Interview about the Olympics withdrawal
Video from Rafa’s first on-camera interview after his withdrawal from the Olympics.
(Posted by Inés.)
For those who are Spanish challenged, I’m told this article includes a lot of what Rafa was saying in the interview.
“I will compete when my knee says I am ready to compete,” he added. “I don’t want to go on court with bad feeling because then it is terrible. You start, you have to stop, you suffer every day. I will go back to court when my knee is ready.”
Best thing he could say with a mind to his long-term health.
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“When I had to take the decision [to withdraw from the Games] it was the toughest moment. But it was something that I was thinking was going to happen for the last six, seven days because the knee was not improving.”
Rafa is so thoughtful beyond his years. He didn’t look all that well (the vibe he gave) at the flag acceptance ceremony perhaps because this withdrawal possibility weighed on his mind if the knee was not improving.
As much as I’m a huge fan, it would’ve been more thoughtful had he withdrawn BEFORE the acceptance ceremony so Pau had his chance in the limelight. Granted, accepting the flag is probably not that big of a deal in the big picture.
But I don’t think he could know yet then if he could play or not…
Actually, he talks about how sad he is & how painful this decision was for him – the hardest he’s taken – & how he can only hope now that he will be healthy enough to compete in the Rio Games & perhaps be considered as flag-bearer then. The rest of the interview is devoted to his friendship with Pau & how happy he is that he is now the flag-bearer.
I hope he will be healthy soon, so we will enjoy him again! Tennis without him is almost boring!…but… his eyebrows are going apart more and more!!!
Nice interview from Rafa.
The Facebook posts of Rafa training (before he withdrew) gave some the impression that Rafa might play the Olympics. The posts said how excited Rafa is for Olympics. Well, I think it’s Benito (Rafa’s publicist) who did the postings, and not Rafa himself. Benito wanted to give an impression that everything was fine.
From now on, I’m going to take Rafa’s Twitter and Facebook posts with a grain of salt.
Yeah, you’re right man, Benito is a real loser, isn’t he Kevin? I think you’re right, I’m going to take everything I see on Rafa’s Facebook page and his twitter account as well because surely everyone behind Rafa’s postings are at heart deceptive, so that makes them losers too.
Joel-
LOL! Thank you for “agreeing” with me! LOL!
I love how you like putting words in others’ mouths. Did I say “deceptive”?
I’m simply going to believe Rafa’s direct interviews. I’ll still pay attention to Rafa’s Facebook, but I’ll do it with the understanding that some of them may come from Benito, and not Rafa himself.
But if you want to think that Benito is a “loser”, go right ahead- LOL. I would use that word “loser” for some trashy media pundits, but not for anybody on Rafa’s team. I understand that it’s Benito’s job to put the best impression out there, and Benito is doing his job well.
Of course some times people post on Rafa’s behalf (I personally think Maymo often does since he takes a lot of the photos), but consider this: Benito doesn’t live in Mallorca. Rafa was truly very hopeful he was going to be able to play in the Olympics. It took his team talking to him and, ultimately, his first post treatment practice session for him to come to the full realization that he couldn’t. So, perhaps before you accuse people of disseminating false information, you should read up on the subject matter first.
Did I say Benito was deceptive? I don’t think so.
I said it’s Benito’s job to give a good impression of Rafa, and Benito’s doing that well. That’s a big difference between giving a good impression, and deception (which implies vicious intent). I certainly think everybody on Rafa’s team is highly valuable.
I am sure that Rafa will be relieved to hear that you consider his team members highly valuable.
Julie- I’m sure Rafa will be relieved to hear that you’re a big fan of his.
I say this from the bottom of my heart: Everyone just shut the fuck up.
Seriously. I didn’t make this site so I could spend my time moderating kindergarten level bickering.
Ditto. The back and forth sniping is not part of the culture of this site. Please do it somewhere else.
I totally agree. I used to come here a lot, but in the last couple months some people commenting on here have totally taken over with their negativity. This used to be a place where you’d celebrate Rafa as the fantastic sportsman/young man he is and analyse his tennis, not piss on journalists and fellow commenters. Totally disrespectful to Miri. And totally un-Rafalike.
I chuckled when Rafa said “I will compete when my knee says I am ready to compete” as it conjured up for me an image of Rafa, sitting with His Knee and Towel, all three of them engrossed in a whispered conversation about whether he had His Knee’s permission to play. Lol, sorry, a moment of madness in amongst the gloom. Ah how I miss his conversations with Towel…..can’t wait to see them again :)
Kevin, I beg your pardon, I meant to say that I will be taking everything posted on Rafa’s Facebook page and twitter account, like u, with a grain of salt.
Damned deceivers. Fire Benito, right?
Joel- LOL! If you think Benito should be fired, go right ahead! I certainly do not think Benito should be fired! Benito’s job is to put the best impression out there, and Benito is doing a great job at that.
Kevin, seeing as how irony isn’t working, i’ll just say it:You are a complete and utter arsehole.
Perhaps, but publicly calling someone an asshole is a bit assholey too.
Maybe Kevin should create his own site devoted to ironic banter.
Here’s a more condensed translation of the interview:
http://itsallaboutrafaelnadal.blogspot.dk/2012/07/rafas-first-interview-after-withdrawal.html#!/2012/07/rafas-first-interview-after-withdrawal.html
Those are the exact same quotes that are in the article I linked to – in fact, they mention said article as the source. So, not sure of the point of the link.
I know the quotes are the same, but I just thought some people might like to read them without journalistic inserts. Sorry if I offended you.
Didn’t offend me, I was just confused and didn’t quite get what the point was.
