great to see Nadal finally acting responsibility

this is great news for other players in the Barcelona tournament

this is horrible news for anyone who had ideas of winning the French Open

That's 1100 points down the drain!

But if he needs to rest his knees, then he should.

VAMOS!

u scared me ricky..
i thot he was out due to injury..

Good decision Rafa. No single ounce of disappointment from one of fans here. Try to get the needful rest. Just be fit/healthy to play in bigger tournament.

Hope to see you play in Rome.

I guess the knee pain explains why he was so aggressive (which was nicer to see compared to the defensive style) last week. It's wise of him to finally cut back his schedule but it makes you wonder how fragile the knees are since he barely played over 5 hours last week.

he doesn't have knee pain

chr18, it's a precaution, if he keeps playing week in week out then he may be out for months again. Next year Barca will be out of his schedule altogether then it won't matter about losing points.

This will give someone else a chance to win Barca, and I'm sure Murray or Djoko will be wishing they were playing they would have had a good chance to win it.

VAMOS RAFA!

When he doesn't pull out from tournament(s), we question his wisdom. When he pulls out from tournament(s), we question his knee problem. I think he is making a wise decision here as he had already played for three weeks with only one week rest before coming to Monte Carlo. He's probably thinking of playing one week with one week rest before playing the next tournament again. I think that should make it fine for him and I think he'll play in Madrid. If he wins Madrid he'll only drop 100 ranking points in the end. I don't think at this point he is worried about his ranking points, he is more concern about winning the FO and if possible winning Wimbledon. I'm glad that he's able to think about the bigger picture and is willing to forgo a tournament he loves so much, ie Barcelona. Best wishes to you Rafa, for a successful clay and grass season.

BARCELONA .- Rafael Nadal will not play the 58th edition of the Barcelona Open BancSabadell, tournament better known as Conde de Godo.

The Spanish tennis player continues with knee problems, those which had to be infiltrated to play in Monte Carlo event on Sunday won for the sixth consecutive time.

Nadal will not play this tournament he has won his last editions and which has on many occasions that you feel ?at home?.

The cause of this waiver are, once again, their knees, they need a break from face-to party does not overload on this stretch of the season, where he faces defending the majority of titles and points.

Also?

PALMA .- There is still no official confirmation but it is assumed that Rafa Nadal will not participate in the Trofeo Conde de Godo. His knees have had enough and doctors have advised him to rest to avoid greater evils.

The Spaniard, winner in Monte Carlo tournament that ended in great pain, has undergone a series of medical tests to see what you have. His decision not to defend the title at the Barcelona Open, where he has won five times in succession, is a precautionary measure. This is reserved for the major events of both Rome and Madrid Masters 1000 -.

To me, skip Barcelona is definitely one of the best decisions that he has ever made in his entire career. It shows that he plays tennis solely because of the passion, not for the records or what not; factor that won millions of his fans heart. Record is not everything, play great tennis is! Strategically, I believe Nadal outs Barcelona to prepare himself for Madrid, which is more significant for his career since he lost it last year. If he wins, that will definitely increase his confidence level entering FO.

Vamos Rafa!

Hey how does he drop 1100 points. Isnt it a masters 500? But great to see Rafa playing with his mind rather than heart. Ominous signs for the French Open. Of course missing the Barcelona record will be a small thing as compared to the record he could set by winning the three clay masters 1000 and the FO. Who would bet against it?

nadal is silly. he complains about so many tournaments being on his schedule but he still plays. he should just wipe them off his schedule completely. his schedule this year included playin rotterdam and dubai but he couldnt play them cos he got injured at the australian open. its good that hes pulled out of barcalona so that he rests himself up. i think he should take about 3 longs breaks every yr to protect himself. 1 after the australian open cos then he can hav a about 2 months break, another after wimbledon where he can hav about 3 weeks, and another after us open where he can hav 3-4 months. he shouldnt care if a tournements mandotory or not cos we rather see him playin big tournements and winning rather always coming back from injury and needing to get form and confidence back. hope he stays fit cos tennis without rafa winning is boring

ijusth8u, gosh, what an aggressive net-name. What wrong with "ijust love(insertplayer'sname)"? Hope you're not on happy pills which seem to me to be misery pills. But I agree entirely with you, it makes me laugh to hear folks saying Rafa "must" play the TM 1000s. What are they going to do - retrospectively award, say, his RG 2007 title to Roger or something?

nadline, what's with the 1100 points dropped? Barca is worth 500 only and, given that his Barca-RG total last year was 680, I'd sooner see at least an RG SF place which would be worth rather more. Not that points seem to bother My Guy.

ANDIAMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"...he shouldnt care if a tournements mandotory or not cos we rather see him playin big tournements..."

Are you kidding? Financially, it's not free u know... In addition, he needs to fulfill his obligations towards his sponsors since they played a very essential part in supporting his career. Plus, practice alone is never enough for anybody to win majors. They need to play in events like masters so that they can feel the competition and analyze their competitors? development, to get well prepared for the majors.

That said, I agree with you that tennis without Nadal winning is boring...

Ricky@7.15: Gr8 comment! Good decision by Rafa.

"this is horrible news for anyone who had ideas of winning the French Open"

Ricky, I'm assuming you're speaking of other players who want to win, not fans who want Rafa to win ...?

Ricky is right! I really wish the Rafa haters would keep their big mouths shut about Rafa withdrawing from Barcelona. Any rational person living in the real word would understand that Rafa is trying to protect his knees. He can't play every clay court tournament like he did last year and expect to come into RG fresh and playing his best. Thank God that Rafa learned from last year. I said that he needs to keep his eye on the prize, which is RG. This tells me that he is serious about his preparation for the one trophy that he wants back.

If others wish to indulge in rank speculation about Rafa being aggressive and closing out points quickly because his knees were hurting, well let them. That is about the most ridiculous thing I have heard yet. The idea that Rafa could manage to even be aggressive if his knees were hurting him, is so absurd that it's not really worth talking about.

Rafa can't get a break from some people. He gets criticized if he plays too much, criticized if he withdraws. Thank goodness Rafa has the good sense to make his own decisions.

I said 1100 points because Ricky suggested that he won't play Madrid either. I should have made myself clear.

Well, he deserve the rest! congrats Rafa

Nadline - I read an interesting comment yesterday that I thought was quite perceptive. I think Nadal fans here will find it interesting as well.

Evidently, the new strings are giving him more aggressiveness even on clay. He's hitting deeper and harder more consistantly, and doing so with even more topspin. Small wonder then he was able to dish out 3 servings of The Bagel & Breadstick Special. Used to be that playing Nadal was a mental nightmare before you took the court because you KNEW you'd be out there forever and would run around the globe at least once. This year two of his matches were FINISHED in less than an hour, which is how long he used to take to finish his opening set, employing the "exhaust them" approach. This week he showed he's much more alert to his opportunities to go for The Kill Shot. All of this helps his scheduling too. He's barely spent six hours on court of actual match time in a week. His body will thank him endlessly, and it will keep him more dangerous every week of the clay season and much less tired.

So, The Kill Shot. It shortens the points and saves the body. Shortening the points is the tactic that Roger used at Madrid last year. Finally figured out that playing from the baseline just wasn't going to work for him, so it's only natural that Rafa would have to counter himself. It's pretty easy to see that 5-7 hours on a court per tournament versus 15 hours per tournament will be much less stressful on the body.
Less stress and fewer tournaments = winning Rafa. I can't wait to see what happens this season because I'm expecting it to be Rafalicious.

im not saying rafa should practice in the period he takes of but should do whatever he wants like take a proper off season and go on holiday to recharge his batteries.

Thanks for the info Maya.

I think he should keep the new strings a secret, his shots certainly sound sharper. I also noticed that he was spending less time thrashing the ball around and going for the kill early. This is probably what he's been working on since he came back from injury last year, and it's taken time to bed down. If he paces himself and not play too many tournaments, along with his new style and improved strings, everyone had better watch out.

One aspect of his game that needs a look at is returning the big serves from the likes of Roddick and Ljubicic. Not that it too much of a problem, but it's a weapon they can use against him.

NNY,
I don't think anybody was downing him because he dropped out of Barcelona. It's clear to everybody that he's trying to save his knees and there's nothing wrong with that.
I can't see why you would get so angry at the fact that I said he's being more aggressive and it's preferable to the defensive style that he employed previously. He said himself in Dubai last year when his knees hurt against Mandy in the 2nd set he played more aggressively to end the points quicker and he won that set if you recall. So to say that he can't play aggressively when in pain is not correct. Maya also seems to realise that he's changed his approach.

VERY GOOD decision...he has matured now....perhaps he shud have done this last year too...love you rafa ! :P

rafa didnt play in dubai last yr. chr18.

chr18 , it was rotterdam..not dubai

its good to see rafa closer to the baseline. i think it would be good if rafa started serving and vollying more cos whenever he does he wins the point. rafa likes to be aggressive because he wants to win wimbledon again. i also think he should flatten his shots more especially against the bigger players. whenever he flattens the backhand its enourmous and and the oppenent is usually nowhere near the ball.

