Posted by ATPWorldTour.

Photo by Beth Wilson

The ATP write up of the Doha final has some great quotes from Rafa:

“Sure, it’s better to win, especially when you have the chance,” said Nadal. “But, that’s tennis and probably this match I needed a little bit more calm. But playing at this level I am sure I’m going to win [a title].

“I think I did the most difficult thing and that was playing all the time at my best level. I’m probably playing better than ever, for the moment. There was one moment in 2008 maybe where I played like I did today in the first set. So that’s a very positive thing for me. I don’t know if I will win in Australia, but I think I’m in a very, very good way.”

patzin sends in this story by # Leo Schlink of the Sunday Herald Sun. (Why is evey sentence its own paragraph? Drives me batty.) It’s mainly full of quotes from Rafa pressers late last season and this past week, but some of them are good ones.

Next up is an article that jimmy linked to in a comment thread: Rafael Nadal heads for Australian Open after Qatar defeat by Richard Jago from the guardian.co.uk.

“I needed to be a bit more calm,” Nadal said when asked about a startling forehand miss from inside the baseline on the second of his two match points in the second-set tie-break against Davydenko. “Probably because I have not won a ­tournament for a few months I did not win this one.”

Quite the catch-22 situation, no?

“I am not saying I am going to win the tournament – you never know before a tournament,” he said. “I have played well enough [here] to have a positive result [at the Australian Open], but I don’t know. You have to see the conditions. I am ready to win the tournament, but I am never going to say that I am going to win it. The only thing I can say is that I am playing well enough to have a positive result. I am very competitive against all the players in the world. And I am happy.”

Always cautious, that one. Now, if he’d just be a bit less cautious in the right moments of his matches…

A couple of general articles:

• Tennis stars courting Australian Open success
• The plane truth: Tennis players have tough itineraries – travel nightmares

Posted by Tennis24grTV.

Posted by vamosrafelnadal.

Photos by REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad, Ian Walton/Getty Images and KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images

Posted by meriko100.

Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images

Rafa and #6 Davydenko played in the final of the ExxonMobil Qatar Open today. Davydenko had won the last two matches these guys played on hard court and has been in excellent form of late, so everyone was expecting a battle. The first set, however, was a blowout. Rafa was doing whatever he wanted with the ball and he took it 6-0. Things tightened up in set two – way tight. Davy took it in a tiebreak 10-8. They exchanged breaks in the third until Davy got the set winning break in the tenth game to take it 6-4.

Stats:

As it happened blatherings:

Why is there skiing on my stream? *grumbles until I find another stream*

RafaNadalUnoffi: Davy wins coin toss and elects to receive and whoop we’ve Mo in the umpires chair

Rafa has a chance to turn his head-to-head against Davy back to a winning one today.

Ataraxis00: The little machine that could needs to lose today – that is all. He’s taken enough scalps the last 3 months. Enough already.

Second serve from Rafa. Error from Davy: 15-0. Second serve. Nice forehand winner from midcourt from Rafa: 30-0. Second serve. Down the line forehand from Davy goes just wide: 40-0. Second serve. Rafa holds.

Kalliopeia: look at him all up on that baseline!

Davydenko pulls Rafa wide and draws an error: 15-15. And again: 30-15. Second serve. Davy sends a shot long: 30-30. Davy nets a ball: deuce. (Sorry, getting ready to run out as soon as the match is over or 11am, whichever comes first and am missing some points.) Davy sends a shot wide and Rafa has a break point. Error from Rafa saves the bp for Davy: deuce. Long rally ends with a forced error from Davy: break point 2. A beauty of a backhand cross court passing shot gives Rafa the break. He’s up 2-0.

Rafa consolidates the break by holding at love. He’s up 3-0.

Kalliopeia: GAWWD I love it when Rafa’s like this, stalking the baseline and all growly and fierce and awesome. :D :D :D

TennisLuvah: Rafa holds at love! 3-0 Popsicle Hotness FTMFW!!!

Davy double faults to deuce. Second serve. Rafa nets a ball mid-rally: ad Davy. A nice forehand down the line from Rafa draws an error from Davy: deuce. A bizarre misshit return from Rafa (hitting the net and dropping over) gives him a break point. And Rafa breaks to go up 4-0.

Kalliopeia: I can’t get over how sharp he’s looking

TennisLuvah: Ooohh and the dirrty grunts from Rafa are starting. Totally fangirling over here! XDD

kefuoe: Between the commentators and the grunting, this match sounds great!

The net cord really loves Rafa today: 15-0. Rafa in the purple; Davy in the green. How lovely. 30-0.Davy sends a shot long: 40-0. Another love hold for Rafa.

Kalliopeia: the last few times I’ve actually been able to watch a whole match he’s looked kind of uncertain and unhappy, so this is lovely

Cat’s fed, shoes tied. House alarm prepped…go Rafa, go!

Rafa moving Davy all over the court to earn a break point. Everyone ready for breakfast? Rafa serves up a bagel and takes the first set from Davydenko 6-0.

Kalliopeia: he keeps this up I’m going to have those little glowy hearts for eyes like in the cartoons

uuuuuhhhh AH! uuuuuuhh AH! uuuuuh AH!

