Great entry, Cheryl. I could read (god things ) about Nadal all day, so don't be shy. Did you see how carefully he arranged his bottles at 6-1 5-0 against Soderling? He clearly needed all the luck he could get :lol:

There's always Novak...

For example, how would you rate his chances of defeating Federer on clay tomorrow?

That should be a great match between Nole and Fed. Nole has been on fire but Fed may want some revenge and will be fired up too.

Cheryl, I cannot get your email to work. Is there another link I could use?

I wish both Fed and Nole the best.......but I have this strange feeling that Fed will win this one!!

I intend to write an actual article about Roger and Nole, so I didn't want to duplicate ideas.

fan4tennis - its cheryl.murray@tennistalk.com if that doesn't work, I will talk to the webmaster and see what the problem is.

acionescu - yes, the bottles thing was one of the funniest things I've seen all year. To see him stop mid-celebration to fix them was utterly hilarious! :D

btw, chlorostoma...I think Federer will win tomorrow's match. Call it a hunch.

As a change from the discussing the ubiquitous best clay court player(s) how about reviewing the two surprise performances this week. The emergence of the relatively unknown talent, Mischa Zverev, and the surge from Juan Monaco. Both these players not only caused some surprising upsets but also provided gripping tennis to watch.

excellent suggestion, Ed. The qfs for both is quite a good achievement. I would have liked to have seen Monaco perhaps pull that match out this evening. Too bad he faltered right at the end like that.

Oh ya, Monaco would be good to mention. He is finally backing up his former glory. However, trying not to mention the OCD one will be hard. He is just...special, in a good way. As for, maybe not Fed either I would have concurred had he been felled by Stepanek but he seems to be improving with every match if you want to see a light at the end of that tunnel.

Murray, was a real let down in after that principality surge.

Gaudio's return is an interesting topic. He made semis of Tunis so far maybe will go further.

One of the things I wonder about in clay season, is that there is an assumption that Europeans and South Americans are best on clay since they grew up on it so to speak. But lately, I've heard how many of the Spaniards prefer HC as do many of the SA players and other European players. Why would that be if clay is easier on the body and a slower play?

Most spaniards and south americans still favor clay, there are only little number of exceptions. Players dont so much care about how easy it is to play on the surface or anything, they favor surfaces according to how well they play on it. If you asked Roddick he would want the entire year on grass for example lol

gud article, i like.

fan4tennis - I understand what you mean (though orion is correct). I have to wonder if the "preference" for hard courts is not a reflection of the fact that 70% of all tournaments are HC tournies. What good does it do to be a "clay courter"? Even Nadal has stated as much.

Of all RN's achievements, the most impressive was the way he defied the critics and worked to become an all-rounder. But he made a yoke for his own back by being the supreme claycourter - any chink in his armour there and the knives will come out.
Whoops. Sorry Cheryl i'm off subject. Forgot we are supposed to be ignoring him.

u cant possibly ignore rafael........its quite difficult to do so,when hez at the top nd winning almost every tournament on clay.......but we shall give it a try if cheryl wants us to....lol

cheryl made a good point here....its the fact that most of the major tournaments,including 2 of the slams are on hard courts that make it such an important surface to play well on..otherwise were wud u go??? most of the clay tournaments are won by nadal.....nd grass season is too short....lol..........u gotta be good on hard courts if u wanna be at the top..

But WHY did that shift to HC happen? To appease those that couldn't do well on clay (like the Americans?). Been reading lots of old interviews that the greats did to compare how it is today. Borg said if you're a good claycourter, then you should be good at all surfaces since it teaches all the basics and the rest is just adjustments. Why aren't those that should be good on clay not but yet good on HC?

I'd love to see no articles on any of the top four for a while.It would be great if we could focus on other players like Gilles Simon,Juan Martin and others.Get a better undertand of their games.
Fan4ennis-If I understand your question correctly,you're asking why some are good on clay but not that good on HC yet right?My guess is that HC is hard on the body.Those who grow up on clay and have their games tailored to suit clay courts are also perhaps conditioned differently.They have to take extra efforts to do well on HC.
Thats why,what Nadal has done is pretty much a herculean effort.I can't think of another player who could've done it.

