Topic: Clay Monster's Limitations

[falcon]

This is one of the finest matches I've seen Rafa play on HC...he was ruthless out there...very impressive...its going to be very hard to stop him this fortnight...however on a side note, Murray made 10 UE as compared to 8 from the clay monster...that's pretty impressive too...I know that Rafa had 53!!!!!! winners...what abt Murray?
I'm soooooooooo happpppppppy right now 

he is the ruthless, relentless warrior king doing what he was born to do. doing what he was bred to do. killing with reckless abandon and ridiculous ease.

memo to all opposition: pray for death.

Absolutement Hercs warrior....I believe you....there's no doubt that he's the ultimate warrior...even his harshest critics say so.

so massive is his thirst that it can drink the oceans dry. he takes everything he rests his eyes on. no surface is safe from his relentless ground attack.

as a token of his opposition`s submission to his will, all he asks for is death.

memo: warrior king cometh.

Sweet 

Warrior king cometh then goeth if he meets Murray

Time will tell. 

[Clay Death]

STOP PRESS
24th January

Rafa beat Tommy Haas 6-4 6-2 6-2 in the third round of the Australian Open and now plays Fernando Gonzalez.

They will play the third day match on Monday 26th January. Play starts at 11am in Melbourne, midnight GMT, 1am CET, 7pm Sunday EDT. Since Monfils v Simon and Serena Williams v Victoria Azarenka will be on first it is impossible to say when Rafa's match will start.

Work out times in your time zone with this handy converter.

Still left in his half of the draw are Gael Monfils(12), Gilles Simon(6), Andy Murray(4), Fernando Verdasco(14), James Blake(9) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (5).

To our delight Rafa is blogging for The Times again as well as answering questions in the Herald Sun.

[Clay Death]

This is one of the finest matches I've seen Rafa play on HC...he was ruthless out there...very impressive...its going to be very hard to stop him this fortnight...however on a side note, Murray made 10 UE as compared to 8 from the clay monster...that's pretty impressive too...I know that Rafa had 53!!!!!! winners...what abt Murray?
I'm soooooooooo happpppppppy right now 

he is the ruthless, relentless warrior king doing what he was born to do. doing what he was bred to do. killing with reckless abandon and ridiculous ease.

memo to all opposition: pray for death.

Absolutement Hercs warrior....I believe you....there's no doubt that he's the ultimate warrior...even his harshest critics say so.

so massive is his thirst that it can drink the oceans dry. he takes everything he rests his eyes on. no surface is safe from his relentless ground attack.

as a token of his opposition`s submission to his will, all he asks for is death.

memo: warrior king cometh.

Sweet 

warrior king is in one of his "impossible to be denied" modes again.

Gonzo remembers what happened at the Olympics. they all do.

[falcon]

Can't wait to see what Rafa comes up with today.

[Clay Death]

Can't wait to see what Rafa comes up with today.

he is going to do what he always does. he is going to slowly find his range and then get his teeth into the match. after that, he is like a runaway freight train.

basically, he is going to kill this guy in 4 sets or less.

[tain316]

Rafa looked in great form today.  But Simon is a different player altogether and he is definitely going to retrieve anything and everything Rafa throws at him.  I expect a very difficult match for Rafa and I think he may lose at least one set.  I hope Rafa pays him back for that come from behind defeat from Simon in Madrid last year.  Vamos Rafa!

[huntingyou]

Rafa looked in great form today.  But Simon is a different player altogether and he is definitely going to retrieve anything and everything Rafa throws at him.  I expect a very difficult match for Rafa and I think he may lose at least one set.  I hope Rafa pays him back for that come from behind defeat from Simon in Madrid last year.  Vamos Rafa!

Negative, Simon has nothing to hurt Rafa...hi might retrieve but it won't be enough.

This is no Madrid!

[falcon]

Rafa looked in great form today.  But Simon is a different player altogether and he is definitely going to retrieve anything and everything Rafa throws at him.  I expect a very difficult match for Rafa and I think he may lose at least one set.  I hope Rafa pays him back for that come from behind defeat from Simon in Madrid last year.  Vamos Rafa!

