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Rafa Nadal facing the biggest challenge of his career
Rafa Nadal facing the biggest challenge of his career.
Should we be alarmed with Rafa Nadal? The Spanish tennis player has started the season adding two defeats (against Cameron Norrie and Alex de Miñaur ) in two games played in the United Cup, to which must be added another three defeats and a single victory since he said goodbye to the last US Open. Balance that falls short, both in filming and performance, to start in 2023.
Nobody knows Rafa better than himself. That is why things are said when they are not going well. “I have a brutal level of mistrust,” he said during the third set against De Minaur in his second match in the United Cup. He is not comfortable because he has no rhythm, but he sees himself as capable of overcoming the situation.
Nadal indeed turned 36 last June, but we must not forget that a year ago things looked even worse. In August 2021 he said goodbye to the season under the real threat that his battered foot could withdraw him. He returned in December, contesting the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi where he chained another two losses (to Andy Murray and Denis Shapovalov ).
“I don’t like to compare each year, since you never know what can happen, but a year ago at this time, it seemed impossible to imagine what happened next. Today it seems difficult for it to happen again,” Nadal analyzed these days from Sydney. Miracles go against logic, but with Rafa, you can never rule anything out.
“I’m not too alarmed or negative about what has happened, but I need to be quicker to read the ball better. That’s what gives you confidence in the game. There was a very real chance of losing these two games, last year as well. I lost those in Abu Dhabi. I have an important space to improve, I think I can achieve it”, he added.
Rafa Nadal facing the biggest challenge of his career
The difference compared to last year is that Nadal has less time to face the big goal, the Australian Open. He then chose to play the ATP 250 in Melbourne in the first week of January, which he would win after beating three tennis players and benefiting from Griekspoor ‘s withdrawal in the quarterfinals.
This time he used the United Cup card, but the bet did not work out for him. He has barely played two games and against De Miñaur he did it with nothing at stake. The positive thing is that both were rivals of height (among the 25 best rackets in the world) and he managed to start by winning the first set in both matches.
Heading to Melbourne
“I’ve spent almost six hours on the track, but I need more”, was the final summary that Nadal made after saying goodbye to the United Cup. After Spain‘s participation in the United Cup ended, Rafa left Sydney to plant his settlement in Melbourne. There he meets Carlos Moyá again and has practically two weeks ahead of him to physically crush himself and practice with other tennis players.
There will be no more competitive matches, although on the 11th he is scheduled to participate in Melbourne Park along with other tennis players such as Carlos Alcaraz -who travels to Australia this Saturday- in an exhibition under the name Tennis Plays for Peace.
Nadal’s team has everything calculated and within what is possible everything is following a progressive line. This was stated by Dr. Ángel Ruiz-Cotorro, RFET and Nadal’s doctor, this week from an act: “It’s fine, in the progression phase, because it’s what you need when the year has ended without rhythm.”
READ MORE: Fresh blow for Novak Djokovic in US decision
The message is clear: Nadal is having “good games and is feeling well.” It is time to finish preparing and gain that point of confidence that will allow him to perform those geniuses to which he has been accustomed throughout his career.
Tsitsipas threatens No. 2
Nadal will be present as the reigning Australian Open champion in the draw for the draw that takes place on Thursday the 12th. He will do so as the second seed unless Tsitsipas and Greece continue their winning streak in the United Cup. The Greeks have won the three games they have played and will play the semis against Italy, a tie in which they will presumably meet Matteo Berrettini. Ganar le dejará a solo 5 puntos de Nadal en el ranking ATP, con la posibilidad abierta de adelantarle en el siguiente partido.
Losing number 2 would put Nadal in the first-seeded Carlos Alcaraz’s side of the draw. The draw will present other big dangers, especially that of Novak Djokovic back in Australia. Last year, due to his deportation, he could not compete in the Grand Slam against Rafa, but he left us one of the greatest feats in tennis with his comeback against Medvedev in the final. Miracles.
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It shouldn’t have come from his mouth: Christopher Bell disgrace Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson in public
Christopher Bell disgrace Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson in public
Christopher Bell made his choice about NASCAR’s top superstars based on their achievements in races. He believes that drivers like Austin Dillon from RCR, Kyle Busch from JGR, Brad Keselowski from Team Penske, and Bubba Wallace from RFK Racing are the top drivers in terms of wins.
Bell did not mention big names like Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, who may be famous but do not have the same level of success as the veterans. He also noted that in the Next-Gen era, there is greater equality in the field, with 15-20 cars competing for the win each week.
This means that the dominance seen in the Big-3 era may not return. Bell suggests that NASCAR needs to find unique ways, like the Netflix documentary, to improve the sport.
Three weeks have passed since the Texas race, and the stunning comeback story it harbored is still the talk of the town. After getting sidelined for 42 Cup races, Chase Elliott stormed back into the winning scene of NASCAR. And the journey to the podium has been a prickly one, laden with obstacles every step of the way.
