Nadal News

RafaLint: June 2nd

miriland — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 23:38:49 -0500

[caption id=”attachment_34086” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images”][/caption]
Articles:

Racquet Reaction: Nadal d. Schwank - by Hannah Wilks (tennis.com)
Rafael Nadal leads the big three - by Greg Garber (espn.com)
Nadal, Murray, Ferrer cruise into second week at French Open - via Fox news
Nadal Dismisses Schwank; Monaco Edges Raonic - via the ATP site
Record-chasing Nadal ready for first real test at Roland Garros - via CNN
Notes and Quotes from Day 7 of the 2012 French Open - via Tennis Panorama News (includes Rafa presser quotes)
Shirt color obsession - via the Roland Garros site
Wings of Dawn would like to point out this parody article from the RG site.

Videos:

Photos:

Rafa pics in these flickr sets: from emmanueltahon and from janmci - match; practice.
Match photos from the RG Facebook account.
Nice photo from Ella Ling
And again, be sure to check out @adel1609’s photo stream

Rafa does social media:

Yesterday, Rafa shared a photo of himself on a sports show.

Tweets about Rafa:

Happy birthday to Rafa#vamos7 twitter.com/benitopb/statu…

— Benito P-Barbadillo (@benitopb) June 2, 2012

Random:

Daveeed’s asked if he would like to have Rafa’s life/fame.

Original Article

RG: 3rd round photos

miriland — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 22:37:39 -0500

Photos from Rafa’s win over Schwank.

[gallery link=”file”]

Photos by JACQUES DEMARTHON/AFP/GettyImages, Clive Brunskill/Getty Images, REUTERS/Regis Duvignau, AP Photo/Christophe Ena, PASCAL GUYOT/AFP/GettyImages, and REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

Original Article

RG: 2nd round presser transcript

miriland — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 20:41:01 -0500

[caption id=”attachment_34032” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by THOMAS COEX/ AFP/ GettyImages”][/caption]

Rafa’s 2nd round match presser has been posted on Ubi Tennis.

Q. Compared to last year, what is your feeling about the balls that they’re using this year? Is it slower or faster? How did it suit your game?

RAFAEL NADAL: Always depends on the conditions. Today the balls are slower when the previous days when there is a lot of hot there, depends on the weather conditions, no? But the ball was very, very quick. I think that the ball is a little bit slower than last year but not much. Depends on the conditions, in my opinion.

It’s all relative.

Q. It seemed to me today that the crowd was really warming to you and encouraging you throughout, which hasn’t always been the case in Paris. Did you feel that today? Could you feel the crowd behind you?

RAFAEL NADAL: You like a lot this kind of history, no? No, no, no, I don’t tell you. I say you (Pointing to whole room and smiling.)

The crowd was great almost every time, no? That’s the thing. Today the crowd wasn’t an exception. Enjoyed the tennis and support tennis and support me, support the opponent when he hit a good shot.

I think he’s very tired of this subject. I can relate.

Q. I have a different question about Facebook and Twitter. Is it you who put the news on Facebook? How important is it for you to have this interaction with your fans?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, for me it’s great, no? For me it’s great to have, you know, the contact diary with the fans. That’s something that few years ago we didn’t have the chance to do it.

Last couple of years, especially last two years, we are doing more and more.

So very happy. Is a good way to be closer to the fans.

Aw, we like it when you are closer, Rafa.

Q. If you’re still here on Sunday, how do you plan to celebrate your birthday?

RAFAEL NADAL: When is my birthday? No, no, no, I don’t know the day.

*snort* Makes sense, though. I work a standard 5 day work week and sometimes have trouble knowing what day of the week it is or what day X date will be on. With his schedule? Oye.

Q. It’s on Sunday.

RAFAEL NADAL: Sunday? So I gonna play Saturday… Ah, I don’t know, no? Is difficult to celebrate like good birthday when you are in the middle of the tournament, but sure, I gonna go for dinner with the team. I don’t know if some family gonna come. I don’t know yet.

So we’ll see. The important thing is I am in the third round and hopefully I can celebrate the birthday in Paris and not in Majorca.

And so you are, Rafa. And so you are. Hope it’s a good one!

