hi team DdV!! i was a long time lurker, but i promised myself if u guys did a Rafa feature, then i'd finally sign up... so here i am!!!

i LOVE DdV and tennistalk!!! keep up the great work!!!

i've hated the Sod ever since that unfortunate incident...

efffffffffin awesome omg! {fangirl} loves loves loves this boy!!!! thx dani this was one i was waiting for.

i forgot to write it blarggggh i hate sod too. when he did that i wanted to punch him. vamos rafa!!!

Welcom mLina. Rafa has a way of bringing people together I see. He is a credit to his sport.

I must admit as a cinephile, I am well loving the addition of Rocky Balboa. LOL.

rafa is my favorite after marat. i hope he is #1 for years! he looks so hot in all the pictures...

he is pure perfect with only his hair as not lol! if he fixes it he's untouchable. :D

LOL. Those names run in tandem all the time. Marat's fans like Rafa and Rafa's the same. It has to be the outgoing personality factor on the tennis court.

i think the fanbase of the guys are nicer. i know it sounds weird but girls who like marat and rafa are easier to get along with. guys too i guess i should say, but girls are cooler.

I know a number from both sides, and I will agree. They are friendly and passionate people.

Rafael Nadal is gorgeous. Oof sometimes I wish I was 20 years old again. :x

is passionate some different word meaning "crazy"? lol

Welcome back again. If you revisit what you said in one hour's time, I have a feeling you will change that statement. LOL. When was 20 a good thing?

heyyyyy are you staying today or doing the beaner thing again?

as h & s as he is, i know i don't. did it, hated it the first time.

No that wasn't a substitute. LOL. I have good feelings for both groups of girls, they make the matches more fun. There is nothing more taxing than a silent, boring match where everyone is so measured and insular.

soderling is rude as hell..he wouldn't even qualify to tie rafa's shoe laces..

No I'm sorry. I wasn't coming, and I'm in the last part of getting ready to leave. Friday I have the day to myself. I'll be back then. Rafael Nadal will keep me happy all day, even if crumb still has this blocked. :x

soderprick is a looooooooooooooooooser lol. i don't think he has one fan. :p

he's the worst. he is rude and annoying and angry because he has no fans- you are right.

Friday is "One lucky Willy" day. I got a copy of the blog this morning, and the title has continued to keep me in stitches.

See you then, dear.

{sad} all the time i am here & you are gone. i have part of the friday to be around. lucky willy day?!!! omg sounds nasty lol

is dani planning to post here today? i have to leave now but i wanted to ask her a question.

Do you think? LOL. I don't know, you will have to return Friday to read the blog for yourself to have an answer.

No dear, she is away for the whole day. You may email her, or if it is something related to the board I could help you.

ok i'll send an email thanks.

no i don't think that lol. i have a good idea of what i will see. :D

If you have it figured out, keep it to yourself. No spoilers allowed. LOL. Marvel at Rafa's gold medal.

i thought djokovic would win that match but rafa fought for it. it's so nice for him and for spain. :D

djokovic showed some mental breakdown in that match. should have won it, but end up losing bad and crying.

i like rafa much, but i think next year we will see. so many points he have to defend them. i think he cannot hold on to the ranking that long.

It will be tough come next year. When the spring returns, Rafa will be under a lot of pressure to hold onto it. I believe he can, he's determined to do it.

clay & grass i think he's gonna be fine. i dunno about hards tho. :/

my feelings is he cannot defend points from wimbledon. clay is okay for him every year but he loses big amount of points in majors next season. only one chance for him to gain in rome.

His hardcourt results were much improved this year. Maybe he will surprise you. LOL.

wimbledon was a first time i see him choke when serving for it. people say how he is strong mentally, but he has moments too where there is a empty space in place of his brain.

I believe he said he did in a post match interview. You have to understand that dear, it was a tense moment he had in London.

yea more than once you see, more than once he choked. not a one time choke but many of them.

LOL. Dear, who went home with the trophy? If Rafa choked one hundred times, but still remained gentleman's champion.. you grasp the point.

ok just a point how he is not as mentally strong as people say he is. i read many articles where the writers talk from one book. nadal is toughest mentally, 1000x but we have seen he is not.

you can't name one player who doesn't choke. they all do, and rafa is one of them. the point is he gets through it without losing. that's what makes him so great.

It serves to make him more accessible to the public. People love to support someone who is having trouble closing out matches. They want to know he will, but drama is wonderful. LOL.

agreed. he is very exciting to watch. nice enough to look at also. :)

Usually I prefer a man who is not as developed as Rafa is, but I like his look. Tall with dark European looks melds well together. LOL.

but i don't like his hair, no matter what he does to it.

he look like a scarecrow on a very bad day. :D

poor rafa lol you guys are really really mean!!! i like his hair {yum} it looks like a marat hot mess. :p

no they are not close. marat when he is not near clown make up, he has hair that looks nice. nadal on a other side is just a mess. you see a difference i hope.

a hot mess is a hot mess i'm not picky lol!

safin is the hot mess and rafa is the sexy mess, so everybody wins!!!

lol okay but if safin is supposed to be the best looking one than rafa wins for best body. verdasco's is great but seeing these pics rafa blows him away.

body is ok, face not very pretty. :/

love Rafa, love this article, love Dani!!! Rafa is one cute, sexy hunk of man, hot hot hot!!! He is fearless, tenacious, determined, and does not quit! Those NY Magazine pics are hot! His off-court persona is admirable, wonderful, endearing!

