Nadal News » 2011

RafaLint: August 31st

Today’s recommended read:

For Nadal, It’s All About Finding ‘Solutions’ by Geoff MacDonald (NY Times)

US Open articles:

Straight-Set Wins and Shrugs From Nadal and Serena Williams by Karen Crouse (NY Times)
Nadal toils while Serena breezes by Neil Edward Schlecht (US Open)
Rafa tries to find his range by Matt Cronin (US Open)
Thoughts from Day 2 at the U.S. Open by Courtney Nguyen (SI)
Djoker, Rafa take different routes by Greg Garber (ESPN)
US Open 2011: Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic reach

31 Aug 2011 | by miri | 28 Comments

USO: 1st round presser

Rafa’s first round post-match presser transcript and video can be found here.

Q. How did you feel today?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, you know, I was practicing very well during all the week. I was for sure nervous. That’s normal. It’s normal start the tournament like this with some nerves. And what happened today, he didn’t help because he played very fast all the time. All the shots, he was trying to do a winner in almost every shot. So it was difficult for me to find the rhythm. Yeah, but it’s a positive start winning in

31 Aug 2011 | by miri | 17 Comments

USO: El Mundo Q&A #1

Rafa’s answering questions in El Mundo, and his first entry is up. From the mangle, it seems to me:

He’s okay with the idea of “better safe than sorry” when it comes to hurricane precautions even if it created a weird situation
He’s well to compete
He’s been doing a lot of stuff and tweeting and posting about it on Facebook
Fed is Fed
He had a good vacation and enjoys watching footie
Murray is talentous and has everything he needs to win a

30 Aug 2011 | by miri | 6 Comments

USO: 1st round videos

Match report from the USO site. Hopefully there will be more match videos tomorrow.

Rafa arriving and practicing today:

Nice little intro to the night session.

Pre-match interview:

Post-match interview:

30 Aug 2011 | by miri | 7 Comments

RafaLint: August 30th

Mainly catching up on stuff I owe you guys from yesterday, but I was dealing with a dying computer. I’ll post match coverage/articles in tomorrow’s lint.

Beyond adorable interview with Rafa on CNN this morning:

If the above is region-blocked, you can also see this on YouTube.

Stuff to read:

Tonis responds to questions about his relationship with Rafa via espndeportes.com (mangle)

Photos:

Rafa modeling some new sportswear clothes from Nike. Like those khakis

30 Aug 2011 | by miri | 15 Comments

USO: 1st round photos

Some photos from tonight’s roller coaster ride.

Photos by REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz, EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images, AP Photo/Charles Krupa, AP Photo/Elise Amendola, and REUTERS/Kena Betancur

30 Aug 2011 | by miri | 12 Comments

As the USO turns

To start his US Open defense, Rafa played Golubev (#98) under the lights in Ashe stadium tonight. Golubev is the kind of player that can give Rafa trouble – especially in the early rounds. He’s a big hitter with a lot of easy power. His shots, when going in, take time away from Rafa and did not allow him to get into a steady rhythm. Rafa was often pushed deep and wide and in no place to create any offense. It was a very weird match with plenty of twists and turns. Rafa was broken early in each set and

30 Aug 2011 | by miri | 50 Comments

USO: Article and video interview in Spanish press

There’s an interesting article in elpais by Juan Jose Mateo (mangle). If the mangle isn’t misleading, it seems like Rafa’s foot was still really bugging him in Montreal and he’s been adjusting his training to help deal with the situation. This seems to be backed up by this interview sent in by Inés:

She didn’t have time for a translation, but she very kindly sent a transcription which I have sent through the mangler: