That 2009 Rotterdam match was fantastic. Nadal hurt himself and then won the second set on one leg (literally, which Murray gave him props for after the match). Best indoor set I can remember him playing. It's too bad he had nothing left going into the third.

30 minutes to go...

The winner's name (Nadal) has been missed off the Monte Carlo result.



There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos

Vamoooooossss Rafa!

carrie - thanks, its been fixed

almost time

we yanks who woke up at 3:30 am are being treated to a "the rise and fall of Rafael Nadal" montage.

If the winner of a tennis match was decided by a panel of judges, Murray would win hands down. Eurosport have just gone to great lengths to tell us all the positives Murray has against Nadal, and listening to them, Rafa has nothing to offer. They've even found a footage of Delpo beating Rafa. According to them, Nadal won't gain anything by serving to Murray's backhand like he does against Federer, because that Murray's best shot, etc. etc. etc.

These are all just words, let's jus wait and see.



There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos

Carrie -

Rafa doesn't serve to Murray's backhand, so that's a silly argument.

Um....wow?

wow, only 3 games, i want 5 hours of tennis like this!

still too early to predict the outcome.. but good agressive tennis from rafa so far

nadal breaks

holy SMOKES!

Exactly cheryl, as if Rafa would use the same tactics against Murray.



There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos

that break point rafa made, reminds me of kaidoh from anime "prince of tennis" lol

wow, now murray start being aggressive n gain 3 break points

MURRAY ON FIRE

Wow. Murray is playing just spectacular tennis. Nadal went a little off since he missed those break points at 2-2.

Rafa not aggressive enough on Murray's second serve..has to fix that..

thought of posting regularly on this... but the match is making me crazy...

alex and all other Murray fans...OMG can hardly bear to watch...Come On Andy!
alex pass the popcorn!
Rafa fans, love your man too.

If Murray wont improve his first serve... it will be difficult for him.. Rafa wont be missing so many break points all the time..

better play from Rafa now. He is getting more depth on the backhand.

Murray's frist serve at important points and Rafa's errors on those points are saving Murray..

i HATE Australia Day

nadal keeps choking on break points.

Pretty annoying disruptions

Such a distraction...and Rafa was on the run...hope he stays focused..

finally!!!

nadal got lucky with that passing shot

@deuce: good luck to all the murray's fans as well :)

long live atr.. ;-)

those fireworks are untimely for Murray.

LOL. Murray nearly hit Fergus Murphy with the ball....

it's funny to listen to eurosport commentary to favor murray that much.. in the starting of 2nd set, he said murray has gotten stronger in physical, what is the proof he can survive 5-set thriller with nadal/federer? not yet, right? sure it is something he can prove in this match..

n after firework, he said that even nadal won't survive the game if he is on serve, c'mon nadal's mentality is tested alright. i can remember the way his match in us open delayed 2 days.

whats wrong with Rafa...

attacker - if you something to say to me or anyone else, send an email

next dose of profanity and you are gone

Murray is playing spectacular tennis on break points, actually. Great tactics.

this match proves how weak nadal's serve is.
just cannot get any free points on serve.

rafa break so that u dont need to consolidate ! lol,,6-4 plzzz

long live atr, long live atr

lol vamo rafa... hope s o

excellent play from Andy Murray. This is a fantastically played match from the Scot.

looks like one more top 10 defeat to Rafa

Murray needs to convert BPs

Rafa just saved 2 BPs

yep, murray just seems too good tonight.
the fat lady is clearing her throat!

what a point from Rafa...

its like looking karpov and kasparov on a tennis court...lol....corner to corner....high quality match.....but sadly murray is playing a bit better!!

nothing to be sad Varel... its part of game.. what a math...good for tennis..

Rafa upped his level.. it seems

Vamos!!!!

That was one heck of a clutch hold from Nadal. This is just some fantastic tennis.

great, looks like rafa is going down swinging!

171 KMPH Winner...

Murray's serve down the T is unstoppable

what an ace..

Tie break time..