Original Article

Happy 26th, Rafa!

miriland — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 20:24:10 -0500

[caption id=”attachment_34022” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Benito Pérez-Barbadillo”][/caption]

So, when we last celebrated Rafa’s birthday, he was on the verge of equalling Bjorn Borg’s record of 6 Roland Garros titles. A lot has happened since then; let’s take a look at all Rafa’s accomplished in these twelve months. It truly boggles the mind.

Thanks for sharing another wonderful year of your life with us, Rafa. (Also, thanks to Benito for tweeting us a photo of Rafa’s midnight birthday cake and Genny_SS/SpanishRN fan for sending in some quotes and records.)

2011

Won his 6th Roland Garros title June

“I said two days ago today I am not playing enough good to win Roland Garros. We will see in two days.” - Rafa after his quarterfinal match.

“You know, a lot of things changed. What never changed is the illusion to keep playing tennis, the illusion to keep doing well the things, and the illusion to be in a good position of the ranking and play these kind of matches like today, or the kind of match that I gonna play on Sunday. So that’s never change.” - when asked how he looks back on his career so far.

“But what I said one week ago is I am going to put everything to try to change the situation, to try to play better, and that’s what I did.” - in his post-final presser

“Well, the real Rafa is both the Rafa who wins and the Rafa who plays well and the Rafa who suffers and doesn’t play that well.” - in his post-final presser

“So, no, I am happy. All the victories makes me happy, but not the victory is what makes me happy. What makes me happy is what I had to do before to have a victory like this.

So a lot of hours of practice, a lot of moments with high intensity, with positive attitude. When things are not going well, keep progressing with the same attitude. That’s what makes me happy; that’s what makes me feel very satisfied with myself.” - in his post-final presser

“This was the tournament where we finally found out what Rafael Nadal needs: He needs to suffer.” - Steve Tignor

Reached the quarterfinals of Queens June

“I love being here and the sensation to play on grass. Some people say I should not be here playing but I think this is the best. I will rest after Queen’s a bit and then get ready for Wimbledon, but it is important to be here for many reasons. LOVE TO BE HERE!” - in his blog for The Telegraph

Reached the final in Wimbledon July

“Well, I did very well the first six months. I lost a few finals, but I was in all the finals. I won three, and I won Roland Garros a few weeks ago. Was a very important title for me. And I’m here. Forget about the past.” - in his pre-tournament presser

“Well, fantastic. Seriously, I never played in a court like this. Was a big emotion be the first player to play in this fabulous court. So seriously was a very, very exciting feeling.” - on playing first as defending champion

“I AM SCARED OF THEM!!!! Not too much to be honest!” - when asked in his blog if he likes horror movies

“If you lead a normal life and just go along normally, fewer people bother you. But if you go out with security and things like that, everybody knows that something is happening there. You live normally, it’s OK. I’ve been to the supermarket two or three times. Otherwise my girlfriend or my Mum do the shopping.” - in an interview with The Telegraph

“The game is easy. The game is not that difficult. So think about a lot of things will be a mistake, in my opinion.” - in his post-final presser

“I am obviously sad for Sunday’s result but that’s life. Sometimes you win and in tennis most of the times you lose.” - in his post-final blog

Joins Twitter August

Lost in the second round at the Rogers Cup August

Armani campaign debuts August

Reached the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters August

“Probably this year I am not arriving with the best feelings because I wasn’t able to practice a lot at home. During all the summer I had the problem on the foot. I just practiced three days before came to Montreal.” - in his pre-tournament presser

“I am worried — when I won Roland Garros, I am worried about the first round of Queen’s. For sure I’m worried about the first round here. I worry about every match on my year. That’s the true, no? Every match is important.” - in his pre-tournament presser

Autobiography is released August

Reached the final of the US Open September

“When he senses a weakness in his opponent, however small, he competes with an unflagging optimism, an almost limitless self-belief.” - Geoff MacDonald

“I fighted until the last point. I tried my best in every moment. I am happy with a lot of things, much happier than the previous matches against him. In another things I’m not that happy.” - in his post-final presser

“I don’t feel any obligation to win the tournament. That’s the true, no? I am not that one that feels that the final is a bad result. I don’t consider myself that good, you know.” - in his post-final presser

Won both of his matches in the Davis Cup semifinals September

“If Rafa were to play the four of us today, he would probably defeat us all” - Julien Benneteau

