Nadal's phantom foot injury steals game, limelight

I wrote that post two weeks ago. Sheesh, get a life. Anyway, if you honestly believe that Nadal doesn't exceed the time limit, you either are a blind Nadal fanatic, or you don't watch much tennis.

yes and someone gullible as you would buy it....

wow! another mindless accusations...coaching? really...its really funny how people can come up with "funny" accusations...

agree with you kerry most of the comments here only shows that the people are gullible and don't check facts..they didn't even have a clue how the incident transpired...oh well...

better to show facts dude that say something you wish exists. you are merely accusing nadal but you can't prove it.. most people? or most people of envied nadal? there's a difference.......Trademark? hahahaha.

funny..so what are you saying that the umpires are watching something else when nadal is serving thats why they didn't notice that nadal is always exceeding the allowed time? hahahahahahahahha..

where's the record? show your facts not just your not stop babbling...

Mindless? YOu are the one whose mindless..because if you watch the match and actually knows tennis then you will just shut up..

Check out the evidence that Nadal's been doping: http://tennishasasteroidproblem.blogspot.com/2011/02/curious-case-of-rafael-nadal.html

To David Lord, Thank you! I am surprised you have 20/20 vision and are brave enough to say it as it is. Seems like all the players, ITF, umpires and sports commentators are in need of prescription glasses or too cowardly to say anything. And so this __ shamelessly gets away with it!

Well said michelle, i'm glad Delpo complained just a shame more dont then at least umpires and tournament officals would do more about him, but not holding my breath..

Lee, even those who are tennis fans can see that nadal does cheat hes opponents by taking time outs when he doesnt need to only because he wants to slow down the opponent to he's ridiculous slow pace of playing, its gamesmenship period whether you wish to see it or not. Have you not seen him take a medical time out then run round like nothings wrong? Because most with eyes in their heads have done and most are sick of it. If federer did what nadal does you and nadal's fans would be saying exactly the same thing same goes for novak and he's bloody ball bouncing but to his credit has calmed down in that regard. Its got nothing to do with how many titles he has and who he may catch the bottom line is nadal knows the rules in tennis yet breaks everyone of them each time he plays and god forbid the umpire warns him he kicks up a stink which he has no right doing, Time to wake up people!

So, people used to say when Nadal had 4 GS's "oh but no way he can get 10 with his style of play! his body won't last, two more years and he will be wearing crutches, compare his run-run style with Federer elegance, no way he can win a GS outside Roland Garros, he is injury prone and therefore won't have consistency , you cannot call him great if he doesn't have consistency, etc" Now with Nadal at 10GS closing on the Aussie idol Laver, i found this ridiculous article highlighted by "It was worth a double whammy, put del Potro off his game, which it did, and take away the headlines from that pesky teenager Tomic – a double achievement." Note to the writer, outside Australia where Tomic grabs all the headlines, he is still a footnote. One more player among the dozens of players beaten by Djoko this year. So, hold your horses Mr.Lord because no one is losing sleep over Tomic yet. He has potential but you Mr Lord better come out of your hut and realize that Raonic and Dimitrov are way ahead Tomis achievements. Raonic, Dimitrov and Harrison to an extent are the young stories this year. Tomic would have been in the mix but he has been a headcase so far. Regarding Nadal, you people who likes to criticize him, you seem to be afraid that he will win more than Laver's 13, Sampras'14, or brace yourselves, Federer's 16. The guy is good and you like it or not is one of the best ever. Also has ver well document history of injuries, an injury made him miss the French and Wimby in 2009, remember? was that gamemanship too? He probably would be counting 12GS's by now if it's not because of that injury. And when he lost to Ferrer a guy he beat with his eyes closed at the Aussie? Was that gamemaship too? What about playing injured against Murray not only in the US open but also in Rotterdam. Even Murray said that "the guy was playing in one leg". Was that gamemaship? What seems to be happening in here is a lot of fanatical Federer fans, are feeling his 16GS count will be topped by Nadal sooner than later and now a jumping on the gamemaship bandwagon to justify their mental issues. One of the comments even has the temerity to use racial profiling to explain Nadal's support. A very preposterous comment, but evidently, it says more of the person who wrote -hidden by the nickname of 'Viscount'- than what it wants to say about Nadal fandom. Obviously Federer is declining and at this point he is at the level of Ferrer, Soderlig and Berdych, Well capable of beaten anyone on a great day, but vulnerable to other players strengths, -which was not the case in his heyday , at least not until Nadal came along. So calm down. Borg, Connors, MacEnroe, Sampras, Agassi, all those guys were great at some point, and all of them lost a step and finally all of them retired. Federer is in the downside of his career, in a few years Nadal , Djoko, Murray will be losing against top 20'rs. Then DelPotro and even Tomic will have his peak and later on , some years later will decline. That happens to every athlete ,and all the records that athlete accomplished will be there to be taken for other guys. Federer has been a magnificent player, And no one, not even him anymore, can do the things he used to regularly do with a raquet and a ball, but the history of tennis is bigger than Federer or Nadal or Laver. Who knows if starting next Wimbledon Tomic goes on a 10 Wimby streak and end up with 20 GS's? So, again hold your horses, do not accuse other people just for the sake of throwing dirt when you have a glass ceiling. Let the sport goes on, and have fun. If you cannot have fun watching such a nice sport, you Mr. Lord, and you all Nadal haters, then find something else to do, tennis fans do not need your poison around. You better become a WWE fan which is where your diatribes belong.

