February 2012
27 posts
7 tags
TVE Interview
TVE has kindly placed the full interview up on their site: here. (mangle of text).
Original Article
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RafaLint: February 25th
Rafa’s Revenge on RoboServe?
On Monday, Rafa will appear on a TVE morning show (starts at 9am Spanish time). I’m hoping for a live stream here.
Articles:
Olympic Book - there will be a book for the tennis event at the Olympics. Be sure to click on the link to view the 2008 book.
La construcción de la academia de tenis Rafa Nadal está al caer - by Sebastià Sansó...
7 tags
L’especial Golèmica de Rafel Nadal videos
Some videos from the iB3 special.
Els missatges i les sopreses de la nit:
(“Rafa is ‘surprised’ by Casillas, Gassol, Contador, Lorenzo, Fernández & Llul” - genny_ss/SpanishRNfan)
Rafel Nadal: âSom un bon perdedorâ:
(“Rafa,talking about the AO final & other finals he lost to Novak in 2011, thinks he’s a good loser & accepts defeat...
5 tags
RafaLint: February 23rd
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Articles:
Nadal, Casillas e Iniesta, entre los españoles más tiernos - via intereconomia.com. Yep, he’s a sweetie. (mangle)
Rafa Nadal: «Djokovic llegó al circuito de forma equivocada» - coverage of the iB3 special from balearesport.es...
8 tags
RafaLint: February 22nd
[caption id=”attachment_29548” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Beth Wilson”][/caption]
Articles:
Cristiano Ronaldo y Rafa Nadal, de rodaje en Mallorca - from nobadis.net. (mangle)
Gasquet est sûr à «100%» que Rafael Nadal ne se dope pas - via 20minutes.fr (mangle)
Video:
Promo for an upcoming iB3 special about Rafa. (mangle)
...
6 tags
Backpack Giveaway - and the winners are...
[caption id=”attachment_31684” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Crappy photo of backpacks”][/caption]
…*drum roll* L and nolanola! L’s entry was picked first and she chose the Babolat backpack; nolanola will be receiving the US pack and hat. Congrats!
Here are the answers for the quiz:
When was Babolat founded?
1875 (source)
...
7 tags
RafaLint: February 20th
[caption id=”attachment_29613” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Beth Wilson.”][/caption] Site News:
In theory, I’ll be updating the software used to run this site tonight (after my tennis class). Keep your fingers crossed! I had a few problems when I did it on my development site…
Articles:
Hacienda investiga a Rafael...
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RafaLint: February 18th
[caption id=”attachment_31700” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Beth Wilson”][/caption]
Articles:
´¿Dopaje? Nadal gana por su enorme sacrificio y trabajo´ - by J. E. Munera. Albert Alcaraz defends Rafa. (mangle)
Contests:
MidwestSports is giving away signed Rafa and Roger rackets. Go here to enter.
It must be signed racket...
8 tags
RafaLint: February 17th
[caption id=”attachment_31695” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Beth Wilson”][/caption]
Articles:
Another blog entry from Pedro Felner - complete with a picture of Rafa’s new Ferrari. (mangle)
Palma acoge el II Congreso de Jóvenes LQDVI apadrinado por Rafa Nadal (mangle) Sounds like a nice program.
Another article about the...
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Backpack Giveaway
[caption id=”attachment_31684” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Crappy photo of backpacks”][/caption]
Those of you who follow my blatherings on twitter know that the kind folks at Babolat sent me a package of goodies last week. In that package? This backpack (in yellow). The next day, my “bonus” for renewing my USTA membership...
5 tags
RafaLint: February 16th
[caption id=”attachment_31677” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Beth Wilson”][/caption]
Articles:
âTemÃa hacer el ridÃculo en la Villaâ - by Juan José Mateo. A short but nice interview with Rafa about the Olympics. (mangle) Thanks, Inés.
Frederico Silva’s coach is blogging about their practices with Rafa. (mangle)...
8 tags
RafaLint: February 15th
[caption id=”attachment_31670” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Beth Wilson”][/caption]
Articles:
Fan Club: Rafa II - by Steve Tignor and Katrina (tennis.com)
Nadal-Djokovic: A look at the rivalry - by Steve Tignor (espn.com). I think this is similar/same as one on tennis.com earlier, but just in case…
Hola coverage of the...
9 tags
RafaLint: February 14th
Today’s recommended reading: Fan Club: Rafael Nadal - by Steve Tignor and Katrina. Katrina’s reasons for liking Rafa are very similar to mine…including her first reaction to him. :)
I remember one press conference in particular, after he lost early at Key Biscayne in 2006. Rafa said at some point that he was “going to use all six of his senses” to get better. He was...
7 tags
Rafa and Bar screen grabs
Um. I got a little carried away. Happy Valentine’s Day people.
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Original Article
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Rafa and Bar for SI
Photos of Bar and Rafa shot in Montreal for Sports Illustrated.
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Videos from the shoot - click the links to see them larger.
Posing in Montreal:
Outtakes:
Thanks to Atch2 for tweeting!
Original Article
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RafaLint: February 13th
Articles:
Rafael Nadal Collects Keys to Home in Dominican Republic (travpr.com)
Rafa the inspiration for title winning Putintseva - by Brianna McShane (thanks for tweeting, Atch2)
Nadal busca desactivar la ´crisis de los guiñoles´ - by Sebastian Fest. Sounds like Rafa had a busy day! (mangle)
Video:
YouTube version of the Antena 3 interview.
Rafa does social media:
Rafa thanked his practice...
7 tags
Interview on Antena 3
Rafa was on the Antena 3 network today for an interview: Nadal, sobre los guiñoles: “En España les hemos dado más propaganda de la debida” - click through for the article, videos and a photo gallery (mangle).
Original Article
9 tags
DC: Spain sweeps Kazakhstan 5-0
Who says you need 3 days to play a Davis Cup tie? The Armada don’t need no three days. Nope. Take away Rafa, Daveeed, Feli, and Nando and they still don’t need 3 days. How awesome is that? True, they were playing a young team who are fairly new to the World Group, but it’s still a very, very good new. They are through to the next round where they will play Austria tie in Spain on...
9 tags
RafaLint: February 9th
I wanted to ignore all the puppet videos going on…I honestly don’t think they are worthy of my attention. But now Rafa has spoken about them a bit, so there will be links to that here. I do ask one thing of you guys: casting aspersions on all people from a certain place is wrong. Please, lets try to not respond to one wrong by committing another.
Articles:
Albert Costa has confirmed...
4 tags
Caption Time
I’m busy ignoring certain things in the media (giving them their due attention) and there’s not a lot of news about, so…let’s pass the time by playing with a photo caption! Nida supplied the picture, you guys supply some captions!
[caption id=”attachment_31515” align=”alignnone” width=”450” caption=”Photo by...
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RafaLint: February 6th
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Articles:
Mónaco, el campeón de V. del Mar y su eterna amistad con Nadal by Felipe Lagos (emol.com). Rafa/Pico bromance! Here’s the mangle. (Thanks for tweeting genny_ss.
Toni Nadal: «Rafael tiene otra actitud después de Australia» - by...
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RafaLint: February 4th
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Thanks to some prodding, I finally got around to making a DC version of the calendar. Just note, the DC pictures will be grainier than the rest because it was indoors. You can buy it on QOOP.
Articles:
Length of Aussie final didn’t add up...
5 tags
Happy birthday to Bacardi
With his hair full of windy, Rafa wishes Bacardi a happy birthday:
Original Article
4 tags
Rafa and taxes
[caption id=”attachment_30334” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Beth Wilson”][/caption]
There are some stories making the rounds about Rafa’s taxes. Most of the articles are in Spanish and mangle horribly, so I’m not sure I fully understand the situation. If the claims are true, it appears that Rafa and his father have...
7 tags
RafaLint: February 1st
Rafa sent us some videos taken at the eyeport (heh). In English:
And in Spanish:
Here’s what he had to say about these videos on Facebook:
I owed you a message and here it is, I recorded it at Melbourne’s airport :) Thanks to all for your support!
Sé que os debía un mensaje y aquí lo tenéis, lo grabé en el aeropuerto de Melbourne :) Gracias a todos por vuestro apoyo!
