Oh the clay confidence must be pouring from the tanned pores of the Spaniard’s camp.

His spokes-people sure are confident. Remember the TSQ we defined some time ago? This is their footprint.

Here’s part of Tignor’s generous consideration of the rest of the Roland Garros field:

“But there’s more to a major than the winner, at least as it’s happening. Here’s a look at how the next two weeks in Paris might play out, and who has the best shot of finishing second, third and fourth on the men’s side.”

Ha ha! Pretty bold stuff even though Nadal is the prohibitive favorite at the year’s second major that starts tomorrow.

Hey, let’s not completely ignore other guys (not named Rafa); they’re still cool . . .I guess?

Unfortunately, the field just sits there, seemingly, and takes that kind of humiliation like a flock of ducks, (you know, sitting ducks). Or more accurately, it’s like a bunch of prisoners of this clay empire, ruled ruthlessly by his Majesty Nadal, filing into the gallows to be annihilated.

The Tignor prose there above represent, imho, borderline professional sports heresy. Those are fighting words.

I have two pictures of me, which can apply to the last post I wrote, perusing the Roland Garros draw, and this post, where I represent a time prior to reading that quote from the esteemed Tennis.com Rafa fan, and after. The blatant disregard for opponents is a risky proposition, if you ask me.

Here’s a picture of me that represents: A) me before writing yesterday’s post, where the thought of the FO draw, especially considering the lack of resistance, the lack of real clay talent at the top, is bit of a concern (Djokovic, Goffin, Thiem and Zverev, for instance, are all four — and more — in the bottom half). Look at that left eye in the photo! That’s my right eye, but the Photo Booth on my Mac has me all turned-around. Which is perfect. Looking at the draw gets me all “turned-around.” That’s a troubling image!

The picture also represents B) me reading Tignor’s little love-for-the-field quip; like most people interested in the ATP, I’m not not really pleased by this kind of rhetoric, this irresponsible opinion; perhaps I’m even made ill — again, look at my eye!

You think there’s much pressure on Nadal to win the French? Yes. Does the pressure matter to Nadal? No and yes.

Nadal excels under pressure (is there ever going to be enough pressure on him here at the finale of the Euro clay circus?). Look at some of his greatest matches, especially on clay, and you see a warrior unlike any to have graced the tennis court, most likely.

He thrives, we have to conclude, on this high-octane pressure.

At the same time, Rafa can be a nervous wreck. A recent example of this was his 2015-16 form where he lost all of this “confidence.” I called bullshit on this everyday, thought he was done — how wrong I was. But this kind of dip in confidence, the product most likely of playing and living under the rule of Toni his entire life, is a good example of the fragility of Nadal.

He’s not the most confident bloke on the block. His loss to Thiem in Madrid showed this out of sorts Nadal (though the conditions certainly played into this) and his play in Rome, especially against Djokovic and Zverev again showed signs of vulnerability. Novak’s lack of match fitness and confidence and the rain (both) probably came to the Spaniard’s aide more than his supporters want to admit.

So, based on my own observations (and optimism for a competitive tournament) and the jinx, potentially, of Tignor’s words, I see a final in Paris (so long as it’s a confident Novak or a monstrously matured and rampant Zverev) that could be quite entertaining. 😀

Thus this final picture of me; I’m still ill from the draw, still turned-around by the lack of balance of the two halves, disturbed by Tignor’s brutal disregard (honesty): so I’m ready for war. I’m looking forward to this clay clash of the titans. This kind of stuff fires me up!

Are you as excited as I am?

PS
Regarding my eye, really it’s my allergies here on the west coast that are killing me!

😀