"Or more likely, one of the Nike WAGs spent too much time staring at Rafa?s ample derriere, prompting a move to make it as unappealing as possible by covering it in drapery material" ROFL...........;)

i personally attach very little importance or attention to what rafa wears........but yeah it is true that those shorts are nothing short of hideous.....but the green shirt is cool........his pirate pant look was the most popular,i think it suited him when he was still very very young...........but now i think its a conscious decision on the part of nike only to give him a different look.........those sleevless shirts nd pirate pants are not coming back....as long as rafa is winning gs's and masters events i dont think his fans really care even if he wears a kimono to court.......winning is the mantra.....VAMOS!!!!!1

actually, i'm in love with rafa's outfit; i'm ordering one for myself.

vrael,

A kimono! Now there's an idea! You know, Rafa is probably the one one who could pull it off! He would look good in anything even these godawful shorts! The first time I saw them I had to open and close my eyes, because I thought I was seeing things. But, there they are in all their glorious hideousness! With a man like Rafa, you should play up his ample assets. He has a lot going for him, but somehow Nike made him look absurd in these things. The green polo shirt is fine, but who is the schizophrenic who put together this outfit? Some color blind neophyte designer doing his first design? And hopefully last!

Aren't we glad this isn't a fashion contest. Who the f****k cares what he wears. At least he is out there & thankfully doesn't give a flying you know what about anybody's opinion of what he wears. It's on the court that counts. He is the best & I hope he shows everyone by the end of the year who is numero uno & I don't mean in rankings.

NNW----wid a body like rafa's i have no doubt that he can pull of anything,well almost lol......its also quite funny how most of my female friends just drool over rafael's 'ass'ets...all of them were illiterates when it came to tennis....but thanks to rafa nd his famous derriere a lot of them are even interested in tennis....now they atleast can make out the difference between a backhand and a forehand....so i totally agree wid you,nike should most certainly give clothes that play up his assets for tennis's sake......it helps the sport....rofl ;)

VAMOS!!!!!

aahhhh,.......its just all a big conspiracy! :)

.......there was no way that federer was going to win this with pro rafa (or should i say...pre-rafaelites)? journalists like cheryl and ricky.......it was a done deal......

zoey....i still dont get ricky's comment on the other thread? he makes it very clear who he dislikes....i agree with you.....roddick...(says he doesnt like him).....murray.....(both cheryl and ricky say they dont like them)....posts from them to support.....federer....well....say no more......

congrats to the rafa fans......all a big conspiracy.....the b-i-g-t-e-s-t is to count the many 'hits' that federer has had on the internet......for his g-l-o-r-i-o-u-s singing voice!.......and the same for rafa......

who cares about rafa's shorts? presumably if he really 'hated' the design....he wouldnt have worn them?

Oh,Cheryl,:) i like the shorts:) good article.But if he had worn a white shirt/white wrist thingies or blue shirt/blue wrist thingies that would have been better.
My only problem is why does he have to have on so many different colors?:)
2 basic colors that's all he needs.But rafa does care and thinks nothin of it so...:)
He just wants to play tennis:) bless him:)

postmatrac: pleeeasse post a picture of your good self in those golf shorts.....gotta see that one......thanx for making me laugh!
malt: am sure cherylmurray is Andy M fan, or were u talking about his "new look." I know Ricky isn't.

Nike claim that Rafa has a say in what he wears. And even write constipated statements for him to deliver (which the dear boy dutifully does) with phrases like 'I am really excited about the development of my new tennis apparel'. I fear it is a case of Not Biting the Hand That Feeds You and Rafa meekly goes along with the decisions made by the Nike marketing people. Personally I think there is a conspiracy between Nike and Federer. Roger asked them to change the Rafa look because he didn't like being beaten by someone wearing pirate gear! Whatever, Rafa has been less potent ever since he was put into the sub-preppy look. And just when he was getting back on form, Nike produced the OAP look for him to wear. We can only pray the checked knickers are a temporary aberration and are consigned to the bonfire before the next season begins.

ha ha, fed beaten and robbed by a pirate ... and forced to walk the plank afterwards.

vrael,

You know what I just realized? You are one sharp little devil! I didn't even get it when I used the word "assets", but you did and good for you! Yes, that works doesn't it? So it is ass-ets! Because we know that our guy has that going on and then some! Yes, please Nike play up Rafa's ass-ets! Now when he wore those pirate pants, the view was great!