Muzz is serving a ton. Those slight misses on the forehand side are killing nadal.

all net cords are going Murray's way...

Murray took all of Nadal's best punches and just delivered the knockout blow. He's too good.

Great tiebreak from Murray.

yeeeeeesssssssssssss 2-0

Well.. can Rafa turn it around from here?? a tough task to ask...

Rafa is not serving well today, that's part of the problem.



There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos

no luck for rafa in this match..

Nadal would do well to start arranging his flight plans to Mallorca

nothing is going in Rafa's way

Injury timeout for Rafa.. does not bode well..

Oh no not Rafa's Knees

Nadal might retire. What a crying shame!



There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos

no not his knees..it's something else..and it started hurting in the last set..

and this hurts the most...his injury again..I think i am going to cry..

yep its the knees again. He's done, if he's smart.

Shush Ricky, you should never count Rafa out! Holding breath here.. could not watch tie break! Talk about tension!
Thanx 4 good wishes from you hukle, wish I was neutral and could enjoy this match...

OH NO!

too bad for Rafa and too bad for Muzza too. I hope Nadal can at least finish the match. Not a good sign if his knees are breaking down in the 2nd tournament of the year.

Make no mistake, Murray is outplaying him pre-injury, so Muzz will have earned this win no matter what.

this is pure agony to watch :(
I still have faith in rafa tho

Rafa is back up and playing but that knee is not bending.

he's hurt. He should retire, which he won't of course. Remember Rotterdam?

Shame.

THANK YOU RAFA

the end is nigh for rafael nadal.
ANOTHER loss to a top 10 player.

this is the problem when u dont have a powerful and reliable serve that can deliver when u really need it.

Rafa has retired, but fair is fair Murray would have won the match anyway.



There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos

i believe its all over for Nadal

and i dont mean this match

Rafa go rest that knee ... Murray good luck with Cilic.

Now Murray is the fav to win the title...not losing a set till now...

it is breaking my heart..his whole career is in danger...this is very sad moment...

murray served brilliantly during crucial points. he deserves the win.
now I hope he would go all the way and win AO.

:( sad day for rafans

The knee injury looks like it's here to stay, I wonder how long Rafa can go on playing. Tennis has been only about Rafa for me recently, so I hope he carries on, but it doesn't look good.



There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos

"i believe its all over for Nadal

and i dont mean this match"

ITS A BIT EARLY TO BE MAKING STATEMENTS LIKE THAT RICKY!

such an anti climax to the match; Murray earned his win though

i believe its all over for Nadal

and i dont mean this match
RickyDimon


seriously?! :( :( :(

vrael - this has been going on for years.

has little to do with this match. Its getting worse, not better.

@ricky

u see what i have been saying man.

i think rafa's pride is more hurt than his knee.
rafa was playing pretty much close to his best but murray was playing his best and rafa deep down knew murray is just better than him.

murray will win the title, i'll bet my house on it!

i'm starting to think this is gonna be rafa's last year. he might be ok for clay court season and wimby, but that'll be it :(

Nadal will become No.3 or 4 by Monday...

Hey Ricky, I now all we rafa fans are tremendously hurt and are very neagtive about the whole thing, but I believe we can count Rafa out due to injury only when Rafa starts losing to players outside top 10. Now it is just a confidence thing. Funny rafa gets injuries when playing agaist the top 10 players I guess it is because of the limits his body has to cross against them.
Also I never feel it is over for Rafa. He is a fighter and will find a way around this one too. The clay court season will give us a clear picture of Rafa's state of affairs. But as long as Rafa is playing I would watch him whether he gets walloped or not.
And Ricky expecting a more positive comment from you once this sinks in. :)
Vamos Rafa!

attacker - no, what you have been saying about Nadal is all wrong, obviously.

attacking: one match at a time but for me Fed's looking awful good.

vmk - nothing needs to sink in for me. I'm simply analyzing the situation. Nadal took a lot of time off last year, now its only January and he is already hurt.