Negative, Simon has nothing to hurt Rafa...hi might retrieve but it won't be enough.

This is no Madrid!

I agree...Rafa is a different monster when it comes to slams...Rafa will be ready for Simon 

[Clay Death]

enter the clay monster. is he on fire or what. i think he is on a rampage. god help those who get in his way. 33 winners and just 11 unforced errors. like i said before, he is finally healthy. he was nursing 2 injuries in 2007 when Gonzo got the best of him.

today, Gonzo had no place to hide. he knew he had a major problem at his hands when the warrior king showed up healthy.

this was not a match. it was a clinic.

Nadal, Simon Advance To Quarter-finals
© AFP/Getty Images
 World No. 1 Rafael Nadal advanced to the Australian Open quarter-finals for the third straight year as he beat No. 13 seed Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Monday.
   
The 22-year-old Spaniard, a semi-finalist in Melbourne last year, was in control throughout the one-hour and 55-minute match. Nadal, who lost to the Chilean in the quarter-finals in Melbourne two years ago, improved his career record to 5-3 over Gonzalez, winning for the fourth straight time. This was their first meeting since Nadal won in straight sets in the gold medal match at the Beijing Olympics last August.

"I am playing well – happy for how I am playing for sure," said Nadal, who has reached the quarter-finals or better in 11 of his last 12 Grand Slam tournament appearances (except 2007 US Open, 4th RD). "Maybe the only thing today I can improve a little bit more, for sure, is the serve. I think I was serving better the last matches."

Nadal will face No. 6 seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon, who advanced to his first Grand Slam quarter-final as he was leading No. 12 seed Gael Monfils 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, before his countryman retired with a right wrist injury.

DEUCE Magazine: Nadal - Making History In A Hurry

Nadal converted six of 13 break points and saved five of seven break points on his serve. The only time he fell behind in the match was when Gonzalez broke for a 2-0 lead in the third set. But Nadal broke in the fifth game and again in the seventh game to secure the victory.

Nadal fired 33 winners and only committed 11 unforced errors compared to the Chilean's 22 winners and 35 errors.

Watch live coverage, highlights, interviews and features at Australian Open TV

[falcon]

Absolutely this is the ebst Rafa has played on HC....i can't stop praising him now...I hope he continues his warpath successfully all the way to the trophy   

[Clay Death]

Absolutely this is the ebst Rafa has played on HC....i can't stop praising him now...I hope he continues his warpath successfully all the way to the trophy   

he is writing a new book. its to be titled "The Art of Relentless Devastation".

[Start da Game]

Absolutely this is the ebst Rafa has played on HC....i can't stop praising him now...I hope he continues his warpath successfully all the way to the trophy   

he is writing a new book. its to be titled "The Art of Relentless Devastation".

i just cannot wait for the clay season.........he is getting devastating even on hardcourts.........wonder what he will do to his opponents on clay..........

[Clay Death]

Absolutely this is the ebst Rafa has played on HC....i can't stop praising him now...I hope he continues his warpath successfully all the way to the trophy   

he is writing a new book. its to be titled "The Art of Relentless Devastation".

i just cannot wait for the clay season.........he is getting devastating even on hardcourts.........wonder what he will do to his opponents on clay..........

he will do to them what he did to Fed at Roland Garros. this is the Warrior King we always knew he was going to be.

he was born to kill. he was bred to destroy. no retreat and no surrender. he is required to kill so he kills with ruthless determination. what else is there.

memo: just pray for death.

[Clay Death]

STOP PRESS
26th January

Rafa beat Fernando Gonzalez 6-3 6-2 6-4 in the fourth round of the Australian Open. He dropped serve early in the first and third sets but overall he played awesome tennis. He made 33 winners against 11 unforced errors which is the kind of ratio we are more than happy with.

He'll play Gilles Simon(6) in the quarter final.