“It looks like I’m making errors but he’s the one pushing you to make those. He places shots in the court like no one else, they spin differently with each one. It’s really hard to return his shot. When I watch him play at Roland Garros I would scream at the TV ‘How could he miss?’ but now I understand.” - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Reached the final at the Japan Open October

Played in the Pro-Am del Castelló Masters 2011 golf tournament. October

Reached the round of 16 at the Shanghai Masters October

“Winning or losing depends on very, very, very small things.” - in his pre-tournament presser

“For me today is disappointing day. I felt that I did everything right. I was in the right line since the week before the US Open. I think I was doing everything right, practicing with good motivation, practicing well in general.” - in the presser after his loss

Withdraws from the Paris Masters October

Fundación Rafa Nadal is announced as a recipient of an ATP Aces grant for 2011 November

Receives the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award November

Did not make it past the round robin page of the World Tour Finals November

“Seriously I can talk one hour for that. Is because of lot of things. Because probably I was little bit less passion for the game probably because I was a little bit more tired than usual.” - when asked why he wasn’t playing as well as he would like to be

“This end of the year wasn’t easy for me. That’s hard to accept. But at the same time that’s give me little bit more of illusion and little bit more goal for the beginning of 2012. That’s what I going to try.” - in his last WFT presser

“My illusion is there. My motivation I hope the same. I will do it. If not enough, is not going to be enough. But I will be satisfied with myself. See you next year.” - in his last WFT presser

Juntos por la Integración event in Barcelona November

Won both of his singles matches to help Spain win the Davis Cup December

“Yeah, it was an emotional day for us. Well, for me especially, no? For us, win the Davis Cup for the fourth time is something— well, for the fifth for our country— is something unbelievable, really special. The atmosphere makes the event even more special.” - in a presser after the win

Finished the year as the #2 ranked player December

2012

Made it to the semifinals of the Abu Dhabi exhibition January

Reached the semifinals in Doha January

Reached the finals at the Australian Open where he played an epic match January

“The cruelest thing about this glutted golden age of men’s tennis is that it keeps producing astonishing matches, matches that actually expand your idea of what sport can be, and someone has to lose all of them.” - by Brian Phillips

“When Nadal falls behind, he turns the match into life and death. He gets mad. He hesitates less. He hits the ball harder. He doesn’t look sad or scared. He looks defiant, and he plays like he’s possessed.” - by Brian Phillips

“I felt bad for Rafa as he shook hands with Djokovic. I wondered how he would get that missed pass out of his mind. I wondered if he would break down in tears on the trophy stand.

We got none of that. What we got instead were words that spoke to why you play the sport in the first place—for matches like this, even when you lose them. In my favorite moment of the evening, Rafa raised and shook his second-place plate with a sad pride.

‘When you are with passion for the game,’ Nadal said, ‘when you are ready to compete, you are able to suffer and enjoy suffering, no?’” - Steve Tignor

“Important thing for me, during all 2011 I didn’t play much like this. I’m happy I am in the real right way. ” - in his post-final presser

Appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition February

Reached the semifinals in Indian Wells March

Won the doubles title in Indian Wells March

“But if I have to say means more to me to win 2005 than 2011? 2005 was the first one. That’s always special.

But my answer will be not, because when you have years on the tour, when you have troubles, when you have injuries, when you have, you know, tough losses, hard times, good times, you really know how tough is win another time, how tough is win a tournament.

And when I won in 2010 Roland Garros, when I won in 2011 Roland Garros, the emotions are very high, because you really don’t know if you will able to win another time never.” - when talking about what Roland Garros means to him

“The thing is what the people consider a good year at the end, because seems like 2011 was a bad year for me, for you, for most of you. (Smiling.)

I don’t consider myself that good to consider the 2011 like a bad year, you know. I am doing a good year playing finals in Australia and semifinals here, for me, for myself, is a very good start of the year. ” - when asked what it would take to consider it a good 2012.

