Wimbly: Prep
iB3 report about Rafa’s prep for Wimbledon:
Google translation of the text:
Rafael Nadal starts tomorrow to London. And it will undoubtedly with good morals and the batteries charged. First because the glory has returned to play at Roland Garros since then has been enjoying a few days in Mallorca. There’s nothing like being at home however has not stopped preparing for Wimbledon. After a year of absence returns to the All England Club as the world number one. And as always, he and his team are cautious.
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Good to see him working out with Toni. Not used to seeing him hit with Toni as his practice partner.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him hit with Toni! Tomeu and/or Marc must’ve been unavailable. ;)
Toni was a good player in his day, I think.
Rafa looks refreshed which is good to see.
Why is he preparing on hardcourts? Are there no grass courts in Mallorca?
I was wondering the same thing.
Rafa should have his own grass court made at his house by the sea, then he could come off the beach and get down to practise straight away. Of course he’d need somebody to tend to it so it was always ready for action! I can hear lots of offers for that job!!! We could prepare a rota.
I guess I can offer to be a ballgirl (no pun intended) while he practices, cause if he’s looking for a person playing his level of tennis or anywhere close I won’t fit the job description.
Agreed! Then he can just practice there all year round. Actually he should have courts of every kind installed, that way he’s always ready for any surface!
But really how does Mallorca not have a single grass court??
I guess not. At first I thought maybe the practice footage was old, but given they showed interviews too, I doubt it.
*thinks back to the joke Rafa made about installing an artificial – arteeefeeecial – grass court in Mallorca and giggles*
Maybe Mallorca has just a few grass courts and they were all booked by other people and so Rafa didnt get a chance :)
Any proud Mallorcan would surely insist that Rafa takes their booking immediately?! I don’t think there are many grass courts in Spain period.
I know for a fact that the Williams Sisters usually practice for Wimby on hard courts since they don’t play any warm up tournament even though if they are in Florida there are grass courts. If it was just once or twice I doubt it will do any harm.
Because It was raining cats and dogs today in Mallorca, oh yes an awful weather today, so he has had to practice indoors,
Oh thanx for clearing that up Ines, so its raining in Mallorca? well I was lucky to have 7 days of glorious sunshine during the 2nd week of the French open there then!
Wow…now I’m getting excited! I’m also surprised that he was not practicing on grass. I would think there’s got to be one court!
Thanks Miri
I guess he is practising on a hard court because there are no grass courts and perhaps so that he can get used to the change of the surface? I mean, grass is faster than clay so the hard court might be helping him with that?
Not sure if it’s been posted before because I haven’t really followed Rafa’s news the past few days (shame on me, I know – I blame uni exams) or if this is even the right topic to post is under but it seems that this will be Rafa’s Wimbledon outfit:
http://www.menstennisblog.info/2010/06/rafael-nadal-wimbledon-2010-nike-outfit.html
My apologies if it’s been posted before but I thought I’d share anyway.
The trim is “light wild mango” – sheesh. But “with a flattering shape”. I’ll say. I’m all for anything tight and formfitting on Rafa.
For a person who’s focusing on uni exams, I say it’s not bad at all ;-)
Can’t wait to see Our Lovely Spanish Man is his Wimbledon Whites. His beautiful skin compliments white clothes so perfectly. Not to forget the bandana. I just adore it when he wears a white bandana. Oh I really can’t wait now & may have to reach for the DVD of the 2008 final!!!
i like his outfit, federer is wearing gold again…
Really liking this with the mango trim and the V neck especially, he is going to look hot, I cannot wait!
Rafa has his own “Vamos” Clothing Collection. Pretty impressive. It’s about time Nike. Would luv one of the bull training shirts.
Ya.. courts at wimbledon will surely be slower than these hardcourts. The U.S open court is the fastest. But the difference is the low bounce of grass which doesnt favour nadal.
This year draw will be very important, hope Rafa gets easier draw atleast this time.
Apparently, there ARE several grass courts in Mallorca, but the thing is – it’s raining heavily all day today, and they obviously didn’t want to miss a day of practice. That’s why they practiced indoors.
Rafa did manage to grab some outdoors activity earlier. There are many pics at ZIMBIO of his speedboat double-date ride yesterday (with one of his best friends and respective GFs). It was sunny and he was in swimming trunks only.
Heavy rains explain why he was indoors. He did look little annoyed if you look at him closely.
