RG: The draw

The Roland Garros draw was performed today. You can see the results here (html) or here (pdf). Rafa is in Djokovic’s half while Ferrer is in Federer’s. He will start his tournament by playing Daniel Brands – it will be their first ever meeting.

24 May 2013 | by miri | 37 Comments

Rome: Dominance

Photo by REUTERS/ Alessandro Bianchi

Rafa met Federer for the 30th time in today’s Rome final. That’s XXX in Roman numerals. Everyone was hoping the match was as sporntastic as the title suggested. For Rafa fans, it certainly started that way. He was playing aggressively and broke Fed in two of his first three service games. And while dominance by your favorite is sexy in a way, it lacks the prolonged foreplay that makes the final result as ultimately satisfying. Fed did what he could by breaking while Rafa was serving for the match, but this was a “wham bam thank you ma’am” kind of match. Rafa dominates to take his 7th Italian Open title: 6-1, 6-3.

19 May 2013 | by miri | 53 Comments

Rome: Berdych’s number

Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

In the first of the Italian Open’s semifinals, Rafa played #6 Tomas Berdych. At first, it looked like Rafa had an appointment to get to – he was on fire and took the first set in just 31 minutes. The second set was much more competative as Rafa’s level dropped and Berdych’s went up. Neither of these changed enough to cause the upset, though. Rafa scores his 13th win in a row over Berdych: 6-2, 6-4. Despite having the kind of game that can trouble him, Rafa clearly has Berdych’s number.

18 May 2013 | by miri | 26 Comments

Rome: Gladiators

Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

In the second quarterfinal of the day in Rome, Rafa played #4 David Ferrer. I admire both guys and always find matches between them to be difficult to watch. No matter what, I’m going to be a bit heartbroken by the end of it. In the Acapulco final, I was heartbroken by how tame Ferrer seemed in his loss; in Madrid by how close he came to winning only to not be able to close it out.

Rafa broke in

17 May 2013 | by miri | 24 Comments

Rome: Into the quarters

Photo by AP Photo/Riccardo De LucaHelloeverybodyguys! Sorry I missed today’s match, but I’ve been in (and am still in) a meeting at work – we are taking a short break. So, let’s make this quick: Rafa defeated Ernests Gulbis in his third round match today: 1-6, 7-5, 6-4. For those who saw it, how nerve-wracking was it?

16 May 2013 | by miri | 41 Comments

Rome: A strong start

AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Rafa started his Rome campaign by playing #25 Fabio Fognini in today’s night session. Though they seemed very willing, Fabio gave the local crowd little to cheer about. He quickly went down a break in each set. They got to make a little bit of noise when he broke Rafa to put the second set back on serve, but that didn’t last long. Rafa broke again and continued to dominate. Rafa’s through 6-1, 6-3.

15 May 2013 | by miri | 20 Comments

Madrid: On fire

AP Photo / Daniel Ochoa de Olza

Rafa played on-fire #15 Stanislas Wawrinka in the Madrid Open final today. Stan’s been playing some of the best tennis of his career lately. He’s also been playing a lot of it. Today was the day he ran out of gas. Rafa came out on fire, making a statement and breaking in the first game. Stan did pretty darn well in winning two games that set. The second set was a bit more competitive, but Rafa was still playing some beautiful clay court tennis. He wins his 3rd Madrid Open, 5th title this year, and 23rd Masters title by a score of 6-2, 6-4.

12 May 2013 | by miri | 48 Comments

Madrid: Never in doubt

Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/ Getty Images
For his semifinal match in Madrid, Rafa played wildcard and surprise semifinalist Pablo Andujar (#113). Their ranking showed in the first set as Rafa dominated and served up a bagel in just 25 minutes. The second set proved to be more competative, but still never really felt in doubt. Rafa’s into the final with a 6-0, 6-4 victory.

11 May 2013 | by miri | 13 Comments

Resilient

AP Photo/Andres Kudacki

Rafa played #4 David Ferrer today in the Madrid Open. Well, I think that was Rafa, most of the match he wasn’t playing like Rafa. Daveeed recognized this and took full advantage – breaking Rafa’s serve in the 10th game to take the first set 6-4.

It looked like Rafa was getting things back on track a bit as he broke to start set two, but his lead didn’t last long. Daveed broke back and then a second time to go up 4-2. Rafa

10 May 2013 | by miri | 43 Comments

Madrid: Efficient

AP Photo/Andres Kudacki

Rafa played #31 Mikhail Youzhny in his round of 16 match today in Madrid. It was a quick and efficient match – Rafa only lost three points on serve in the first set. There was a slight burp in set 2 when a few errors allowed Youzhny to break, but over all, Rafa was playing and moving well.

9 May 2013 | by miri | 16 Comments