RafaLint: March 16th

Rafa’s very smiley post-match interview for the ATP:

Articles:

Indian Wells Men’s Semifinal Previews – by Richard Pagliaro (tennis.com)
LiveAnalysis: Rafael Nadal vs Tomas Berdych in the Indian Wells Semifinals – by Juan José (changeovertennis.com)
Nadal needed to re-learn point construction – by Matt Cronin (tennis.com)
Nadal beats Berdych to reach fourth Indian Wells’ final – AP via tennis.com
Racquet Reaction: Nadal d. Berdych – by Richard Pagliaro (tennis.com)
Rafael Nadal cruises, Juan Martin del Potro upsets Novak Djokovic to make BNP Paribas Open final – by Courtney Nguyen (tennis.com>
Nadal: “I Did Much More

16 Mar 2013 | by miri | 5 Comments

IW: Semifinal match video

Video of Rafa’s semifinal in the 2013 BNP Paribas Open.

TennisOnlineHD.

16 Mar 2013 | by miri | 4 Comments

IW: Semifinal photos

Photos from today’s victory over Berdych.

Photos by REUTERS/Danny Moloshok, Stephen Dunn/Getty Images, and FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

More photos can be found here.

16 Mar 2013 | by miri | 3 Comments

IW: Helloeverybodyhardcourtfinalguys

Photo by REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

In the day’s first semifinal, Rafa took on #6 Tomas Berdych. Until the 6th game, no one was making solid headway into the other’s serve game. A few loose points from Berdych and Rafa had triple break point. Rafa played a bit tentatively and was soon down to one break point. Berdych then sent a forehand into the doubles alley giving Rafa the break and a 4-3 lead. Serving for the set at 5-4, Rafa was down 15-30 and got

16 Mar 2013 | by miri | 40 Comments

RafaLint: March 15th

Photo by Beth Wilson

Articles:

Rafael Nadal thrashes Roger Federer 6-4, 6-2 to reach semi-finals of Indian Wells Masters – by Alix Ramsay (telegraph.co.uk)
Roger Federer rolls over to Rafael Nadal in the fight that never happened – by Kevin Mitchell (guardian.co.uk)
Thoughts on Rafael Nadal beating Roger Federer at Indian Wells – by Courtney Nguyen (si.com)
Rafael Nadal’s win over Roger Federer leaves a strange taste – by Bill Dwyre (latimes.com)
Brutal Nadal destroys below-par Federer – by Reda Maher (eurosport.yahoo.com)
Rafa-Fed rivalry renewed, but

16 Mar 2013 | by miri | No Comment

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

RafaLint: March 15th-ish

Post match interview:

Posted by ATPWorldTour.

Articles:

Winning Creaky – by Steve Tignor (tennis.com)
LiveAnalysis: Rafael Nadal vs. Ernests Gulbis in the Indian Wells Fourth Round – by Juan José (changeovertennis.com)
Nadal chalks up another win on comeback trail – by Mark Lamport-Stokes (Reuters)

Federer Survives Wawrinka Tussle, Sets Nadal Blockbuster QF – via atpworldtour.com

Federer vs. Nadal: A Magnificent Past and a Murky Future – by Judy Battista (nytimes.com)
Top 10 memorable points of Federer vs. Nadal – via tenngrand.com
Federer vs. Nadal Battle Highlights Thursday’s Card – by Greg Sharko (atpworldtour.com)
Roger Federer,

15 Mar 2013 | by miri | One Comment

IW: Quarterfinal match video

Full match video of Rafa’s match against Federer.

Posted by TennisOnlineHD.

15 Mar 2013 | by miri | No Comment

IW: Quarterfinal photos

Photos from Rafa’s win over Federer.

Photos by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images and Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

15 Mar 2013 | by miri | 11 Comments

IW: A classic match-up, but not a classic match

Photo by REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

We all know the history – Rafa/Roger, Fedal, however you want to call it. Their on-court relationship has been a big part of recent tennis history and each meeting is met with great anticipation. To make this match even more intriguing, this was the first time since 2004 that they met before a semi in a tournament – neither had been ranked low enough for that to happen since 2005. Even knowing Federer was coming into the match with a bad back

14 Mar 2013 | by miri | 31 Comments