuries either because he wants to avoid being drug tested, or because he’s serving a quiet suspension after having already testing positive.
They’re either condemning an innocent man, which pains me, or there’s actually substance behind the rumors, which would pain me even more. Honestly, after the Armstrong debacle, I don’t know what to think any more.
I haven’t heard those rumors. I keep hearing that he is just injured and masking it with a stomach virus.
I don’t think that’s credible. Nadal’s people say he’s being drug tested four times a week while he rehabs, and the idea of a “quiet suspension” is basically the sporting equivalent of a conspiracy theory.
I sure hope so. When Nadal withdrew from Cincinnati, I gave away a lot of my tickets. Just isn’t the same without him.
Mahaloth, here is a timely article:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/20130102/mailbag-rafael-nadal-2013/index.html
You’d have to think that the Lance Armstrong exposure would mean a cover up would be less likely.
In any case I think the most obvious answer here is the real one. He is plagued with injury due to his playing style and it may well be that he wants to delay his comeback until everything is working as well as it can. The stomach virus may be a red herring but I’d be surprised if there was anything nefarious about it.
Personally I can see Rafa being very careful with his tournament choices for the rest of his career and only commit when the body will allow him. I’ll go further and suggest that he won’t ever play anything like a full season again and may restrict himself to majors and their relevant run-ups only.
I’ve said it before but it bears repeating, his style of play is the reason he has won 11, and is also the reason why he won’t win 18
…Which means that he’ll never be #1 again. That would bum me out.
Of course, I keep hoping he’ll learn some Murray/Federer tricks so that he doesn’t have to run around like a Jack Russell terrier.
Caught the early rounds of Australian Open 2013.
Potential spoilers:
Sharapova double-bageled her opponent, Puchkova. Venus Williams annihilated her opponent.
This isn’t the WWE - there is no such thing as a “quiet suspension”, if for no other reason than tournament organizers have to be told in advance who is ineligible to compete.
(For those of you who didn’t get the reference, even the WWE has drug testing, and a suspension policy (30 days for the first offense, 60 for the second, and getting fired for the third), but when somebody does test positive, while it is mentioned on the WWE website somewhere, they usually cover it up on the air by having the wrestler get a sudden injury.)
Petko is out, so no Petko shuffle at the Aussie Open.
Querry is as exciting to watch as dirty laundry.
Marcos wins in 5. [YEAH!]
I love that the time zone difference allows me to watch the end of some fabulous night matches live. Would it be too much to ask them to play in Australia year round? Yes, yes, I know the weather wouldn’t be conducive to that. BTW, what’s up with this crazy weather in Melbourne? From 76 to 100 back to 80F in less than a week! Shouldn’t they be getting hit with killer tornadoes?
Glad that Tipsarevic made it through a tough 5-setter. What a match!
Was hoping that Ryan Harrison would be able to take a set off Djokovic. Djokovic is playing very good, aggressive tennis.
I don’t see Fed making it past the quarter finals unless he picks up his game.
I only saw the beginning of Murray’s match so I didn’t get to see how he was playing. Would love to see a Murray/Djokovic final.
Sorry that Tomic won yesterday. He’s such a brat, I can’t stand to watch him.
Growing weary of the heat talk.
Give me the Aussie 100* and dry over the US Open 90* and HUMID any day.
Sorry, Pam, but not all of use spent our summers in Newport or on the coast of Maine.
It’s been mostly easy for the top seeds on both sides so far other than Laura Robson (UK) upsetting Kvitova. Sharapova didn’t lose a game until her third match, and that match was a whooping of Venus Williams. But Victoria Azarenka is being pushed in to a third set against Jamie Hampton, a young American player. Hampton doesn’t look fully healthy right now, though - but I hope she can stay in this one.
Yeah, haven’t been watching much of the Aussie Open so far, but I will definitely catch the second week. I’ve watched the scores and seen the men fly right through. Should make for a fun second week.
Roddick tweeted the other day that he hated it when they closed the roof because of heat. He said that the heat is what proved who won the offseason training.
And Azarenka rolls through the third set - although she’s struggling with these fluffy questions about her engagement - with Hampton debilitated by her back injury. Federer is playing Tomic later tonight. I’d like to see it, but it’s on so damn late.
Murray and Djokovic through to the last 16 very easily, Federer has just joined them in straight sets.
Tomic certainly looks like one for the future but you hope that he takes a good close look at the top three and learns from them. One point near the end highlighted the difference. He played a drop shot, thought he’d won the point and then switched off. Federer chased it down and surprised Tomic into a woeful volley. Still, he is young and I’m sure there is much better to come.
Del Potro out and that leaves the mens draw looking wide open for the fourth semi-spot. I suspect the other three already have ND, AM and RF pencilled in.
Wow, what a bad start to 2013 for Del Potro. Too bad.
What ever happened to Robin Soderling?