Rafa withdraws from Cincinnati

Rafa has announced via Facebook and Twitter that he will not play in the upcoming Cincinnati Masters. No word on if he plans to try and squeak a lower-tier tournament in before the US Open.

9 Aug 2012 | by miri | 71 Comments

Cincy 2011 – It’s Rafa Time!

Traveling all the way from Oregon to attend W&S Open, I had 3 goals: (1) see as much Rafa as possible (2) don’t pass out in the sun (3) get Rafa’s autograph on my Davis Cup Spanish flag – joining Daveed, Feli, Nando & Marcel. Success! From the draw party to the final Sunday, I was lucky enough to see Rafa 14 times.

Rafa 1: Saturday morning – The site is not telling where and when Rafa is practicing. I’m thinking I’ll have to troll the courts all day to catch him – but wait!… When I walk on site I

24 Aug 2011 | by Jeanna | 25 Comments

Shelleyellie in Cincy

miri has asked me to create a post on my thoughts about Cincy. I have been back home for a few days now (and back to work, unfortunately) and I have had a few days to reflect back on what the 2011 Western & Southern Financial Group Open was like. This was my third time attending the Cincy tournament, my first time being back in 2007 as a Ticket Office Intern and my second time was last year. The tournament site has expanded and

23 Aug 2011 | by shelleyellie | 8 Comments

My very first Rafa experience

I’ve been a hardcore Rafa fan for about two years now, following him only occasionally before that. Thanks to the Internet, I have now caught up on all things Rafa as far back as they go. The ultimate dream of course was to watch him play live. The few times I had tried at the US Open I had missed out. Finally out of college and with an income of my own, I decided to take things in my own hands

23 Aug 2011 | by Meg0529 | 62 Comments

RafaLint: August 23rd

Not pretending this will catch you guys up with everything. I’m so far behind I’m just having to cut my losses at some point. I’m still exhausted and haven’t sorted through my photos beyond the ones posted by TennisConnected on Facebook.

Rafa in the city:
Rafa’s making appearances all over the place… (I think I’m missing one…am I? Help?)

Tuesday the 23rd: at FoodParc (29th

23 Aug 2011 | by miri | 11 Comments

Cincy: Sometimes, you just get burned

The heat can burn you, an opponent can burn you, and it turns out, a plate at a restaruant can burn you too. Hampered with burns on his fingers, a long match the day before and, most importantly, an opponent playing well, Rafa lost to Mardy Fish in the quarter finals of the Cincy Masters: 3-6, 4-6. The good news? Rafa defended his points. Let’s hope he has enough time to heal up for the US Open.

20 Aug 2011 | by miri | 54 Comments

Cincy: Catching up

Sorry I abandoned you guys! I wasn’t thinking and forgot that Kalliopeia who usually helps me out by posting match results when I’m away was going to be at the tournament too. And last night, I was too tired to post anything.

So, what’s happened since we last talked? Well, Rafa’s won 2 singles lost 1 doubles match. You guys know all this, but I feel the need to get the results up and out there anyway.

Singles:

Defeated Benneteau: 6-4,

18 Aug 2011 | by miri | 97 Comments

Cincy: Vamos, Team Cuteness!

Rafa and Marc! played Tipsarevic and Troicki in the first round of the men’s doubles in Cincinnati today. I have no idea how they played or how the match went since I was trying to get a bad hair-cut repaired, but looking at the score it might be a good thing I wasn’t watching that second set tie-break. Maybe someone who saw it can weight in. Bottom line? They won 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 10-5. Onward!

16 Aug 2011 | by miri | 28 Comments

Cincy: Pre-tournament presser transcript

A transcript of Rafa’s pre-tournament presser is up at ASAPsports.com:

Q. In 2008, you won a bunch of tournaments to overtake Roger Federer for No. 1; Novak is doing that this year. Can you compare the two years in terms of Novak’s success versus yours?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, he’s having better season than what I had in 2008. Nine titles already is a lot, no? I won the Olympics that year, too, so I don’t know.

Every season is different

16 Aug 2011 | by miri | 15 Comments

Cincy: Pre-tournament interview vids

First up, one from tennistv.com.

And another from CincyProTennis:

16 Aug 2011 | by miri | 5 Comments