ny magazine pictures are new? when these were taken, i did not see them.

link to the magazine------> http://nymag.com/fashion/08/fall/49256/

i care for the black and the white more than colour. he looks ok in them.

who chooses to dress him in the green shirt, very stupid when nobody look good in green!!

green pink yellow who cares lol!!! rafa looks good & hot in all of them. :D the mags pics are {amazed}

I felt the final tally was similar to the calendar. Several of the pictures were great, a few were not so great. Rafa is very photogenic and all in all, the editorial worked for him.

photogenic is a perfect word for rafa :D he is the opposite of roger & i kinda like the change at the top.

rafa seems like such a sweet guy. in fact i've heard that he is from different sources. that ass-picking grates on my nerves though.

it is disgusting as a habit, go ahead an say the truth. goran asks one time in wimbledon why this guy cannot get underclothes that fits him.

disgusting or not, ALL the players, male or female or those in between, have habits that in one way or the other get in our nerves... depending on how WE see it. YES, very subjective!
Check out some mirrors around, you might HAVE habits that make other people throw up!

goran is a hilarious mess!

goran tells it right that nadal's habit is disgusting!!!

DdV, what does Johan think about you Sod comments?!?!??!

Also did you really just mention Kimi Räikkönen in the same sentence as David Beckham and Tiger Woods!?!?!?

elle- I find it funny that you said that you like Rafa and then call him disgusting, a mess, await for a bad year from him next year, and even go on to say he looks bad in green, etc.

Why do I get the feeling that you are not too fond of the guy. I hate his habit too because I am fond of him and it makes him mockable- but you seem to loathe everything about him. I have my favorites and don't think any of them without fault- Rafa included. But for someone who claims to like Rafa- I have noticed all you do is say he will not do well and bag on his looks. ;)

fifipeanut- elle has been throwing dirt to just about anyone.
Isn't that DISGUSTING?!
I wonder what background that character has in tennis to be able to comment on things I don't think "it" understands.

LOL on those elle comments... no offense elle, but the last two above me make perfect sense...

i'm a fan of both Rafa and Marat so, it makes me really happy to know that fans of both player play nice with each other...

hot, sexy mess those two, i'd take them both...faults and all!!!

maybe I missed it but where did elle say that rafa himself is disgusting? correct if i'm wrong but she said what he does (continually digging in your ass) is disgusting and she's right. it's a matter of opinion. some people might enjoy seeing that while others like myself find it yukk. just becasue she's a fan or whatever doesn't mean she can't be objective. if safin were doing the same crap i would feel the same way.

i said a habit was disgusting, not him. please read before you post things.

Elle- I do tend to read things. Yes- you said the act was disgusting. But I was just noting that all of your posts seem to be negative. As is your right of course.

I think fans can be objective and not love everything about a player- and wedgie picking is of course not an edeaing characteristic. But I was just struck that your posts seem to be all of the deriding variety. It just struck out. My faves can do things that annoy- and I call them on it- but I do like some things. But by reading your posts there seemed to be a 6:0 ratio of things that you did not like versus liked. So since you said you were a fan, I was just amused that all of your posts where about Rafa's faults- or not living up to his rep, etc.

Sheesh- sorry for all of the grammatical errors in my above post. Typos ahoy!

this should shut her up, look at something beautiful!!!------->
http://i37.tinypic.com/2qt8xn7.jpg

OMG trixxyfest! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! poor rafa.
you don't happen to have one like that of marat do you lol.

I am... speechless. LOL that is a rarity.

you're welcome ladies. sorry no marat pictures yet.

yet? which means that you're working on it? i want it to be just! as a matter of fact i may just photoshop marat's face unto that one.

hahaha no, but if i find one i will share it.

i meant to type *i want it to be just like that!*

i bet you those nuts on guyfromrussia probably already have it.

This will get away from him right quickly. The picture is everyplace like a rash, poor Rafa indeed. LOL.

less beautiful, more big is what you mean when taking up a whole boat. long as i see no same type of pictures @ tgfr of naked clown, i could care less if marat wants to do that. :D

".....taking up a whole boat"....hahahahahahahahahaha! yeah i agree, no clown pictures please, naked or otherwise.

i am wrong or not servolova? is close to the size of a whole boat!!! & before people make angry posts @ me once more, i did not say it was bad. i just say BIG. :D

Other people have commented on your negativity and I agree with them. It seems all you want to do is trash Rafa. It is not becoming to you -- no one cares what you think about him. And to the one who posted 'those' pics, if you are a Rafa fan, not sure why you did that.

is not negative, more like a truth the way i see it. if comments directed the way of rafa disturb you do not read them. :D

tennisfan2 - obviously YOU care what she thinks about him.

rafa is a public figure and you know he's papped all day long. i posted 'those' pics and am a fan too. so what?

Awww...Great blog, Dani. I have a soft spot for the Mallorcan. How can you not like a guy who can completely sell frightening AND sweet. I swear to you, the first time I saw him play, he was a teen and I said to myself "Yikes. I hope I never meet him in a dark alley". And then I saw him off-court and I said "Wow. I hope I meet him in a dark alley..." LOL.

elle is a disliker of rafa and everyone knows that.why do you even bother to say "i like rafa" or something?

certain people find a way to bash for no reason at all. rafa is loved, and i feel fine ignoring the trash talk.

sisterofnight- elle isn avid djokovic fan... read how he defends the guy and his parents !

somebody gotta defend nole and his parents in this place. why you post of it here to bash me, i got no idea.