Withdraws from the semifinals in Miami with left knee pain April

“I am not ready to compete, and I cannot go on court and lie to everybody. That’s the thing today.” - in his withdrawal presser

Won his 8th consecutive Monte-Carlo title April

Became first player in the Open Era to win a tournament 8 years in a row April

“No, Djokovic wasn’t the real best Djokovic. In other finals that I played against him, I wasn’t my real best, too. But the real best are both. My real best is when I play well and when I play bad. The real Rafa is not only when I play my best. The real Rafa is when I play well, when I don’t play that well. If I take that for myself, the same for the others.” - in his post-final presser

“So a few facts must be unified finally to happen this very special situation, and happened, so very happy. Just can say thank you very much all the organization, all the people who came here support me year by year, all the people who make possible this tournament. Is fantastic because probably is one of the best organizations of the world.” - in his post-final presser

Won his 7th Barcelona title (a record for the tournament) April

Became first male player in the Open Era to win 2 different tournaments 7 times April

Won his 77th match in a row in April April

“It’s almost unimaginable to win here seven times. It’s a special tournament for me, at home in my club. To win at home in front of the people you know is always more special. I played at a very high level to win in Monte-Carlo and now Barcelona without losing a set, but I’ve been playing at a high level from the beginning of the year starting in Australia.

The emotions are always high, but probably each year they get a bit higher as you are one year older and you don’t know how many chances you are going to have left.” - in his post-final presser

Announced the ALMA NADAL exhibition May

Reached the round of 16 in Madrid May

“The ATP and the tournament can do what they want. I tried my best since I arrived here on Thursday trying to prepare as best I can for the tournament. I wasn’t good enough to adapt my game to this court. The only thing I know is that if things continue like this, I’m very sad, but next year it will be one less tournament in my calendar. I think the tournament is great but that is a bad decision.” - in the presser after his loss

Won his 6th Rome title (a record for the tournament) May

Became first male player in the Open Era to win 4 different tournaments 6 times May

Regained record for most 1000 Masters tournaments (21) won May

“Can I play better? Yes. Can I play much more better? I am not that good.” - in his post-final presser

“He is always the favourite, even if I win against him seven times; he is the best player in the world on this surface.” - Novak Djokovic

“I am happy that I won in Rome without losing a set against the best players in the world like Berdych and Ferrer and Djokovic. I will have this trophy in my bedroom. It is a dream. [I have] the confidence I am playing well and this comes when I play at the right level. Hopefully I will keep playing like this.” - in his post-final presser

Became the youngest and fastest player to reach 150 wins in slams June

“All my life I worked hard on the court, I was able to go on the court and practise for six hours when I was 14-15 — sometimes. Not all the time. Today is different. When I started on the tour, if I didn’t play for two weeks I felt completely out of rhythm. Now I can be away from tennis for 12 to 14 days, come back and don’t have a bad feeling. I don’t need to practise as much and the important thing is how you practise and what you practise.” - in an interview with The Times

“The image of a beautiful court is amazing. Tennis means things to me and the people, emotions that are hard to find in another sport.” - in an interview with The Times

Will play in the round of 16 of Roland Garros the day after his birthday June

I put this together in a hurry. Please forgive and let me know about any errors!

Original Article

RG: A s(ch)wanky Saturday romp

miriland — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 13:04:07 -0500

[caption id=”attachment_34013” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by REUTERS/ Gonzalo Fuentes”][/caption]

Rafa took on #192 Edwardo Schwank in the 3rd round of Roland Garros. He set the tone for the match by breaking in the first game. It wasn’t like Schwank was playing poorly. In fact, it looked like he had a good strategy and was, at times, executing it very well. He just didn’t have that extra oomph one needs to have a chance against Rafa on clay. Rafa’s into the round of 16 with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

	Nadal	Schwank
Statistics
Aces	1	3
Double Faults	1	0
1st Serve %	60%	66%
1st Serve Points Won	40/46 (87%)	35/58 (60%)
2nd Serve Points Won	16/31 (52%)	14/30 (467%)
Break Points Won	5/10 (50%)	0/4 (%)
Return Games Played
Points
Total Service Points Won	56/77 (73%)	49/88 (56%)
Total Return Points Won	39/88 (44%)	21/77 (27%)
Total Points Won	95/165 (58%)	70/165 (42%)
Other Stats
Winners	32	25
Unforced errors	16	17
Net Approaches	15/20 (75%)	18/30 (60%)
Serve Speeds
Fastest Serve Speed	201 KMH	200 KMH
Average 1st Serve Speed	180 KMH	181 KMH
Average 2nd Serve Speed	143 KMH	150 KMH

Original Article

RG: 2nd round presser video

miriland — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 22:27:50 -0500

Thanks to @anna_tennisfan, we have video of Rafa’s full second round presser that’s not region blocked.

