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No matter what you say about them, you have to give them this:

Have you played this game lately?

Like I may be a basement lunatic, but at least I have been blogging everyday to feed all you day care toddlers. Wait a minute. Isn’t that bad twice? OK, bad example. Let’s try again.

You all may be freaks and more, but you have been a good sport for tolerating my clearly ‘out of line, crossing the line, erasing the line’ garbage posts every day. Do you get it now?

Nadal: Do or die attitude.

Djokovic: Flexibility.

Murray: Quickly learning from mistakes. 

Federer: Best ambassador for tennis.

Nalbandian: Win despite without any ONE strong ‘go to’ shot.

Roddick: Master ‘press conference’ junkie.

Blake: Resilient.

Ferrer: Great defense.

Davydenko: Mentally strong.

Wawrinka: ??????

Fish: ??????????

Karlovic: Serve?

Stepanek: Extra inches?

Safin: Looks.

Gasquet: Killer backhand.

Youzhny: Personable personality.

Nadal Withdraws From Tennis Masters Cup. From Miffy. Thanks.

MIFFY

Nadal Withdraws From Tennis Masters Cup

ATP World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, which begins Sunday. Nadal’s withdrawal elevates Frenchman Gilles Simon into the elite eight-man playing field.

Nadal injured his right knee during last week’s BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, when he retired after the first set of his quarterfinal match with Nikolay Davydenko. “I know that many people were speculating with this news and even though I have not yet done any test, I can say I take the right decision,” Nadal said in a statement.

Nadal said through a written statement: “I have decided not to compete on the Masters Cup in Shanghai… This is one of the most difficult decisions in my career due to the importance of the event and above all, due to the fact of not making possible my will to be with the fans in China and the tournament organizers that always treated me in such special way.

“I am deeply saddened and disappointed for my fans around the world that expected to see me in Shanghai fighting in every match. I do expect to be there again in October ‘09 for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Shanghai.”

Nadal’s withdrawl from Tennis Masters Cup a sign of movement in the wrong direction?

Despite withdrawals at Paris and now here, this may have been the best year for Nadal, physical fitness-wise. After all, not only did he travel deeper into the draws he played more matches, winning on all surfaces.

So does that mean Nadal took a step forward in terms of endurance, or the fact that he fizzled out US Open and beyond point to the problem just getting worse? Or was it made to look better this year due to the enormous rush of adrenaline – with all those juicy carrots hanging in the face? 

This now being his third straight year where it’s become almost impossible for him to carry on after the mid point mark of the season, it’s reasonable to assume the journey is not going to get better. If you are still banging your head against the wall, despite three years of writing on the wall BS, with no major adjustments – is this now a case of ‘get as much as you can before the inevitable happens’ because you have no choice?

What else to conclude? Is there any other evidence proving anything otherwise?

But despite all those warnings / mishaps, Nadal has still been able to maintain his level on clay for four straight freaking years – the most unforgiving surface on the tour.

Should Nadal take the blame for it all? The tiny window available to perform, hectic tour schedule, Federer’s presence etc. are all playing their role too.

Getting to No. 1 after being at No. 2 for so long has to be one of the strongest motivations. It’s like being a one-slam wonder. But now that he has bagged it, defending it becomes an even more of force. Unless he keeps the ‘retaining of No. 1 slot’ game in perspective, it has the potential of forcing him to charge through tournaments with total disregard to what may get trampled in the process.

Photos.