They will make gentelman out of him when they lengthen his sleeves and shorten his pants and his bright outfits take a muted tone. What next a hair cut?

nirv01,""they" don't need to "make" a gentleman of him. Have you met him? He already is one.

In case you've missed it, he's been wearing his sleeved polo for a lot of his press appearances here. But he decided for the time being to go back to what he was comfortable as opposed to debut something new on court (and, I suspect, what he's been winning in). And if the shorts go any shorter, some of us are going to be in danger of missing half the actual match. We really are trying to pay attention to the tennis, no?

And he's had a haircut. More than one since before Wimbly, actually. With the exception of the runaway lock on the left side, it actually frames his face much like Roger's does his. Check the difference in length between 2007 U.S. Open and now.

Further, Rafa has been quoted as saying some of his colors -- like the ones on his polo with the sleeves and collar you actually appear to prefer -- are what they are because they are reminiscent of Mallorca. You know ... home? (The xenocentrism - it burns.)

What next? Stilettos, hats and white gloves only for ladies in summer, going into the fall season, from you, hmmm?

Or were you "just joking"? *rolls eyes*

OT, Ms. Murray, an interesting premise. If I didn't know Rafa was a Gemini, there are times with his off- and on-court faces/demeanors I'd swear he was actually two people.

Yeah, how dare those evil-spirited tennis purists say that Mr Rafael's game isn't beautiful?! "Ruthlessly efficient" is so much better than beautiful. Who needs beautiful if you can win ugly anyway, huh?

Interesting article Cheryl, didn't expect it, but it sounds like you hadn't initially planned it yourself too. :) I've seen this happen at other matches, where the crowd 'turns' to support the u/dog midway or later in a match. At those times, I've attributed it to us wanting a 5 setter to get our monies worth, particularly if it's a great dog fight deep in a GS. I must admit, depending on who's playing, I've been guilty of it myself in the past.
Enjoyed the article! Looking forward to the one on Murray.

CherylMurray and mara2, don?t get worked up! Nadi is a frustrated, talentless radge who lives in mom?s basement and hates on the best.
People who know a thing or two about tennis and actually play tennis know that Nadal?s game is the real deal. All pro players know this and say it repeatedly in interviews.

Jean, it's a good thing to quote the very best.

Jean, why do you care about Fed's "flashy cardigans"?

I saw Nadal vs Gonzalez Olmpic Final. I am a huge fan of Rafa, but midway I started to cheer for Gonzalez. I felt really sorry for him. He looked desperate and no one was cheering for him. Great observation Cheryl

Jean, why don't you move out of mom's basement?

I had registered the people at the USO applauding when Nadal was losing points but attributed this to the particular nature of the fans in NY. I assumed this was a sadistic pleasure in seeing the new No.1 make errors. Was it noticeable when Nadal was No.1 'in waiting' or has it become more obvious since he took over the crown?

There is also the David and Goliath factor: the frisson that goes with seeing a lower ranked player bringing down one of the big boys - that is, unless it happens to be the one you personally support through thick and thin, or you are passionately patriotic.
Part of the fascination of the Federer and Nadal 4-year duel was that frisson of watching this young, raw player challenge the great man and waiting for the outcome.

Federer's demolition of lesser players used to be clinical, efficient and sometimes ruthless. But, as Cheryl pointed out recently, he has now lost his invincibility and with it his most effective weapon.

Nadal's style is so different. Gladiator, warrior, matador being the overworked adjectives we all resort to. And, yes, we can feel sorry for the victim when he goes for the kill. But his matches rarely have that air of inevitability that allow you to relax and assume he will win.

I don't believe it is the underdog syndrome that is causing the swing factor but I'm blowed if I know what is. However, I do wonder if it could be something to do with his extraordinary concentration and lack of interaction with the audience during the match. This is something which is palpable when you see him in action but is less obvious when watching on TV.

IMO it's nothing more than 1) they want to see as much tennis as possible, and 2) they don't want to see anyone humiliated (especially an American) unless it's someone they hate

Dynasty - I'm not sure I agree with you. I certainly don't notice the crowd cheering for Federer or Roddick's opponents (and those are really the only other two HUGE stars that are comparable).

