They must have heard kaitepai complaining. :-)

Oh I do hope Nike aren't going to try and make him look as 'preppy' as Roger!
And whoever wrote that statement for him - what ghastly corporate speak. Poor Rafa having to go along with that. If I were in his shoes, I would change my apparel supplier.

Oh my god hes gonna try and look like Federer. hahahahah number 1 has gone to his head already!

Oh my god Fed should take this piss and change to a muscle shirt. That would be hilerious. But Djok would be more the man to do it.

No, no. Cant you see it is Nike who are trying to make him change his beach bum look. Their marketing people clearly think it is not the appropriate image now he is No.1. Unfortunately money talks and he will be pressured into changing unless he breaks away and gives up the lucrative sponsorship contract.

I like your suggestion of Roger switching to muscle shirts. But he wouldn't because his upper arms are surprisingly puny considering how great the rest of his physique is.

This sucks. I'll miss the old Rafa look ;-)

RNG20, I agree, I'll miss the look too.
If you listen to what Rafa says, you'll see no. 1 hasn't gone to his head, unlike others. Roger changed his look too when he was no. 1 so it's not original with him. No matter what he wears, Rafa will never look like Roger, thank goodness for that.

Nike are either very limited in their vision or they have figured out tennis enthusiasts better than we have. It's ultimately about what sells. I would think that Rafa's grunge looks would appeal to a younger audience. I don't mind a change of image but surely they can be more original than to make Rafa a clone of Roger. I think that's insulting. they could make Rafa wear sporting attire that's smart and trendy that still reflect Rafa's personality. I think they should consult us on style and Rafa should sack Nike.

This is very OLD news and since debunked by Rafa in his blog who has said there are still ongoing discussions on this, that there will be only a slight change, and that will be done only when he is completely comfortable with it. He could not practice in the new clothes - shirt in particular way too tight. Nike isn't making Rafa do anything. This was a discussion among Rafa's PR people, family, etc., all of whom initially thought it was time to discard the image of his youth. Big mistake, of course. Fans in a huge uproar. Rafa knows this.

haha its easy to wind Nadal fans up....

Nike cannot FORCE nadal into clothes he doesnt want to wear. Federer was asked about this once and he said "well, they'll never get me wearing yellow". They can only make suggestions. And I'm telling u right now, Nike would not wanna lose Nadal. Its not like they are gonna say "wear polo shirts or thats it, we arn't gonna sponser you anymore". U people are having a laugh not thinking this is ultimatly Rafa's choice. Anyhow, I'm willing to bet that by RG next yr he will have reverted back to singlets (if he does in fact change at all).

There is a saying 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Nadal's image ( his personality, his tennis prowess and his casual clothing,) has brought thousands of fans back to tennis (like me for example) and must have turned a whole new younger generation onto tennis fans. The Nike marketing people and Nadal's PR team would be stupid to tamper with the image.

When Moya and Nadal teamed up for doubles they wore identical outfits and Moya at 32 looks great in the look so there is no reason why Nadal should be encouraged to abandon it for many years to come.

alltennis: thanks for the insight, didn't realise it was old news since it appeared here. Be interesting to see if anything does come of it.
ed: did you lay off following tennis for a period? have you been following the last few years or longer? I usually try to follow any standout juniors as well but either I've been too busy or there are none standing out. I did watch roddick as junior at the AO and followed rafa. It's nice if you can pick a real potential and they make it on the big stage but it's quite hard at jr level because of that very difficult transition they have to make.

I really think this new style suits nadal..till now he was like a sweet kid..but now he's no1 ..so a bit of a change won't do any harm...

tenstar: For years I only saw Wimbledon (family and work didnt allow for anything else). Since retiring and moving to France, have been able to watch much more but it was a visit to Roland Garros in 2005 that got me truly hooked. I have a sister living in Spain who is an avid tennis fan and a positive walking encyclopedia. I have my work cut out following the seniors without focussing on the juniors but it must be interesting to talent spot and watch the young ones coming through.

ed: I wouldn sell my family to watch the Wimb. Oh no, I'm sounding like stay! :) I went to the wimbledon museum this recent July. Have you been there? I wanted to see the design because a friend of a friend designed it, he was from Melbourne, now lives in UK. I really tried to catch RG and Wimb this year but in the hassle of trying to make 2 conferences - in Dublin and London, I couldn't do it. I was in Dublin when Wimb was happening but my Irish mates are tennis crazy so we watched it every day. Does your 'Spanish' sister want another friend? :) ya, it was fun watching roddick as a jr, it was the yr he won the AO title (I believe) and was pleased he did well on the big stage. have always liked him because he's really nice and engages with the crowd, one reason I'm sad he hasn't won at least another major. I wouldn't mind seeing him with this USO (esp after skipping olym) but can't see it happening.

oh no.. my poor little monfils is out :( but murray won in straight sets so that's good.

tenstar: no I haven't been to the museum. Don't know if I will ever get to go to Wimbledon again. I used to go on corporate hospitality tickets when I was working but the OAP doesn't run to the extravagance of attending Wimbledon any longer.