Chase Elliott suffered a knee injury in a snowboarding accident in 2023 and saw his playoff chances spiraling away from him. His troubles saw no end in sight as his long-time spotter, Eddie D’Hondt, packed up his bags and left. However, the memory of his previous fire helped his journey of recovery.
2023 marked the first season that Chase Elliott walked out of a NASCAR Cup schedule without a single win. However, he did not let his drooping spirits get the better of him. Elliott worked hard with his No. 9 team for a slow but sure comeback in 2024. They crept up the ladder after Daytona, never letting the winless hangover overcome them.
Elliott secured 5th place at Richmond and then grabbed a podium finish at Martinsville. The six-time defending Most Popular Driver held his fans at the edge of their seats. Sure enough, Chase Elliott found his long-lost glory in the Lone Star state. On a recent ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’ episode, Harvick asked Elliott about the relief he felt on seizing that coveted win. Elliott responded, “Yeah, the first time…I’m not quite used to seeing the other side of the interviews…it is odd, I’m getting used to it. Yeah definitely, relief involved, for sure.”
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We are where we belong: Lewis Hamilton ruthless after Mercedes bankruptcy
Mercedes experienced another blow in the neck at the start of the Formula 1 weekend in Miami. George and Hamilton failed in sprint qualifying in Q2. After the slap, Hamilton didn’t even look for excuses, but instead came to a ruthless conclusion.
“I have the feeling that we got everything out of our car. That’s just our pace. We have to accept that we are seven tenths of a second behind,” said the record world champion.
Mercedes in the Miami midfield: balance is right, result is not
Over the past few weekends, setup experiments have often been cited as an explanation for poor results. There was no talk of this in Miami, although the upgrades that Mercedes brought to the track on a large scale and the sprint format would have given plenty of reason to blame a setup search.
But according to Hamilton, there was no problem with the car’s balance. “The car felt very good in training and it didn’t feel bad in sprint qualifying either,” he summarized. Hopes for the race are muted. “The sprint race will be tough. I don’t expect much from 12th place. Plus, it’s not easy to overtake and follow other cars on this track,” said Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton pessimistic: Are points even possible?
“We’ll just try to get into the points somehow, if we can,” are his small goals. George Russell’s outlook for the short race on Saturday sounded a little more optimistic. “I have no doubt that we will continue to sprint forward.” He starts in P11, just one position ahead of his teammate and compatriot.
However, he sees a need for action with a view to qualifying for the sixth Grand Prix of the 2024 Formula 1 season. “We have to get our qualifying problems under control. Because it is always difficult to fight with other cars when you start from behind “, he said.
Russell’s balance conclusion was similar to Hamilton’s: “In the soft tire felt good on our car, but on the medium tire in qualifying we couldn’t get our car into the sweet spot.”
Mercedes dead end: After the first training session things go downhill
What is particularly alarming for Mercedes is a well-known phenomenon this season: after a good start to the weekend in the first training session, there is no improvement in the following sessions. Mercedes engineer Andrew Shovlin also noted this: “Unfortunately, in the crucial session, we were unable to take the step that others were able to, as we have seen many times this year.”
The Silver Arrows still find a little consolation in the time table: the gaps were quite small in the first qualifying session of the weekend. P5 was only two tenths of a second away. Whether a comparison with RB driver Daniel Ricciardo and a gap of seven tenths to the top meets the demands of a team that once dominated is another matter.
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Millions of Dollars: Dale Earnhardt Jr. faces financial challenges and raises concerns with all the blame on NASCAR
Dale Earnhardt Jr. faces financial challenges and raises concerns with all the blame on NASCAR
Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveals lack of profitability in NASCAR teams. The NASCAR Hall of Famer has always been vocal about the financial challenges and concerns that arise from owning a racing team in NASCAR. This is due to the current state of NASCAR and the reason why none of the teams are able to generate profits.
During an episode of his podcast, Dale Jr. Download, the 49-year-old driver shared his thoughts on the agreement between NASCAR and the teams. He discussed how he never made money as a team owner, including his Xfinity team, JR Motorsports, and how none of the teams can turn a profit under the current agreement.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed frustration with the overall situation and showed empathy towards the teams, understanding the significant amount of money invested behind the scenes. The financial situation of NASCAR teams seems to be quite complex after the new grant agreement, and NASCAR will likely need to address this issue to avoid future complications.
During the same conversation, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is also a team owner at JRM, shared an interesting detail about Denny Hamlin’s perspective on the profitability of NASCAR teams. According to Earnhardt Jr., co-owner of 23XI Racing, Hamlin supports the teams and is actively working to make them profitable.
Earnhardt Jr. revealed that he has had several discussions with Hamlin about the importance of profitability and how they have been collaborating behind the scenes to help teams achieve financial success. Only time will tell if these efforts will lead to improvements in the financial situation of NASCAR teams.
It shouldn’t have come from his mouth: Christopher Bell disgrace Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson in public
We are where we belong: Lewis Hamilton ruthless after Mercedes bankruptcy
