Nadal News

RafaLint: May 24th

miriland — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:20:37 -0500

Photo by AP Photo/ Christophe Ena

Want to join the Nadal News Racquet Pool? Sign up! Pool Name: NadalNews; Password: allHaveR@FAtowin? (If that doesn’t work, try allHaveR@FAtowi) There’s a good chance you’ll get to point and laugh at me – I did my picks half asleep and super-fast.

Articles:

Nadal back for number eight – by Kate Battersby (rolandgarros.com). Includes some quotes from Rafa’s media interview.
Rafael Nadal says he’d rather win tour events than one Grand Slam – AFP via dailytelegraph.com.au
Rafa and Nole together – via rolandgarros.com
2013 French Open Profiles: Rafael Nadal – via tennis.com
Tennis 15-30 French Open preview – digizine by tennis.com
Rafael Nadal’s secret garden – by Greg Garber (espn.com)
Nadal: “Roland Garros siempre tendrá un lugar especial en mi corazón” – via rtve.es (mangle)
Photos: Sharapova, Nadal, Serena Williams, Federer play night tennis – by Courtney Nguyen (si.com)
French Open draw: good news for Serena, Federer; bad for Djokovic – by Courtney Nguyen (si.com)
No. 4 in the World, Nadal Is Still One to Beat at French – by Christopher Clarey (nytimes.com)
French Open preview roundtable – via si.com
Parisian Thoroughfares – by Steve Tignor (wish I knew who to credit with the perfect selection/placement of photos)
Serena: Rafa is chasing my comeback – by Matt Cronin (tennis.com)
French Open men’s seed report – by Jon Wertheim (si.com)
Nadal : «L’ambition est la même» – by Carole Bouchard (lequipe.fr) And here’s the mangle.
Why Rafael Nadal Will Win the French Open (In Case It Wasn’t Otherwise Obvious) – by Eric Dodds (time.com)

Videos/Audio:

rtve report on the draw – includes some comments from Rafa.
Practice footage from raquettemania: getting ready; 16 minutes of footage; smacking it (not sure if this is included in previous vid or not) and one more.
More footage from the Nike event.
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Serena Williams discuss their chances
Short video from the draw.

Photos:

Pictures from the draw on the Roland Garros site.
Also from the tournament site, media day photos.
Nice photos from Barcelona.
Media Day and more via the Roland Garros Facebook page. They posted some draw photos too.

Rafa does social media:

Was that spectacular or scary, Rafa?
Rafa did his best impression of an eager tot asking you to play.
A chilly looking Rafa playing poker with chilly looking French people.

Social media related to Rafa:

A practice Vine (am I the only one who doesn’t get the appeal of Vine?)
Nice promo from KIA.

via NadalNews.com http://www.nadalnews.com/2013/05/24/rafalint-may-24th-2/

RG: Draw photos

miriland — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:05:30 -0500

A few smallish photos from today’s draw.

Photos by AP Photo/Christophe Ena and EFE/Christophe Karaba

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/173RA0t

Kings (and Queens) of Light

miriland — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:50:22 -0500

Video from the Nike promo event featuring Rafa, Roger, Serena and Maria.

Posted by niketennis.

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/10YHTeT

RG: The draw

miriland — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:35:08 -0500

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

It’s 5am and I’m posting from bed. All I know for sure is that Rafa is in Djokovic’s half and will play Brands first round. More after a short nap (and the draw is actually posted).

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/16Zv491

RafaLint: May 23rd

miriland — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:20:30 -0500

Photo by Beth Wilson

Articles:

Brain Game: The Art of Nadal – by Craig O’Shannessy (tennis.com) (I thought I’d linked to this before, but I can’t find it now…so, better to link twice than not at all.)
News from the French, part III – by Guillaume Willecoq (rolandgarros.com)
Keys for Nadal, Sharapova in Paris – via espn.com
Nadal back in old routine and looking invincible – by Martyn Herman (nbcsports.com)
Burning questions about Serena, Rafael Nadal, more going into French Open – by Courtney Nguyen (si.com)
Practising In Paris: Rafa, Roger Reflection – via atpworldtour.com
Photos: Stars practice at Roland Garros – by Courtney Nguyen (si.com)
Soderling absent but not forgotten at the French Open – by Douglas Robson (usatoday.com). Some nice quotes about Rafa.
2013 Masters 1000 Power Rankings: The Good, The Bad, and the Random (So Far) – by Juan José (changeovertennis.com)

Videos/Audio:

iB3′s standard “Rafa’s on his way to a tournament” airport footage.
And more airport interview footage.

