"the toughest guy to put away"

i downloaded rafa's last 3 indian wells matches (QF vs. roger, SF vs. berdych, F vs. jmdp) and more than halfway through the final, i still couldn't tell what his level was, even with the benefit of knowing he'd won the tournament (<3!!).

the best game in the SF was the one right after berdych breaks to serve for 2nd set. it's 0-30, rafa being the most agressive he's been in the matches i watched, then he hits a great FHDL winner for 0-40 and the commie goes, "this shot is always a barometer of how well nadal is hitting his fh."

iawhc & i think it's its scarcity that's throwing me off. he seemed to be finding the groove with his fh and dictating more points in the 3rd set of the final, but was it a fluke hot streak? would he have had it against a top returner?

it's not worrying me at the moment, tho, since it's hardcourt - even if a particularly spinny and slow one. AND HE WON! three top 10 players beaten (even tho injured roger shouldn't really count)! record breaking 22 master shields! and he loves IW so much <3 it was a good tournament, no question.

we'll be hitting the european clay season & roland garros shortly and as long as he finds his fh mojo there, we should be golden for the year.

...hopefully.