I love the new color and I can’t wait to see Roger back on the courts. I haven’t been watching any tennis since the US Open. I also have been reading your other blog “The Tennis Analyst” which is quite enjoyable.

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“With Tsonga back Roger may have to add Stockholm or Paris to his schedule if he wants to be sure to qualify for London.” According to his website, Paris is already in his schedule.

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I like the outfit. Something different than the usual one color shirt.
But somehow…. the shirt reminds me of Delpo or Hewitt……

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I might get criticized for saying this but I feel that glamour and fashion have been an unnecessary distraction in the second half of his career.

He could still have had an excellent endorsement portfolio without being as fashion savvy as he is. It’s of course fine to be actively involved with one’s endorsements and dressing but Fed is so interested in fashion that the attention and limelight took his focus away from Fed the player. Ruan genuinely understands Fed’s game and career but there are many fans out there who just cheer him for the glamour aspect.

One aspect of Nadal that I appreciate although I just don’t trust him and his persona is that his entire focus has always been on one thing: winning the biggest tournaments. In the prime of his career, he never let any other concern such as fashion, image, the vagaries of media attention, sometimes even ATP rankings get in the way of his # 1 priority: Winning the biggest tournaments. It’s a different matter that he doesn’t also let fairplay, rules, sporting ethics or sportsmanship get in the way of his goals. For example, with all the talk about the possibility of his doping he comes back from whatever 7 month break it was, keeps a low profile and thereby keeps the media attention away from him and wins RG and USO. Whether or not he is doping, it would have been all too easy to get dragged into that talk and draw unnecessary attention toward himself. If Nadal knows one thing it is that at the end if you win the biggest tournaments your image takes care of itself. In modern sport, there is only one rule: the winner is the hero in every sense of the word. Look at how they gave him the stefan edberg sportsmanship award in 2008. I mean it’s a joke but you have to give credit to Nadal that for understanding that what matters is winning and he never gets carried away into anything else. He deliberately downplays his chances relentlessly. He rarely underestimates his opponents and is always on guard.

Fed deserves every bit of his stature as the embodiment and epitome of what a great tennis can be. But if he really and deeply wanted to consistently attain the heights he was capable of even in the second half of his career, he would have been better off without the cardigans, jackets, red shoes, Ann Wintnour and whatever else. IMO, all that added to his hubris and hurt his legacy in the end. Again, I repeat that it is his absolute prerogative and who am I to judge him anyway? But IF we are talking about the ‘Art of War’, on court fireworks on the biggest stages speak a lot louder than offcourt ones. He himself once said in 2006 in an interview explaining his success by something like ‘if you want to chase the money and celebrity you can forget about it’.

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Hi Ru-an, just a quick note to respond to your blog on Roger’s Shanghai outfit. I do like it, how it will look on Roger we shall find out soon. All of us, Fedfans in particular, are excited about his first appearance in a long while, so it seems. From what I have read, he is in Shanghai already. Your blog is great, particularly like the picture of Roger and his girls that goes with it. Thank You! Also, have visited your other site and like it, too. Keep up the good work, Ru-an.
Best,
Dolores

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can’t help sharing the goat comment by Jondos in response to the article named “Tennis ‘likely’ to change anti-doping rules after Viktor Troicki case” on CNN : “This is GREAT news! Why don’t we weaken the doping rules because the players don’t like them? They are so burdensome and intrusive and inconvenient. Forget that the rules are put in place to protect the FANS from players who might cheat with steroids and the like! Here is a STUPENDOUS idea! Let us forget about anti-doping altogether. Who needs a clean sport, legitimacy, credibility? Let the other sports fight over that. Tennis can be the sport that actually PROMOTES steroid use and HGH and PEDs. Nadal and Williams and Troicki and Cilic, and Odesink, wouldn’t have to deal with those ugly RUMORS any more. Tennis could even go one step further. Oh, they could have displays at the tournaments. Educational ones, of course! There could be one tent for adults and one tent to teach children. One tent where you can buy the designer PEDs that Nadal uses or Federer or Djokovic or Serena! Imagine buying the sneakers AND THE DOPE that your favorite star uses! They could allow the people to take the steroids and show them how their new serve or forehand will look. The children could be given literature about incremental usage and adapting to how their game and size could dramatically change. They could be wrapped in bright colors like candy and gum. We don’t want to tell anyone about the possible side effects though. THAT would be counter productive! Oh, I long for the day where the tennis court might be adorned with signs and endorsements from our favorite, currently banned, drugs. Nikethamide, Testostorone, Adrafinil, Ephedrine, oh and imagine the money that could be made from all of this, yes the money, I said the money, that is right, MONEY!”
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/02/sport/tennis/tennis-doping-troicki-itf/index.html?hpt=isp_c2

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