Well I guess he knew he would have to pull one of the clay events ... shame about Barcelona (Stupid Madrid ...where I think he will play). The sad part is not that Rafa is taking a break but that all these clay tournaments are jammed together. Vamos Rome!

Finally Rafa is trying to play smart tennis; take a break and maybe the knees will last longer. Uncle Toni has told him more than once. He needs to stop running for the shot 6-0,3-0 and 0-30 best of 3 in the lead, why beat your most valuable asset up for nothing.......knees. He needs to play smarter

mara02 - obviously

Ricky,congratulations,great post on the beginning..It's pretty sure that Rafa will win 3 masters and RG,smth that no one has achieved..If u asked me,I think he will be the hardest tested in Madrid,cos the clay is the fastest there,and it suits more to Roger..But,it's only predictions,we have to wait to see how Roger will play on clay,esp.in Madrid..This thing means also that there is no chance Rafa overtaking No1 position after RG even if he won all Masters and RG...The difference is 4210 now(Rafa lost 500p),and considering that Fed will probably take Estoril, it can be 4460,it's really huge..Fed will definitely take Sampras' record for being No1..I predict that maybe Verdasco can take Barcelona..Cheers from Serbia for all ppl here:)

chr18,

Okay, here we go again with distorting my words. You basically said that Rafa's knees were hurting, so he tried to close out points quickly. When he seemed to have a flareup of some kind in his semifinal match with Roddick in Miami, he couldn't play aggressively at all. He reverted back to his old defensive style, hitting short balls that Roddick was able to pounce on for winners. When he was yelling at himself on the sidelines and pounding his left thigh and saying I can't, I can't, that meant that something was preventing him from playing his game.

Looking at his movement on the clay at MC, he seemed to be doing very well. When Rafa feels pain, then he goes back to being passive. Don't confuse two different issues and lump them together. We all know that Rafa has tried to incorporate a more aggressive style of play this year. One reason is so that he can be more competitive and get better results against the big guys with their booming serves. The other reason is to save wear and tear on his knees. So changing his game a bit, finishing points quickly and moving in to close out rallies, is an overall strategy.

I can't see any way that Rafa was just trying to end matches quickly because he was in pain. Many remarked on how beautiful his footwork was on the clay, like he was dancing. I didn't see Rafa tighten up or hold back.

Knee pain will not help Rafa play aggressive. If he's healthy and pain free, then he can be aggressive and go for his shots. The fact that he managed to spend the minimum amount of time on court, is always going to be good for his knees.

NNY,
I didn't say his knees were hurting. He did. At least he cited knee pain as the reason for his withdrawal from Barcelona. As Ricky pointed out on another thread this may be just because you have to give a reason. Also, in the article nadline posted above, it says he went and saw his doctors because of "great pain". It's not for any of us to say if he has pain or not. Only he knows for sure.
Of course knee pain is not good for his game, whether he plays aggressively or not. Incidentally, I thought he played passively in the 3rd sets against Luby and Rod because he got tight and was simply trying to play "not to lose" rather than going for it to win. As I've said earlier, he played brilliant tennis at MC so it was surprising to hear of the knee pain also. Either way, you should lighten up and try not to take offense to every little thing ;-)

Yep, that's how I see it Native. Shortening the points is a strategy that WILL reduce stress on the knees, but I don't think he played with pain in MC. And I can't quite figure out if his frustration in Miami was because the knee was hurting, or because he was afraid to PUSH it to the next level because of the knee. Remember, clay court season has been the #1 focus since the beginning of the year. If he pushed and blew out a knee he would have been done probably for the rest of the year. I think he had the same concern at the year end finals as well. If he pushed and damaged his knee he would have been out for Davis cup. I think this new schedule and new strategies on the court are all designed to keep Rafa playing (at optimum) for as long as possible. It will be interesting to see if he plays Madrid.

well, i didn't expect this. i thought it would only be madrid. am very, very pleased to see rafa taking precautions. when he first announced that he has a full clay schedule, i thought "here we go, he's going to kill himself for the points again". now i'm so happy to see he's making sure not to repeat his mistakes. you go rafa!!

ricky, lol on your comment about horrible news!

natice: lovely to have you back. where have you been of have just been blind? :)

Maya,

You make some excellent points! Honestly, I am not sure if it was knee pain or frustration. There has been the usual speculation all over the place about Rafa's outburst during that changeover in the third set. I thought it was just frustration, but with all of the reports floating around, I just don't know what to think. All I know is that Rafa seems to be working closely with his doctor to manage the knee issues. Whatever works for him is fine with me.