And, per JC, even if you don’t speak Spanish, it’s worth sticking around for the Spanish part:

If you are able to watch the full version on Eurosport, you should definitely watch the Spanish part of the presser, or at least from 10:30, when he is asked a question, I think about Istomin and their match at USO 2010. He starts answering, and then, at 10:45, he suddenly says, in English: “I forgot the name of the colour”, followed by an embarrased grin, and then he just continues answering in Spanish. I think he saw the journo, who asked him about the colour of his shirt, and then realized that he forgot to check. I can’t do it justice in writing, but it’s such an adorable little moment :)
Watch it if you can!

Original Article

RafaLint: May 31st

miriland — Thu, 31 May 2012 23:13:24 -0500

Love this video - “Practicing with Rafael Nadal, as told by Maxime Teixeira…”

Posted by BABOLATWorld.

Nice little Rafa promo:

Rafael Nadal feature by rolandgarros

Articles:

Racquet Reaction: Nadal d. Istomin - by Hannah Wilks (tennis.com)
Nadal Overpowers Istomin - by John Martin (nytimes.com)
Nadal flying very high in Paris - Reuters
Rafael Nadal crushes Denis Istomin in second round - via the Guardian
Nadal: “Lo importante es celebrar mi cumpleaños en París y no en Mallorca” - interesting stuff about his different attitude this year compared to last via mundodeportivo.com (mangle).

Videos:

2nd round match highlights
Post match on-court interview
El punto de Nadal que levantó al público de París
Behind the scenes - Rafa around 1:20 and then…”behind” becomes literal (sadly, not Rafa’s, though)
Promo video for the Babolat contest posted about earlier.

Photos:

@adel1609’s been working her camera again - check out her stream.
Day 5 photos from the Roland Garros Facebook account.
Match photos via the Roland Garros Google+ account.
Rafa photos in this set from Black_Swann and this one from francetvsport.

Tweets about Rafa:

Postmatch interview on Suzanne Lenglen with @RafaelNadal and @cbfowler #RG12 #ESPN10s twitter.com/ESPN10s/status…

— ESPN10s (@ESPN10s) May 31, 2012

Random:

Tipsarevic: I’d love to do a set with Gael Monfils - Rafa and Benito mentions.

Original Article

RG: 2nd round presser video

miriland — Thu, 31 May 2012 22:09:06 -0500

If you aren’t region-blocked, you can watch Rafa’s 2nd round presser in full via Eurosport.

There’s also a non-blocked version on The Tennis Channel site:

Thanks to jaspreet for alerting me to this.

Original Article

PlayStation trash tweeting

miriland — Thu, 31 May 2012 21:47:03 -0500

Rafa, Daveeed and Rudy Fernandez got into some PlayStation trash talking tweeting. Thanks to Genny_SS/SpanishRNFan, we have a translation.

It all started on May 28 when David tweeted:

Mañana a las 11h debut en RG. Ahora a tratarme cn mi fisio Rafa. Por cierto pregunten como quedamos a la play a @RafaelNadal y @picomonaco

— David Ferrer (@DavidFerrer87) May 28, 2012

I’ll have my debut in RG tomorrow at 11h. Now I’m gonna work with my physio. BTW, ask @RafaelNadal and @picomonaco which was the result in the play(station)

On May 31, David tweets:

Feliz de pasar a 3ronda y triste por perder ayer a la play mi fisio y amigo Rafa cntra @RafaelNadal y @picomonaco .Ahora revancha. Vaaaamos!

— David Ferrer (@DavidFerrer87) May 31, 2012

Very happy for being in 3R and sad for having lost in the playstation, with my physio and friend Rafa, against @RafaelNadal y @picomonaco. Time for revenge. Vaaaamos!

(At this point, I’m going to stop embedding because it gets confusing since it embeds the most recent item first and then works backwards.)

