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[boogers]

I hope he meets him on center court in the first round.

You don't want that. Murray would lose.

Rafa does some slightly iffy things on court, but he's clearly a great bloke.

Agreed. To be honest, I think that in this day and age a professional athlete should utilise every available advantage. Rafa picks his gluteal cleft like it's been over-run by an especially virulent type of round worm and generally takes his time over everything. That's his prerogative. If he opponents are so mentally fragile as to get distracted by it, too bad.

Same for snaggle-tooth. His habit of clutching a random body parts is a mental tick. That's it. Nadal picks his anus, Djokovic bounces his balls, Federer generally acts like an arrogant *****. Same thing.

[Crisstti]

There are certain people who in the eyes of others are easy targets and it seem our boy is one of them... why I do not know

Yes, exactly.  It's really the same reason people pick on Rafa (even some people on this very thread) and for that matter in life in general.

[kris]

Rafa is a pretty humble guy and a class act most of the time . I just dont like the way he acted against rosol but other than that he is okay in my book.

[Crisstti]

Rafa is a pretty humble guy and a class act most of the time . I just dont like the way he acted against rosol but other than that he is okay in my book.

What way?.  I don't think he did anything at all.

[flowerpower]

Agree Aileen, but it seems a few times during Wimbledon that his back was still painfull, also in the final. It's difficult because of the full programme, the OS are coming soon!

[blueberryhill]

I believe he had about seven massive painkilling injections at the start of the tourney.

Ooh no, 
What awful damage is he doing to himself?

[teejay1]

I notice that there's hardly been a mention of Andy's back throughout the whole of Wimbledon, nor did it appear to give him problems the way he was moving round the court, and nor did it affect his serve which was erratic as always, so can we assume that the problem is a relatively minor one and that the treatment he's had, or is still having, is successful?  I sincerely hope that's the case.

Aileen, if what Andy was quoted as saying about the injections in his back is true it sounds like the back problem is being managed, not that it has gone away. He was quoted as saying that he was told that the injections would get him through Wimbledon and then the Olympics.

His movement was good at Wimbledon, and sure, he served very well at times, though not at others, but I don't know. Something inside tells me that Andy isn't quite fully fit. I can't explain it, but something just seems ever so slightly off. That flies in the face of how he did at Wimbledon, of course, but that is my feeling. I hope I am wrong. I'm actually wondering if Andy's erratic first serve is anything to do with his back. I just think it has seemed more erratic this year, since the back problem began really, but I don't know.

I think Andy quite deliberately didn't mention his back or touch it much during the fortnight. To do so would have been ammunition to his detractors who made a lot of wild accusations before and after the French. He didn't need that at Wimbledon as well.

I don't know how much we can assume about the state of Andy's back. He has, quite rightly I think, not gone into any details about what the problem is. All I can say is that I held my breath for him several times during the final when he took some very heavy falls. I hope he is okay.

[Aileen]

Aileen, if what Andy was quoted as saying about the injections in his back is true it sounds like the back problem is being managed, not that it has gone away. He was quoted as saying that he was told that the injections would get him through Wimbledon and then the Olympics.

That was really what I was meaning - that it was being successfully managed.  I also understand from what Andy has said that the situation will be reviewed after the Olympics.  This could not have happened at a worse time for him.  The Olympics will be hard going, assuming he progresses well, because he's also playing doubles with Jamie.  Any other year he would have had the chance of a longer break before Toronto.  The only consolation is that it's best of three, until the final which is best of five, and that he'll still be playing on grass.  Thankfully the Olympics didn't go to Paris where it would have meant playing on clay and undoubtedly risking aggravating the problem.

What awful damage is he doing to himself?

I'm not happy about all those injections either, especially given that we don't know what they were.  If it's cortisone, then this makes me even less happy -

"Cortisone shots usually include a corticosteroid medication and a local anesthetic. In many cases, cortisone shots can be administered in your doctor's office. However, the number of cortisone shots you can receive in one year may be limited because of potential side effects from the medication."

I don't think he's doing himself any harm otherwise, because he said he'd consulted "top surgeons and physios" and had been told that by carrying on playing he wouldn't do his back further damage.