Maybe people just feel sorry for Roger... I mean, Roger has more fans than anyone, thats pretty much a fact. And in the US Open, hes very very well loved. I don't think its very complicated, most people just don't wanna see Nadal break Rog again. When Nadal settles down pple will be back to normal - the guy has a lot of fans, but in the US, Roger has more.

Oh and Ed- yeah his lack of emotion is something. When Fed let go against Andreev the other day I think the crowd fell in love with him all over again, I certainly did.

Nadal will be loved as much one day, prob when hes going back downhill tho :)
Tall Poppy Syndrome- thats all.

i think it's something that is specific to american audience. i watched the wimbledon quarterfinals between murray and nadal and there was nothing like this. the crowd was purely objective from the beginning to the end and were applauding both sides. there was a massive support to rafa throughout the match. in fact,john mc enroe even felt sorry for murray when one of the audiences made a marriage proposal to rafa:)
kaitepai-nadal is the one who lacks of emotions? are you sure? who's the one throughout all these years like an iceman: roger or rafa? i have nothing against roger but when you compare these two in terms of their emotions,you cannot call rafa "lacking of emotions".

Cheryl - of course they haven't been cheering for Fed or Roddick's opponents. Federer played two jokes in the first rounds, crushed Stepanek so bad that there was no point in cheering for him, and then never had a big enough lead against Andreev.

Roddick was getting crushed by Gulbis so they never had an opportunity to cheer for him, otherwise they certainly would have. Seppi is a no-name and never game the crowd anything to cheer about. Gonzalez never started trying and the Americans don't like him to begin with.

Nadal has played THREE Americans. Period.

Sure but America loves Federer- he got a bigger cheer than Roddick for gods sakes.

Roger cries alot. Hes full of emotion. When he wins... boy does he let go.

tenstar and kai - can you tell me where you saw the clip of dell boy crying?

on the news yesterday - on all the channels. It was really sad.

crowd goes wild... its a kiwi show ...

tensta- its not sad, its dead cute.

sstay - can u call me kait not kai??? kai means food in maori... kaitepai means good.... im not 2 fond of being called kai hahahaha. just jking- not actually offended

The waterworks sure come on when Fed wins vis. the epic blub when he won the 07 Wimbledon. I was surprised at how well he controlled himself when he failed to get the 5th Wimby this year. He even managed to chat with Nadal while they waited for the ceremony. That must have taken a lot of guts.
If it is a Nadal-Federer final (which is not beyond possibility) imagine what will happen if he were to win? He will need a large supply of tissues.

Going back to Cheryls' thesis, if this is the scenario, I rather think the swing to Roger will start very early, if not from the outset. Nadal can handle the crowd being for the other man but normally they are not 'against' him. But he has been seen to get rattled when the crowd cheer at double faults, or unforced errors. Usually he manages to regroup and come back but if the crowd actively go against him in either the SF or Final, it could influence the result. This could be why he has not performed to standard in past USOs.

Del Boy crying! He's my new hero.

Nadi: I have just posted a question to you on the other thread. Didn't realise you had declared your allegiance here.
I didn't see Del Boy's tears but he is young and will have plenty more chances. He already has the 10 top looking over their shoulders.

On the subject of tears, Roger must have wept at Bejing once he was in private but poor Djokovic was beside himself at losing out on the chance of a for gold for his country. It was heartbreaking to watch his distress. The bronze was of little consolation to him but credit to him that he managed to put on a brave face for the award ceremony. At least he might get to try again in 2012: but at 31 Roger is unlikely to be competing in singles again.

mara2 A lot of people are up in arms at the idea Rafa is being asked to tone down his famous look If you follow these forums you will find we have a lot of lighthearted fun about players' dress sense and grooming in between addressing more serious issues.

ed, I answered your question on the other thread. Not sure how you'll take it though.

the usa crowd doesnt cheer for federer either because he is the heavy boring favorite.
it is more fun to cheer for the underdog

I do think the aforementioned intensity on court is a factor. He is so intense and so focused that it can be easy to view him as ruthless when imo he is just intent on the task at hand.