The shift to HCs is mostly due to economic reasons, clay and grass are more costly to maintain. There are more HCs in most countries so there are more players who are used to HCs hence there are more HC tournaments. Borg oversimplified things, rest isnt just adjustments lol. It is much more different to play on different courts thats why there are guys like Montanes and Hernandez who are dangerous to anyone on clay but cannot win a match on other courts the entire year.

During 2003-2007, I wonder if any, or all the tennis journalists have refused to report/found nothing to report about the you-know-who for a very good reason, because gee, this guy has won slam after slam after slam after slam, so repetitive, so routine, nothing new at all, we feel for the defeated opponents, what's left to report about? let's ignore him and talk something/ somebody else... ... I wonder if anyone mentioned that, we wonder if that someone has any genuine interest in tennis as a sport at all.

To get off the subject a bit:

I understand that Nadal is going to be in pink at RG.

There's no way you can ignore Nadal now!!!!.......he's into the finals!!!!

I thought I noticed that Rafa had lost some points after the last two ATP tourneys.......I was right......and here's the reason why.......i think

For those who wanted an explanation about Nadal and his points, this sums it up;

Nadal takes Barcelona:
A week after winning his 5th straight title at Monte Carlo, Rafael Nadal equaled the task by taking his 5th straight Barcelona title. Nadal did not drop a set en route to a 6-2 7-5 victory in the finals over David Ferrer. It is his 4th title of the year. But players lost their points from Monte Carlo last year and Nadal was the defending champion. So he lost 500 points in the rankings. Our Mover of the Week, Gilles Simon, didn't even play this past week. Here's how it works: Simon lost in the first round last year in Monte Carlo, which represented 10 points. Once that fell off this week, his next best result, which was 350 points from Indianapolis, was added back to his total. So he gains 340 points this week and with it 2 spots in the rankings to #7. Fernando Gonzalez did play and reached the semifinals in Barcelona. He gains 1 spot to #13.

On the down side
With Monte Carlo going off the rankings from last year, lots of players lost some big points. Our Loser of the Week is Roger Federer, who reached the finals there last year, where he (of course) lost to Nadal. Federer loses 700 points while Nadal loses 500. Novak Djokovic also lost 360 points so the top 3 dropped a total of 1,560 points. But their solid positions do not change.

Quite funny to see how did you IGNORE Djokovic after seeing how he demolished a clay specialist like Robredo in the 1/4finals(61 61) and managed to beat federer in the semis...

Nice article Cheryl! I see your point. After all, watching Nadal on clay, there's only so many ways one can say 'brilliant'.

"""I understand that Nadal is going to be in pink at RG."""

That's atrocious. Has Nike marketing really lost it this time?

Rambla, this blog was written by Cheryl BEFORE the semifinals had even been played.

imjimmy--- It's not pink....It'll be HOT PINK!.... ONLY REAL MEN can DO JUSTICE to that color!

As for me...i see nothing wrong in Rafa wearing pink........i think he will look pretty!!

fantastic article cheryl. seeing him stop mid celebration to sort out his bottles was one of the funniest things of the tourney. along with mark petchy saying rafa might have tried to eat his foot in barcelona

plus... rafa looks mighty fine in hot pink, so if he is wearing that at rg, it's all good :D

I guess Rafa is getting all the color he can in before Wimby--lol!

Rafa LIKES to wear pink. LOL. I'm not surprised that he finally picked it to wear on court. I still miss that old Davis Cup outfit with the red and yellow though. :(

Rafa makes anything look good--lol! He looks great in pink (he recently wore a hot pink tshirt in press photos)and the DC outfits were great. I also like the dark blue he wore at the Rogers Cup in Toronto last year.

Seriously people! Wearing Pink ..Rafa? I thought pink was NOT for straight men, it was meant only for girls or.. (you get the idea.)

Hey imjimmy, it's 2009 man not 1809, men whether straight or gay can wear whatever colour they like and look gorgeous too! Down with stereotypes!

