Happy Thursday my friends,

The weekend is almost here.  I know you’re excited, but guess what?!?! Just as I was writing to you guys about injuries yesterday and added in some advice on how to keep them from happening to you, ANOTHER ONE HAPPENED!

And It was to a guy who I follow, and is one of the best players with one of the toughest games around right now, David Ferrer. Ferrer’s left knee quickly became a major concern after he abruptly retired from a nagging and painful knee injury after leading 4-3 in the first set.

And this came as a total surprise to many of the fans on center court watching because David actually looked very dominant early on against his Davis Cup team-mate.

The 27-year-old world, ranked #19, said he had initially suffered a knee injury earlier that had been bothering him even before the Montreal Masters had begun. “I had problems with my knee, I cannot play,” Ferrer said. “I’ve had the problem since before Wimbledon and I want to take some treatment.”

“Raffa” was able to win the war of the weakened knees yesterday in the 2nd round match at the Montreal Masters.  As a result, Ferrer’s retirement gave Nadal a express pass into the 3rd round where he’ll face Philipp Petzschner of Germany.

But wait, there’s more.  The early departure of Ferrer wasn’t the only occurrence of a uncompleted match. In the evening session at the Stade Uniprix complex, spectators saw Tommy Haas and his thunderous forehand also forced to pack up early against the Chilean 11th seed Fernando González due to annoying foot blisters.

OUCH! No… Actually… Blisters are more like OUUUUUUUUCH!  I’ve had them before . So, if you don’t want to have to pull out of a match because it feels like your feet are standing in a bucket of hot coals…

Choose The Right Foot-Gear: Select the kind with “skid- resistant” soles and high arch support. That’ll guard against the pain and inflammation near your heel. Heel inserts or special socks also can absorb shock on hard court surfaces and protect the lower back.

Now although these injuries are a little different than the ones I wrote about yesterday since these happened during a match, while the others kept both players from even entering the tournament… It still sucks… big time!

I’m sorry.  There’s no real nice way to put it. It literally crushes you when you feel like you weren’t even given a fair shake. So again, control what you’re able to control. How?

Be smart: If you get hurt like Ferrer and you have another tournament coming up soon, don’t push it just to get back out there and to prove to others that you’re a fast healer like wolverine of the x-men haha. Because you just may just re-aggravate it and make it 10 times worse.

So follow your doctor’s suggestions. Get plenty of rest, use ice therapy, go with elevation, and brace consideration. Oh, and especially if you have elbow problems, they can be difficult to fix once they become chronic, and some require surgery. You DON”Twant that!

So, keep your body in shape and well-tuned: You need a 100% healthy body to see success in tennis — from your shoulders down to your feet, and you’ll see a ton of wins coming your way.

Have a Great day and an even BETTER game,

Brian, Your Tennis Mind Coach
TennisMindCamp
webmaster@TennisMindCamp.com

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