Double fault from Rafa gives Davy double break point. Rafa pulls Davy into the net and then flicks a beauty of a down the line winner. Service winner: deuce. One short ball and Davy’s all over it – fierce down the line shot and he has another break point. Davy nets a ball after a long rally: deuce. Davy moves Rafa well, but then hits a ball just barely wide: ad Rafa. Davy bosses a point and comes into the net: deuce. Good wide serve draws an error: ad Rafa. Rafa sends a shot just long: deuce. A well constructed and executed point gives Rafa another game point. After 13 minutes, Rafa finally holds.

Davydenko gets on the score board with a well-played service game.

Rafa hits a fierce forehand from the doubles area and follows it into the net: 30-0. Service winner out wide: 40-0. Second serve. Rafa holds at love for 2-1.

Davy moves Rafa and then follows it up at the net with a nice slice volley. He holds at love: 2-2.

Second serve ace? Sexy. Marc! is mesmerized by his tournament ID. Down the line backhand passing shot from Rafa goes just wide: 15-30. Second serve. Good deep shot from Davy that Rafa can’t get back: double break point. Rafa smacks a winner from the net: 30-40. Rafa hits some so-so volleys at the net, Davy passes and breaks. Rafa lets out a few curse words (if my Spanish lip-reading is up to par).

Davy has found his wide serve and re-direction follow-up – damn difficult to defend against that. Davy holds – he leads in the second set 4-2.

I have to leave to get my hair cut (job interview on Monday and this was the only appointment I could get), so I leave you in the capable hands of Kalliopeia.

(Kalliopeia here now, I’m new at this, be gentle)

Rafa breaks back! 5-5.

Ace! Davydenko challenges, and it was JUST out. Boo.

Davydenko hits it long and Rafa is serving for 6-5. And Davydenko hits long again off a very pretty forehand from Rafa. Rafa leads 6-5. WOOO!

Davydenko holds at love. Tiebreak!

Rafa’s letting Davydenko run him around way too much. Remember that aggressive thing, Rafa! 2-1 Davydenko.

Rafa gets it back on serve, but Davydenko gets back up a minibreak 5-4. And Davydenko makes an error, back on serve 5-5.

And Rafa gets to 6-5, match point!!

Davydenko comes to the net and Rafa missed the backhand pass. 6-6.

Davydenko with a forehand winner for 7-6, but makes an error off some brutal hitting from Rafa to go to 7-7.

Davydenko nets the forehand, match point again. COME ON RAFA.

Sigh. Rafa nets a shot, 8-8. His mom is very “haha wtf?”

Nice forehand from Davydenko gives him set point. This is getting ridiculous. And set to Davydenko.

I’m stressed out after that tiebreak. I shall look up hummus recipes to calm down.

Some gorgeous shotmaking and a nice dropshot gives Rafa the break! He celebrates with some major lawnmower fistpump action! 2-1!

And promptly goes down 0-30 in his next service game, even though he seems to be in control of the rallies until the end. Service winner for 15-30, and another for 30-30. Lucky net cord sets up the win for 40-30, and a brutal forehand winner gives him an important hold.

Break point for Rafa, 15-40. I hate it when commentators say things like “Match point for Nadal, surely.” NO IT IS NOT. Davydenko holds, 3-2.

I left the room for five minutes and Rafa is broken. Back on serve 3-3.

4-4. Rafa has a pretty easy hold, with a little help from the net cord.

Davydenko gets away with a challenge he probably shouldn’t have been allowed, but it didn’t matter since Rafa’s ball was good. 15-30. Rafa’s being way too passive, though, and lets Davydenko back in. Rafa cannot afford to give Davydenko short returns, he will murder them. Davydenko manages to hold.

And Davydenko wins. Rafa must be unhappy with himself.

Photo by Startraksphoto

Thanks to patzin for sending in this article from The National. It’s basically little Rafa-primer on how to live a good life.

Realise that you are just another person. This is one of the most important things I have learnt. On the tennis court you may be different, you may be a star, but when you walk off the court, you are just another person. Some people get confused about that. They think that because they are good at singing, playing tennis, football or whatever, they are good at everything. It is very important to stay grounded.

My will to win comes from my education. It doesn’t matter what you do, whether you are a tennis player or whatever, education is the basis for everything.

Keep control of yourself. My uncle is my coach. When I was younger, if I threw my racket on the ground, or said something I should not have, he would throw me off the court. After that, I learnt to keep control of my temper. You can practise the forehand, you can practise the backhand, but you have to train the mind, too. You have a lot of moments of pressure in your life, not least in tennis, and if you have more control of yourself, you are better prepared to deal with these moments.

You must work hard, persist, to earn your rewards. I practise four to six hours a day, every day. Sometimes I think I don’t want to practise, but I still do. The most important thing, even more than winning, is to do your best at all times and be satisfied with your performance.

Losing is not all bad. At match point I get very nervous – in fact, I’m nervous every time I go on court because I’m scared of losing. In tennis, you win one day, but the next is like starting over. The only good thing about losing, is that it makes victory sweeter.

As told to Helena Frith Powell

Posted by Tennis24grTV.

More:

• Highlights pt 1
• Highlights pt 2
• More highlights
• Watching Fed/Davydenko

Photos by REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad, Ian Walton/Getty Images and KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images