I don't care what colour he wears. As long as he lifts the trophies, he can wear lime green poker-dots for all I care! :)

You can view Nike's Nadal range on this website. The RG shirt is most definitely pink, and is already on sale on Ebay.

http://www.prodirecttennis.co.uk/prodinfo.asp?PID=PDT-302-009 -435&SS=1&GROUP=Nadal

i love to see him wear pink so i'm really hoping for that..Real guys wear pink..lol

Thats really really ugly. Why does he like the shiny, screeching, blinding colors so much

Before Nadal, no one paid any attention to what the male players were wearing, so Nadal is bringing another dimention to the game; why should men not wear pink, men should release themselves from the stereotype and be more cheerful. There is no other tennis player better to promote this look than the gorgeous Rafa.

hey guys, i need help..(",)..i wanted to see that bottles thing you guys are talking about..i can't seem to find a clip of that...i wanted to knock myself off for missing that match...=(

Did I say men shouldnt wear pink? That tone of pink is screeching and feminine and the shirt being tight does not help anything. Tennis is already known as sissy sport so that promotion cant possibly be good for the sport. Palermo's football shirt is pink also but it doesnt make your eyes bleed.

can't help myself not to burst this one (laughing so hard as I type) ... a year or two, maybe ATP are optional to wear SKILT. Imagine a Andy Roddick in his skilt making crotch adjustment and Rafa's butt pick haha!

BRING ON THE PINK, PURPLE, LAVANDER, FUSCHIA, RED, ORANGE shirts let's find out who is the prettiest of them all haha.

slapslip08, here you are:

http://tennisplanet.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/nadal-and-his-bel oved-water-bottles-from-bigfish-thanks/

orion-I do not personally agree with Borg..The surfaces today are slower than ever but still HC requires a different style of game.Basics,okay.But you cant play a clay court game on HC and expect to win.

As far as rafa's clothes, you're right, as long as he is lifting those trophies, who cares? But in one interview he did say that the color schemes he helped choose were to remind him of Majorca. Yellow (sun) green (grass) blue (the sea and sky) black (the night sky) black shorts with dots (stars in the night sky). Maybe the pink reminds him of the clay or some beautiful color in the sky when the sun is setting.

He is still the same player regardless of what color or style he wears. He has proven that this season for sure!

Remi!!!

'I don't care what colour he wears. As long as he lifts the trophies, he can wear lime green poker-dots for all I care! :)'

You just made me laugh sooooooooo loud!!!!! But I have to say.....pink?....im okay with.......but "lime green poker-dots"?....not so sure about that!.....lol!!!!

But i sure do get your point!!!!

Rafa can wear hot pink like no other man, I think he is gearing up for it by wearing it in Barelona last week!!

You go Rafa, beat them up at RG in pink!!

Carrie, i saw the 'hot pink' shirt.....see nothing wrong with it!!....nice!!!!

SO.......HOW CAN YOU I*G*N*O*R*E rafa when even the COLOR of his attire can create a BIG ISSUE?!!! Cheryl, stop torturing yourself! Girl, that's amazing... we'll forgive you if you break your promise!!!

yes, I'm afraid that I've made a promise that I cannot keep. I'd already decided to blog about Gaudio this week. Guess I'm going to have to do 2 blogs instead of 1. LOL.

welcome back cheryl.

Rafa looks good in hot pink, raspberry, orange, yellow, gold, red, blue, etc, etc, etc. ORION- put on sunglasses or dont' look and leave the thousands of others in peace to see Rafa in whatever he darn well pleases to wear. (BTW it's a NIKE marketing thing, you know).

We should be grateful that he hasn't got a fixation for a particular colour otherwise we'd be bored. Imagine if he turned up in the same thing all the time because he is too scared to change.

I agree, as long as he keeps picking up the trophies, he can wear whatever colour he likes. I'm looking forward to the pink.

i actually really like that shirt he's gonna be wearing for rg. love rafa in pink, he can wear it like no other

as the writer of this blog has no interest and can find nothing to write about Nadal, readers is better to move on and visit tennis.com where there are lots of new articles with very insightful analysis of Nadal, each new one is even much better than the last one! how lucky we are in this era to be able to witness Nadal in action and plenty of websites and articles to track his evloving footprints - history in making - be part of it and share the joy!

regguid, Cheryl was being sarcastic with this blog saying it is really hard to talk about someone else BESIDES Rafa during the clay season.

@regguid: I think you need to read Cheryl's blog post again.

Thanks F4T and EinarBerg. Apparently subtlety is lost on some people. It also makes the blog I wrote today even funnier. It'll be posted soon. :D

I loved the suggeston I read on another site that we will be able to track Rafa's career in terms of BC and AC.

