RafaLint: February 1st
Rafa sent us some videos taken at the eyeport (heh). In English:
And in Spanish:
Here’s what he had to say about these videos on Facebook:
I owed you a message and here it is, I recorded it at Melbourne’s airport :) Thanks to all for your support!
Sé que os debía un mensaje y aquí lo tenéis, lo grabé en el aeropuerto de Melbourne :) Gracias a todos por vuestro apoyo!
Rafa, you didn’t owe us a thing – you gave us your all for 6 hours last Sunday. (That sounds naughtier than I meant it to.) But thanks for looking especially adorable while fulfilling a non-debt. And yes, I do hope to see you in Indian Wells.
Articles:
- Spanish eZine with Rafa on the cover.
- How Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer (again) – by Patrick Mouratoglou (sports.yahoo.com)
- Juan Carlos Ferreror has something to say about Rafa (mangle)
- Rafael Nadal: To beat the devil – by Howard Bryant (espn.com)
Video/Audio:
- A bit more airport footage – including a random tot snatch and lift. (How does he put up with this stuff?)
Update: Oops! Forgot to add this:
FINAL UPDATE: Via TENNIS.com’s Matthew Cronin, who got word on this woman’s identity from Nadal’s PR rep, Benito Perez-Barbadillo:
“She is the daughter of the guy sitting behind me who is an Australian fan we met at the hotel and did something for us during the week. Her boyfriend, who wasn’t sitting at our box but some row above us, isn’t very happy about this ‘confusion.’”
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I love it when he makes us videos
LOL. It’s so ridiculous how much was made about that girl in the yellow and then the media even wrongly reporting her as Maria.
Now this is how I love his hair…tousled, messy, natural curls. I don’t believe the boy owns a comb…happy, too! I must also add that one of my favorite after match, on court moments of the two weeks was when Rafa thanked the crowd for “all the love you showed me”…I almost cried it was so stinkin’ sweet!!! Yes, Rafa, we love you very much.
“we love rafa” is an understatement!
we more than LOVE him.
Love the hair, the smile, the off-court shy demeanor…nice way to begin the day!
Rafa’s hair is soooooo curly!! that is so cute!
Regarding that girl in yellow, I wasn’t too curious about her but I was more curious about the man on Uncle Toni’s right during the finals. Its funny how commentators get mixed up on the who’s who in Rafa’s team. The man on Uncle Toni’s right was incorrectly referred to as Rafa’s father ^_^
How nice it is to be a fan and be granted access to their box for such an important match. Second time I’ve heard of something like that happen for Rafa fans. Maybe I should try my luck at the hotel in Melbourne next year ;P Just gotta figure what I can do for Team Nadal.
Do you mean the guy at the back on the right? Yes he was part of the entourage this AO. Maybe a relative? Yes I’m more curious about this man than the girl in yellow, who only appeared in the final and technically sat behind the team, not with them.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150512999266026&set=pu.64822581025&type=1&theater
Isn’t that Dr. Ángel Ruiz Cotorro?
Thought so at first glance, but I think it was the guy sitting with the team during the 2 weeks.
I’ve read that it was Joan Forcades, Rafa’s physical trainer, but I’ve only seen photos of Joan where he was all ponytailed-out and dressed in workout clothes.
Hmm, my memory of this guy’s face is fading but I rem him as an elderly man. Does look like the guy at the back on the right, but I’m not absolutely certain. I’m curious who he is as he was seated next to Toni and obviously looks like someone close to Rafa (or team) as he was cheering hard for Rafa, but never seen much of him. Oh well…..
I think Miri deserves a seat in that box!
Hearing you Sihouette. I was thinking that same night of the final- how does one get in the players box? They must be so lucky.
Heh, it’s one hell of luck. Tickets for the match are already very expensive! To think they could even be seated in the play’s box….that’s really some kind of luck!
How does one get so lucky????
Benito said that a fan “did something” for the team, and thus the fan and the daughter in the yellow dress got to sit in the box, but her boyfriend was stuck in the cheap seats. (This is odd since she seemed to have an empty seat next to her.)
I’d love to know what the fan did that was boxworthy.
Rafa seems in such a good place right now and with colm. I hope he can hold on to it, whatever the year brings.
Hi I don’t think the man on Tony’s right was a fan. I was at the tennis at the round of 16 and was staying at the Crown Towers. I was in foyer having a drink later in the afternoon, as the matches finished early. I saw Rafa’s father and uncle come into the foyer and that gentleman was with them. Seemed like a friend of the family.
Could the mystery man next to Toni be Roy from Nike that Rafa referred to as being in his team at the AO. It was an answer in Q&A on The Age me thinks??
No, Roy is a younger Asian guy, sitting in the top row to the right; his full name is Roy Tamaguchi and he’s a Nike representative, together with the famous bespectacled Tuts aka Jordi Robert.
Here’s an article on the last year’s snafu with “sweating shirt” mentioning both:
http://www.marca.com/2011/01/24/tenis/open_australia/1295875344.html
Thanks for the info and link Robert! :)
Hey folks, I think the man everyone’s wondering about is dr. Corterro. There was a guy sitting to Toni’s left who was a mystery. As far as getting a coveted seat in his box, one year he invited his favorite sushi chef to the finals! Rafa and his team had been eating at the same Japanese restaurant all tournament and rafa was showing his appreciation.
So does anyone know if rafa is going to London this weekend? For the Laureus awards?
Dr. Cotorro was there – he wasn’t a mystery person to anyone who recognizes his ’70′s hair. There was another guy who was a mystery and was there for several matches – someone thought it might be his trainer Joan Forcades, but I’m not sure.
Rafa doesn’t fly to awards ceremonies where he’s not nominated for an award. The Laureus site says that Djokovic will be there, which is no surprise since he’s nominated for the award Rafa won last year. List of confirmed attendees is here: http://bit.ly/ACirWe
Congrats again, Miri, for your 10,000th twitter follower! That’s a great achievement. You make a lot of rafa fans happy!
Just watched the vid rafa posted above.
“next tournament will be Indian Wells. See you there.”
Happiness! Yes, Rafa, I can’t wait to see you there!