Rudy Fernandez replies:

@DavidFerrer87 @RafaelNadal jaajajja momentos Play. No dejes q te gane Rafa q despues…… Felicitats per com estas jugant nanu

@DavidFerrer87 @RafaelNadal haahahha Playstation times. (David,) don’t let Rafa to beat you since afterwards…… Congrats for how you’re playing, man

Rafa gets into the convo:

@rudy5fernandez hoy revancha @davidferrer87 espero que el resultado de hoy sea el mismo que ayer ;) @picomonaco vamoss!! Os voy contando!

@rudy5fernandez today the revenge @davidferrer87 I hope the result today is the same as yesterday ;) @picomonaco vamoss!! I’ll keep you posted!

And David enters too, but he seems not to know how to reply a tweet and creates a parallel convo with Rudy: :-D

Jeje,tranquilo @rudy5fernandez yo necesito partner en la play… Alli le dejaremos las cosas claras a @RafaelNadal

Hehe, no worries @rudy5fernandez I need a partner for the Playstation… There (@ the OG) we’ll make things clear for @RafaelNadal (meaning they’ll show Rafa who’s the boss)

Rudy replies to David:

@DavidFerrer87 @RafaelNadal esta fet!! Esperemos poder estar alli y disfrutar de la olimpiada y las partidas de la play jajajaj.

@DavidFerrer87 @RafaelNadal Deal! Let’s hope we can be there and enjoy the Olympics and the games with the Playstation hahahah.

Rudy replies to Rafa:

@RafaelNadal @davidferrer87 @picomonaco jajajajajjajaja espero q david te deje la cosas claras… me llevo la Play a la Villa olimpica?

@RafaelNadal @davidferrer87 @picomonaco hahahahahhahaha I hope David makes things clear to you… do I bring the Playstation to the Olympic Village?

Rafa replies to Rudy:

@rudy5fernandez, @davidferrer87 y yo sabemos que tu nivel de la play es justito, pero tienes tiempo para entrenar!! Jajaja #villaolimpica

@rudy5fernandez, @davidferrer87 and me know that your level in the Playstation is not that good, but you still have time to practice!! Hahaha #olympicvillage

Rudy back at Rafa:

@RafaelNadal @davidferrer87 ajajajajjaajajajaajajajajajjaajajjajajajajajaa sin comentarios…. Maimo sabe la verdad d todo.

@RafaelNadal @davidferrer87 ahahahahhaahahahaahahahahahhaahahhahahahahahaa no comment…. Maimo knows the truth of everything.

Finally, Pico enters the conversation (the most difficult to translate!):

@RafaelNadal @rudy5fernandez @DavidFerrer87 la carismatica siempre triunfa , hay show y futbol champagne !!!!!!

@RafaelNadal @rudy5fernandez @DavidFerrer87 the charismatic (team) always triumphs, there is show and champagne soccer !!!!!!

(Apparently, the expression “champagne soccer” means good game and goals, elegant and classy…. first time I’ve heard about it! I had to Google to understand what Pico was saying! :D )

Original Article

RG: 2nd round photos

miriland — Thu, 31 May 2012 21:16:11 -0500

Photos from Rafa’s defeat of Istomin today.

[gallery link=”file”]

Photos by REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes, THOMAS COEX/AFP/GettyImages, Clive Brunskill/Getty Images, and KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/GettyImages

Original Article

Practicing with Rafael Nadal, as told by Maxime Teixeira…...

miriland — Thu, 31 May 2012 12:01:08 -0500

Practicing with Rafael Nadal, as told by Maxime Teixeira… (by BABOLATWorld)

RG: No contest

miriland — Thu, 31 May 2012 08:48:02 -0500

[caption id=”attachment_33929” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Clive Brunskill/ Getty Images”][/caption]

In his second round match, Rafa played #43 Denis Istomin. It was another of those early round “the result seems inevitable” kind of matches. Istomin tried and, at times, played some nice tennis, but it really didn’t matter. Rafa’s through 6-2, 6-2, 6-0.

