It was a tense match that saw both players how off some spectacular shot-making and untimely mental letdowns. Despite it being close, Rafa looked much more comfortable throughout the match compared to Fed, whose forehand let him down so much he started to rely, very effectively, on drop shops. Well, they *were* effective until he went all Gulbis with them.
Neither Rafa or Fed played at their best but Fed did find himself with a 4-2 lead in the second set tiebreaker. But then he inexplicably went dumb, gifting Rafa three straight points. From there Rafa would close it out, the final point being a hilarious swing and a miss by Fed that can only be described as Kuz-like. I guess last year's RG champs are having a hard time reading that dirt.
So what do we make of this? Not much, in my opinion. Rafa goes into RG as the clear favorite, obviously, but if Fed can work his way through RG and build his confidence match to match (and find his forehand, while he's at it), I don't count Fed out. I've learned my lesson. I don't do that anymore.
But for the time being, VAMOS RAFA. 18 Masters Shields, breaking the record previously held by some wigged out meth-head. Go boy.