For anybody who hasn't yet worked it out, we're not talking about BC and AC in the biblical sense but as in Before Capris and After Capris. Have been unable to trace the source of this quote to give a credit to the author.

Personally, I LOVED the piratas. They were so...Nadal. :D

He still practices in them alot Cheryl so obviously he likes them alot too.

I bet photographers and picture editors are right pissed off with the make-over Nike gave Rafa!

Have you noticed how often they still use the iconic shots of him in his 'pirate' gear to illustrate current news stories in preference to the current 'preppy' look?

Recent pictures simply do not have the impact and drama of the pre-make over period.

ed you are right. Bring back the pirate pleeeeeeeeeeease!!!!!!

i loved the old look. am getting used to the new one, but i want the old look back

What colour bandana will he wear.....pink?

There are three shirts shown in the collection for the FO - white, grey and pink. Rafa normally wears the same outfit throughout the tournament.

Nike, please take note that his fans want the clamdiggers and sleeveless shirt back!! You can change it when he reaches 25, but for now, he still cuts it in the pirate look.

As Rafa's said himself - it's the tennis that matters, not the clothes. He was tired of the old look and wanted a change. He even helped decide what that new look would be! Why some fans keep yelling at Nike is beyond me. As of fan of Rafa myself, I think he looks great in anything!! :)

Me too Gretchen. He looked great in the sleeveless and to me, he still looks great. Some fans don't adapt to change very well. He has addressed the issue like you said a few times and he has clearly said he likes it, he helped decide it and it doesn't affect his tennis.

Come on girls - this was a marketing-driven decision taken by Nike. The bottom line was the sleeveless top/pirate pants look was not selling! They wanted their highest profile player to endorse the more traditional gear - i.e. as worn in tennis clubs.
Nadal ever-cooperative went along with it. We will never know how willingly but The Piper Plays the Tune. Or put another way: Money Talks!

rafa's had a haircut :O

type rafael nadal into youtube, and go on recently added. you can see it on a video of him training with verdasco

i don't know if i like it or not, haha

Are you sure? I cant find this clip you refer to. Can you give a link.

What is going on................no clamdiggers, no sleeveless shirt and now a haircut!!!!!!!!

Sib69, if you have the link could you post it on here, I haven't been able to find it.

carrie...........go to rafaelnadal.com and u can watch the video ur looking for beneath the latest news of rafa............

nd yeah its true,rafa has had a haircut....:(

haha i forgot to post a link. i was i shock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsrskXKrgeg

there you go

Thanks.

At least he is not called Samson, and there is no Delila!!!!!!

Is it me or does it look like fed's hair?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Whats happened????
Nike has gone too far now. lol
I cant believe this.
Rafa slow down my man too many changes too quickly.
Give your fans time to breathe!!!!

I like it! And he'll prob. stay cooler with it shorter. A lot of the pros are going shorter and shorter with the haircuts. As long as he doesn't Nando it!

I saw the pink shirt, and it's not girly. I only wish the Americans would take a hint and not dress so BORING!! Roddick's with LaCoste - remember Fabrice's super cool shirt from USO a few years back?

I can't wait to see the new look properly. I don't approve though. Is Nike not taking notice of his fans..................we liked him the was he was last year!

i think rafa wud look better wid shorter hair......:)

i love the pink shirt. he looks really good in hot pink

and i don't think the hair is drastically short. you can see in the video when he's playing against nando that there's enough for it to blow about in the wind. and we don't know how much is tucked under the headband. it'll grow again soon anyways

it's so funny that we are actually talking about colors and designs and all these stuff...

whatever they say, i love the pirate look. period!

please comment PIRATAS if you love it..=)

ed, Nike did suggest a change and Rafa agreed. Rafa wasn't happy with what was made so the "premier" of his new outfit was put off til Rafa felt comfortable. It was originally supposed to debut at the USO. His fans were soooo afraid it would affect his play, he wouldn't be a warrior,he looked weak, etc, yet he has had the best start to his year that he has ever had! Nike is now to blame for anything perceived as wrong, as if people can't comprehend that Rafa may have wanted a haircut himself? These same people said "if Rafa says he likes the clothes then I will too." Well, Rafa DID say he liked them, but those fans now claim his statements as false or by someone else (conspiracy theory). I just don't understand why people are worrying about a little bit of hair and his outfit. Those have nothing to do with his tennis!