What say you?

the perfect scenario now for the end of this first GS would be a final between Federer-Cilic, with Federer taking his 16th GS in 4 sets.

The pride is irrelevant here...who cares if he loses today, the rest of the season is what matters and I am just worried Rafa's knee problems aren't going away...Rafa knows how to win but he also knows how to lose...he would not pretend he was hurt. To see him suffer from injury again is so disappointing, discouraging and scary...this is so bad for tennis...

@ attacking : Dont get pride into this, Rafa knows what Murray is capable of and there is no shame in losing to a player who one of the best games on hard courts and I would want Davydenko or Murray to take the title now.

carrie or anyone?? any news abt the brevity of the issue? has rafa said anything abt it??how serious ?? :'(

This is devastating.

i dont think that knee injury is all that serious, i think he might have tweaked it at the end of the 2nd set but the scoreline made that pain even worse.
i think nadal will be fine.
i dont wanna say he faked the injury but i think he knew the comeback was so far away and even a slight injury he could not do that comeback so he pulled out.
i think he should have finished, even just held serve for once and let murray win the match without retirement, rafa will get critisized for this, make no mistake, the anti-rafa people will be out in force esp. here in australia.

they will say he chickened out when he was getting thumped and a slight injury and he threw the towel.

not a good thing for rafas reputation, he should have just finished the match and even if its a thumping like tsonga gave him, atleast just finish the match, because people will remember the retirement than a thumping in the minds as the years go on.

i really think rafas ego is the one that is hurting, rafa threw everything at murray and murray's best was too good for rafas best.

probably the first smart injury-related move Nadal has made in his entire career

Nadal says the knee injury started in 2nd set ... then whatever happened during 3rd made him stop.

Commentators have also said there was a knee problem during practice.

Dont worry ATR , I am in Australia , I am not pro Rafa , but I am not going to say he chickened out.

Rafa felt pain from the very beginning of the match...and yet he played so well...Murray was lucky today, he did play great and he deserved to win, but that does not change the fact that if Rafa converted some of those break points it would have been a lot different...I am worried about Rafa?s health and the smartest thing he did was to retire today and try to save his knees from further damage...it?s lasting type of injury and it does not get fixed easily..

Ricky is throwing in the towel for Nadal. Surprising but good to see.

trust me, the neutral fans will lose respect for rafa, they will tell he should have just stayed there for 3 more games to let murray enjoy the win.

this is not a good look, im a rafa fan as well but seriously even i think he really should have just stayed there, just say murray played well and move on like he did with tsonga, but to retire, people will hold that against him.

and if u didnt know, if murray beats cilic then he moves to number 3 in the rankings and djokovic goes to number 2 after rafa's defeat.
so rafa could go to number 4 in the world.
WOW!

end of an era!

he must get that serve firing when he really needs it, its his biggest weakness without a shadow of a doubt, he can play attacking tennis when he wants to, but everytime he gets a break, he loses his serve.
it has always been the problem, and unless he hires a specialist serve coach then he will struggle agains the best.

and did anyone notice murray was yelling at rafas camp?
why was he yelling at them?

I was at the match and I am in agreement that Rafa did NOT fake his injury. To me, he seemed just a teeny bit off from the word go, and didn't seem to be moving as fast or as well as he had been. Truth be told, Mandy was throwing everything he had at Rafa - kitchen sink, bathtub, what have you and was playing well, so I don't want to discredit Mandy by saying he only won at the expense of Rafa's injury. But in all honesty, Rafa wasn't there, he just wasn't.

Rafa's trademark fighting spirit refused to let him give up. Even at the 3rd set, he was trying to push on so that Mandy can walk off court with a winning scoreline instead of "retired" but he just couldn't do it anymore. Plain to see from the way he was walking. Wasn't limping but heavily favoring the left knee. Couldn't even move much for that 3rd game of 3rd set.

I'm gutted for Rafa. Really really really am. I just hope he rests up, SKIPS ROTTERDAM, and then just come back fit and healthy in time for Roland Garros, where it is still his playing ground.

