IW: Quarterfinal presser transcript

Photo by Beth Wilson

The transcript of Rafa’s post quarterfinal presser is up on ASAP Sports:

Q. That was some occasion, but perhaps not quite the match we were anticipating. How did you read it?

RAFAEL NADAL: I played great the first set. I played a fantastic first set, in my opinion. The second set was strange. The second set I think Roger didn’t fight as usual. Probably he had some problems and he didn’t feel enough comfortable to keep fighting.

But for myself I have to take

15 Mar 2013 | by miri | 13 Comments

IW: A nail-biter with a happy ending

Photo by AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

After his surprise 3rd round walkover, Rafa had a challenge on his hand in the 4th as he played an in form and recently re-dedicated to tennis Ernests Gulbis. Both men held serve with relative ease until the 10th game when two errors from Rafa (one absolutely horrid) gave Gulbis the break and the set: 6-4.

Rafa broke in the first game of the 2nd set, but Gulbis broke back in the 4th. Gulbis’s brain went on a

13 Mar 2013 | by miri | 47 Comments

RafaLint: March 1st

Photo by Hector Rivera

Some quick lint while I: pack for my trip to NYC, tweet and watch the match. (Sadly that means I’m doing none of these things very well.) I’m going to NYC for the exhibition match on Monday – but I won’t have credentials, have nosebleed seats and MSG says no long lenses allowed. *sigh* Also, this means I may or may not be able to make a match post tomorrow…should one be needed (no jinxing!).

Articles:

Nadal To Play Almagro In Acapulco

1 Mar 2013 | by miri | 4 Comments

RafaLint: December 27th

Oops! Thought I posted lint the other day. Sorry about that. Sadly, a lot of the links I had are no longer relevant…but then, do we really need article after article about the Abu Dhabi withdrawal?

Rafa wanted to make sure we all celebrated the holidays responsibly:

Articles:

Nadal, como un astronauta – by Juan José Mateo. From (mangle) it sounds like Rafa’s left no stone unturned in his recovery.
Abu Dhabi-bound Nadal: Federer proved his greatness in 2012 – by Reem Abulleil (sport360.com)

Bro-mance alert! Andy Murray: Tennis Missing Rafael Nadal – by Reem

27 Dec 2012 | by miri | 7 Comments

An infection ‘knocks Nadal down’

Rafael Nadal, who has been six months without competing for a partially torn patellar tendon in his left knee and hoffitis, has announced that he will not participate in the exhibition in Abu Dhabi next Friday, where he was scheduled to return, due to a stomach infection.

25 Dec 2012 | by miri | 2 Comments

Rafa withdraws from Abu Dhabi

Not the best news to wake up to on Christmas morning as Rafa has announced via Facebook that he will not be playing in Abu Dhabi due to a stomach virus.

25 Dec 2012 | by miri | 20 Comments

RafaLint: December 22nd

Screen grab by Inés

Articles:

Not surprising, Rafa says no to Buenos Aires: Nadal se bajó del ATP de Buenos Aires (mangle)
Nadal leads banged up players who need to bounce back in 2013 – by Courtney Nguyen (si.com)
Some nice Rafa mentions in this interview with Lleyton Hewitt: Lleyton Hewitt talks footy dreams and on-court rivalries ahead of the Brisbane International – by Robert Craddock (news.com.au)
Rafael Nadal says Andy Murray fully deserves to be a Grand Slam champion – via skysports.com
Promo for an

22 Dec 2012 | by miri | One Comment

RafaLint: December 20th

One more week, people…one more week….

Tips for returning serve:

Posted by australianopentv.

Articles:

Rafael Nadal confirma su asistencia para el torneo Godó, que se jugará en abril – via the EFE. Rafa will play Barcelona (mangle)
The Struggle Down Under – by Steve Tignor (tennis.com). A look back at the 2012 AO final.
If the service in Abu Dhabi ain’t broke, don’t fix it – by Steve Elling
Rafael Nadal Focused on Third Mubadala World Tennis Championship Title – via mubadalawtc.com
The Toss: Tennis players as fictional TV characters – via si.com. Not sure

20 Dec 2012 | by miri | 6 Comments

RafaLint: December 12th

A Babolat promo, talks of Abu Dhabi and the Australian Open, PokerStars and so much more – a backlog of RafaLint.

12 Dec 2012 | by miri | 4 Comments

RafaLint: November 26th

Photo by Robert Marquardt/Getty Images Europe

There’s actually been stuff going on in Rafa-land, but I’ve been very busy. Sorry about that. I don’t know how I’m going to manage balancing my new outdoor activities with the tennis schedule once it heats back up again…

Most Beloved:
Rafa was named one of the most loved Spanish sportsmen of the last 25 years by XL Semanal (mangle). Here’s a short interview brought about by the declaration(mangle). (Be sure to click through to both of the above

26 Nov 2012 | by miri | 6 Comments