Look you guys......Rafa is NOT a robot!!!! He is clearly entitled to wear whatever he likes or wants!!! We are free to like it or not like it....but he DOES NOT have to please any one of us just because we are his fans!!

Its like us expecting Rafa to break up with his girlfriend simply because we dont think she's pretty enough?!!...come on!!!...

Some of us are the same ones who rediculed Rafa in the beginning when he first came out with those pirate pants!!!....... a number of people thought they were really naf simply because no one had ever won such tennis attire before.......and i remember people thinking they were just downright strange!!!!.....so now that the capris have grown on us we're upset that Rafa wants a chnage........to be quite frank.....i really like the capris but perhaps Rafa felt he needed a chnage!.....we ALL do sometimes!!!!....dont we?!!!!.....some are even angry because he cut his hair!!!!......i mean this is bordering on insane!......and is truely severe on our parts!!!!...remember when we were teenagers and our parents tried to tell us what to wear and what haircuts to flaunt!!!.....how did that make you feel?...............................................i thought so!!!

Leave Rafa alone!!!

You guys need to chill out. Rafa is not going to dress the same way forever. Nor will he consult everyone and their mom about when and if he can cut his hair.

Although...something tells me that evil Nike will soon tell him to play right-handed! Egads! Have they no soul?! :)

Although...something tells me that evil Nike will soon tell him to play right-handed! Egads! Have they no soul?! :) gretchen , 5/9/09 1:09 AM

Thanks gretchen! I needed a good laugh!

Actually the hair is not as short as it looks in the youtube vidoe, it still curls and waves

you can see how it looks in this clip
http://www.cuatro.com/deportes/video...8ctoultpro_29/

still gorgeous...

First time I have posted a link, can someone kindly tell me if it worked?
thx

*grins*

Awww! I think it's absolutely ADORABLE how a Rafa haircut and outfit change can cause such a stir! Honestly, what other tennis player can inspire such protective reactions? Fussing over his hair and the color of his shirt? This is just a taste of the passion and emotions that Rafa invokes in people. I mean really! I remember how my Mom and Dad and I were literally ARGUING with a passion over his image. We all agreed that the Pirates was his unique image and that we wanted it back. I recall trying to approach it from the unemotional angle that "Rafa is still Rafa and all that matters is his tennis" but my parents straightened me out real faaast! :D You all know just how REASONABLE we can all be. Needless to say that there was a lot of Nike name calling involved but I'll spare you the gory details.

It's funny, but we all seemed to have adopted him as a member of our families. The love and protection we feel for him, awww! I even recall hearing a "Rafa" shout from the crowd during one of his matches (it came after a Rafa unforced error) the shout came from a man and it had that distinct rise at the end of his name that gave me the image of a Father warning his son as if to say "Rafaaaa, now you know you're not supposed to miss that forehand shot into the net. I know just how accurate you are. Don't let me catch you doing that again or I'll tell Uncle Toni and you'll get a pow pow." Also, notice how we all call Uncle Toni "uncle", even though he's not OUR Uncle but Rafa's? *smiles* I just love it!

Although I've accepted his new look a while ago, I still get misty-eyed when I watch tennis clips of him on YouTube in his original look. I even have my favorite Rafits (remember USO 2007 and Indian Wells 2008...*sigh* I'll spare you my complete list.)

*shakes head to snap out of it* ANYWAYZ, as many of you pointed out (and those of you who didn't point it out already know this), Rafael is still Rafa and his character, personality, mannerisms, and TENNIS still prove this. Heck, it's still so early in the tennis season and we already have such memorable Rafa Moments (don't even get me started on the Wish he made during is AO semi final, and the Water Bottle Point and the chocolate chip cookies and the Towel Thief Moment and the Marriage Joke and the....okay I'll stop..)

In the end, we all wuve our Wafa! And something tells me that he knows this very well.

Take care everybody, peace and love and tennis :)


*throws dart at Nike poster on the way out*

Nam1,
Thumbs up, the linked worked.

Thanks for sharing by the way :) .