Thanks for posting that,JC.I was only interested in what Rafa had to say, which totals a couple-of-hundred words or so.I would much prefer to read those 200 words in isolation, without having to scan through ten times as many words from someone else, to get at them.If only all reports on what Rafa has to say were this concise!Thanks again.
I hate to see our boy so sad about this unfortunate turn of events but as always I admire his effort to put it in perspective and think of others. Bravo, Rafa.
Kevin, if u will, perhaps u could clear up the air on a few fronts for me and for some other folks. When Miri has to come on here and consistently point out in some of your posts, remarking in one instance, that your posts are ‘childish’ and ‘accusatory’, if interested as to why u don’t respond and own up to them. She just got done posting, in a very professional and innocuous way, that your comment about Benito and Rafa’s media communications team are accusational in nature. Yes, that was intended for u. U don’t answer that, I would like to know why? Your initial comments in this thread are an attack toward Rafa himself, and his team. When someone says, and these are your words, to ‘take whatever they say w a grain of salt,’ that’s a polished way of saying that that person has zero credibility and is likely lacking character. For what it’s worth, and I’m absolutely positive u don’t give a damn, I think your comments in this instance are completely inexcusable.
What are your thoughts when one poster says ‘whatever man, I could really care less what u think?’. Or another one say ‘Kevin, your a complete asshole?’. Do u think it’s fair to everyone on here how u just dominate threads, step on their opinions, when every single thing u post is labeled childish, as being an asshole, as being accusational (and again, this is what Miri just said to u, and then u never own up to it, bulldoze everyone else’s opinions…why is that? And why does everyone seem to disagree with u? Why do u seem to rub EVERYONE the wrong way?
Moderation is off-topic. So are personal messages to another that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. I’m darn close to locking all comments.
My apologies. I’m wrong to address it in this fashion and I admit it.
Short term pain for long term gain! Rafa knows what is best for him and his knee.
Lets hope he is ready for the US hard court swing. I hope he wins a title or two as he does not have many points to defend up till the US open. A masters title on hard court would be ideal for his confidence.
I’m sure Rafa won’t play in Canada Masters.
But Toni said Rafa hopes to play in Cincinnati. So hopefully Rafa can be at Cincinnati Masters.
I think the optimistic view is that he really just needs to get past Cincy and the USO. Aside from some finals points to defend in Tokyo, he barely has anything to defend in Shanghai, Paris and London. I see a nice long rest and recovery period for Rafa this fall after the USO in order to get healthy for 2013. Seems like rest is the only thing that cures him of his ills.
Disappointed about the knee injury. But Rafa’s had even worse injury before, right?
The worst injury was probably the foot injury in late 2005/early 2006- when Rafa missed Masters Cup 2005, AO 2006- he could barely walk.
At least now Rafa is still capable of some physical activity- he just can’t play tennis yet.
Mwahaaa, I love the fact that Rafa nearly wrecks the equipment when he walks in. Pretty high dork-factor there, sweetie. ;)
CC, I agree! I love it too!! It warms my heart to see dorky rafa, even at this super tough time for him.
@JayDee50 – i love the image of rafa and his towel, in whispered conversations with his (left) knee….like after Miami….I await for the knee to give Rafa his permission to compete again :D
Thank you! I hope it brought a few smiles to many of us. The knee rules! ha ha :)
I definitely think we need things to make us smile, to distract us from the evident sadness in rafa’s eyes. Lets all keep our fingers and toes crossed that the smile and the ‘illusion’ returns to our boy’s eyes and hopefully soon!!
When he bent his head down to attach the mike, it’s quite noticeable that his hair is really thinning out at the crown/top part of his head. It’s kind of worrisome to me how quickly his hair has thinned out thru the last few years. At this rate, he might be bald in his 30′s! I am sure he will still be cute and adorable though! And he will always be a great player no matter what. Rafa, we are always here to support you!
I feel for Rafa (and his team) because he has so many obligations. It must be awful, truly awful, to go to the flag presenting ceremony with a niggling feeling that things aren’t going well, etc. And Toni saying he’s hopeful for Cincy is part of their job, folks. The tournament directors rely on Rafa for revenue.
I like that he’s going to listen to his knee, too! That’s somehow very ‘Rafa.’
Uncle Toni has been a pretty honest guy who doesn’t sugarcoat things. If Toni were trying to paint a rosy picture, he would’ve said that Rafa might play in Toronto.
So when Toni saids that he’s hopeful for Cincy, that means there is a chance that Rafa might play in Cincy. Of course, nobody knows for sure- all we can hope for is that Rafa recovers in time for Cincy.
All I’m hoping for is that Rafa recovers – period.
I agree.
Amen to that.
god all this digging at one another on here is not what i come on here to read. sometimes, me included say things that unintentionally offend others because we all have different opinions but it should not get personal. we all come on here to discuss Rafa in good times and bad,, not to read negativity, there are plenty of other sites that do a good job of that.
Miri puts alot of time and effort into this site and it should be appreciated and respected.
Im glad to hear Rafa is not gonna rush back to tennis so his knees can heal properly though i will miss him.
Well said. We can do more for Rafa by sending our collective healing energy than by spending time discussing differences during this difficult time. I value this community. Thank you Miri.
Collective healing energy?
meaning combined, from all of us as a group
I understand ‘collective’. What I should have asked is:Healing energy?
I was referring to the power of positive thoughts, prayers, meditations – whatever people choose to do to promote healing for those they care for…that’s all.
Incredible Rafa, just hope he can recover from this, it sounds so bad!God I am going to miss him on court, just not the same!