My father - who is retired and of that age group- once remarked to me that he and his tennis buddies were talking about Nadal. They said that he could look even mean on the court- but were surprised and pleased at how nice he seemed off of the court. My dad even said that in his interviews "he could charm the fruit off of a tree."

Oh and wanted to add- JMdP's tears were very endearing. After all of the hub-bub about Murray and JMdP before the match- they both were very respectful of each other and there was a sweet moment at the net.

I was endeared at Rafa crying after his first FO and the stories of him crying after Wimbledon last year, I go "awww" at Rafa crying, etc.

The people cheering for Rafa's opponent are NOT real fans. He is the most humble, nicest, most polite player on the circuit. Roger for the most part is also but if you will notice when he loses he gets his subtle digs in.

Mr Nada is the player with the best PR posse.

"JMdP's tears were very endearing"
Second, fifi. Saw it on ESPNVivo.
I figured he was taking his cues from the champions - Roger cried when he got his AO cup from Laver; Rafa after his first Wimbledon.

He couldn't have better role models. I figured Delpo figured it was OK to cry after a well-fought defeat b/c victory is coming soon. All the Top 10 are looking over their shoulders at him.

Real men are not afraid to cry on camera after a victory or a well-fought defeat. :D

Roger cried a lot in his early years when he lost, two big times, I remember (it's on YT).
Also, the one at Wimbledon in 2003 and the AO in 2006 (that one was cute and funny). Wimbledon 2007, so touching, and finally the Olympic gold medal !

All are great moments, I can't wait for Rolland Garros 2009. I cross my fingers! I'm touching wood !

"They will make gentelman out of him when they lengthen his sleeves and shorten his pants and his bright outfits take a muted tone. What next a hair cut?
nirv01 , 9/4/08 9:33 AM". I beg your pardon, he is the most gentlemanly player out there. I like his current outfit, I like his hair -- I will adjust if he changes it; what's that got to do with being a gentleman? Whatever he choses, it will be a heck of a lot better than that prissy cardigan this year and pretentious pants from last year that Roger wore. It made him look like an old man.

if anyone's got problems with the cardigan Nike will sort them out..besides the discussion is not about Roger..and needless to say ,he's just as much of a gentleman as Rafa is...

I do agree with Cheryl's observations ..Rafa is appears super-agressive when playing...however..somehow..i always tend to support him except for when he's playing Roger...

Thank you, Cheryl, for your article. Unfortunately, I had no possibility to watch Rafa's matches "live" :( , only on TV, so I can say nothing about crowd support. It was very interesting for me.

janhavi, Cheryle wrote "The unfairness of it all isn't completely lost on me. Federer beats people up too, but when he does it, everyone says "Aww... isn't that sweet of him to give his opponent a tennis lesson. What a gentleman!" "
Since Cheryl mentioned Federer in this article, I think I can comment on Federer, thank you. That Federer is just as much a gentleman as Rafa" is a matter of opinion... and if you listen to the kind of comments that Roger has made about Nadal, it stands out that Federer has a habit of making un-gentlemanly comments about Nadal (and some other players he loses to). This is fact, not opinion. But even if it were opinion, we are each entitled to our own.

I never said you cant comment on Federer..i cannot stop you in any way as it is..and about those so called remarks-id rather he sound sulky but be honest.

very nice blog cherry
I think that its special thing in the americab crowed , and bsolutly very nice thing
they are cheering them both , whatever the opponents are , they give them both support.
nadal is every bosy beloved player , the same goes for federer. but maybe with federer they cant help it , cheering him all of the time because he has special skills .

Lol
You are quite right, Cheryl. I consider myself a devoted fan of Rafa from the beggining, when he gave his first interview on tv here in Spain before he had won any GS. But during last AO I've found myself supporting Verdasco first and Federer later, for the simply reason that I want competition!! The games I've enjoyed more have been the ones Nadal won after fighting like a warrior. When he wins easily, this sport stops having sense to me. For this same reason I don't want Nadal and Federer rivalry to finish (which means I don't want Rafa to win ALWAYS). Those two competing at the same level is the best thing that happened to tennis in years!

Nadal has fans of course, who doesn't but not more than Fed, definitely. His game is ugly but is effective to win a tennis match so it is appealing to people who only care about wins. Nadal wins by power like a boxer. Fed wins by skill like a tennis player.