Excuse me ? Federer took a toilet break in the time allowed between sets and was back on court before the umpire called time. How does it affect an opponent's rhythm whether Federer sat on his chair on court or went to the bathroom in the time allowed between the sets ? How does that compare to the 10 minute long MTOs that Nadal takes interrupting play during a set ? MTOs are allowed only between sets unless there is a serious injury rendering a player immobile or something. Getting your foot taped is Nadal's definition of a serious injury ?

Hats off to the author for finally speaking out on this matter which the tennis media has been turning a blind eye to in all these years. Nadal's time wasting between points and the strategic medical time outs are nothing but gamesmanship. When he is down a bit in a big match , it is just a matter of time he invents an injury ranging from 'feeling tired' to 'choking on a banana' to getting his foot taped/untaped. Why the commentators and tennis media in general doesn't speak much about it or why the umpires can't seem to consistently enforce rules when he tries to have his way is beyond me. He will do anything to win and that includes violating or abusing rules. Just last year at Wimbledon he did it in the match against Petzschner taking an MTO when he was down. He did it in the RF final first set. The latest episode proves he is a downright liar. How come he cries wolf so many times and still gets away with it ? Is he the only tennis player - warrior out there who has aches and pains ? No. Most players there play through injuries and pains but no one pulls the stunts Nadal does. Either get on court and play like a man or retire from the match rather than resorting to cheap tactics.

@Tennisfan - The other players are the ones who vote on the sportsmanship award. When he wins that, it's because the other players vote for him -- or whomever else. Taking an extra 5 to 6 seconds between points is hardly major gamesmanship. And Delpo and Djoker take just as long. His injury occurred when he was ahead in a game on Delpo's serve, and the injury cost him a chance to break. Having won 10 grand slams, he might have understood that pulling up lame when you are at set point on your opponent's service is not an ideal strategy.

Thank you for writing this article! I wish more would because Nadal's behavior has been shameful for years. Even Patrick McEnroe called him out during the Del Potro match. He said that even though the players won't publicly say anything, from the locker room he says that they hate how Nadal is always going on about injuries. They all play with nagging things but don't make a public fuss for excuses. Word is that Del Potro even complained to the tournament after the match. Good for him. Hopefully more players will do that. And if the umpires would start penalizing Nadal points, instead of the occasional warnings, for his oncourt coaching and time-wasting, then maybe he would stop them too. It's sad to see the #1 player be a bad sportsman.

Come on Crouchback. Racial profiling is such a bad look. My missus is Spanish and I have spent a fair bit of time there over the years, and I can assure you this type of behavior from Nadal doesn't go unnoticed by either the press or the fans in Spain. My impression is that he has the same relationship with the Spanish that Hewitt has with Australians. Verdasco seems to be a much more popular player, but historically its hard to get a united opinion of anyone in Spain. Incidentally, I was in Spain at the time of the infamous "El Classico" where Real and Barca players were out to shame themselves in equal measure by playacting and diving. The hammering they copped from the press and fans after that match was unprecidented, and rightly so. Next match, they cut it out. My point is don't think the behavior of Nadal is a reflection of the "Latin" way. Most play the game fairly and with undoubted skill.

Nadal and Djokovic playing tennis. they should follow rules that apply to tennis, not cheat like footballers do ...couple of cheaters as world no 1 and 2 ....great idols for younger generation..ATP might award them sportsmanship award this year.

*salutes author* I agree with every word said. He's a good enough player not to have to resort to this, so he shouldn't. The French Open one is still bitter with me... What was that one for? Tape adjustments? Surely for something as minor as that you should have to wait until the end of the set, like other players have had to. I'm sure Rafa's foot was hurting and he didn't totally make it up, but I don't think it was half as bad as he made out. No news on Delpo's fall. That looked worse because he's had trouble with his hip lately. Rafa's gets all the praise on 'winning despite being injured' but Delpo's injury is completely discounted. I damn well hope Andy Murray takes none of this nonsense, and I doubt he will. Nor will the crowd. People should enforce rules on this, because it's not fair on players who do abide by the 20 second rule and only call for MTOs when they really are in agony.