I think it's genuine. I'd make a distinction here between Nadal and Djokovic.

Djokovic is famous for having "injuries" at strategic moments in matches, normally when he's losing. He definitely fakes most/all of it.

Nadal isn't famous for this, despite the number of big matches he's had, and the opportunities he's had to do so when in a losing position over the years against Federer or Djokovic. His injuries don't come at convenient moments. They don't come when he's losing, and they don't magically disappear. He had the abdominal problem in the previous round, too... it just got worse in this match. And it was visibly affecting him in his service action, right through to the end of the match.

Plus, Nadal just comes across as an open, nice and honest person.

Here's evidence of the abdominal injury in the previous round, against van de Zandschulp.


https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/19091507/rafael-nadal-pain-wimbledon-quarter-final-van-de-zandschulp/




The foot problem he had at Roland Garros is serious, a congenital defect, and he played and won a whole slam with his foot anaesthetised. He's Nadal after all, he's an absolute machine, and even at 70% or 80% or whatever, he's too good for most opponents.

I think the BBC has got it wrong, must be his 38th slam semi, surely?

But having said that... I might be tempted to bet that Nadal can eventually make 38 semi-final appearances at Roland Garros. That would assume he can remain one of the top 4 clay court players in the world, up until he's about 60 years old. The way he's been on clay so far, I wouldn't rule it out! I can almost see him now, standing on the baseline, slightly stooped, walking stick in one hand, tennis racquet in the other, destroying anyone who dares to go up against him...

https://ourworldindata.org/vaccination#vaccines-save-lives

Diptheria was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Measles was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Mumps was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Pertussis was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Acute Poliomyelitis was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Paralytic Poliomyelitis was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Rubella was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Congenital Rubella Syndrome was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Smallpox was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job (oh, right, we already did that one).

Tetanus was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Hepatitis A was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Acute Hepatitis B was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Haemophilus Influenza Type B was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Pneumococca Disease was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.

Varicella was declining naturally. The medical took advantage of the natural decline, and made it look like their vaccines did the job.




Feel free to copy/paste any of the above whenever you want to argue against facts.

The odds were due to the injury. Yes, we would never ever see odds like that on Rafa in normal circumstances, like with Djokovic, even if he's two sets down, you would still expect him to pull through and win.
The issue here, and probably the only thing that prevents Nadal being outright favourite for the whole tournament, is his abdominal injury. For much of the match yesterday he was serving at half pace. Not sure how much it affected his overall movement, but that serve stretch was definitely giving him a lot of trouble.

Still, even with that, he managed to beat one of the top grass court players, just like he won the French Open effectively on one foot a few weeks back.
If he can recover quickly and perform at full fitness, Rafa must be favourite ahead of Djokovic. The question is only really fitness at the moment.

Meanwhile, in a benighted little backwater nation, just off the coast of Europe...

Boris Johnson has this morning finally acknowledged that his position is untenable, and has promised to resign as Prime Minister. I've lost count, but he's probably the last minister remaining, as all the others seem to have resigned their posts already.

However, he says he wants to remain in charge until the autumn. Given his Trumpish personality and history, will he actually leave voluntarily later this year, or is he planning to use the next few months to rile up his base of racists, xenophobes and other assorted bigots and half-wits, and turn them into his own private militia, ready to storm the Capitol parliament just after Christmas (say, Jan 6th?) and 'take back control'?

I don't think the Russian invasion of the US is in progress yet, the latest news is that they're still undecided whether to press ahead...

https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-russia-vladimir-putin-state-tv-2022-7?r=US&IR=T


I understand why they're a bit unsure. He was quite good for them last time, but he failed in his Jan 06 coup, so wasn't a 100% success from the Kremlin's perspective. Perhaps their own current failures in Ukraine have led them to consider that maybe in aiming for perfection, they were over-reaching, and that they should bring back the puppet Trump because, although not perfect, he's 'good enough' from a Russian perspective.

I don't think the biggest teams will want him. He's still a good player, but he's not one of the best in the world any more. He will score a lot of goals, but he has limitations such as his lack of movement - he never ever tracks back, and for the very best teams that is a weakness they will not want. I don't think Bayern, or Real Madrid etc would want him. The problem is finding a club that wants him and can afford him, there's not many that will be in both categories.

With the way the Djokovic match is going, Nadal is more likely to be the favourite for the tournament. Nadal started the tournament with zero practice on grass and fresh back from surgery... it took him a couple of matches to really get into his stride, but he's getting stronger each round and is looking in quite ominous form at the moment.

Meanwhile on Centre... the inevitable fightback is beginning, Djokovic now a break up in the third. But he's shown a lot of vulnerability in this match, and the other big names (well, Nadal, there aren't any other big names left!) will be taking notice.

Yes, big upset brewing. Sinner has just taken the second set... pretty easily as it happens, 6-2.
Sinner is playing well, but at the same time, Djokovic just doesn't really look like the Djokovic we know. Of course we can't write him off, even from 2 sets down.
In the past, in this situation, I'd still back Djokovic to win. But today, he just doesn't look like he's fully there, whether it's fitness or what, maybe nursing an injury, I don't know.
Djokovic normally has answers to every problem he faces, today he doesn't. He doesn't even seem that bothered.

