I do wish they could meet on hard courts, but is it advisable to meet this early on? Would it be more exciting to meet at the end of the year hard court season? Usually though, Rafa is out of gas by that time of the year - this year he made a few changes to his playing style, but as we've all seen, he was absolutely winded by the time of the USO, and Murray literally ran him down on the semifinal, a feat previously thought impossible by many. And on the way to numero uno, he picked up knee tapes, a nasty blister, finger tapes, and god knows what else. He pulled out of the year end competition, which I absolutely missed because even though Murray, Fed, Nole, Potro, and Tsonga was there, there was not really a point. As much as I love and appreciate everyone else (equality!) Rafa was the star of the year.
Would he make more changes to his style of play? He is still 22, but I remember (oh it was so long ago) when I was 22 I had started to slow down my clubbing ways. It was the time when I thought to myself, I had to slow down or I will be hurting by the time I'm 30. I assume he has realized this, hence the style change. But there's a sense of urgency on it - would his style change comes fast enough to accomodate his injuries and the demands of old age?
But how much would he change? Would he be the Rafa I know and fell in love with, if he changes it a lot more? I admit I fell in love with his playing style first before I fell for the image of him. I've seen the big server style like Roddick, I followed Rafter and Hewitt for a while, got my heart broken by Safin repeatedly, and while Fed is really something, when Rafa plays, there's a change in the air, an hum of electricity, a buzz of excitement for me.
Or maybe that's just my woman parts talking.
Hello, bulges.