But I still stand by my opinion that these checkered shorts are abominable. Rafa deserves much better!

Many thanks to you vrael, for giving me a much needed laugh right about now. The way things have been going on some of the topic threads, this is at least a place to relax and have a good laugh!

ur welcome NNW.......all rafa fans are like my cyber-family.......i love all of them

the match is gonna start......two of my favourite players of all time are playing here.....i want a good competetive match wid rafa coming on top so that no one may say that rafa had it easy....

vamos rafa..........vamos kolya!!!

funny post ed!

hi deuce....i knew you would be around!

yeah..you would think that cheryl would have liked murray....being a blood relative!

malt: am sure cherylmurray is Andy M fan, or were u talking about his "new look." I know Ricky isn't.
deuce , 10/18/09 9:58 AM

but she doesnt like AndyM, and there are many posts of her to prove that....go read some...in archive now......so wasnt making it up......not a lot of unbiased journalism here between the journos........

I love Rafa's fashion sense ... quirky, colourful , breezy. The shorts are a little goofy but I love 'em with the lime green shirt ... and the bronzy bits underneath. He has changed the face of tennis in many ways.

I like Rafa's current look, having said that he looks good in everything he wears. And he's the IDOL in TT too:-)

Listen guys, The Fashion Police have been on the case, and although they found that the shorts in themselves fail the test, they concluded that there are mitigating circumstances because the wearer, Rafa, is sooooooo adorable and cute, there is no case to answer.

yay! glad he won something today at least :P :D

also, this:

Maybe they?re closet Federer fans working out a plot to bring down the Mallorcan one ugly outfit at a time. Or more likely, one of the Nike WAGs spent too much time staring at Rafa?s ample derriere, prompting a move to make it as unappealing as possible by covering it in drapery material

exactly what i thought!!!

that, or they think rafa needs extra help after his injury so are giving him the most hideous clothes they can find in order to distract his opponents

cherylmurray: where r u? Am sure u wrote a really positive article about Andy M. Can't find it, but it is engraved on my heart as there r so few!!

Hey! I actually LIKE them. A lot.

LOL.

Honestly, I thought it was the coolest Rafa's outfit this year, tied up with the Australian Open one. Though I kinda prefer the AO outfit.

one article deuce....that says it all.....

Cheryl: they do sell them http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageMANIKE-NMWWLSH.html#

LOL

It's the co-ordination that's wrong, the shorts would have gone well with a navy polo shirt not lime green. As usual, a lot of people used to complain about the capri shorts and sleeveless shirt and as soon as they were discontinued, they want them back.

Anyway, his outfit is the least of his problems, he needs to get his act together and stop losing to people he should beat easily.

I like Andy Murray quite a bit, actually. he's quite a nice guy and of course, a fellow Murray. I just don't pull punches. :D

alba - They don't sell them on Nike's official site is what I meant. ;) Good to know that at least somebody likes it, though.

Oh, right, Cheryl, you've got a point there.

But if Rafa continues loosing I'm gonna ask Nike to cut off those sleeves!

Thanx cheryl, I knew you did. Positive criticism is always fine with me. Hope Malty reads this!

Hi deuce I've read it..so dont worry.....cheryl is on my case right now...she knows she is too...no matter what she says.....i have read many posts from cheryl criticising murray...you only have to go back to wimby to read them.....also from ricky........cheryl also knows she has criticised murray...to deny it is just plain wrong....and lying...why do that...when it is there in black and white?.....all you have to do is to go to archive and see what she has written...i stand by what i have said, even if cheryl doesnt....

Malteser, I'm not sure what you're going on about. Murray is one of my favorite top 10 players. If I criticized Murray, it's because he earned it, not because I don't like him.

I don't know if Ricky likes Murray or not. You'll have to ask him.

How did this thread end up being about Andy Murray?

Rafans, here is something to cheer you up:

http://www.nadalnews.com/2009/10/15/pick-up-some-balls/

hahahahahha. Carrie, that's hilarious!

Hi, Cheryl, I'm new to your blog (and tennistalk) but I laughed reading your withering assessment. I wondered about Rafa's outfit, too, but somehow it seems to mesh with his usual wear...bright, though this time a tad bit loud to boot!