@natashao

how can u say murray was lucky today?
look rafa is one of my favourite players, but there is no doubt murray straight out beat rafa. no doubt about it.

murray just reads rafas serve so well, even better than djoko or fed.

i think murray will win the title, the only real question is if federer gets to the final then fed's serve will be crucial, fed wont lose serve like rafa did.
federer has the best serve in the world and under pressure it is even more awesome.

atr seriously, would you just go away? the last thing we rafa fans need now is people going on and on like you are. you don't like rafa. rafa got injured and had to quit. he might well retire at the end of the year. you can't possibly want any more than that, so please just stop it now

And by the way, ATR...are you SURE you're a Nadal fan? Do you need me to go dig up the trash you were saying about Rafa when you first appeared here? Just a reminder to you that you should really stick to your stories. :)

By the way, how cruel was Hawk-Eye to Rafa today?? I can totally imagine him calling up Roger and going, "So, the Hawk-Eye should burn in hell, no?"

@ Ricky : First let us find out for sure if it is the knee tendinitis that is plauging him or somethng else. Anyway I think he can slowly start reducing the number of hard court tournaments from now on. I just disagree when u say his career could be over. Far from it.

Rafa?s serve is not powerful and Murray was good in returning, but on some crucial break points Murray had net helping him out and Rafa had no luck as such at all...that was so obvious...I was gonna cry for numerous break points that Rafa was not able to convert...and his fall while serving, Gosh, I knew something was really wrong with him..

@Sib

if u think what im saying is harsh, u should listen to what alot of the people are saying.

they are saying exactly what i said.

he should not have retired,even if he had an injury, the way he called for the trainer AFTER the 3rd set started and not during the end of the 2nd set break, when he said his knee flared up at the end of the 2nd set, then retired after losing the 2nd set, that does not paint a great picture for rafa, it just looks to alot of people of cowardice.
its not a good look.
it just look wrong to alot of people, u have to see this from other people's point of view as well.

he should have just stood there for 3 more games even if it means getting a bagel, retiring at THAT point in time just reflects poorly on rafa.
the injury might be legit, but retiring at that time just gives the wrong signals to the viewing public.
they think he retired because he couldnt accept a loss.

he could get called out by other players such as federer on this retirement.

@ atr
Rafa has taken losses like a man. A man who has won 6 GS not being able to win against top 10 players is a poor statistic and he has stood firm without moaning and shouldering the blame when he was blown off the courts.
Even here he would say Murray played better and injury or not it looked like he would be second best. And prob u are listenng to atr tv who are saying Rafa is a coward coz I cant see Rafa being called that anywhere else.
Vamos Rafa!!!

i think he waited to see if he could serve before he called the trainer. he was serving second in the 3rd, which is why he waited til the 2nd game to call the trainer

to be honest, i don't think rafa cares how he comes across now. he clearly felt there was no way he could risk playng for another 3 games. not when he had to serve in 2 of them. i'm sure he'd rather quit and look after his knee than play on to preserve his image. his image won't help him in the long run. his knee will. he was right to retire. it was a lose -lose situation for him anyways. play on, get bagelled and have people say "well, it wasn't that bad if he played on. you'd think he could have won at least 1 game. he just gave that set away". or do what he did and have people call him a coward

personally i dont think rafa is done, he just tweaked his knee, not that tendinitis thing.
in a strange way, losing the aussie open might be the best thing that could happen to him. because winning the aussie open is like a curse for the rest of the season unless ur roger federer.
2008 aussie open champ retires.
2009 aussie open champ retires.
LOL.

i still support rafa, i get angry and REALLY frustrated when he plays such negative and defensive tennis, but i really do support the guy.
and i dont like the way he did the retirement that way. its never a good look when u retire after u get outplayed, regardless of injury.

and also, there is no way federer would call him out on this. i would hope not anyways

it does speak volumes though, atr, if you think people should be more worried about preserving their image with a viewing public (who the player won't even know personally) than about their health. i can't believe you actually call yourself a tennis fan

atr,

Nadal has never given up a match, even when injured. Like Ricky said, last year Rotterdam is an example.