[yellowball]

This is one of the finest matches I've seen Rafa play on HC...he was ruthless out there...very impressive...its going to be very hard to stop him this fortnight...however on a side note, Murray made 10 UE as compared to 8 from the clay monster...that's pretty impressive too...I know that Rafa had 53!!!!!! winners...what abt Murray?
I'm soooooooooo happpppppppy right now 

he is the ruthless, relentless warrior king doing what he was born to do. doing what he was bred to do. killing with reckless abandon and ridiculous ease.

memo to all opposition: pray for death.

Absolutement Hercs warrior....I believe you....there's no doubt that he's the ultimate warrior...even his harshest critics say so.

so massive is his thirst that it can drink the oceans dry. he takes everything he rests his eyes on. no surface is safe from his relentless ground attack.

as a token of his opposition`s submission to his will, all he asks for is death.

memo: warrior king cometh.

Sweet 

Warrior king cometh then goeth if he meets Murray

Wazzat you say?    Guess we won't know now, since Murray's gone.    Rafa's still there... 

[Clay Death]

This is one of the finest matches I've seen Rafa play on HC...he was ruthless out there...very impressive...its going to be very hard to stop him this fortnight...however on a side note, Murray made 10 UE as compared to 8 from the clay monster...that's pretty impressive too...I know that Rafa had 53!!!!!! winners...what abt Murray?
I'm soooooooooo happpppppppy right now 

he is the ruthless, relentless warrior king doing what he was born to do. doing what he was bred to do. killing with reckless abandon and ridiculous ease.

memo to all opposition: pray for death.

Absolutement Hercs warrior....I believe you....there's no doubt that he's the ultimate warrior...even his harshest critics say so.

so massive is his thirst that it can drink the oceans dry. he takes everything he rests his eyes on. no surface is safe from his relentless ground attack.

as a token of his opposition`s submission to his will, all he asks for is death.

memo: warrior king cometh.

Sweet 

Warrior king cometh then goeth if he meets Murray

Wazzat you say?    Guess we won't know now, since Murray's gone.    Rafa's still there... 

i like Murray but his time is not here yet.

[Clay Death]

enter the clay monster. the mighty warrior king is out again and he has devastation on his mind. get ready for his march to glory. nothing can stand in his way.

STOP PRESS
26th January

Rafa beat Fernando Gonzalez 6-3 6-2 6-4 in the fourth round of the Australian Open. He dropped serve early in the first and third sets but overall he played awesome tennis. He made 33 winners against 11 unforced errors which is the kind of ratio we are more than happy with.

He'll play Gilles Simon(6) in the quarter final.

[Clay Death]

enter the clay monster. not very sharp off the ground but still manages to snatch the points in the clutch when he really needed them.

Verdasco is not consistent enough for the Clay Monster. its safe to say that the Clay Monster will be in the final here.

that is where he will really bring the heat.

STOP PRESS
28th January

Rafa beat Gilles Simon 6-2 7-5 7-5 in the quarter final of the Australian Open. As the close score suggests it was a tougher match than any he has played so far. According to Spanish pundits Rafa's relative lack of aggression in this match was due to a game plan devised to prevent Simon feeding off his power. It worked well.

So now for the second year running he's in the semi final. He'll play this year's hot-streak player, fellow countryman and Davis Cup teammate Fernando Verdasco. The match will be on Friday at 7:30 pm in Melbourne, 8:30 am GMT, 9:30 am CET, 3:30 am EST

[falcon]

Absolutely this is the ebst Rafa has played on HC....i can't stop praising him now...I hope he continues his warpath successfully all the way to the trophy   

he is writing a new book. its to be titled "The Art of Relentless Devastation".

We Rafans are the first to read it and see Rafa's stamp on it 

[Clay Death]

Absolutely this is the ebst Rafa has played on HC....i can't stop praising him now...I hope he continues his warpath successfully all the way to the trophy   

he is writing a new book. its to be titled "The Art of Relentless Devastation".

We Rafans are the first to read it and see Rafa's stamp on it 

the "art of relentless devastation" is very much on display in Melbourne.