Dana, a very warm welcome to TT. I'm sure you'll like it here.

alba - They don't sell them on Nike's official site is what I meant. ;) Good to know that at least somebody likes it, though.

cherylmurray , 10/18/09 3:07 PM

Actually cheryl, they may have sold out at Nike, now there's a thought!

Here is another amusing link of the cute one.

http://www.nadalnews.com/2009/10/16/whots-the-hurry/comment-pa ge-1/#comment-15145

carrie - I think you meant this link, the other one is not working :)
http://www.nadalnews.com/2009/10/16/whots-the-hurry/

That was hilarious!!!! Rafa... just being Rafa. LOL. The speed up vid makes it even better.

Thanks for the links. I've never been in that web before and it looks fantastic.

Sold out of them? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!

And welcome, Dana. :)

Thanks, alba. I tried to find a link that worked but couldn't.

Alba, that's just fantastic stuff. LOL!

Awful as the checked shorts were, they pale to insignificance compared with one of the worst fashion disasters ever seen on court. I refer to Hrbaty's shirt at the AO in 2005 which led to the pithy comment from Roddick after he had beaten Hrbaty: there was no way I was going to lose to someone wearing a shirt like that.

Google Hrbaty images to see what the fuss was about.

Correction: it was Leyton Hewitt who made that comment about Hrbaty.

Sorry - I'm doing a NNY here. Correction No.2. I was wrong it was not the AO it was the USO when he wore the pink and black shirt with cut out holes in the back which made him the laughing stock of the tournament.

That's ok, Carrie, I'm glad I could help.

Next time just erase the last bit of the link, when the '/comment' part starts (/comment-pa ge-1/#comment-15145) and it'll work.

Hope my explanation made any sense, I don't know how to explain it better, sorry. LOL.

Ed, I remember that Hrbaty shirt. Funniest outfit I've ever seen on a tennis court - and that includes all of the ridiculous things Bethany Mattek used to come up with.

Unfortunately, Rafa's shorts aren't even funny. They're just horrible.

C'mon cheryl, Nike has sold out of those shorts haven't they? It won't be long before they are seen at every tennis club all over the world, you'll see. Rafa sets the trend.

Carrie I'm totally with you. The outfit is "tres chic".

You guys need to take off your Rafa-colored glasses. Lol.
I liked the piratas WAY better. Call me old fashioned....

Cheryl, we Canadians are obviously fashion-challenged (probably 'cause we wear parkas most of the year). I'm not the only one who thinks Rafa is a style icon.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/match-tough/fashion-sense/ article1329178/

Cheryl-

You just didn't say you liked piratas, did you? Really now? Piratas ARE old fashioned. I just remember the kids wearing them as bathsuits when I was six -and that was a looong time ago. Plus, they just didn't look that good on Rafa with his muscular... erhm... rear. Lol.

Cheryl,

I can't stand the shorts and yes, my Rafa-colored glasses are totally off! I loved the piratas so much more because they showed off Rafa's ass-ets! They may be old fashioned, but I don't care.

I don't think they could even auction those ugly shorts on ebay!

Alba - of course I liked the piratas! They're vintage Rafa!

smr - I live near Canada - we wear parkas most of the year as well. :D

NNY - As I said, they could auction if Rafa came with them. Otherwise? I don't think so.

Cheryl: you're so right the Hrbaty shirt was so hideous it was hilarious. He said he didn't care what people thought - he was paid a lot of money to wear it! Even so, it must have taken a lot of chutzpah to brave the New York crowd looking that stupid. But to get back to Rafa, he just does not seem comfortable in the current gear - I am sure he regrets being talked out of his 'signature' look.

Cheryl, I'm a lost cause as far as Rafa is concerned. My rose tinted glasses have been laser implanted so I can't see anything negative about Rafa. Lol.

smr, I checked your link - Thanks. I am pasting the article here for all to see.

Monday, October 19, 2009 10:45 AM
Fashion sense

Watching tennis it often seems as if way too many male players have no fashion sense at all.

While Andre Agassi wore some pretty wild, pushing-the-envelope outfits in his youth, by the last few years of his career he could not have been more boring in monotonous combinations of white, black and grey.