Photos:

A very nice photoset from Tennis View Magazine on Facebook. Scroll down for some Rafa!
Ella Ling’s fab Rafa photos from the Brasil Open.

Rafa does social media:

Rafa doubted the intentions of the clouds.

#MiguelAngelJiménez ya va por su torneo 600! En #Golf es muy complicado entrar en este club tan exclusivo

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) May 23, 2013

Social media related to Rafa:

A vine from the Nike event and another one.

Other stuff:

Looks like we are in for some rough weather at Roland Garros. Get some books to read for the rain delays.

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/18mrKSN

RG: Practice and Nike Event photos

miriland — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:51:05 -0500

Rafa had a shortened practice session today. Shortened for two reasons: he was late; it started raining. Here’s a few pictures:

Photos by AFP PHOTO/MIGUEL MEDINA and EFE/CORINNE DUBREUIL.

Later in the day, he joined a few other career slam holders for a Nike event.

Photos by AFP PHOTO/KENZO TRIBOUILLARD

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/131dVWl

RafaLint: May 22nd

miriland — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:35:27 -0500

Rafa interview and practice footage from today:

Posted by molvi1501.

Articles:

Rafatigue? Nadal’s dominance on clay never gets old; more mail – by Jon Wertheim (si.com)
The Rally: 2013 French Open – tennis.com pundits Tignor and Bodo be pundity.
Rafael Nadal ¡¡¡sorprendente!!!. Palma del Río, el mejor ITF Future de España. – Rafa praise and concern for the future of Spanish tennis from Toni Colom (mangle).
French Open build-up: Who’s hot and who’s not? – via thetennisspace.com
French Open preview: Can anyone stop Nadal or Djokovic lifting the trophy in Paris? – by Alex Kay (dailymail.co.uk)
A chance to play Poker with Rafa in Paris? (mangle)

Videos/Audio:

Rafa practiced in Manacor today and spoke to iB3 afterwards.
A longer version of the above.
Cute animated KIA promo. Region blocked like me? Inés comes to the rescue.
2013 French Open: 5 Men Who Can Beat Nadal – overwrought voice-over of doom! Doom!

Photos:

Marianne Bevis has added some photos from the Rome final to her Rafa set.

Social media related to Rafa:

Rafa on the cover of Tenis World magazine.

Other stuff:

Want to go down an Australian Open tennis Memory Lane? The vault is open.

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/1206ovC

May 22nd – Rafa in Social Media

miriland — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:20:23 -0500

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/18jw5pN

Fancy going to Argentina this November?

miriland — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:20:10 -0500

Rafa wants you to come watch him play David Nalbandian in Buenos Aires on November 23rd. Learn more here (mangle).

(Video posted by Fenixproductora.)

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/12vSP1V

Rafa has the noms

miriland — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:05:25 -0500

Warning: the amount of adorkableness going on at the end might cause you to fall into a cuteness induced coma. You stand forewarned!

Rafa comiendo Quelitas!!!

Posted by quelytv.

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/10RhoIh

miriland: Rafael Nadal Rafa Nadal serves at the 2013...

miriland — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:51:07 -0500

miriland:

Rafael Nadal

Rafa Nadal serves at the 2013 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. (Photo taken for Tennis Connected.)

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RafaLint: May 21st

miriland — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:35:37 -0500

AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

Articles:

Toni Nadal: “No me explico que Rafa sea 1 en la Race” – an interview with Toni via puntodebreak.com (mangle)
Return of Serve Analysis: Nadal Trounces Federer in Rome, But Return Numbers Tell Different Story – by Juan José (changeovertennis.com)
Federer-Nadal rivalry running on its last legs – by Bruce Jenkins (si.com)
ESPN / French Open Conference Call w/Evert & Drysdale – Rafa doesn’t like to be defensive? And Fed has a good slice backhand against Rafa? #shitChrissieSays.
Nadal the man to beat but Djokovic can prosper in Paris – by Chris Wilkinson (espn.co.uk)
McEnroe: Nadal, Serena have to beat themselves in Paris – via usatoday.com

Videos/Audio:

Rafa wants you to Subscribe to the Wimbledon YouTube channel
Serena & Rafa, heroes for one day

Photos:

jm8nav has posted some photos from Madrid on flickr. Including the practice session where Rafa wore sunglasses.

