#that is the JOY AND GLORY OF SPORTS you cannot know who's gonna win until the match is played!!!!

[alacants]

this is my last post on this subject. probably. maybe. but look. as far as whether the ceremony was ""appropriate."" the brutal truth is that this is a risk you are taking if you choose to retire at an event like the davis cup. from an events-planning perspective, it is not anywhere close to the same league as roland garros or the atp finals or a big-money exho. i'm sure itf is doing their best lmao but it's just. not. and if you choose to retire at a competitive event, well. upsets are also a risk you take. a slicker outfit would have a more robust plan in place for that.

i'm using the second person but to be clear i'm not saying that i think rafa wanted a perfect movie moment. i think he wanted to retire in a meaningful competitive event on home soil and that was the most important consideration of all. (although i also would not be surprised to find out that there was some magical thinking at work. lmao.) i also don't believe for a second that he would have made himself available for a singles match if he didn't believe in his heart he could win. even when no one else did. (no one else except...) that's what makes competitors competitors.

rafa chose to play this event. ferru chose to put him in singles. the tournament organizers (feli) chose to put their logistical efforts in one basket. this was a group effort, guys.

sorry i did just listen to 30 minutes of the cope hosts reading all the sports tabloid criticism to david ferrer's face and i do feel a kind of way. it wasn't a winning lineup. yeah. no shit. (and again, the only thing i don't get is how anyone didn't see this coming a mile away but apparently they didn't.) but it's also not like ferru personally made rafa retire at this event and then disinvited the rest of the big 4 with his own two hands so maybe. maybe. we could chill.