Rafa, you...
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RafaLint: January 31st
I have no idea what he’s saying, but he’s sure looking tan while saying it:
Rafa Nadal, Presidente de Honor de Lo que de verdad importa en Palma de Mallorca, no pudo estar presente en el congreso pero quiso dejarnos a todos unas palabras…
Which mangles to: “Rafa Nadal, Honorary President of What really matters in Palma de Mallorca, could not be present at the conference...
January 2012
143 posts
7 tags
Rafa's back home
And we know this thanks to the iB3 and their airport stalking ways:
Check davidjnadal’s twitter for quotes from the interview and feel free to mangle them. I’m late getting back to work from lunch!
Original Article
5 tags
July 2011 photoshoot
From an old photoshoot - here’s the description from the meta-data embedded in the images:
PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN - JULY 19: Tennis player Rafael Nadal is photographed for on July 19, 2011 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. (Photos by Clive Brunskill/Contour by Getty Images)
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Thanks to twitter tweeps @genny_ss and @diannada for helping with the source and...
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RafaLint: January 30th
[caption id=”attachment_31427” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Scott Barbour/ Getty Images”][/caption]
Today’s recommended reading: Nadal vs. Djokovic: Here We Are Again, My Friend - by Brian Phillips (Grantland.com)
No, this isn’t recommended reading, it’s required reading. If you haven’t read it already -...
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AO: Q&A for The Age – continued
[caption id=”attachment_31423” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by PAUL CROCK/ AFP/ Getty Images”][/caption]
Some new questions up in The Age (and some Reva pointed out I’d missed):
Question from Zara: I was just wondering what was your favourite kit that you’ve ever worn? I especially liked your US Open 2010 & 2011...
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Rankings: January 30th
The post-AO rankings are up and Rafa’s gained some ground:
Pos
Name
Points
Pos Moved
Tourns Played
1
Djokovic, Novak
13,630
0
19
2
Nadal, Rafael
10,435
0
20
3
Federer, Roger
8,010
0
19
4
Murray, Andy
6,900
0
19
5
Ferrer, David
4,565
0
23
6
Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried
4,425
0
25
7
Berdych, Tomas
3,700
0
23
8
Fish, Mardy
2,965
0
23
9
Tipsarevic, Janko
2,700
0
28
10
Del Potro, Juan Martin
2,630
+1
22
...
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RafaLint: January 29th
Today’s recommended reading: Everything You Can Imagine - by Steve Tignor (tennis.com)
When Federer plays Nadal, Federer’s fans ask, “Why isn’t he more aggressive? Why doesn’t he do this, or that, or something else?” It looks like he should be winning. When Nadal plays Djokovic, Nadal’s fans ask the same exasperated questions. It’s not so easy. Djokovic hits with deceptive weight and...
7 tags
AO: Final videos
From the AO site: Match highlights and the Shot of the day (I thought there were better ones, actually). Also, a bit of Rafa’s presser.
Trophy ceremony:
The full match is available for registered users here.
Here’s another view of the “oh god, please let it end soon” portion of the trophy ceremony. I love how the two guys to go stretch simultaneously - without looking at...
7 tags
AO: Trophy ceremony photos
Some photos from the trophy ceremony.
[gallery link=”file”]
Photos by Quinn Rooney/Getty Image, GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images, WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images, Lucas Dawson/Getty Images, AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, Clive Brunskill/Getty Images, and NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images
(Videos to follow later - I’ve been at the computer gathering photos way too long.)
Original Article
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AO: Final match photos
A few of the thousands of photos posted.
[gallery link=”file”]
Photos by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images, WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images, Mark Dadswell/Getty Images, REUTERS/Mark Blinch, REUTERS/Tim Wimborne, Quinn Rooney/Getty Images, GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images, Clive Brunskill/Getty Images, Cameron Spencer/Getty Images, Scott Barbour/Getty Images, REUTERS/Vivek Prakash, NICOLAS...
6 tags
AO: Post final presser transcript and photos
Rafa’s post-match presser transcript is up:
Q. How are you feeling physically?
RAFAEL NADAL: Fine. No, I’m tired, sure. Physically was the toughest match I ever played, if not the tougher. I am tired.