Please Torres9

Do not demean Nadal fans by saying that will love Nadal becasue of his "effective" game. Sorry to burst your bubble but there is more to Nadal than his "game". I care more about the way Nadal carries himself personality wise than him winning matches even though i do want him to win all the matches he plays. It could easily be said that people love Fed because his game (used) to win him every match he played. Does that mean that all fed fans only care about winning because they want him to win every match he plays and are superficial. By the way this is the same for all tennis supporters and the tennis player who is number one for them. Whether it is Nadal, Federer, Murray.... From what i have seen on this website Nadal fans always want Nadal to win when he plays and Fed fans always want Fed to win he plays. So pease do not make out that that is not the case. I support Nadal when he wins and when he looses... for me Nadal is the real deal and all his die hard fans. So do not make it sound as if we Nadal fans are superficial.

WHY DO YOU HAVE to join a tournament if your goal is TO SHOW THE WHOLE WORLD THAT YOU CAN DANCE GRACEFULLY on center court and play with GREAT ARTISTRY AND FINESSE and NOT the primary intention of winning the trophy?
IF Fed can DO what Rafa can, for sure, he would have paid anything JUST TO HAVE IT.

torres9,

If you support a player, obviously you want him to win. It's not about technique or beautiful tennis, it's about whom you connect more with. I don't see any harm in wanting my favorite tennis player to win... sorry, but your theory makes no sense to me.

You say Nadal's game is only "appealing to people who only care about wins". Well... maybe I'm wrong, but Federer it's not the prototype of a loser, right? He won everything for years, so I could say exactly the same about Fed fans, don't you think?

I like Federer, it's just that... I like Nadal more. But even after choosing Nadal, for me there's no point in becoming a radical fan, so you end up blinding yourself to the point you stop being objective and refuse to see other players achievements.... that's quite stupid, actually.

Federer and Nadal have different styles and I love them both... Comparing them is liike making a comparison between apples and lemons: pointless. But the thing is I had to choose, and I prefer Nadal -when he wins and also when he looses-, that's all.

Alba

I agree with you totally. That was what i was trying to point out in my post. And just to emphasise your point hating/insulting a player does not take anything away from thier achievements. This applies to all players. People can say Federer is crap but he has his 13 grandslams and other trophies to proves otherwise no body can take that from him. Same to Nadal, he has got 6 slams and many other trophies to prove that he is No1 whether his style of play is ugly to others. This will not cloud or exstinguish the 6 and many other trophies he has and will continue to get as he is still very young and does not detract from the fact that he is the best player at this point in time.
Nice to meet another fellow Nadal fan by the way.
Nadal for me is also my number one player second Tsonga i think he is fantastic on hardcourt.

Calm down, tosser9 just hates Rafa because he beats TMF each time they meet and in the last three grand slam finals. Rafa has talent, skills, speed and power and appeals to people who can appreciate his tennis without suffereing from blind jealousy and also his rare personality and character. TMF is ugly and only appeals to fans who like arrogant players who have few nice movements, wins easily in boring style, and prances around with his man purse! He better remember to carry extra kleenex in his purse when he goes to Paris, London and New York. Rafa and Murray's sleeves will be too wet with sweat after trashing TFA.

LOL... I just love it when Rafa fans react to my comments with lengthy posts. Yes of course winning is important but not everything. It's like money which is important but not everything.

Remi, funny you say that yet Fed won the ATP award for Sportman of the Year and Favourite player. Everyone knows Rafa has no personality and boring.

That's because there are more blind people in the world than honest ones. Simple as that!

TopDog really enjoy your posts.Finally, a Nadal fan who can talk without trashing Roger .Good on ya.Alba liked your posts too.
Torres9, if you were just trolling-LOOOOL

I'll try to make it short :-)

So does this mean Federer contented with the awards no more trophy?

^ you gotta ask Federer that..how will we know ;) we'll see,no?

I see, so from now on when it comes to Federer, we can all just talk about is awards ... sort of consolation :-)

^thats upto you ;)

i think the award is going to just fuel his hunger for his next trophy. fed is not playing tennis like a player who wants to get out soon ...he seems to be trying news things .... the fact that he is taking precautions in terms of scheduling also tells you that he plans to be around for a long time ...its nice ( in a way ) that he has a mountain to climb now , when he conquers it ....it'll be so sweet :) .