The real problem lies in the fact that he doesn't give up and ignores the pain. He crossed the line too often with his knees and last year the knees finally gave in. And here the knees gave in again. It's good that he gave up, this should wouldn't even be competitive anymore, because of the injury.

What Nadal did was smart, thinking about the long term and not just this match. Had he only done it sooner in his career, maybe he also could have a career with the longevity of Federers. Federer based the choices of his planning on his body, making sure it can withstand all those years at the top.

Let's hope the injury won't sideline him for long and that he'll be back at his best when he returns.

It is just ridiculous to expect Rafa to play through the match when he already skipped his favorite Grand Slam due to that very same injury...why is it important if someone thinks it was cowardice if we all know he may have done more damage to his knees by repeating the same mistake ha made last year playing long matches while feeling pain...he knew he would not be able to sustain and five more games would have been long enough to make it a lot worse...and those who will blame Rafa for doing the right thing are just selfish blind idiots..If it?s a question of Rafa playing five more games to serve the public and their appetites or Rafa hearing his body and preserving his health to play the rest of the season, well it becomes obvious that he made the right choice...

well said Sib69. It sounds ridiculous when U call rafa a coward of all people. A fellow who has fought tooth and nail to improve his game on the hard courts, a person who has never disrespected any opponent.
Also it is very easy for us to sit in the comforts of our sofas and comment on what a player should have done. I guess a less experienced Rafa would have continued and prob held serve also. It just a more experienced Rafa who now knows when to compete and when to back off. Tennis matches are won when you are fit.

he is too scared of that injury..missing wimbledon was the ultimate eye opener not to risk it too much.he has said that that knee will not keep him out for too long but it is only 30 mins so he is nt sure but the injury is the same as last year.i think he will not play any tournament until mote carlo,please pray for his recovery people,perhaps his knees require the soft clay courts now :(

The fact that Rafa didn't feel he could stand out there for 3 more games, that he felt bad enough to apologise to Muzz for that but couldn't, tells me everything about how very, very scared he is about his knees and nothing about his sportsmanship. When has Rafa pulled the plug to deny an opponent a victory, without reason?

I'm very, very scared about the knees, but I'll never doubt Rafa's sportsmanship. Not for one second.

Well, the injury problem for Rafa is more complex: true he will need to skip some tournaments to try to recover but on the other hand we all know how much damage is caused to Rafa when he is not able to play and when being out of the competition for longer time...it is time consuming for him to come back to his best level and I hate to see him being forced to adjust again and having to start all over again with the same demanding matches and confidence dilemmas...

many people already are saying rafa is a spineless coward that cant take a loss like a man. this is not me who is saying this, its other people.
his reputation will suffer greatly after this, people dont like when people retire when they are losing.

i think rafa would be wise to stay out until at least indian wells. that starts 15th march, so that's almost 7 weeks away. the only reason i think he should play indian wells and perhaps miami rather than wait until monte carlo is purely because if rafa has no match practice, he goes in very rusty and then does tend to push himself too far. so if he plays indian wells, hopefully he'll treat it as practice rather than pushing too far

-----------------------------------------------------------

The fact that Rafa didn't feel he could stand out there for 3 more games, that he felt bad enough to apologise to Muzz for that but couldn't, tells me everything about how very, very scared he is about his knees and nothing about his sportsmanship. When has Rafa pulled the plug to deny an opponent a victory, without reason?

I'm very, very scared about the knees, but I'll never doubt Rafa's sportsmanship. Not for one second.
GBG , 1/26/10 2:26 PM

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i agree. the only consolation really is that he did retire rather than play on through the pain. he's learnt his lesson from last year. and he also said in his presser that it's hard to tell how bad it is after half an hour. he also doesn't seem entirely sure what's wrong with it. says he tweaked it when he landed on in. but then says it feels tha same as it did last year. so i'm guessing he retired as a precaution. smart move, although very upsetting for his fans

Really, ATR? Who are they? Your close friends? Anybody intelligent and trustworthy, or they are all clueless and pigheaded as...hmm, if so, Djokovic should according to those smart minds be banned from playing tennis...