Thanks Robert. I went straight to those photos and then I felt terribly guilty. OK this might be prep time for Wimbledon – a few days off (keep on Miri’s topic) but I felt like one of the paparazi’s. The gf’s didn’t look happy nor did our Rafa. I know you can’t have any privacy when you are in the public eye (heah look at Capelo outrage with the media) but…..
How do you feel Robert looking at them?
I’m not Robert, but for me: that’s why I don’t post paparazzi photos. I do feel you should be able to have privacy even if your job puts you in the public eye. IMHO, privacy is a basic human right.
Pretending paparazzi don’t exist will not make them disappear.
For celebrities, it’s the fact of life. As Clooney once said, he has to mind how he sits on the toilet and whether his good profile is exposed.
For fans like myself, it’s a way to gain more insight into the state of mind & body of my fave athlete prior to an important competition.
Judging by his speedboat departure pix from the public Porto Cristo harbour, he just might win this British thing: he’s still going strong with his gf (no further personal turmoils), one of his best friends is taking him in his own boat (Rafa abandoned the idea of purchasing that ridiculously expensive yacht for now, so no distractions), he’s in swimming trunks (he didn’t catch cold in Queen’s despite heavy sneezing), his abs are flat (no over-eating during brief vacations) etc. etc.
It kind of makes me laugh that you have to check up on Rafa’s abs during all of his three days of vacation. How much eating exactly would he have to do to completely change his body composition in that time? (Disclaimer: I am not an expert on six-pack abs. Sadly.)
It would if everyone did because then they wouldn’t get paid for their work. Is that going to happen? No. But I refuse to participate. If you want to talk or view paparazzi photos, go elsewhere.
Fair enough.
As for abs and possible 3-day binge eating: believe me, a lot of damage can be made. Top athletes, ballet dancers and such must not indulge, or all the hardwork of many months can be lost.
Well Rafa looks alot fresher but he looks grumpy with his shots, I hope he finds his colm’ I didn’t like it at Queens when he double faulted to lose that set! I guess he was a little too tired to focus that day (hopes), and yes the low bounce theory doesn’t or shouldn’t favour Rafa but he has played in 3 finals @ Wimbledon and won one so he has to believe that he can do it again! I am not expecting too much of Rafa so anything great will be a bonus!
Well Fay I am expecting everything of Rafa and I think so is he. So here is to tomorrow when he will be in England, on an early flight, training then watching footie then training and he will be so well focused after two years without the grass competition. And to start with Spain v Switzerland is really gonna spur him on….
Night all x
I guess we are all interested in seeing any pics of Rafa and will always be drawn to them just to see the latest pics even if they are on the tackier sites – the fact that they are there is one thing, but by not publishing them on your site Miri just shows that you have great principles. I don’t like seeing them copies and posted everywhere so that is yet another huge plus for visiting your page. Thanks
More practice footage: here.
And the iB3 footage with Spanish subtitles here.
I giggled watching Uncle Toni chase down Rafa’s ball, then Maymo moving furniture, and then Rafa and Uncle Toni having a laugh.
Shame there’s no mention about the grass ass.
Bet Rafa’s going to take a nice and early flight to London so he can get settled in at his flat and be ready to watch the Spain vs Switzerland match.
And I can still remember clearly watching the vid of Rafa practicing on grass with Murray last year, and waiting till really late at night my time to hear the press con via the internet of Rafa announcing whether he’d play Wimby or not last year. Glad that 2009 is just a memory now.
Rafi looks pretty calm and relaxed. And a little sleepy eyed too if that’s possible on the practice courts. What a cutie. I’m loving that his hair is longer and fuller these days, please don’t cut it too soon! Yeah it’s kind of weird seeing Toni as his practice partner, wouldn’t be easy for Toni to keep up with Rafa. Wonder where the other boys were. Ah, looking back to the Wimbledon 08 final footage, that was just awesome. So many great points. Love the huge vamos at the end of that clip. And boy does he look gorgeous in that white outfit. It was simple and unadorned, and just complimented his skin so beautifully. Not sure I’m liking the new v neck outfit for this year. But he is Rafa, he will look awesome no matter what. Gosh, so excited for Wimbly!!!
*complemented* :)
So good to see Rafa and Toni smiling – haven’t seen Toni smile that much in a video in ages. Although, always the realist, he says that statistically Rafa has an 80% chance of winning the first round but a 5 -6% chance of winning the tournament. Although we already knew it, great to hear him confirm what a big moral boost Rafa got from winning RG.
Sorry that would be morale boost – his morals were already ok.