RafaLint: November 24th
Rafa receives the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award:
Articles:
- Transcript of Rafa’s post round robin 2 presser.
- Day 5 Preview: Nadal, Tsonga shoot for semis by Courtney Nguyen (si.com)
Videos:
- iB3 report on the 2nd round robin match.
- Rafa practicing on Wednesday
Photos:
That’s it – not a lot. I’ve had a weird day. For those who celebrate it, Happy Thanksgiving!
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Adore the Wimby pic :D
That butt is majestic even when Rafa’s sitting on the ground…no?
Cute gramps in aqua blue is impressed.
You always loved that photo, Miri. Ella Ling rocks!
Thank you for sharing this brilliant pic from Wimby Miri!! Great photo!!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of our american NN’s out there!!! Have a fantastic day and lets hope Rafa gives us a win for us all to be thankful for :)
Nice long practice Vid. Rafa seems to struggling a bit with his forehand:(
Gorgeous arse! gorgeous pic… made my day, off to work now I’ll browse through the lint later, bye!
Worried about tonights match thou….
If Ferrer plays better than Rafa at the WTF, could Rafa be relegated to being Spain’s #2 player in Davis Cup line-up? That could mean Rafa plays Del Potro (Argentina’s #1 player) in his first Davis Cup match. That concerns me, because Del Potro would come into Davis Cup with more practice on clay than Rafa (Rafa has to make a quick adjustment from hard court to clay). Del Potro is also very good on clay.
If Rafa stays Spain’s #1 player in Davis Cup line-up, then he would probably have an easier first match against Monaco or Nalbandian. That would give Rafa match-play on clay, and he would be better prepared for his second match against Del Potro (if a 2nd match is necessary).
But maybe that would not be the case. Maybe Rafa would still be #1 in Spain’s Davis Cup line-up, even if he does worse than Ferrer at WTF. WTF is best-of-three sets, and Davis Cup is best-of-five sets. Ferrer did well in Monte Carlo and Barcelona this year (both are best-of-3-set clay tournaments), but he did not do well in Roland Garros (best-of-5-sets). Also, Granollers did better than Ferrer in Valencia tournament several weeks ago. However, Granollers is only an alternate in Davis Cup line-up, while Ferrer is in official Davis Cup team.
What do you think?
Kevin, what are you talking about? Have the teams a right to choose, who is their number 1 player? Surely the rankings must have priority? So why should Rafa be relegated to number 2? But I’m not completely firm in Davis Cup roules.
I think teams choose the line-up, regardless of ATP rankings. In Davis Cup semi-finals, Tsonga was initially not chosen to play singles, even though he was the French team’s top player (according to ATP rankings).
Kevin, I think, Ines explained it, and you are mixing up two things: The line up just says, who’s playing the matches, but that does not imply, who’s the top player in each team. That goes strictly according to the rankings.
The seed of the players is according to the ATP rankings and nothing to do of how the player has played the last tournament and you should remember that Davis Cup Final will be played in clay and not in an indoor surface. and you should remember what happen in the semifinals against France, Rafa came to Córdoba almost destroyed and very tired from the USO open and he destroyed the French players in his matches. And Granollers would never be an option for singles, only for the doubles
Rafa no needs many days to adapt to clay because for him is his natural surface but Del Potro barely has played this year on clay and Nalbandian, I think, not a single match in the whole year
If my memory serves me right Ines, doesn’t Nalby struggle on clay? compared to say a hardcourt? I don’t recall him having good results on this surface?
Del Po may have not played this year on clay much but he is quite pumped up for this tie, it won’t be easy for sure… Hope Rafa is fit enough and can, along with Ferru, play well.
For those of you who think Rafa’s loss to Roger Federer means Rafa is in decline, does that mean Djokovic’s humiliating lopsided loss to Ferrer mean that Djokovic is in decline? At least Rafa lost to the defending champion (Federer) on Federer’s favorite conditions (indoor hard courts). Indoor hard courts are also Rafa’s least favorite conditions (Federer has a perfect 4-0 record against Rafa on indoor hard courts). Djokovic’s favorite surface is hard courts, and he still got demolished by Ferrer (like Rafa, Ferrer’s favorite surface is clay). Rafa didn’t play great against Federer, but Djokovic’s performance against Ferrer was even worse. Djokovic made 33 unforced errors, compared to 7 unforced errors from Rafa.
I attribute Rafa’s so-so performance (against Federer) to rust (This is his first tournament since mid-October). Rafa is prioritizing 2012 over the WTF, which explains his struggles at WTF. Even if Rafa loses his next match to Tsonga, that doesn’t necessarily mean Rafa is in decline. Tsonga is a dangerous player who has easily beaten Rafa before (in Australian Open 2008).
Right on Kevin, couldn’t agree more!
THANK YOU KEVIN!! Well said! Rafa had a ‘bad’ day and all of a sudden people shout ‘decline’! Sometimes I can’t beleive this is a Rafa fansite. Like you said, what if Tsonga beat him today … no big deal. The tournament and life goes on (in Rafa’s own words after the 2009 RG loss)….. and look what happens – DC final and 2010 season. Give him some credit for what he’s done in 2011.
Giving him credit for a great season, which could have been even greater,if a few things had panned out differently, while pointing out, what is obviously wrong with Rafa right now, is not mutually exlusive.
Rafa’s lack of ‘joy in life’ was partly blamed by his parents’ divorce in 2009. Could it be that there are something in his personal life that bothers him ………… a team member planning to leave, maybe? Mary is with him this week, can’t be that, thank goodness for that, they are sooooooooo the perfect match. His team is like his family and will have an effect on Rafa if one of them have other plans. Somebody, maybe, inside information?
I’ve read that Xisca is going to be moving to London for a year to study business & Englsh & that she & Rafa will be seeing less of each other. I really hope this isn’t playing on his mind already cos if he’s got to spilt his time-off next season between Mallorca & London he’s gonna be even more pressed for time. They always look so relaxed & happy together & I’m sure Xisca is great support when things aren’t so good with the tennis. I wonder what Rafa’s thoughts are on this. Expect we’ll never really know & it’s not our business, just hope Rafa’s not worrying about it already. We know how much he dislikes a change to his routines.
I meant to say study business & English. ( Watching Fish/Federer while typing!! )
I don’t think the move will affect him that much. They are used to see each other not that much, although Maria F did say in an interview that they will see less of each other. No, I don’t think he’s worried about that. Her studies (my opinion) is for the best for their future – I think they made this decision together looking forward.
rafa and his girlfriend are used to spending time apart but when he returns home she is always there but now she is living in London it will be more difficult so wont see much of one another. Maybe this hs been playin on his mind.
How about we leave Rafa’s personal life out of things. Thank you!
Hellooo Mr. Darcy! He knows how to lift the award trophy doesn’t he? I bet he wore the scarf just to remind himself not to bite. #)
Happy Thanksgiving to you too Miri!
Good God, I love that man……
Am I paranoid or does Rafa’s voice sounds coarse? Did he maybe have another cold?
Good points Kevin and thanks for the optimism! we need it right now!