oh my god, Ferrer wins the 5 setter in 4 hrs and 13 mins

I love the way the Spaniards speak English.  In comparison Jim Courrier sounds so pedestrian! more power to non- English speakers then speaking the language!

Are you tired, asks Courier, the idiot. And Ferrer says, "I am perfect".

So a great match, great effort. And i am a relieved person. I must have lost about a kilo or two to the the 10 kilos lost by Nico and Ferrer. 

Now my question is how does Ferrer recover or for that matter any player who has just been through the 5 set grill?  And what is the secret to their renewed energies- mental and muscular? Lance Armstrong anyone?

Tie break, set 4, Almagro V's Ferrer

I don't have the heart to watch this one.  Both the players are pounding the clay in a determined dance...
And Ferrer wins the tie break- 7-4
Who will blink first? Ferrer or Almagro?
Ferrer is known as the 'Little beast', is know to get back every ball, running away on his nimble feet. Wait..there is medical time-out.  I think Almagro has cramps in his things and a medic is attengding him while he rests his face under the towel. Ok time's over and the little matador is on his feet. 5th set, 1st game.  Ferrer scores his first point as Almagro nets a volley. But Almagro holds his serve and bags the game.  Aha, 5 th game of the final set and ALmagro is serving at 15-30.  The two unforced errors costing him to give away two points. Unruffled, Almagro serves in the tight corner and has Ferrer scurrying to hit a backhand.  He opens up the court for the return forehand which is absolutely unplayable.  ALmagro scores.  But makes an unforced error to give level the score at 40-40.  Oops one more back hand finds the net and Ferrer stands at Adv. Oh dear, a loose forehand finds the net again and Ferrer walks away with the first break of the 5th set. 

Still on Day 9

Almagro looks like a matador in tennis shots with his hand moving in an arc and ending over his head. His back arched slightly and neck strained form the effort of backhand shot. The last set sees both the players tied at 4-4 having broken each other once. None are showing the slightest indications of wilting or giving up. Almagro and Ferrer are being driven to the end of their limits (I don't see them though) and .....Almagro breaks Ferrer for the second time to be 5-4 up in the 4th set and he is to serve which he hopefully will hold. This baseline game is really demanding, exhausting.  No delicate volleys or drop shots.  The ball whizzing like a bullet and the feet wearing down the baseline area with some manic running.  Did you know that Djokovic and Nadal ran nearly half a marathon which is 21kms in their 5 hr 53 minutes slug fest at the Australian Open?
Here to there is respite for the players, the rallies are there for sure but they are not the steady, middle of the line sort but crazy left hand corner to an impossible right-hand corner.  My estimate is at least 12 meters for a rally of 8 shots.
That is ......at least a dozen buckets of sweat in the 40 degrees centigrade!

Day 9, Almagro V/s Ferrer

If it is possible for the heart rate to up to abnormal levels by simply watching the game then well, I am dangerously close to a cardiac arrest as I can get.
Nicolas Almagro and David Ferrer are hitting forehands and backhands like they are in a Nike advert. Hitting as close as possible to the sidelines and freely without a hint of hesitation or inhibitions. Both pummeling, punching, whiplashing and their arms flailing in back and fore motions like rhythmic gymnasts...just that the prop is no 10 gm ribbon but a 300 gm graphite racket.
Ferrer is down 4-6, 4-6, but has taken the last set intrepidly 7-5. His short, heavy set body is not lethargic and is not averse to run all over the court, giving as good as he gets.  Alamgro is no wuss either. His single fisted backhand has such tremendous power and just watching him has given me a frozen shoulder. I have seen him play at Chennai Open last year, he was drenched in sweat and trying to negotiate the intense himidity and the monster serve of Milos Raonic. He lost 4-6, 4-6 to the Canadian.  Now however I am reading a body language that has not an iota of self doubt.  That can be gauged from the total number of points won so far by each player- 92. His gaze steady and steely.  His shoulders at the ready.  You can't see those drooping and there is no self-flagellation either at points lost. This goes for both the players and is a mark of intense readiness- to win, whatever it takes.
At the end whoever wins deserves it.