I don't think it's intentional, it's just his personality. He's definitely not a cold, logical mastermind who plays psychological games with his opponents in order to beat them. That's more the sort of thing Djokovic does when he feigns injury at vital moments in a match.

Kyrgios is very different, he's just Kyrgios, very talented and flamboyant but highly erratic, and always bubbling just below the surface. Every match he turns out to play he has to beat two opponents, the one across the net, and the one causing chaos inside his own head.

Yes, the halo has proven to be the best innovation in F1 for a long time. It has definitely saved lives, and yes including that incident where Verstappen parked on top of Lewis's head, and then flounced off in a rage without bothering to check if Lewis was still alive.


Another bad luck day for Leclerc. It must be difficult for him to remain motivated with how this season is going. Max seems unstoppable at the moment, unless Ferrari get their act together. Nice for Sainz to get his first win though, I suppose.

As we all know, any appeal would be purely symbolic, and have absolutely no chance of success... given that the extradition approval itself was purely symbolic and has been utterly inevitable all along.


Does the distinction between "have not found that it would be oppressive" and "have found that it would not be oppressive" provide the UK with the semblance of a defence when, inevitably, he's mistreated in the US?

Djokovic beats Sinner.
Norrie beats Goffin.
Kyrgios beats Garin.
Nadal beats Fritz.

I think these will all be fairly easy wins, although Fritz at the moment on grass is good enough to give Nadal some trouble.

Semis, Djokovic beats Norrie, Nadal beats Kyrgios (who has a trademark implosion). Again it's Nadal who has a tougher match than Djokovic.
Final I suspect Djokovic will beat Nadal, but it could be close, and if the odds are favourable I might be tempted to bet on Nadal. Also depends if Nadal has had two 5-setters in his quarter and semi.

It's like that with anything, though, it's inevitable. For so long as a thing remains small and niche, governments aren't bothered. As soon as the money starts to build, governments get interested. Mainstream adoption of crypto can't happen without running into the regulators. Your example of 90s internet is relevant... it was smaller, didn't pervade society, and wasn't so lucrative... and so could remain freer.

I've been saying for a long time that I don't think Ronaldo has many options, and I think that's still the case. He's a huge name and comes with huge wage demands, but he's not quite the player he was. I don't think he's good enough any more for the very top teams... the only ones who want him and can afford to pay for him are rich teams who aren't quite at the top of the order any more... such as, for example, Man U. I can't think of many other teams that fit the criteria. Transfer fee is largely irrelevant, it's all about the huge wage bill. Only other option is he goes to the US or similar.

Ferrari can oftn beat the Red Bull in qualifying pace, but no car can get near the Red Bull in full race pace. Yes, expect another Max win, relatively unchallenged.
I'd disagree about Hamilton, I think there's zero pressure on him. He's shown what he's made of many times before... but this season his pace is limited due to the car. I don't give him much chance really, unless it rains, which is where the better drivers often get a chance to shine.

But yeah, Max 1, Leclerc 2, and then third to whichever second-string driver out of Perez and Sainz can manage to demonstrate a degree of competence. Merc 5 and 6 unless Ferrari retirements bump them up the order.

It looks increasingly like the men's semis will be: Djokovic vs Norrie, and Kyrgios vs Nadal... and then Djokovic vs Nadal final. Barring injury, the only way I can see this not happening is if Alcaraz somehow beats Djokovic, and if Krygios blows up. If Alcaraz gives Djokovic a long, tough match in the quarters, then I might give Norrie a slight chance in the semi.

On the women's side, with Swiatek out it's difficult to look beyond Jabeur as the winner. I do think Garcia is a potential threat, but she would meet Jabeur in the quarters. Bottom part of the darw has been blown wide open, and there's some chance of Heather Watson making the semis.

It may flatter Merc a bit, as it's a very smooth track, so will alleviate the bouncing and mean they can run lower, closer to their optimal window... and the track also lacks the slow corners that have been a problem for them. But having said that, they may have made a step forward, yes.

And yes, RB remain the favourites and the ones to beat. Max will take some stopping. Leclerc needs a run of victories to get any chance back.

https://ourworldindata.org/smallpox#summary


What caused this?
a) Vaccines.
b) God did it! But he couldn't be bothered to save lives until the exact same time that the vaccination programme began.
c) How dare you? I'm ideologically opposed to facts.

I think it would actually be better for Man U if they didn't have Ronaldo. I mean, if you have him in the team then the natural tendency is for the rest of the team to be built around him, and this wouldn't be a good idea when he's nearing the end of his career. Ten Hag has a big rebuilding job on his hands, and even if Ronaldo stays, he'd be best to pretend Ronaldo isn't there and build the basis of a solid team without him... of course keep Ronaldo in the team, he's still a valuable player, just look at him more as a player for right now rather than one that you're going to fit pieces around for the next few years.