Rafa does social media:

This is serious business, no? Is the guy at the far left wearing pajama bottoms with musical notes on them? Sleep-over at Rafa’s! (I mean, I hope those aren’t actual pants…)

Social media related to Rafa:

@rafaelnadal is planning to travel to Paris on Thursday

— David J. Nadal (@davidjnadal) May 21, 2013

Other stuff:

Facebook chat: Tennis players react to Nadal’s Rome win over Federer – via tenngrand.com
Instagram gave a shout out to Roland Garros.

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/10NTai6

RafaLint: May 20th

miriland — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:50:23 -0500

AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

I’m so totally addicted to this site – it’s got so much of what I’d had envisioned doing with the database here, but have never gotten around too.

Articles:

Heroes and Zeros: Rafa, Serena Replay, Paire Powers, Jerzy Rips – by Chris Oddo (tennisnow.com)
10 Things We Learned in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome – by Chris Oddo (tennisnow.com)
Brain Game: Roger’s New Rafa Tactics – by by Craig O’Shannessy (atpworldtour.com)
Is Rafael Nadal back to his best? Sure thing he is – by Ali Khaled (thenational.ae)
Rafael Nadal settles an old score at Rome Masters – like a Ferrari to Roger Federer’s Fiat 500 – by Paul Newman (independent.co.uk)
Rattled and Humming – via extremewesterngrip.com
‘Dreadful, indeed, is the lion’s lair…’ – by Jesse Pentecost (thenextpoint.com)
Best of Three: Nadal, Serena roll into French Open – by Jon Wertheim (si.com)

Videos/Audio:

Roland Garros promo that’s all about Rafa (thanks, Inés)
Excerpt from Rafa’s post final presser in Rome (thanks @Asrunn)
iB3 report on the Rome final

Photos:

Lots of photos from Rome and Madrid here.
Want to know what the players’ areas look like at Roland Garros? Check out these photos.
Vamos!

Social media related to Rafa:

Rafa Nadal is in a good shape with just a few days before the #FrenchOpen #RG13 #RTRG

John McEnroe on Nadal: “I’m very impressed he’s able to come back as strong as he has. It’s like he never missed a beat, which is amazing.”

— Tennis View Magazine (@tennisviewmag) May 20, 2013

John McEnroe: “You could make the argument that [Rafa] is the greatest player that ever lived.” (Tennis Channel Media Conference)

— Tennis View Magazine (@tennisviewmag) May 20, 2013

In 8 @atpworldtour tourn this yr @rafaelnadal has earned 5,000 pts ofpossible 5,500. Leads #ATP Race to London going into @rolandgarros.

— Greg Sharko (@SharkoTennis) May 20, 2013

Other stuff:

This is old, but I just saw it. I want to be him when I grow up. (Okay, I’m probably older than him, but…)

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/12QCIfJ

hotaru55: the cutest ciao-er on earth! <3

miriland — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:20:31 -0500

hotaru55:

the cutest ciao-er on earth! <3

colorazul0725: Rafa’s famous left eyebrow works any time ;)

miriland — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:20:17 -0500

colorazul0725:

Rafa’s famous left eyebrow works any time ;)

miriland: Rafael Nadal Rafa Nadal stretches for a backhand at...

miriland — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:19:58 -0500

miriland:

Rafael Nadal

Rafa Nadal stretches for a backhand at the 2013 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. (Photo taken for Tennis…

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RafaLint: May 19th

miriland — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:05:25 -0500

AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Articles:

Racquet Reaction: Nadal d. Federer – by Steve Tignor (tennis.com)
Nadal Masterclass Stuns Federer, Wins 24th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Crown – via atpworldtour.com
Rafael Nadal crushes Roger Federer to show clay supremacy in Rome final – by Kevin Mitchell (guardian.co.uk)
Rafael Nadal hammers Roger Federer in Italian Open final – via bbc.co.uk
Rafael Nadal routs Roger Federer, but French Open triumph isn’t assured – by Courtney Nguyen (si.com)
Ruthless Rafa blows away Federer to conquer Rome – by Nathan Williams (sport360.com)
Nadal dominates Federer to win in Rome – AP via usatoday.com
Rafael Nadal crushes Roger Federer in Italian Open final and races back into the world’s top four – by Simon Briggs (telegraph.co.uk)
Entering the Lion’s Lair – Rome semifinal write-ups by Jesse Pentecost (thenextpoint.com)
Nadal Grabs No. 4 Seed At Roland Garros – via atpworldtour.com
Rafa to play an exhibition in Argentina in late November? (mangle)
Rafael Nadal vuelve a la Argentina – looks like it (mangle)