I pointed out the awards because people here always say he is arrogant = unsportsmanlike but he still won the sportsmanship award. Raindrops, I am beginning to doubt your intellectual level. Either you are a young boy or just not intelligent enough.

Rafa has talent, skills, speed and power and appeals to people who can appreciate his tennis without suffereing from blind jealousy and also his rare personality and character. TMF is ugly and only appeals to fans who like arrogant players who have few nice movements, wins easily in boring style, and prances around with his man purse!

I was going to comment but the irony is so blatant I wont lol

I THOUGHT YOU SAID THAT'S ALL UP TO ME, and now you storming back with personal attack?

Here is something for you to silence yourself from that ???spormantship-arrogant thing???.

Let?s pick the top two to make it somple: Federer got 26%, Nadal 22% that is 48% only, the remaining 58% votes went to the other players.

HERE WHAT THE STATISTIC SAYS:

If Federer got 100% votes of the entire ATP Players, then the ARROGANT thing is NOT TRUE. But the thing is Federer got only 26% out of 100%, meaning 74% the ARROGANT thing IS TRUE.

Tell me torres9 if you need more explanation on that simple mathematics.

I was going to comment but the irony is so blatant I wont lol

Well STFU than lol

janjavi,

I THOUGHT YOU SAID THAT'S ALL UP TO ME, and now you storming back with personal attack against me?

Here is something for you to silence yourself from that ?spormantship-arrogant thing?.

Let's pick the top two to make it simple:

Federer = 26%
Nadal = 22%
====
48% only, the remaining 52% votes went to the other players.

HERE WHAT THE STATISTIC SAYS:

If Federer got 100% votes of the entire ATP Players, then the ARROGANT thing is NOT TRUE.

But sadly Federer got only 26% out of 100%, meaning 74% the ARROGANT thing IS TRUE. An eye's opener for you right? I don't know if you can refuse that fact.

Tell me janhavi if you need more explanation on that simple mathematics.

my mistake it should be addressed to torres9 not janhavi.

ehm Raindrops, I hate to drop it to you but those are the votes for popularity award, not sportsmanship. So all your arguments are null, and they didnt make any sense even if you used the correct statistic :D remi I knew you wouldnt understand what I was saying, but you made my day even so :D

TopDog,

"Nice to meet another fellow Nadal fan by the way".

Nice to meet you too :)

I read it somewhere here at tennistalk that, that was the stat when this sportmanship thing surfaced, so I used it...unfornately it wasn't the correct one and I found out that there was no tabulated data available to see how the players vote. Strange they published the popularity percentages while they kept secret the data for Sportmanship. I believe both are done in voting process.

okay I rest my case since there's no available data to look upon on how they come up wih the right person to award the sportmanship.

This is a typical example of double standard in commenting: celebrates and rejoices at a Federer win but laments and sympathies with the losers with a Nadal win.

I cannot believe people can imagine and make up stories to suggest Nadal is somewhat a cheater and unworthy ? like claiming Nadal?s praise of Fed as false modesty (so, Nadal is the hypocrite?); Nadal?s early loss in Rotterdam 2008 because he received appearance money (Nadal the money cheater?); Nadal?s own fault to push audience to support his opponents (Nadal the ruthless puncher).

yet the same author pretends to say Nadal deserves some ?respect? ? when it is so obvious that she is among the diehard millions who does not intend to respect Nadal in any ways.

Stop pretending and stop making up stories from your imaginations to suspect and trash Nadal. I found this is double standard and hypocrite.

Nadal with his humility and down on earth virtues, is a great person for all to learn from. Read this: http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewrap/2009/03/iw-rafa-sightings.html

regguid, I suggest you read cheryl's other blogs before you comment about her. You can say a lot of things about her with being a rafahater not being one of them, not at all.

Using your theory Raindrop, Nadal got 22% so 78% say that Nadal is arrogant. So Nadal is more arrogant than Fed.

NIce try, smart one. Better luck next time. Learn more mathematics if you want to debate with a Science student.