MiniArbre

You took the words right out of my mouth, Rafa is still Rafa and we will take him just the way he is.

what a wonderful post to read miniarbre. thanks for sharing it with us.

i love rafa..whatever he wears, i just love him..

i hope cheryl will post another blog..about rafa again, i hope..i mean..i don't mind..lol

ricky does the same thing..i looked at his blogs and just the mere titles bring out the same name..NADAL..

oh, i just love being a nadal fan..i had so much to read and i'm loving every single word i've read..so far..

btw, reading these comments are just as hilarious as watching nadal and his beloved bottles..hahaha

Hey Guys, I found another clip which shows it's just a trim, it may be the same one nam1 has above. Sigh of relief!

I forgot to include the link:

http://www.rafael-nadal.net/

This is a clip of stills with Rafa in a suit ad new haircut. He's just had it trimmed. I think he had it pushed under the headband in the clip with Verdasco, but as he started playing the hair fell out and you can see that it's not that short.

Anyway, something to talk about.

"Towel Thief Moment and the Marriage Joke"

when were these? i must have missed them

also... sorry for accidentally starting the whole thing about his hair

No Sib, you have a point, he has had a haircut, and I wait to see how drastic it is. Lots of people welcome any new angle on Rafa, so I for one do not mind at all!

haha, thanks for that carrie :)

These are excerpts I found on the net, in an article entitled:

Federer Fails to Deter Nadal in Fight to Be Richest Tennis Star

It's quite a long article, but it tells you all you need to know about Rafa, and the link is shown below.


Old-Fashioned Nadal

While marketers mostly use Nadal for promotions in Spain, Nike Inc. is repackaging him for a broader international audience. In January, the world?s largest athletic shoe maker outfitted him in more conventional attire, ditching his sleeveless muscle top and three-quarter-length pants for a polo shirt and shorts.

?Nadal is on the way to becoming a global brand,? says Steve Simon, tournament director of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, an event that the Spaniard won in March. ?Beckham has been there for years. Federer has been there for years. Nadal, if he can stay healthy and continue to play like he is today, is going to be there as well.?

?Rafa is perfect for us,? Aboukhair says. ?He appeals to 5- year-old kids, mothers, grandmothers. Fathers see him as a very good role model for their children.?






http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=a8HFqsq o.3wA&pid=20601079

Cheryl what's going on? Nadal isn't being ignored! Your operation is failing :)

Carrie, I read this article and thoroughly enjoyed it. At first I thought it was too long but when I started reading, I couldn't get away from it! It was posted in a couple of Rafa's forums.

thanks for that article carrie, it was a brillliant read

You're very welcome Homos ^_^
As Slapslip08 said, aren't we all just loving life as Rafans?

As for your apology Sib69, keep it! We're all absolutely enjoying this :D

Great read indeed, Carrie. The Nadals sound like very shrewd business men. I love their family dynamic!

As for whether Rafa's hair has been "cut" or "trimmed", I think I'll wait to see him in Madrid (on TV dangit) . The closer the look we get the better (camera angels and all).

Hehhe, we're crazy.

Oh yeah, Sib69, here are the links to:

Towel Thief Moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgNVJJJDn_A&feature=player_embedded

Marriage Joke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFA662kXKkE&feature=related

And for good measure here are three others:

Rafa eating Twix during doubles match with Marc: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r7tOcYsgPs&feature=related

Rafa has to eat....CHEESE? : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrFhxwKHbzc&feature=related

Rafa singing in car: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyoa7P4fBTU&feature=related

Hope all the links work.

Take care everybody, including you Cheryl, because thanks to your article, all we can talk about IS Rafa. :P Let's just classify your "Operation" as "Mission Impossible."

ah, thanks for those links. that just distracted me from my very boring essay for a while

loved the cheese one. he looked genuinely terrified. i didn't know he didn't like cheese

and no one should look that attractive eating a twix

Thanks for those links, MiniArbre, my Rafa fix for the day is done!!

No problemo Sib69 and Nam1. After all, it is the duty of every Rafan to spread the Rafa love as we've all done here. :D

I thought the same thing Sib69 when I watched the "Cheese" vid for the first time. He DID look terrified XD.

I think we can add Cheesaphobia to the list of things that makes Rafa so charming.
Although the correct term for the fear of cheese would be "Turophobia", no kidding.