Videos/Audio:

In case you missed me adding them to the video post, post match interview in English and Spanish
Match highlights
2013 Internazionali BNL d’Italia Hot Shot Countdown – the lesson of this video seems to be you have to play really hot shots to win a point against Rafa.
Music Montage Of 2013 Internazionali BNL d’Italia – video wrap-up of the tournament
Signing autographs after the win.

Photos:

Inés made screen grabs of the final.
Marianne Bevis has some Rafa in Rome photos.
Photo set via Zimbio
Photos by @Rafaddicted.

Rafa does social media:

Rafa proven he’s speedy off the court…and that he’s a sponsor’s dream.

Social media related to Rafa:

Post win Vine
Nike salutes Rafa’s win and ponders the future.
KIA celebrated Rafa’s win.

Since there was so much social media for today, I’m doing this via Storify instead of embedding each tweet. Don’t forget to vote in the poll for which method you prefer. I can’t embed Facebook stories in Storify, so they are above.

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/10eYefG

Rankings: May 20th

miriland — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:35:23 -0500

The post Rome rankings are up. Looks the seeding issue for Roland Garros is the total non-issue I’ve thought it was all along. Other than that, the only movement was with Wawrinka dropping back out of the top ten to be replaced by Tipsarevic.

Pos	Name	Points	Pos Moved	Tourns Played
1	Djokovic, Novak	12,310	0	19
2	Murray, Andy	8,670	0	18
3	Federer, Roger	8,000	0	20
4	Nadal, Rafael	6,895	+1	20
5	Ferrer, David	6,740	-1	26
6	Berdych, Tomas	4,700	0	25
7	Del Potro, Juan Martin	4,320	0	22
8	Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried	3,795	0	25
9	Gasquet, Richard	3,090	0	23
10	Tipsarevic, Janko	2,640	+1	29

In the race for the World Tour Finals, Rafa is #1.

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/13zYza6

Rome: Trophy photoshoot

miriland — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:20:38 -0500

All taken at crotch level…I guess to fit in with the XXX/69 theme.

Photos by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/10ewvf3

Rome: Final videos

miriland — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:05:38 -0500

Here’s the full match:

Posted by TennisOnlineHD who has also posted a version with Spanish commentary.

Post match on court interview in Spanish. It’s also available on YouTube:

Posted by molvi1501.

Genny summed up a few of Rafa’s comments:

Rafa in Spanish TV: Rafa’d have rated as mad to anyone who would’ve told him 4 months ago that by now he’d have won 3 M1000, 2 M500 & 1 M250

— Genny SS (@genny_ss) May 19, 2013

Rafa thinks today wasn’t the best day of Roger, who tried 2 play v aggressive & thus miss a lot. But he thinks it’s been a good week 4 Roger

— Genny SS (@genny_ss) May 19, 2013

Rafa feels really happy w/all the objective achieved. He repeats again:he’s very thankful 4 the support he receives through social networks!

— Genny SS (@genny_ss) May 19, 2013

via NadalNews.com http://bit.ly/112kQS6

Nadal News

RafaLint: May 24th

RG: Draw photos

Kings (and Queens) of Light

RG: The draw

RafaLint: May 23rd

RG: Practice and Nike Event photos

RafaLint: May 22nd

May 22nd – Rafa in Social Media

May 22nd – Rafa in Social Media

Related stories

Fancy going to Argentina this November?

Rafa has the noms

miriland: Rafael Nadal Rafa Nadal serves at the 2013...

RafaLint: May 21st

RafaLint: May 20th

hotaru55: the cutest ciao-er on earth! <3

colorazul0725: Rafa’s famous left eyebrow works any time ;)

miriland: Rafael Nadal Rafa Nadal stretches for a backhand at...

RafaLint: May 19th

Rankings: May 20th

Rome: Trophy photoshoot

Rome: Final videos