It was supposed to be wonderful. After his heart breaking loss to Sod at the French Open (not to mention the Wimbledon antics he pulled on him) Rafa would have sweet revenge in London in his first round robin match… right?

Not to be the case. Rafa apparently had a hell of a time with his first serve in the first set, with Sod pushing him around the court. And despite trying to mount a comeback, Sod would call forth the power of the anti-Sven that is Fed’s children and the spirit of Brad Gilbert and down Rafa, 6-4, 6-4. Well at least he came to play, right? One has to wonder how Rafa would have faired against a healthy Dick.

Overall, I wouldn’t be too worried about Rafa. Its late in the season, he’s clearly having trouble finding his form, and especially his consistency. And yes, he has to play Davis Cup. But he’s also going to have a whole month to recover, to work on stuff, and figure it out. He couldn’t defend RG, he didn’t have a chance to defend Wimbley… oh, he’ll be focused and ready to go for Australia, don’t worry kiddies.