This was the best match in Murray's career..What a play..He simply doesn't have a bad point in his game..Maybe he could make his backhand to be better...Although I don't like him,he is the favorite to win ther tournament..He will beat Cilic easily,Roddick played awflully today..If Novak wins Tsonga,Novak is new no2!!! Murray is surely in the final,the second one will be Fed 50%,Novak 40%,Davy 10%(I doubt Davy can beat both Fed and Djoko on GS!!,Novak will take Tsonga in max 4 sets..)

@natashao

rafter said nadal chicked out, pat cash said nadal is a coward, commentators said nadal is a sore loser and will never be like federer in class.

these are stuff im hearing

ATR: Well, Fed never had to face this type of injuries and you don?t know how he would have behaved if that was the case. Also Fed is a clear example of how best to take care of his health; he was even skipping minor tournaments to keep his body healthy for GSs. Those who characterize Rafa in a way you said you heard are just being personal about it...a lot of tennis players including MW are envious of Rafa...it is only because Rafa clearly broke the rule of tennis being a game of elitists, rich aristocrats who are SUPPOSED to be playing tennis and having great achievements...Rafa represents ordinary people and with his successes have thought those elitists a lesson...that is what bothers them all...

ATR provide evidence they used these words

If people are questioning Rafa, I really don't care. I'm sad for him, if he reads it, but, as Rafa always says "everyone can write whatever he wants, no?" I think Rafa and his fans know that he didn't do this lightly. And, for the doubters, I say live a year like Rafa just endured and then tell me how calmly you'd have stayed on that court.

Rafa needs an operation. That's for sure. He can't handle his problems himself. Murray played great tennis today. Looks like he could win his first grand slam title.

I agree that Rafa should go for an operation and get the problem fixed once and for all. Tsonga also did an operation on his knees and he seems OK now. Maybe Rafa should skip the whole spring hard court season, go for the operation, recuperate and come back during the clay court season. There's a good three months in between, I wonder whether that's enough time to do all these.

It doesn't matter how the ranking goes, as I'm sure once he's well he will reach the top few positions once again.

TENNIS without RAFA will lose half of its excitement! RAFA has always been a part the MOST THRILLING matches we've seen in the past decade !

It is disappointing to see Nadal injured again. It is even more disappointing how this is used to attack him as a person and a player by some of the posts.

Natashao, you really need to learn more about the players' backgrounds before making such ridiculous comments about Rafa being a man of the people while everyone else is an elite aristocrat! That's a real hoot and just undermines the support you give him.
Rafa's family is more well off than most tennis players' families, owning businesses, lots of property including a seaside holiday house and star footballers making millions. As a Rafa fan I read up on him as much as I could and his background is more affluent than most tennis players who mostly come from ordinary middle class families - except Gulbis.

Lisa, to be honest I don?t care whether Rafa or Gulbis come from the rich background, as it was not my intention to bring that up. I spoke about how Rafa behaves in his life, how Uncle Tony teaches him not to overspend, how he has never let him break a racket at the court, and how he has not let him drive Mercedes he has earned when he won Stuttgart and instead asked him to drive much less expensive Kia..Rafa takes a buss to get to tennis courts, Rafa eats most of the time at the cafeteria with other players and Rafa has always played Davis Cup with his fellow Spaniards, played like a real patriot for his country not taking care of what at the time might have been priority for his career. THAT is what I had in mind when talking about being ORDINARY, I never wanted to count how many millions any of their fathers and families may have accumulated over the years.

I was at the Australian Open for 11 days and watched Rafa go through his pre match warm up on Tuesday 26th from 4.30 to 5.30
He had to stop half way through this session to have his right foot attended to with his team
Signs of injury were present then and he did not look happy
He is a real fighter and would not quite without a real reason
Good Luck Rafa with your recovery