Halle: Breadstick anyone?

Rafa got his singles grass season underway today by playing #58 Lukas Lacko in the 2nd round of the Gerry Weber Open (aka, Halle). He broke early in the 1st set, but Lacko was able to break back and stay on serve until the 11th game. After a few break point opportunities, Rafa broke to take the first set 7-5. The second set saw Rafa go into steamroll mode. He’s through 7-5, 6-1. Next up is Kohlschreiber.

14 Jun 2012 | by miri | 29 Comments

RafaLint: June 13th

More Roland Garros after-glow and Halle begins – today’s lint.

13 Jun 2012 | by miri | 11 Comments

Halle: Pre-tournament presser

There’s a transcript of the presser Rafa gave today on the tournament site:

Q: How difficult is it coming from Paris on such an emotional high to grass court and what kind of adjustment are you going to have to make? You were just out practicing. What were you concentrating on?

NADAL: Sure, the week after a tournament winning a tournament like Roland Garros is never easy because you play with a lot of tension, a lot of emotion. At the same time, we had a tough season. I specially played a lot of matches during this clay court season. So,

13 Jun 2012 | by miri | 13 Comments

Halle: 1st round doubles vids and pics

Photos and videos from Rafa and Marcel’s first round victory over Mertinak and Troicki.

A random bit of the match:

Match point:

Posted by radabercovich.

Rafa, if you don’t try to steal the other guy’s shot, you might not end up on your famoos ass:

Posted by Hachimyhero.

And here are some pictures:

Photos by Dennis Grombkowski/Bongarts/Getty Images and CARMEN JASPERSEN/AFP/GettyImages

13 Jun 2012 | by miri | 15 Comments

Halle: Doubles victory

Rafa and Marcel Granollers defeated Mertinak and Troicki in their first match in Halle: 5-7, 6-2, 10-8. Apparently, it was even shown on TV – doubles! On TV! Shocking!

13 Jun 2012 | by miri | 7 Comments

RafaLint: June 12th

The Roland Garros after-glow lint post.

12 Jun 2012 | by miri | 40 Comments

Rafa’s arrived in Halle

The ATP kindly let us know Rafa’s arrived in Halle:

The tournament proudly talked about his arrival too: Superstar Rafael Nadal in Halle gelandet (or in English).

And here’s some photos:

(Photos by CARMEN JASPERSEN/AFP/GettyImages)

So, in short: new country, new tournament, new surface, and new cakes to explore.

12 Jun 2012 | by miri | 36 Comments

Halle: The draw

The draw for Halle is out. (I KNOW! We aren’t even done with Roland Garros. Tennis is a beast.) Rafa is in both the singles and doubles draws.

9 Jun 2012 | by miri | 6 Comments

Rafa to play Halle for the next 3 years

Per a post on the Deutscher Tennis Bund’s Facebook page, Rafa has signed to play Halle for the next three years. (Thanks to Anita for sending in the link!)

Rafael Nadal hat am Rande der ATP World Tour Saisonfinales in London bekannt gegeben, dass er in den kommenden drei Jahren bei den Gerry Weber Open in Halle/Westfalen starten wird. Wir freuen uns auf die Rückkehr des Weltranglisten-Zweiten und zehnmaligen Grand-Slam-Siegers nach Deutschland!

Quickie translation:
On the edge of playing in the

18 Nov 2011 | by miri | 18 Comments

Is it Halle for Rafa in 2012?

According to this article, Rafa has been lured away from Queens thanks to the offer of some serious moolah from Halle.

Gerry Weber’s cash has lured Rafael Nadal away from his traditional Wimbledon warm-up at Queen’s Club next year.

Sportsmail understands that Nadal has accepted around £750,000 to play in the Gerry Weber Open at Halle, missing the AEGON Championships, staged immediately after the French Open.

Chris Kermode, tournament director of the London event, admitted: ‘Rafa will not be with us

11 Oct 2011 | by miri | 52 Comments