That is exactly why it is so refreshing to see Rafael Nadal bring innovation and variety to his on-court look.

Roger Federer has always had a classy ? sometimes excessively classy (e.g. Wimbledon) ? on-court style of dress, and Novak Djokovic occasionally gears it up with something bright and different. As for the Andys ? Murray and Roddick ? they have been constrained by the traditional-bound creations of Fred Perry and Lacoste respectively.

But Nadal has been a breath of fresh air, and a man, working with the designers at Nike, who is willing to take chances.

He won his first five Grand Slam titles ? the 2005-2008 French Opens and Wimbledon in 2008 ? with his trademark, muscle-highlighting sleeveless tops.

At the beginning of this year he switched a conventional short-sleeved shirt and won the Australian Open. At the time, he wore a white shirt with black and blue trim and charcoal shorts.

His make-over from a look that featured his massive arms gleaming with sweat to something more conservative and preppie ? after all he was approaching his 23rd birthday ? did not affect his performance.

?I was completely worried about that, I thought I lost the power with the new (shirt),? he joked with reporters after winning in Melbourne when asked if he had been concerned that his more demure attire might affect his performance.

Nadal wore a yellow sleeved shirt with a black spotted motif, vaguely suggestive of New York?s yellow taxis, at this year?s US Open. For the fall, he has sported a lime green shirt with a campy pair of blue, check pattern shorts that look like they?re right out of a summer barbecue in the backyard.

It?s great to see him creating a distinctive profile with fun, colourful clothing. The only regret is that we didn?t see enough of his strongest fashion statement of the year ? a glorious deep pink shirt and dark shorts combination he wore at the French Open. An on-form Robin Soderling and the troublesome tendinitis in both his knees resulted in him making a premature exit in the round-of-16.

Some interesting information regarding the Nadal camp came out of last week?s Masters 1000 event in Shanghai on the ATP?s own tennistv.com livestreaming. Commentator Robbie Koenig of South Africa, who ranked as high as No. 28 in doubles in 2003, claimed Nadal?s fellow-Spaniard, Francisco Roig, who was working with him in Shanghai in place of his regular coach, uncle Toni Nadal, was earning ?Seven and a half thousand a week, plus expenses and a bonus for every match win.? That type of arrangement is generally not made public, but a rate of about ten percent of a player?s prize money and all expenses is the general guideline for many coaches on the tour.

Koenig, 38, also unintentionally came up with a malapropism worthy of the legendary Yogi Berra. When he miss-identified a pop song playing in the stadium in Shanghai during a change-over, he was corrected by his commentary partner Jason Goodall. Koenig reacted, ?first time I?ve ever gotten anything in my ?80s music wrong...it happens occasionally.?

******************


Cheryl, I told you Nike had sold out! The Canadians have bought all the shorts, because they have taste and love some fun in their lives.

I now know why Rafa didn't win on Sunday, he doesn't want Francisco to take 10% of his prize money. This insight explains a lot about the change in Francisco's countenance if Rafa is winning or losing.

Lol Carrie, we'll be in leg warmers and Nadal shorts all winter long.

This type of shorts are meant to be worn with bright colored shirts. It's fresh from the Milan Fashion Week. Dark navy against mint, love it. And it's very popular among young fashionable Italians, French even Spaniards.
Maybe Dolce & Gabbana will be interested after all. And sexy Mallorcan does help. A lot.

Actually, they are on sale at the Nike site - I think they recently added them. They are one of the color options with the rest of the Nadal shorts.

smr: Shorts!! Oh my gosh you Canadians are tough....or barking. Here in the UK, I'm top to toe in arctic fleece and thermal underwear from now till June, if not July.....

Nike were out of stock because demand is so high, they have now re-stocked so order early for Christmas.

carrie: are you a freelance PRO for Nike?

I have no problem with navy and mint. It's those particular shorts that I have issue with. :D

If I got those shorts for Christmas, I would know FOR SURE who my enemies were. Ghastly, people. Just ghastly. ;)

deuce, barking i should think ... although they are listed as a 'winter' short. Now do you think that posmatrac will go for the wooly leg warmers as an accessory.

smr, as long as i have my jockstrap i should be fine.

I'm dying to see that photo ...

As far as fashion in tennis goes, Rafa is where it's at!

