RafaLint: February 14th
Today’s recommended reading:
Fan Club: Rafael Nadal – by Steve Tignor and Katrina. Katrina’s reasons for liking Rafa are very similar to mine…including her first reaction to him. :)
I remember one press conference in particular, after he lost early at Key Biscayne in 2006. Rafa said at some point that he was “going to use all six of his senses” to get better. He was informed by his publicist, Benito, that there are only five senses. Rafa didn’t blink. “I’ll have to find one more,” he said (or something to that effect). He did it with such a comically serious face, everyone laughed. You had to like him. And you half-believed he was going to do it.
Yes. You have to like him.
I also agree that choosing a favorite tennis player is rarely a conscious decision. After all, I love serve and volley tennis and, intellectually, you’d think I’d lean towards players who play that style. And yet in the Borg/McEnroe days, I was Borg. Loved John’s game; loved Borg. In the Edberg/Wilander days, I was always Wilander. Always. Samprass/Agassi? Didn’t like either and pretty much stopped watching tennis for awhile. You pick a favorite with your gut, not your head.
Articles:
- Nadal sopesa jugar la Davis contra Austria – by Jesús Minguez (as.com). Per the mangle, it sounds like Rafa’s a definite maybe for DC this spring. Definite. Maybe. It depends.
- Nadal y Ferrer entregan una réplica de la Copa Davis a los Reyes – by Almudena Martínez-Fornés (abc.es); includes a video. (mangle)
- El Rey bromea con Rafa Nadal: «Estos de los guiñoles son tontos» – via abc.es (mangle)
- Rajoy, sobre los guiñoles: “No hay mayor desprecio que no hacer aprecio” – via cuatro.com. (Thanks, Nana – mangle)
- Nadal says Spain overreacted to TV show – from skynews
- Sports minister: Spain has doping problem – AP via USA Today. It is difficult to argue against the idea that Spain kind of shot itself in the foot with their handling of “Operation Puerto” – this is the case many people point to when they say they do not trust that Spain has a tough stance on doping. They now have an uphill battle to show that they do mean business.
- Marc López: “Nadal juega conmigo en dobles más que nada por amistad” – by Eugenio G. Delgado (20minutos.es). Marc! (mangle) (I think it was Atch2 who retweeted this? Not sure. Original tweeter was @eugenioGdelgado.)
Video:
- Rajoy: “El mayor desprecio es no hacer aprecio” – europapress coverage of the DC meeting. The Prime Minister says thanks.
- El rei Joan Carles expressa el seu suport a Rafel Nadal – iB3 coverage (mangle)
- Rajoy rep part de l’equip guanyador de la Copa Davis – more from the iB3 (mangle).
- iB3 coverage of the SI photos.
Rafa does social media:
- Rafa let us know about his busy day and gave his DC teammates a hug.
Tweets about Rafa:
And, here’s a few small photos from Rafa’s day:
Photos by SUSANA VERA/AFP/Getty Images and AP Photo/Paul White
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Awww they look so cute in their suits!
Miri, I could have written what you wrote! We are/were fans of all the same players and even stopped following the sport at the same time. Unfortunately for me I didn’t come back to tennis fandom until late in 2008. But thanks to YouTube I’ve been able to fill in some of the blanks.
Happy Valentines Day (I’m having a chocolate hangover) and thanks for running this great site!
Same for me! Except that I returned in 2009, so I’ve had more catching up to do. I remember being at the YMCA, jogging on a treadmill while absentmindedly watching a tennis match (no sound) to pass the time. And I found myself mesmerized by this player who exuded a kind of vibrant energy, fierce determination, and power that was magnetic. I am certain that I exceeded the 30-minute limit on the treadmill that day:) Just wish I’d been tuned in time to have seen the Wimbledon final 2008 as it happened. But watching the video is much less stressful, knowing that Rafa won!
Me too, Sampras and Agassi just didn’t have the charisma. Wimbledon was the only coverage I could watch in the yesteryear tennis. The advent of computers, sky etc., has made it so much easier to follow good tennis matches (especially Rafa’s).
Julie, what a tennis final you missed in 2008 phew!
Marc! is very modest.
if it says anything about rafa’s aliveness at all –
I first started watching tennis in 2009 – the first claycourt masters 1000 event of the year – I think it was monte carlo.
