RafaLint: January 31st volume 2

Okay, so a few things that need to be passed along right away. Well, maybe a few minor things that could wait and one thing that needs to be passed on right away. I’ll let you sort out which is which…

k sends in a link to a story about the Ritums Ivanovs portrait of Rafa including a photo of him posing with it: Top tennis players Nadal, Gulbis, Federer, Tsonga & Davidenko sign and see Ivanovs paintings in Qatar Open.

Inés sends in a

31 Jan 2011 | by miri | 37 Comments

Rankings: January 31st

The post AO rankings are up. Despite leaving the AO before Federer, Rafa increases his lead on him. Nole is getting pretty close to Fed, Ferrer and Berdych switch spots and welcome to the top Ten Melzer.

31 Jan 2011 | by miri | 9 Comments

RafaLint: January 31st

Another injury update (google) – not much new here, except for his phase one coping plan: partying to deal with the jet lag.

iB3 AO wrap-up.

ESPN2 video: Rafa Slam Denied.

The surfrace has been declared for the first DC tie – not surprisingly,it’s hard court. You can buy tickets here.

Rafa went to watch Mallorca lose this weekend. Hope he’s not jinxing a new team!

Photos by REUTERS/Enrique Calvo

Random videos:

Rafa hitting with a tot in Doha
Ritums Ivanovs paints Rafa
Rafa at a hotel in Mexico – I think this is from last year

31 Jan 2011 | by miri | 11 Comments

Uncle is Uncle

Toni was interviewed by the New Zealand Herald: Uncle still main man for Rafael. Some excerpts:

Toni Nadal is recognised from Shanghai to Soweto, Bangladesh to Budapest. Standing with him outside the player cafe at Melbourne Park, the excitement was palpable among a group of juniors, “It’s Toni – Uncle Toni,” they whispered.

The 49-year-old is realistic about the fame. “I know I am famous because I am the coach of Rafael Nadal,” he told the Herald on Sunday. “If I was with the

29 Jan 2011 | by miri | 42 Comments

Two centimeter tear

Thanks to sara_xmn for tweeting this article from Marca in which Rafa confirms he has a 2 centimeter tear. (Google mangling) Sounds like he plans on stopping two weeks and then playing it by ear from there based on how he feels. (Hopefully I got that right from the mangle.)

29 Jan 2011 | by miri | 13 Comments

RafaLint: January 28th

You just knew there had to be more airport footage, right? Well, here’s a clip from tve, and here’s a compilation of tve and iB3 reports.

Stan Wawrinka tweeted a photo of himself, Rafa, and Homer.

An article at elpais.com about Rafa’s injury. (Google mangle – I like the idea that Rafa was surrounded by his people and good morning.)

People seem to like this article: There’s a lesson for all in Nadal’s agony – Paul McNamee.

28 Jan 2011 | by miri | 15 Comments

Back home

Did he take a shower on the plane? His hair is wet. He mentions Davis Cup in the airport interview…wonder if it’s a “we’ll have to see” answer. Google mangling indicates it’s a wait and see.

28 Jan 2011 | by miri | 26 Comments

JMac on Rafa: 100%

Posted by niketennis.

28 Jan 2011 | by miri | 19 Comments

AO: Herald Sun Q&A entry 5

We have a last entry in the Herald Sun Q&A series.

DESPITE his loss in the Open quarter-finals, Rafael Nadal found time to answers more questions from his fans.

Are you ever a bit nervous about wearing such an expensive watch and have you ever broken it in any way? – Eleanor Borgelt, Victoria

RAFA: No, I am not more nervous for sure. It is built so that it doesn’t break. Something amazing, believe me. I broke a few when we were developing it last

28 Jan 2011 | by miri | 28 Comments

RafaLint: January 27th

First up, an update on Rafa’s status via the Herald Sun. Rafa flew back to Spain on Thursday (Australian time). According to the article, Rafa had some scans done on-site:

The scans showed Nadal had suffered minor damage, the result of injuring the leg in the first game of the match.

Nadal will be examined by doctors in Spain before committing to a tournament return.

Then again, this article says no tests in Australia. It also has Rafa saying that

27 Jan 2011 | by miri | 18 Comments