(Prepare for a rather long and un-professional expression of my emotions- sorry.)
So, you know the drill. Rafa lost again. This time it came to Fabio Fognini who defeated him 6-4 7-6 in the 3rd Round of the Barcelona Open.
Normally after a loss the fans are negative at first, but then clouds start to clear and the excitement for the next tournament kicks in. This one is kind of different. For me, it's like the permanent worry in the back of my head is being brought closer by every loss we endure. It's reached the stage where the worry is so overwhelming it's drowning out the positivity. At the moment, I can't think of anything positive about this situation.
After Monte Carlo I was so excited. The general consensus amongst fans was a positive energy and excitement for the next tournament. Rafa had lost in the semi final, but he lost to the best player in the world at that moment. It was a turning point, a really happy day for everybody despite the scoreline. I was delighted and just so relieved that the nervous off-point Rafa had vanished. Or so we thought.
The match in Barcelona was terrible, let's face it. Rafa's game was so average today. I didn't watch any of this tournament apart from the last couple of points in the tiebreak, (which both Rafa lost.) I'm a student so I spend most of my time at school. I rushed home to catch the end of the second set and hopefully a third set, but I only arrived minutes before Rafa lost the match. Not ideal at all.
Rafa's press conference was quite depressing to be honest. It reflected onto me. I'm now very worried for him. I'm worried he won't be at his best level in time for the French Open. I'm worried he's running out of time in his career. Every time a loss like this happens, we're losing the potential time I could be spending supporting him when he's winning and in a positive frame of mind. It might be selfish, I'm aware of that, but I desire to watch him for the maximum amount of time possible when he's playing well. This slump is no fun for anybody.
On the positive side, Rafa is totally healthy and injury free. That is the most important thing. I guess we can't have it both ways though, huh?
It's a pretty complex thing to explain, there's so many feelings and thoughts going on inside my head right now. At the end of the day, we need to simplify it a little though. A tennis player lost a tennis match. That's it. Even though there's a lot of doubt and panic surrounding the situation as it's kind of a disaster, let's not forget that it's a tennis match. Nothing more. (I know that's a little bit hypocritical, but to be honest, that was more of a reminder to myself to stop panicking.)
There's a lot going on right now. Every Rafa fan is hit hard by this by the looks of things. Therefore, can we all just support each other to get through it together please? Isn't that what fans are for? Let's be a TEAM and hold each others hands when it gets tough as well. It's cheesy but so important. Let's stop the criticism of what you think and say and just understand that everybody deals with a loss in different ways. Tolerance is key!
So, to round up this jumble of panicky statements… I'm worried. Time is running out before the time of the French Open rolls around again. HOWEVER… This is the important bit. Adversity is something Rafa is used to. He knows how to deal with it very well. Remember last year when everything seemed to go wrong at this point in the season? Well, it's the same kind of thing. A little more disastrous of course, but the principle is there. If anybody can overcome this, we know it's our guy Rafa. Let's just try to relax and enjoy the ride. This period is way more difficult for Rafa than it is for us.
Remember, when everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top!
Hugs everybody!
Grace x
No comments:
Post a Comment