I am also interested to see if Rafa decides to play Madrid. I have this feeling that it depends on what happens in Rome. If Rafa wins, then he may decide to skip it. That would still mean that he loses 1100 points, but if the focus is RG, then that's what is important.

homos,

Thanks for the nice comment! I've been around, but not posting as much. I check in and read quite a bit. As you can see, I am still going back and forth with the usual suspects. You know what? Maybe I should follow Rafa's example and just skip over their comments, withdraw from inane arguments! Save my energy for the important tournaments!

I just wish I knew for sure what was going on with Rafa. There is so much speculation floating all over the place and not enough facts.

So Rafa is likely to skip both Barcelona and Madrid?! Well, I agree with Native, he is focusing on the big picture, RG and Wimby. If he does well there he is to gain a lot of points so it will compensate for the lost in points he will have by not playing Barc & Madrid. However, I am wondering how tired he could be at this early stage of the clay season? He hardly spent any time on the court. Well, this only speaks of the real condition of his knees and these precaution measures are sending a message across...his team has thought it over...Rafa is not making the same mistake ever again...and with all my heart I am hopping he was not in pain during the MC. That is so sad to even think of...and it is breaking my heart...

If I act as selfish and spoiled Rafa fan I will then only say it is so unfortunate not to see him this week and he will be greatly missed. The clay tournaments almost have no meaning without Rafa...but as reasonable person who wants to have more of Rafa in the upcoming years I will just say good decision and enjoy your rest dear...this may be the best chance for Nando to win Barcelona :) we all felt so sorry for him after MC..

Marko, how good to see that you continue to post on TT despite your promise to go away if Rafa won on Sunday. No doubt you will argue that this was conditional on his beating Novak Djokovic in the final; luckily for you and for TT fans everywhere, Novak slumped to a 2-6, 2-6 semi-final defeat by some guy who won just one game off Rafa in the final, so you're able to give us the points breakdown above.

Yep, it's looking like a clean sweep master-plan for 2010 and I am looking forward to the clay season now that I know Barca is out of the way.

Dont think he will miss Madrid though. Just 2 clay tourneys before RG would be too little practice for him I guess. lets see what he says in the press conference today. that sud give some in sight

the presser conference has been conducted, rafa fans ..NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT... it was a FINE decision ,indeed. here are some handy parts of the presser:

?For me, not being able to play here is a tough blow. I am playing at home, it?s my club and apart from that I have won five consecutive times and would have liked to have the chance to continue. Next year, the conditions will be more favourable, with a week off after Barcelona. I will definitely be back next year, and the calendar will be organised in a manner that will also encourage other players to come.?

, ?The last year was difficult, with a lot of problems. I started this year playing well, and apart from the small problem in Australia, I felt I was playing well enough to have chances to win at all of the tournaments I have entered. I needed the win in Monte Carlo. But with everything that has happened to me, to play for three consecutive weeks, taking into account that we are on clay and the matches tend to last a little longer, would be almost impossible.?


When asked about the actual condition of his knee, Nadal confirmed that he preferred to be cautious rather than to take risks. ?Yes, [the withdrawal] was a preventative measure. Luckily last week I played very well. I feel fine right now, but I have had many problems in this last year and can?t afford to take any risks if I want to be in my best possible condition on court. That?s my main objective.?

Thought this was the right post to post this here. the press conference clarifies it all. Nadal is not injured :) . he withdrew for cautious reasons.

Nadal press conference (today):

?I always planned to play in Barcelona,? said the former world #1. ?But tennis is not like football, when you know exactly how many matches you will have to plan and when. I didn?t know if I would win Monte Carlo, or lose in the first round. It might not have been the correct decision ? I hope that I do not regret it ? but I have to do everything that I can to ensure that every time I go on court I am at 100%, in the best condition possible. I don?t think that three weeks of tennis without stopping is the most adequate way to prepare myself.?

Asked how difficult it had been to take the decision not to defend his title, Nadal said, ?For me, not being able to play here is a tough blow. I am playing at home, it?s my club and apart from that I have won five consecutive times and would have liked to have the chance to continue. Next year, the conditions will be more favourable, with a week off after Barcelona. I will definitely be back next year, and the calendar will be organised in a manner that will also encourage other players to come.?

