RG: VAM8S!

AP Photo/Petr David Josek

The final of Roland Garros. Rafa’s 8th; Daveeed’s 1st. Everyone was saying that the conclusion of this match was foregone – that there was no way Daveeed was going to win. There was also no way Rafa was going to stay ranked above Daveeed even if he did win. While the score and the tennis pretty much lived up to “foregone” the match was full of weird and uncomfortable atmosphere thanks to some idiotic protestors. They couldn’t stop history from happening, though. Rafa wins a historic 8th Roland Garros by defeating David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. He’s the only man in tennis history to have won a slam 8 times. Amazing. Simply amazing.

9 Jun 2013 | by miri | 82 Comments

RG: That wasn’t tense at all, no?

AP/Petr David Josek

Rafa played #1 Novak Djokovic in the first men’s semifinal at Roland Garros today. It was the 35th meeting between the two men – their last slam meeting was in last year’s final. As expected, they came out swinging. Rafa struggled mightily on his first service game. Things got better after that as he broke Nole in the 7th game to go up 4-3. He rode that break to take the first set 6-4.

Unlike the first set, the second set started with players

7 Jun 2013 | by miri | 84 Comments

RG: Colmly going about his business

AP Photo/Christophe Ena

Rafa played #10 Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros today. Going in to the match, Rafa had 9-0 record against Stan and hadn’t lost a set to him. That didn’t change today. Rafa looked to have more colm today and was finding his shots with greater frequency. All in all, today’s match was a good new. Rafa’s through: 6-2. 6-3, 6-1.

5 Jun 2013 | by miri | 36 Comments

RG: Thanks for the present, Rafa

AP Photo/Michel Euler

Rafa played his forth round match against #15 Kei Nishikori. While I really hate how much people are harping on the weather and Rafa’s game, it was sunny, the court was drier and Rafa did look much more relaxed. He was also playing a guy who isn’t a flashy erratic player with huge serves, so that might have something to do with his change in demeanor as well. If that wasn’t enough, breaking in the 5th game of the first set certainly helped.

That one break was all he needed in the first set. He was hungry for more in the second, however, as he broke at will to take it 6-1. Kei had lost belief and Rafa was pouncing. He still had a few too many errors in the match, but I’m not complaining! That was a stress-free path to the quarters: 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.

3 Jun 2013 | by miri | 26 Comments

RG: Saturday with Chip, Dale and Fabio

AP Photo/Michel Spingler

Once again, I forget to write a match report while the match is going on. So, let’s see. Rafa played #29 Fabio Fognini in the 3rd round of Roland Garros today. The match was…weird. Rafa didn’t seem to have a lot of energy and, as usual, Fognini altered between amazing shots and awful errors. Actually, Rafa was a bit like that too. There were some highly entertaining rallies, and Fognini put up a valiant fight until the start of the 3rd set (he surged a bit at the end), but over all, it just felt…weird. Bottom line is: Rafa’s through 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4. (To understand the title, scroll down to the Storify section.)

1 Jun 2013 | by miri | 54 Comments

RG: A sleepy start, but through to the third

REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

It’s a day late, but Rafa finally got round two under his belt by playing #35 Martin Klizan. At first, Rafa looked abut as awake as I felt. People panicked. I waited for Rafa to wake up. He did. He’s still not as sharp as he’ll need to be for later rounds, but he was sharp enough for today. He’s through to the third round: 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

31 May 2013 | by miri | 63 Comments

RG: Working through first round nerves

AP Photo/Christophe Ena

Rafa started his attempt to win an unprecedented 8th Roland Garros by playing Daniel Brands – a guy who was attempting to win his first match at Roland Garros. Brands is a tall guy who hits deep and hard. Sound familiar? It started to feel familiar in the 8th game of the first set as his so far excellent play and Rafa’s nerves conspired to have Rafa breaking himself with two double faults. Brands went on to serve out the set 6-4.

Things continued to

27 May 2013 | by miri | 47 Comments

Rome: Dominance

Photo by REUTERS/ Alessandro Bianchi

Rafa met Federer for the 30th time in today’s Rome final. That’s XXX in Roman numerals. Everyone was hoping the match was as sporntastic as the title suggested. For Rafa fans, it certainly started that way. He was playing aggressively and broke Fed in two of his first three service games. And while dominance by your favorite is sexy in a way, it lacks the prolonged foreplay that makes the final result as ultimately satisfying. Fed did what he could by breaking while Rafa was serving for the match, but this was a “wham bam thank you ma’am” kind of match. Rafa dominates to take his 7th Italian Open title: 6-1, 6-3.

19 May 2013 | by miri | 53 Comments

Rome: Berdych’s number

Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

In the first of the Italian Open’s semifinals, Rafa played #6 Tomas Berdych. At first, it looked like Rafa had an appointment to get to – he was on fire and took the first set in just 31 minutes. The second set was much more competative as Rafa’s level dropped and Berdych’s went up. Neither of these changed enough to cause the upset, though. Rafa scores his 13th win in a row over Berdych: 6-2, 6-4. Despite having the kind of game that can trouble him, Rafa clearly has Berdych’s number.

18 May 2013 | by miri | 26 Comments

Rome: Gladiators

Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

In the second quarterfinal of the day in Rome, Rafa played #4 David Ferrer. I admire both guys and always find matches between them to be difficult to watch. No matter what, I’m going to be a bit heartbroken by the end of it. In the Acapulco final, I was heartbroken by how tame Ferrer seemed in his loss; in Madrid by how close he came to winning only to not be able to close it out.

Rafa broke in

17 May 2013 | by miri | 24 Comments