Q. Has this sunk in, the results, the magnitude of the match?
RAFAEL NADAL: Can you repeat?
Q. Has the results sunk in yet? How do you feel mentally as well as physically?
...
3 tags
AO: A huge fight, but not quite enough
[caption id=”attachment_31326” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Quinn Rooney /Getty Images”][/caption]
#1 vs #2 in a slam final. We are spoiled by how often that happens in men’s tennis these days – the chance to see the top 2 players in the world slug it out in a major final should be relished. Unfortunately for Rafa, this match up...
7 tags
AO: Everyone ready?
A little pre-final RafaLint….
Preview:
Interesting comments from Jim Courier:
“He’s a delicate player Rafa. When he’s confident, he’s the king of the world, but he vacillates,” Courier said. “He reminds me of some other players in the past like myself and Roddick that believed more in the work, than he does in his talent, and as good as he is. He should never question...
9 tags
AO: Pre-final presser and interview videos
Eurosport has kindly posted a video of Rafa’s pre-final presser:
And here’s a studio interview in Spanish:
Less than 12 hours to go! (I need a nap.)
Original Article
6 tags
RafaLint: January 27th
[caption id=”attachment_31310” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images”][/caption]
The Bryan Brothers have been blogging for The Age (they seem to be rather buddy, buddy with players this year) and have done an article on what players are like in the locker room: Locker room a great place to meet the stars....
8 tags
AO: Pre-final presser
After a practice session, Rafa did a pre-final presser today. Here’s the transcript.
Q. How are you feeling after your session on court just now?
RAFAEL NADAL: Fine. I practiced for two hours. So having day off yesterday, today I felt with energy to practice a little bit more. I felt that I needed to move well the body, to stay with rhythm.
I did, and I am happy, no? Enjoying these two...
5 tags
AO: Q&A for The Age – continued
[caption id=”attachment_31287” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/ AFP/ Getty Images”][/caption]
It’s time for more question and answers from Rafa and The Age:
Question from Lisa: Hi Rafa, My husband and I went to Melbourne for the first week of the Australian Open. I took my copy of your book hoping to get it...
8 tags
RafaLint: January 26th
[caption id=”attachment_31283” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by AP Photo/ Aaron Favila”][/caption]
Articles:
Fireworks - by Steve Tignor (tennis.com)
Nadal Beats Federer, Reaches Second Australian Open Final - from the ATP
Nadal Vs. Federer: Breaking It Down - by Craig O’Shannessy (New York Times)
Nadal stifles...
7 tags
AO: Semifinal photos
A few of the many, many photos of the semifinal against Federer.
[gallery link=”file”]
Photos by WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images, PAUL CROCK/AFP/Getty Images, REUTERS/Tim Wimborne, Cameron Spencer/Getty Images, REUTERS/Darren Whiteside, Lucas Dawson/Getty Images, Quinn Rooney/Getty Images, Lucas Dawson/Getty Images, Scott Barbour/Getty Images, Clive Brunskill/Getty Images, GREG...
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AO: Helloeverybodyguys
Rafa wants to share how he feels about winning that semifinal match:
Original Article
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AO: Semifinal videos
Highlights from the AO site.
No way he can…no…not possible…oh he reached it…but he can’t actually hit a good shot from there…oh crap, he did! Amazing!
Posted by ESPN.
Post match interview - English:
And in Spanish:
To view the full match in HD (after signing up for membership), go to: partidoapartido.com.
Original Article
8 tags
AO: Semifinal presser
Rafa’s semifinal presser via Eurosport:
There’s also an excerpt on the AO site, and here’s the transcript.
Q. Congratulations. How do you think you have succeeded to turn this match around tonight?
RAFAEL NADAL: Thank you very much. Well, I think he started playing aggressive, very, very high level at the beginning of the match.
Always you can do a little bit more, no?...
8 tags
AO: El Classico
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Getting up at 2:30am for a tennis match the day before I have a big meeting at work? Only for Rafa and Roger – their history, their class and their excellent tennis. The match started with Federer on fire. He broke his first...