Cheryl, you can question my fashion sense, you can call me crazy (yes I said/wrote that), but I FLOVE the shorts/pants. And the monochromatic shirt. And Rafa being Rafa doesn't hurt either.
You're free to make fun of me. I can take it. :D

Rafa is gorgeous in anything.!!!

News from Shanghai, during the tournament.


Most of the big names at the Shanghai tournament haven't played yet. And the biggest name is the top-seeded Rafael Nadal. As our reporter Peter Koveos tells us, despite being ranked second in the world, Nadal might be number one in popularity.

He is arguably the face of tennis today, more so than even world number one Roger Federer. And it's more than just his game that have people flocking to see Rafa.

Tennis Fans, said, "I like Nadal for a long time, I like the way he plays. He is very handsome even more handsome in person."

Tennis Fans, said, "Nadal is young and energetic. He never gives up."

"He is passionate.He is our idol."

His popularity transcends borders, this reporter came all the way from Spain to cover--the "Master" as he is known in his homeland and is overwhelmed at the response he receives in Asia.

Rafa is almost reluctant to be a star, but is appreciative of the attention.

Despite his hectic schedule he plays as much as possible-that includes doubles, and Davis Cup-over the past few seasons, he has probably played as much as anyone on tour--and as you can see the fans never want him to leave the court.


Watch the link:
http://english.cctv.com/program/sportsscene/20091014/102317.sht ml

Carrie, that's a nice article. In Asia for sure they just LOVE Rafa. I'm sure the French fans would argue vehemently that Rafa is NOT the face of tennis. For such a genial person, he is surely polarizing. I like that about him. :)

Although Cheryl, there is this:
http://www.legrandtop.fr/site.htm.
From France: Rafa tops sports personalities.

interesting, smr. I feel a blog coming on about this.... :D

I wonder if that was voted on by people who don't follow tennis? Its no secret that the French tennis fans have never been warm to Nadal. Indeed, veeeerrryy interesting.

Cheryl I beg to defer with you on that. On Rafa's French forum and talking to people who've been to FO, they claim Rafa is very popular in France and has a lot of fans. Sure some or few loud voices jeered against him this year and previous years but I've seen that at tennis matches where depending on how the match is unfolding, you can get small groups of loud people who give the impression their fav has more support when it's not actually the case.

Can you hurry with your blog? I can't wait :)

Mallorca, October 28, 2009

Rafa Nadal will receive tomorrow Thursday 29th of October at 5:00pm (local Spanish time) in the 'Fundación de Mapfre' Auditorium, the 'Universal Spaniard 2009 Award', given to him by 'La Fundación Independiente' for his successful sporting career and excellent civic behaviour.

The organization described Rafa as "an excellent example for our society. Specially for our youngsters."

The celebration will honour all kind of athletes who have excelled not only in their profession but most importantly, in their determination to help project Spain's name across the world through hard work, sportsmanship and good values.

After the press conference you will be able to follow the event 'online' through 'www.fundacionindependiente.com' or 'www.mapfre.com'. The chat, which has been named: 'Rafa Nadal. Talent and Values: An educational challenge', will explain the keys to his success.

The chat will start at 6.00pm (local Spanish time), and will count with the participation of Rafa, Carlos Costa and Santiago Alvarez de Mon, (an IESE professor).

jean - I base my opinion of the matter on French friends and colleagues who have indicated that French tennis fans don't like Nadal's "style". Also on the fact that Nadal himself has indicated that the French tennis fans are not kind to him during the French Open and the Paris Masters. Also on the highly offensive and vocal rantings of commentator Guy Forget, who actually resorts to calling Rafa names. LOL.

The French started hating Rafa in 2005 when they had high hopes of either Grosjean or Gasquet lifting the RG trophy, and he beat both of them on the way to the title. He then defeated Matthieu, the apple of their eye according to Rafa, in 2006 and went on to win the title for the second time. On both occasions he says he was booed off the court, but this did not stop him going on to win it 4 times in a row, but didn't this year due to circumstances beyond his control.

If Guy Forget openly criticises Rafa's physique, style and kit it's obviously going to rub off on the public, plus the fact that the French would rather they had a dominant player on their patch, because they are very parochial. When in France, you hardly ever see any other make of car on the roads than French. They are very protective of their nationality.