Discussing his form so far in 2010, the Mallorcan commented, ?The last year was difficult, with a lot of problems. I started this year playing well, and apart from the small problem in Australia, I felt I was playing well enough to have chances to win at all of the tournaments I have entered. I needed the win in Monte Carlo. But with everything that has happened to me, to play for three consecutive weeks, taking into account that we are on clay and the matches tend to last a little longer, would be almost impossible.?

When asked about the actual condition of his knee, Nadal confirmed that he preferred to be cautious rather than to take risks. ?Yes, [the withdrawal] was a preventative measure. Luckily last week I played very well. I feel fine right now, but I have had many problems in this last year and can?t afford to take any risks if I want to be in my best possible condition on court. That?s my main objective.?

Hey guys do you think Nadal has really changed and will try to minimise schedule as much as possible bcz he does say he is going to play next year. dunno what he is saying about the gap next year. is their going to be change in ATP schedule for 2011 ?
Nothing said by nadal on playing in madrid though. Dunno if he was asked. Never the less good decision as i m one of his admirers (fan as u may say). Its good if he is saving energy for the biggie tournaments.

iMaFan, sounds like Madrid and Rome will be switched around ... or something like that.

what a relief to learn he is not injured again...he made more than wise decision to skip Barca and then play Rome rested and on the run...I assume he will still be training as he stated he just needed a break from the consecutive tournaments...

i think nadal will still play madrid because he will still have about a week to get ready for RG and i think he will win it because he is playing much more aggressively then last year. last year he won everything but was not playing well but because he is such a good player his aura was pushing him over the line but this yr hes hitting the ball harder and finshing points of quicker which will suit madrids surface. he got to the final last yr and this yr he will win it easily. RAFAS BACK PPL AND NOBODY STANDS IN HIS WAY EXCEPT HIMSELF.

You can go to the atp website, click under Tournaments, click at Calendar,and then click on 2010-11 Calendar (PDF); that will show you the provisional calendar for 2011. The clay season for 2011 starts with MC, Barcelona and then one week break, followed by Madrid, Rome and one week break before the FO starts.

Rafa will play madrid, SURELY. yes barcelo will be followed by a week's break next year. nadal wil be fresh for RG this time,

1 . he is spending way less time on court (mere 5 practice sessions in MC)
2. not playing barca this time.

VAMOSSS !!! mission RG should be accomplished

Wish list for the upcoming clay season
1] Grabbing the Madrid title from Roger by beating him in the final
2] Serving a few bagels to Soderling at the FO
3] Serving out some crushing defeats to Davydenko,JMDP,Djokovic,Murray
4] Lifting the FO without dropping a set :)
5] A Spaniard winning Barcelona by beating the daylights out of Sod

vmk1 , 4/20/10 8:19 PM

I will go along with all of the above.

Vamos Rafa!

vmk1,

Nadline beat me to it, but I am totally with you on all counts!

I just wanted to say that the stupid people here who keep talking about the points and how no one can stop Fed from beating Pete's record for being at #1, and Djoker still being #2 for RG, honestly make me sick! Rafa fans don't give a hoot about that nonsense. We want Rafa healthy and able to play his very best. Enjoy the rankings now, because the King of Clay is back and on a rampage. He has made the necessary schedule changes to ensure that he get his trophy back at RG. He will! Once he does, the points and rankings will all sort themselves out.

Great to see rafa fighting fit again, so looking foward to all the clay court tournaments coming up over the next few weeks.

Go Federer. He will retain his FO trophy, and continue playing his best tennis. What an incredible rivalry this is. For all federer fans, some training photos of Roger on clay. Cheers.

Hi to vamosrafa.

http://www.gototennisblog.com/2010/04/19/photos-roger-fe derer-trains-for-the-clay-season/

There had to have been 15 posts on another sight discussing at least 30 possible scenarios all hoping for Roger to remain #1 and Djokovich #2 going into FO. My only thought was add the FO and Wimbledon scenarios and then see what your calculations tell you. Probably to scarry for Roger & Nole fans to contemplate.