	Nadal	Istomin
Statistics
Aces	0	4
Double Faults	1	2
1st Serve %	69%	66%
1st Serve Points Won	34/44 (77%)	22/41 (54%)
2nd Serve Points Won	14/20 (70%)	5/21 (24%)
Break Points Won	7/15 (47%)	0/2 (%)
Points
Total Service Points Won	48/64 (75%)	27/62 (44%)
Total Return Points Won	35/62 (56%)	16/64 (25%)
Total Points Won	83/126 (66%)	43/126 (34%)
Other Stats
Winners	25	16
Unforced errors	17	25
Net Approaches	12/14 (86%)	11/20 (55%)
Serves
Fastest Serve Speed	206 KMH	208 KMH
Average 1st Serve Speed	181 KMH	191 KMH
Average 2nd Serve Speed	145 KMH	143 KMH

Original Article

RafaLint: May 30th

miriland — Wed, 30 May 2012 23:13:58 -0500

[caption id=”attachment_33925” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by PATRICK KOVARIK/ AFP/ GettyImages”][/caption]

Rafa’s up third on Lenglen tomorrow - he’ll follow the completion of the Tsonga/Stebe match which is scheduled to start not before noon local time (and is currently tied 1 set and 1 game each).

Light lint today as Rafa practiced off-site.

Articles:

Grounds Pass, Day 4, May 30 - by Steve Tignor (tennis.com)
Rude wankers
Say What? French Open first-round quote roundup - by Courtney Nguyen (si.com). Rafa, your skin is going to look and feel like leather by the time you retire from tennis.

Videos:

Interview with CANAL+
iB3 report on Rafa’s first round match.
raficionada (aka @creamola_foam on twitter) is in Paris and sharing videos: practice; shirt change during the Bolelli match.

Photos:

rafandready has posted some Roland Garros photos.
Zimbio photosets from Rafa’s first round match: one; two.

Rafa does social media:

Rafa was surprised that a lot of kiddos showed up to his off-site practice session. Love the little girl walking away smiling at her signed ball.

Tweets about Rafa:

Kevin Anderson’s wife is a Rafa fan:

I love @rolandgarros! I got to meet my second favorite tennis player (after @kevinanderson18 of course!) twitter.com/KelseyOAnderso…

— Kelsey Anderson (@KelseyOAnderson) May 26, 2012

Random:

A day in the life of a tennis photographer - via The Tennis Space. Look at her. All fashionable and not sweaty. *narrows eyes and hisses* ;)

Original Article

RafaLint: May 29th

miriland — Wed, 30 May 2012 00:32:46 -0500

[caption id=”attachment_33913” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/ AFP/ GettyImages”][/caption]

Articles:

Six titles not enough for Rafael Nadal - by Greg Garber (espn.com>
Racquet Reaction: Nadal d. Bolelli - by Hannah Wilks (tennis.com)
Tebbutt: A Day Sans Canadians - by Tom Tebbutt (lovemeansnothing.ca)
Ruthless Nadal gets the job done - by Kate Battersby (rolandgarros.com)
Does this mean Nutella is healthy? (mangle)
Slower, softer tennis balls helping Rafa Nadal in Paris - by Mark Hodgkinson (The Tennis Space)
Why Rafael Nadal cannot be stopped at the French Open - by Douglas Perry (The Oregonian)

Videos:

Paris loves Rafa - trying too hard? (If that doesn’t work for you, try this link.)
Rafa helps Babolat celebrate their 100,000th Facebook fan.
Practice clip
Assorted coverage from L’Equipe
It’s just a small group of French people that don’t like him…
Rafa gets a mention in Nalbandian’s Road to Roland Garros video.

Photos:

Some nice Rafa shots in this Facebook set from the tournament.
Presser photo and another.
Practice photo
Looks like la_bretagne_a_paris was at Rafa’s match.
An old photo of Rafa at a Quely event in Doha.

Rafa does social media:

Rafa was rather happy that Fernando was at his match today.

He also tweeted about it:

@llorentefer19 thanks for your support in my debut at #RG12! Good luck for the Euro!

— Rafael Nadal (@RafaelNadal) May 29, 2012

Muchas gracias a @llorentefer19 por apoyarme en el día de mi debut en #RG12! Mucha suerte en la Eurocopa!

— Rafael Nadal (@RafaelNadal) May 29, 2012

A hug for the family and friends ofvictims in Doha fire. I want to give my support to the big Qatar’s family, they’re good friends !

— Rafael Nadal (@RafaelNadal) May 29, 2012

Un abrazo para la familia y amigos de las víctimas del incendio en Doha. Todo mi apoyo a la gran familia de Qatar que son grandes amigos!