I hope they don't forget that it was Rafa who stood up for Gasquet when he was in trouble. Anyway, the fact that he is so popular all over the world, should give him heart to deal with the hostility he gets from the French, and it did not stop him winning the FO 4 years in a row. Rafa has a strong will, he knows what to expect from them, and he can deal with it.

However, the poll may be showing some change of heart, so we'll see.

It seems that the French love Rafa after all:

Paris Masters 1000 - Rafael Nadal makes peace with France

Google Translation

The love-hate relationship between the Balearic tennis player and the neighboring country will have a new episode in the next edition of the Bercy Tournament. Nadal will receive the prize of the French Academy of Sport.

The Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal will be awarded the prize of the French Academy of Sports the next day 9 when it will be in Paris at the Bercy Masters 1000, as reported by the organizers of today competición organizers.

The Spaniard was unable to receive the award at the last edition of Roland Garros because of his early exit, so that will make his second visit to the capital annual gala. Nadal will receive the award during the second day of the 1000 Masters which starts on Sunday 8 November.

Will thus become the third player who receives the French Academy Award, after the German Steffi Graf in 1988 to Roger Federer in 2005.

http://212.0.117.113/nadal.html
this is the link for rafans if they want to see rafa's presser and chat today in 45 minutes from now!!

alik, I've been waiting on the website but nothing has happened.

Carrie,on rafa sites others have been waiting too.He has finished the Universal Spaniard ceremony but..I don't know what's going on.

rafa didn't chat on-line today but this is what he had to say:
http://www.marca.com/2009/10/29/tenis/1256838933.html

had to bumpy this. because:

I can?t wait until the Australian Open. I fully expect powder blue and orange stripes. Way to go, Nike. Seriously.

have you seen what he's wearing for ao?!?! it's worse than you could have imagined

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/photo.php?pid=4 392452&op=3&o=global&view=global&subj=2204492615&id=718739637

those are the shorts

haha. i meant *bump. i can't spell...

Cheryl, if you didn't like the navy check shorts, check out the Nike offerings on this link for 2010, Rafa is seriously going for it.

http://www.zimbio.com/Rafael+Nadal/articles/CmhHxowXFWJ/Rafael+ Nadal+Australian+Open+2010+Nike+Outfits

i think i've gone a bit blind looking at that

all we can hope for is that he doesn't wear the orange top with the brown shorts

seriously, i could design better outfits than nike! i'd put him in the blue he wore in cincy and montreal. and go back to sleeveless. and never, ever make him wear checked shorts

Right, see I've seen those "shorts" (for lack of a better term). I choose to think that they were put out as a decoy to throw us off the trail of the real outfit. because seriously? If that's what he actually wears? I just...give up.

Incidentally, I said I expected orange and powder blue stripes. Seems I've gotten 2/3 of that right. Unfortunately.

Cheryl, here's a look at Rafa in his orange shirt (with pink stripes ... I LOVE it) and Roger in a classically lovely turquoise both on a magic carpet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5nOgU_ECsE&feature=player_e mbedded

I don't have any issues with the shirt. he looks nice in those "island" colors. but the shorts are too horrible for words.

Once again, Cheryl, I cannot conceal my own questionable fashion sense ... I can hardly wait to see Rafa in 'those' shorts. I think they're great! :)

The shorts are great? Oh mine! They look like upholstery material. Can't imagine Rafa wearing those to the tennis court. This time round he will look even worst than the 'clown', maybe he will be called the 'upholstery' man. Why is Nike giving a beautiful boy like Rafa such ridiculous clothing? Are they sure that they can sell shorts like those? Even if Rafa can do the impossible by looking good in those shorts, does it mean that others with a lesser 'Ass et' would like nice in them? I think it takes courage to wear those shorts!

perhaps shorts was designed purposely to stay out.

Luckystar, you have a point. The fact that Rafa would look good in a black bag doesn't mean the rest of us would, but then again, they've been using stick insects to sell fashion to normal people, so it must work.

I think the shorts will look great, as long as he doesn't wear them with the orange shirt. Those shorts are daring to say the least, but if we are to believe everything we are told, Rafa does have a say. Maybe they are trying to morph tennis into golf.

Vamos Rafa!

I've had another look - the orange shirt goes with the beige shorts, there is a picture of it, and I assume the white shirt goes with the brown check shorts, I honestly think it will look great, can't wait.