Cheers everybody

i reckon we call it cheesaphobia

it was so funny. he was there with this big grin on his face, then it just slides off and he looks absolutely terrified. love the fact he asked if it was cheese, then looked slightly reassured when it wasn't

what do you guys think of his draw in madrid? it's pretty nasty

re: Nadal singing in car video: is that Andy Murray in the back of the car with him?
Sib: I think the the troublesome players are fairly well distributed between the two halves of the draw. The most likely scenario is a QF with Verdasco, SF with Djokovic, then (I'm sticking my neck out here) Federer in the final. It's no secret he was in two minds about playing Madrid but he obviously didn't want to disappoint the Spanish fans but it would be no bad thing if he went out in the QF - that way he would get a few days more rest before Roland Garros!

ed251137, no, I don't think that that was Andy in the car with him. Maybe a buddy. Speaking of buddies, I miss Rafa's-Buddy-Marc. Yes, I hyphenated Marc Lopez's name, but that's because that's what EVERYBODY calls him, including me. It's funny but we don't know much about him, yet he's one of my favorites. The last time I saw him was Indian Wells and it wasn't even in a match playing tennis.

As for your thoughts on Madrid, curious, but I feel exactly the same way. I usually want Rafa to win everything.
On one hand it'd be great if Rafa walks away with the title. Not only would he have won all the clay Masters, but it'd put him one short of tying Andre Agassi's record of 17 Masters. Plus, I think this will make him the first player to win three Masters in a row. I'm sure there are many other records he'd be creating, but I don't have all day. :D

On the other hand, I wouldn't be heartbroken if he did lose. It's weird, but I don't think it'd bother me at all. Maybe it's because he's won so much lately (and for those tournaments he didn't win he put up great results). Maybe it's because he's completely shaking up the history books and the tennis world (this will tie in with all the "maybes"). But maybe the biggest reason of all is because we know he's got bigger fish to fry, like umm, a FIFTH STRAIGHT FRENCH OPEN TITLE ?!

*sigh* Here's to a good tournament with great tennis on display from everybody and a happy, healthy Rafa! :D

fan4tennis , 5/8/09 8:33 PM

That's interesting - I didn't realise he had commented himself on liking the new look. Where did you see this?
I'd only read the 'official statement' from Rafa when the new outfits were unveiled and which was glaringly obvious was not his own words.

You are so right though to point out his performance has not exactly been diminished. Apart, that is, from the wobbly moment in Miami which could hardly be blamed on the length of his shorts!

Great advert on Sky Sports with Rafa promoting tourism in Spain - Ibiza, Formentera, Menorca and Mallorca.

ed, yes Rafa did say he liked the clothes and they were comfortable for him to play in. He also reiterated that he was part of the design team that worked on it. He even laughed and joked at the end because he couldn't believe all the focus that was on his clothes. It was an interview from some newspaper a few weeks after the AO. It was on a Rafa fan site. I remember the fuss it caused because some were saying "if Rafa says he likes it then I will stop complaining", yet, when he did, they then claimed it was a "fake interview."

if you miss the sleeveless, why not try to look at this video...i'm sure you'll love it...show me the muscles..lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgNVJJJDn_A&feature=pla yer_embedded

I am sure there's more things to write during this season. particularly about Murray and Djoker and Fed chance in RG. If only the grass season was longer. Anyway, I cant predict who's gonna win tomorrow between Fed and Djoker. But I rather see Fed lose to Djoker than to Nadal.

The same way of saying " I am afraid of Roger meeting Rafa in the finals".

Ok, so I guess now we can -and should- talk about Nadal again after his loss against Federer. Congrats to all Federer fans. Can't wait to see RG now that these two are competing at their top form.

Ignoring Nadal is as impossible as me trying not to post here after reading.

But I thought Delpo was raised on clay. And yeah, Ernie, Ernie, if he'd only catch some fire. My other hope is for Gilles Simon to win on his home turf.

And one can only hope to see more pink! Rafa would Rock any hot shades, fuschia, tangerine or pastels, plaids, flannel boxers, pj's in whatever the style. But count on them needing a plucking......simply impossible to ignore or not mention it. I just hope Nole ditched the blue smurf shoes!