I watched the SF that Djokovic played in, which he won and I found him likable and chose him as the player i was going to root for in the finals. Saw that he was playing rafa in the finals and at that point I knew zilch about rafa, who he was etc etc except that he was the number one ranked player in the world (also seeded 1 in tournament – that much I figured out from the number 1 in parentheses beside his name). that was all I knew about djokovic’s (the one I adopted as my fav player)opponent. I was rooting for djokovic silently,urging him on and gradually over the course of the match, i was increasingly drawn to rafa, i noticed all his routines, his quirks and was just drawn to him inexplicably. i didn’t think he was exceptionally handsome or gorgeous, but I just can’t stop looking at him. and by midway of the match, i was cheering for rafa, not mildly supporting him mind you, but supporting him relentlessly and by end of match i was officially a rafa fan and never looked back since. one thing about rafa – he just draws you to him as if you were in a trance.
and yes, you just have to like him, no other way it was going to be. almost like it was a compulsion.
If you ever have the chance to go see him play in real…. you will notice it even more, i have to warn you you might feel funny for weeks and weeks after!
Yes, it is like being pulled into a trance, willingly:)
1st time I saw Rafa play live was at Australian Open 2004, when he was still relatively unknown..I told myself ,”this guy is gonna be a legend someday!”..I have never looked back since and have followed his matches diligently..Highlight was getting to meet Rafa again in 2012,Qatar Open..Bliss! :o)
Miri – you did not talk about the Rafa-Roger rivalry :)
I sure appreciate Roger’s style better but a Rafa fan — VAMOS!
I still remember clearly watching Rafa on TV play his 3rd match at Wimbledon in 2008. I’d heard a bit about ‘The King of clay’ & how he’d come close to beating Federer (whom I also knew little about) the previous year at Wimbledon. I was drawn first to his looks, physique & clothes. The sleeveless top & longer shorts seemed unusual. Slowly but surely I began to feel that winning this 3rd round match was so very important to this young Spaniard & I couldn’t stop watching him. I made sure I didn’t miss the rest of his matches during this tournament having to resort to the radio if I wasn’t at home. As each round came and went and he was still in contention I could sense the excitement building on the TV & within myself. By Finals day I was so nervous I could hardly eat! Those damn rain delays made it worse. I was convinced Fed was going to rein Rafa in. I didn’t know whether to watch or not as the thought of him losing made me feel quite ill. Curiosity got the better of me and I watched till the end, literally on the edge of my seat willing him on. I’m so glad I witnessed this amazing achievement & haven’t missed a result since. So it’s nearly 4 years since I became a fan & wish I’d come across Rafa sooner ( was without TV from 1992-2008) sad I know! If he gives us 4 more years of tennis I’ll be very happy. There’ll never be another like him, of that I’m convinced.
Glad to know others get as anxious as I do. Another four years would be great. You’re right, there will never be another like him. Impossible. Tennis without Rafa is hard to imagine…so, not going there yet! Looking forward to Indian Wells:)
It was at 2006 US open! I wanded to watch Agassi’s last matches when I saw a player in black and red with long hair, no sleeves… I disliked him!…and then, in the inteviews, I saw him again and he was talking with these cute English about his tomy ache and he leaned his head on the table…and I felt like he was my little brother! The next day I saw him again and I noticed that his game was different,he was a warrior,he was gorgeous! Since then he became my hero,I watched ALL his matches and tennis without Rafa…I don’t know…is there tennis without Rafa ??? He gave me too many exciting moments all these years!!! I wish him the best!!!
For me it was Roland Garros 2005. My husband had managed to get quarter final tickets for the second day of the quarters. I remember being so excited about seeing live tennis for the first time I didn’t care who I saw. I didn’t see Rafa play but I saw him practise and that was that – complete obsession with him and the sport from then on. Who did I see play – no idea – but they were no as gorgeous or as talented! But I’ve now seen a lot more live tennis, in seeking Rafa playing live – managed thrice so far – and hopefully will see him more in the future! (Luckily my husband understands my obsession …..!!)
These posts should be labelled …… Where were you When (you first spied the talent of Rafa)….. great reminices folks x
My first Rafa match was one of the clay court finals of 2008. I was sick on the couch, channel hopping, and found this guy playing tennis who grunted and fought for every point and then after winning fell onto the clay and then got up all dirty and I said to my husband, you’ve got to see this kid from Spain, I think his name was Nadal and he is so awesome to watch. I hadn’t watched a full tennis match since Billie Jean took out Bobby Riggs. I have missed very few of Rafa’s matches since!
Thank you everyone for sharing your personal Rafa passions – loved every word!
I remember the first time i saw Rafa it was at Wimbledon and he played Paradorn Srichaphan but Rafa lost. I cant recall the year maybe 2004/05 but i recall this exciting muscular teenager who played aggressive tennis from the baseline, was impressive and i knew he would go on to be somebody great and change the way the game would be played. From that day i have followed his career and been a massive fan. I prefer the power game,long rallies, grinding it out on every point more so than the serve and volley tennis. Life revolves around Rafa’s matches, even stayed up all night or its sky +, but i never miss a match.