I also think Rafa will look great in those outfits (maybe I am being bias a bit, but one must forgive me for that :) He has to look and be different than others, he has to be unique in a sense as he has always been...when he was wearing sleeveless he looked outstanding and all of the sudden other young tennis players wanted to look like him. It was expected that Nike would make some changes to give Rafa different appearance and they certainly managed...it is so funny though that so many people pay attention to what Rafa wears and sometimes journalists in their after match interviews focus more on his outfit than on the match he played...I think whatever he wears he will look beautiful...the advantage of having nice body is that you can wear weird clothes and still look great! Well, for sure we should expect to hear a lot more comments on Rafa? appearance in the future. The orange shirt and those rather ?interesting? pair of shorts will make a nice subject of discussion at AO I believe...but what I like the most is that I saw some photos from Abu Dhabi and was very pleased to see that Rafa gained back some of his weight and he looks absolutely stunning with his muscled body...

Smr,
thanks for the link showing Roger and Rafa playing on the magic carpet. They both look great. I wonder why the TV Channels don't show the matches promoting the tournament, surely, they must find time for it.

Yes Rafa looks stunning at Abu Dhabi. There is a healthy glow about him and again what a smile! Can't believe that one year after ditching the sleeveless look, the commentators at Abu Dhabi were still talking about his sleeveless look and one of them preferred his sleeveless look!

I do agree that Rafa looks good in almost all his outfits, even that 'clown' shorts during the Asian swing can't dent his good looks. I hope the ridiculous 'upholstery' shorts won't either. My favorite picks among his 2009 outfits were the AO night outfit, his USO yellow outfit and the blue one at Montreal/Cincy. His sleeveless ones are all very beautiful, except that faded blue one at 2008 Madrid and Paris. I also like his all white outfit at Wimbledon 2008, the only other color was the black Nike slash. His skin literally glows in the afternoon sun that Wimbledon Sunday, and the white sleeveless outfit serves to emphasize his beautiful golden brown skin. I was thinking to myself on that day, how could anybody dislike a beautiful boy like Rafa, I think even the Fed supporters on Centre Court that day wouldn't dislike Rafa. My favorite Rafa outfit is the original pirate outfit dated back to 2005, the orange top with the loose and long white pirate pants, worn by him at Monte Carlo and Rome. That was the original pirate look and the Mallorcan wild boy look. I like that wild boy very much and I loves it when he leapt into the air followed with a fist pump when he won an important point. Well that wild boy has since grown up into a fine young man now, I miss that wild boy but I know it's impossible for him to come back.

I am sure the navy check shorts sold well why else would they bring out another type of check shorts, because, let's face it, Nike is in this to sell it's products, and Rafa is the best clothes hanger they can find.

I quite liked the navy check shorts, I didn't think it went with the green shirt, but the picture above looks great all the same. Nike is trying to move tennis on from fuddy duddy outfits. When I was in Dubai last year, some of the players whites were so off colour and dull, I thought they should find out from the Arabs how they manage to keep their whites so white. Yes, let's get some colour into tennis, Djokovic is also in the fashion business, with his matching blue, red or orange shoes, and also Roger with the matching turquoise/ white shirt and shoes.

Rafa can't be supersitious, otherwise he would not have won the same outfit that brought him such dismal results at the WTF at the tourney in Abu Dhabi, and to prove all sooth sayers wrong, he won it!

he didn't wear the same outfit. just the same shirt. he ditched the shorts. wore white ones

the outfit in the article isn't too bad... what's terrible about the shorts is the random un-checked bit between the legs. what is that all about?! either have them all checked, or all plain. not a mix of both

and the orange shirt for ao isn't as awful as i had thought. having seen him wear it, he looks damn good in it

:D

Sorry, ladies - the checks are dreadful. I sort of like the orange though. If they were paired with white shorts, I'd like the new outfit.

I don't want to labour the point, but when Rafa walks onto the court in his vivid unusual outfits it lights up the tournament. Other people have won bright colours on court but simply do not have the same impact that Rafa has, even the sleeveless shirt did nothing for the others, and it's not because of the biceps, because Monfils can match Rafa's biceps. Yesterday Frognini played in an orange shirt, did anyone notice, but they will when Rafa appears.

