Ricky,
Thanks for your comments!

What a great match b/w Rafa was Nalbandian. I was probably the only one awake on EST time till 5 AM for that match :)

In the end, Rafa was lucky to save those Match-Points. But he showed amazing tenacity to claw back. He finally starting getting his game together later on. Nalbandian did his part by choking and handing it to Rafa.

That said, the worrying signs are that Rafa started the match totally clueless on what to do. Nalbandian toyed with him for almost a set and a half. Rafa missed a bunch of sitters on the forehand and backhand - which was totally uncharacteristic. He also had low winners, very high UnForced Errors (UnForced Errors outnumbered winners by a big margin) , a low 1st serve % (less than 60% for the first half of the match) and most amazingly a ratio of close to 50% points won on first serve for the 1st half of the match.

I think these errors are understandable.Rafa is trying to evolve into a more offensive players. So he's going for it more- both on the serves and flattening out his ground strokes, which is why he is missing more. I'm sure he will find the sweet spot b/w aggression and defense soon on hardcourts.

Great win for Rafa. Hopefully that should help his confidence. That said, He needs to up the tempo, cut down on his errors and be more consistent to be able to challenge the likes of Nole, Murray, Verdasco, and of course, Federer.

imjimmy, you're absolutely right! i read this morning that nadal stated after the match that he was too tentative to begin with and didn't have a clear plan on how to play david. he said that he was afraid of going to david's backhand and went too much to his forehand and as a result, it killed him. in the end, nadal learned a good lesson the hard way. anyway, a terrific match!

Memi: Thanks for your comments! Do you have a link to Nadal's post match comments/interview? I would be very interested to hear what Rafa thought of this match. And ouch! He received an injury timeout. That does not bode well for the rest of the season. Maybe playing doubles was a bad idea. Raa needs to conserve energy.

imjimmy - you are a serious fan, but I'm sure there were others here on the East coast who stayed up. People will do a lot for Rafa.

I bet there were also plenty of people who woke up and checked their TiVo and found out that FSN decided not to show the match!

imjimmy, this is not rafa's official postmatch interview, it is a link to an article i found while looking for postmatch comments. the author quoted one of rafa's comments: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/19032009/3/nadal-reaches-indian-wells-qu arter-finals.html

by the way, i thought the injury timeout was too redo the tape on his foot. i hope it's not a sign of something to deter him later in the season! right now, everything looks promising; with each battle he fights he's improving and that's always a good sign.

the interview transcripts don't come out until 24 hours after the fact. But it will be out tonight or tomorrow morning.

imjimmy, just so you're know in the web address above, there is no space in the word, "quarter." i made an error.

Great stuff from nadal. Quite amazing that he saved five match points, yet when it's a mere point that separates one from loss, you have to admit that it's largely luck that gets you through. I was angry with nalbandian for not being able to close it out.

Memi : Thanks so much for the link! As for the injury, you're right it was the foot-taping. I just hope he does not start getting those nasty blisters. There's a long season ahead.

Ricky: Yes hopefully there were other people awake too. I just slept 3 hrs yesterday and dozed through half of my work day today. But I don't regret staying and watching Rafa! He's such a scrapper! His tenacity, competitiveness and mental fortitude is amazing. He's also such a good sportsman! How can anyone not like Rafa?

I just hope that Nadal can stay healthy as long as he can for the sake of tennis and his fans around the world. Tennis won't be the same once he's not competitive.

I woke up to no match on my tivo from FSN. :( talk about angry.....

Cheryl: That's a pity! Maybe it's time for a hate mail to FSN :)

Cheryl, at least you didn't stay up until 2 AM while sitting through Azarenka-Safina, only to find out that that FSN was NOT going to show Nadal-Nalbandian.

Was Nadal really mad at himself in the press conference? You have to love his fire if this is the case.

thefanchild: This is what Rafa had to say-
________________________________________________________________ ____________

?I think today [I] was lucky. Anyway, well, I am not happy. I'm not very happy about myself and the first two sets. I think I had from the memory, a lot the last two matches. He played well, yes, but I was a little bit scared about his backhand. I didn't go to the match with the best mentality.?I think I didn't go to the match with [a] clear idea how to play the match... I didn't have exactly the tactic or the things I had to do to win this match. Probably because I lost very easy in the last two matches against him.??I didn't play against his backhand. I was scared about his backhand and it was a mistake... I have a good close forehand, too. So I think [it] can't be a problem [to] play against his backhand with my forehand. But I played too much to his forehand and he killed me against my backhand. In the end I have a little bit changes of rhythm with the slice, so that helps me a lot. And, yeah, I find a solution.?
__________________________________________________________ ____________________

Nadal scared? Nalbandian really does give Rog and Rafa fits...Thanks imjimmy...

He played well, yes, but I was a little bit scared about his backhand. I didn't go to the match with the best mentality.?I think I didn't go to the match with [a] clear idea how to play the match... I didn't have exactly the tactic or the things I had to do to win this match.

He won through all these, which shows you have to be so strong mentally to beat rafa. He is like serena of atp in that sense, even if you play better than him that doesnt mean you will win.

so true, orion! opponents probably get depressed when they see rafa and serena in their side of the draw. just the thought of having to play either of them because like you said, their opponent could be playing great and still lose. last night was a perfect example!

With re: to FSN not showing the RAFA vs Nalbandian match, it sucks! Luckily I have my membership thru tennistv.com, and I was able to watch it and the other matches FSN fail to televise. It was down and out watching thru out the match and in the end though, RAFA came out victorious. He's such a great fighter! Vamos!!!

here is an interesting comment made by victoria azarenka after defeating dinara safina:

Azarenka, a native of Belarus who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., said she was inspired by Nadal. "No matter what, he fights," she said. "You can see it's his mentality. For me, it is the best mentality anybody ever had. So I was just trying to fight as good as him, and it was pretty good for me."

a great tribute to a deserving player!

First win against Nalbandian.
Saved 5 match points.
He made an emphatic statement on the 3rd set.
Vamos Rafa!

ohh, please, memi, tributes for Fed are everywhere in the internet and we are not jumping up and down. Please create your own, 'I Love Rafa's behind' website.

Memi: Thanks for the words by Victoria azarenka. She's a success story in her own right. The match against Safina was inspired tennis to say the least. I hope she can go all the way. It's wonderful that she looks up to Rafa. Lot of people can learn from Rafa's mental fortitude and his attitude on court. It's good to hear that a fellow tennis player recognizes this! Thanks for posting this over here.

torres being so nasty because you are jealous isn't a nice way to live life. Ever thought about just discussing the sport and not showing another ugly side?

agreed imjimmy! in any sport, it's great when a player can have a positive impact on his or her peers.

Yep, I find that quote very interesting. Thanks for posting, memi.

memi, 3/20/09 12:14 AM:
Azarenka, a native of Belarus who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., said she was inspired by Nadal. "No matter what, he fights," she said. "You can see it's his mentality. For me, it is the best mentality anybody ever had. So I was just trying to fight as good as him, and it was pretty good for me."

A fair few player would probably love to have the mental strength he has at the moment. When Hewitt was at the top of his game, players admired that about him too. At this level, you need it help win in tight situations. Look at Gasquet, so much talent but he doesn't have the confidence and mental strength that he badly needs. A loss for tennis, he could have brought much more.