— Rafael Nadal (@RafaelNadal) May 29, 2012

(More information on the tragedy Rafa tweeted about.)

Random:

Vika took photos of Rafa.
Some sort of comic book that features Rafa.

Lesson learned today: I can’t stand weight-lifting class.

Okay, it’s 12:30am, tennis starts in a few hours and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow. Time to nap!

Original Article

RG: 1st round videos

miriland — Tue, 29 May 2012 23:43:19 -0500

Videos from Rafa’s first round match against Bolelli.

Rafa’s included in this compilation of shots of the day.

Highlights via RAFApedia.

Match in full:

Posted by eccovskiy.

Video of Rafa’s presser if that doesn’t work for you due to region blocking, here’s a clip:

Posted by OnlyPureHDTennis or from the official site.

ESPN Vivo report:

Posted by canalNTN24.

tve report with a bit of an interview - just stop watching after the first 53 seconds. Trust me.

Posted by BarcelonaTVHD.

Original Article

Djokovic, Nadal Chase History At Roland Garros

miriland — Tue, 29 May 2012 23:28:20 -0500

From the ATP:

Original Article

RG: 1st round photos

miriland — Tue, 29 May 2012 22:48:24 -0500

Holy schnitkies the photographers were on their game during this match. I had a super hard time whittling things down to less than a half a gillion photos. I want to follow Clive Brunskill around and learn everything he knows.

[gallery link=”file”]

Photos by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/GettyImages, Clive Brunskill/Getty Images, PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/GettyImages, REUTERS/Nir Elias, and Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Original Article

RG: And so it begins

miriland — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:35:35 -0500

[caption id=”attachment_33850” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by AP Photo/ Christophe Ena”][/caption]

To start his quest for another Roland Garros title, Rafa played #111 Simone Bolelli. Bolelli started out pretty strong with some nice holds, but we all kind of knew where this was going, right? I mean, as long as Rafa wasn’t totally off his game. So, it went there - with Rafa breaking frequently. Well, until Rafa double faulted in the 6th game of the second set to give Bolelli a break back and a healthy dose of hope. But hope only took him so far and Rafa’s through: 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.

	Nadal	Bolelli
Stats
Aces	0	3
Double Faults	3	1
1st Serve %	54%	54%
1st Serve Points Won	29/38 (76%)	21/37 (57%)
2nd Serve Points Won	22/32 (69%)	11/31 (35%)
Break Points Won	7/9 (78%)	1/5 (20%)
Points
Total Service Points Won	51/70 (73%)	32/68 (47%)
Total Return Points Won	36/68 (53%)	19/70 (27%)
Total Points Won	87/138 (63%)	51/138 (37%)
Other
Winners	20	14
Unforced errors	18	38
Net Approaches	2/4 (50%)	5/9 (56%)
Serve Speed
Fastest Serve Speed	201 KMH	203 KMH
Average 1st Serve Speed	185 KMH	188 KMH
Average 2nd Serve Speed	151 KMH	153 KMH

Original Article

RafaLint: May 28th

miriland — Mon, 28 May 2012 22:16:09 -0500

[caption id=”attachment_33837” align=”alignright” width=”150” caption=”Photo by Beth Wilson”][/caption]

Rafa is scheduled for the third match on Philippe Chatrier Tuesday. Play starts at 11am local time.

Not a lot of lint today. There was a jam-packed schedule of actual tennis matches and Rafa practiced off-site, so the number of RafaSpottings was lower than usual. @adel1609 managed to see some of his practice and uploaded a few photos to twitter - starting here.
Articles:

French Open Day 3 matches to watch - by Courtney Nguyen (si.com)

Videos:

Photos:

Rafa practicing off-site with Pico.
Nida has uploaded some of her photos from Rome.

Rafa does social media:

Rafa shared a photo of his dinner date with Marcel.

(Sorry for the old photo for the article, I’m trying to learn new photo software and needed a subject to play with.)

Original Article

Happy birthday Rafael Nadal! Feliz cumpleaños Rafa! [2012] (by...

miriland — Mon, 28 May 2012 17:54:52 -0500

Happy birthday Rafael Nadal! Feliz cumpleaños Rafa! [2012] (by vamospormasrafa)