I think Nike should carry on with breaking the ground in men's tennis strips especially as they have a great model like Rafa to work with.

Of course others could not create the same impact or the same effect that Rafa could. Rafa is special, there is certain star quality about him that is hard to emulate, it may be his good looks, or his charm, or simply his childlike sweetness and mannerism, or a combination of all these. While Nike is experimenting with Rafa's outfits, I just hope they will not go to the extreme and end up making Rafa a laughing stock. Rafa looks good in bright colors, the orange shirt for the AO looks good on him, its the brown shorts that I'm unhappy about. The white shorts, well, OK I think I still can accept. OK never mind about the outfits, the most important thing is for Rafa to be back at his best and successfully defend his AO title, all else are not so important.

There's more!

Go to this link on Rafa's Official website for more lines on his 2010 on-court wardrobe.

http://www.rafaelnadal.com/rafaforum/forum/viewthread_thr ead,450_offset,260

thanks for the link carrie

This thread could take over from the Vamos Rafa on, and as it happens I was the last poster on this one as well as 'carrie' almost a year ago.

Here is a new DC video - Rafa mobbed by fans in Charleroi.

Enjoy!

Sorry, forgot to post the link:

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/videozone/MG_programmas/MG_spo rtweekend_GNMA/2.8987/2.8988/1.976965

Augustina, it was tongue in cheek.

It was to do with the karaoke at RG 2 years ago, and fans of both Rafa and Roger were asked to make a case for their idol to win the karaoke, and Cheryl judged that Rafa was the winner, even if his fans didn't vote for his singing, but because they thought he was cute.

Nothing nasty about this blog at all, on the contrary..........I think it was the opposite.

Even the bit about Rafa's shorts wasn't meant to be taken too seriously.

Augustina, if you'd read it at the time in context you would have realized the spirit in which it was written. I wouldn't have revived it if it was a 'nasty' blog. The proof is none of the posters at the time ever thought it was nasty. Try reading the posts.

LOL. I get in trouble even if the blog's a year and a half old. :D

Augustina08, this blog is definitely not nasty. I thought the blog took an affectionate look at Rafa. Rafa, mumbling his song but so cute ! In fact, I miss the younger Rafa. Although he is still cute, he now dresses better,has lost his baby face and probably sings better!I hope he doesn't grow up to the extent that he is cured of the most famous OCD in tennis history!

Rafa says on Facebook:

Jet lagged, always when I get to Indian Wells or the West Coast. Hopefully it'll go away in a couple of days.

CLASH OF CHAMPIONS

Rafael Nadal, the world no.1 player has thrashed out Roger Federer in an exhibitions match which was held in Oregon. It was one of the most spectacular occasion in front of 12,220 tennis fans, at the University of Oregon?s new $227 million basketball arena on Tuesday night, 8th February, 2011.

It was another fantastic exhibition match at the Nike?s Clash of the Champions between the world top two players, where Nadal has defeated Federer with 7-5 at University of Oregon?s.

Along with world top two players, Nadal and Federer at the Clash of the Champions were Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka, who also played a Women?s single match.

Victoria Azarenka has beaten the former world no.1, Maria Sharapova in the women?s singles match with 5-4 (5-0) in a tiebreaker. Victoria Azarenka was replaced by Serena Williams, the American no.1, in the Nike?s Clash of the Champions. Williams has withdrawn from the exhibitions match because of injury.

The group of four players played a set of mixed doubles and the big Surprise for the event was John McEnroe.

McEnroe took umpire?s chair for the mixed doubles match and the other two Guest for the event were Joey Harrington and Dennis Dixon, the former Oregon quarterbacks and they took the role of sideline judges.

With the former two world no.1 players, Sharapova and Federer leading 5-3 in the doubles match, McEnroe and Federer changed their places, as McEnroe united Sharapova on the court and thrilled the crowd with some of his old magic, getting the team to match point before Federer came back to polish off a 6-3 victory with an ace.

Federer has said about Nadal that, we had many big battles over the years and also had some wonderful moments in exhibition play and played in some amazing places and this is obviously very special doing it for Nike in a place that means a lot to Phil. They are very happy to be here tonight.


http://www.livetennisguide.com/2011/03/rafael-nadal-defe ated-roger-federer-in-oregon-exhibition/