Maxi, hi. I 'm sure Roger was watching what was happening this past week in Monte Carlo ... love to hear his comments. ;) So looking forward to Rome and Madrid ... should be good.
I would love to see Rafa win back the title at RG (but really hope he gets to fight in the final against Roger).

hi, smr. yes it will be great to see both rafa and roger fighting for the trophies again, in all honesty, i have missed that, with rafa being sidelined with his knees. I am so happy for you that your favourite player is back to his best-it really is great news-and i do mean that.i would have hated for rafa to never return to his best. the roger/rafa rivalries will always be legendary because they are such different players and great for each others game. it was great to see him in MC.But that is where we will differ. Of course, I understand you wanting rafa to win, of course. However, I think that roger has been working hard right now to adapt his game, and feel comfortable on clay smr. I have been reading some awesome posts from him and his fans on roger.com site and gototennis, some incredible photos of him, and the training he has been putting in these last 4 weeks plus. I have really missed watching him play, so cannot wait to see him in Rome.

Maya, really? no problem. I am sure Roger is not worried at all, or scared. He is more than 3,000 points ahead, and whatever happens between now and wimbledon, will see be seeded no.1 at wimbledon due to the traditional rule that whoever won the wimby tournament the previous year, will always remain the no.1 seed the following year. So as usual, roger will handle the pressure well, as he has done and all federer fans will be having their faith in his game, because we just love him and support him and thats it really. no scares at all.

It really was such a treat to see Rafa finally win a tournament this season ... glad he is taking a break, even it is just an emotional one. Tennis is such a psychologically intense game (as evidenced in the past by all of our top players), as well as being physically demanding, so a little Majorcan time sounds like a good idea.
And yes maxi ... strangely enough I am missing seeing Roger on the courts.

Oh yea .. in Rome either Rafa or Fed, if they can make through, has the chance to tie (or surpass ?) Agassi's record with the Masters 1000's.

Here guys [especially for the rafaholics]here is a comical piece on Nadal reclaiming his throne. The part on Nalbandian is hilarious.

Reclaming His Kingdom
Friday, April 16, 2010 , Posted by Sofie at Friday, April 16, 2010

Rafa poised to reclaim kingdom
by Pete Bodo

It was well past midnight in Monaco, but one light burned brightly behind the leaded glass window of Prince von Poopenstein's chateau high on a cliff overlooking the Monte Carlo Country Club and the dark expanse of the Mediterranean.

Inside the candlelit room, a number of men were seated around a massive oak table upon, which sit the remnants of a feast and open bottles of red wine, Pernod and Armagnac; others lounged around on sofas behind, which hung ancient tapestries depicting yew trees, minstrels and unicorns. The mood was somber, the silences long.

The first man to speak was a dark-haired, broad-shouldered youth: "I am filled with dread," he said in hushed tones. "I fear my arm will again turn to jelly; my breathing difficulties and dizziness will return to plague me. The truth is burned into my mind. We were wrong to consider him finished."

The ensuing silence was broken by the one called, simply, Verdasco: "I believe Novak the Dark speaks for all of us. I would not believe this until today. But I saw -- I saw what he did to Berrer, the same as de Bakker two days ago. He destroyed him, giving but one game for mere sport -- or pity."

The men all started at the sound of a fist crashing heavily the table. "Madness! Sheer madness! Berrer and de Bakker. They are not men," cried Roger, Son of Nike. "They are as mere children compared to you. Have you no faith? Have you no courage?"

The eyes of the assembled company all fell in shame. Perhaps Roger, Son of Nike, was right -- perhaps these men, the best in all the kingdom of Luxilon, had lost their nerve.

Roger continued: "I did not don the jacket of 16 on the fair lawn of Wimbledon so little time ago to surrender like a craven rabbit. It has been 11 months since the renegade Rafa has proven himself on the field of battle. Eleven months spent in the wilderness, exiled. Are we to allow him to reclaim his ill-gotten kingdom, here on the very red clay where he first slashed and felled some of our finest? Was his banishment in Madrid not sufficient proof that he is unworthy, a savage whose time has come and gone?"

A restless murmur ran through the room. The breeze whistling through the window caused the candles in the sconces to flicker, revealing frowns of deep concern on the faces of the men.

"Valiant you were that day in Madrid," the one they called Nalbandian observed, reaching for another leg of lamb. "And well you deserve the 16 jacket, and the man purse, too. But that was then -- and this is now. I fear that the knees of the renegade Rafa are strong and he is up to his old tricks. He lies in wait for us, as the wolf lies in wait for the lamb."

The look shot his way by Son of Nike sent a chill right through Nalbandian and penetrated to his very soul. "You cur," Roger snarled. "Have you no pride? Have you no sense of honor? Sooner die than yield to this Rafa once again, I say."

"Easy for you to say," Kohlschreiber of the Rhine remarked under his breath, his eyes fixed on the cream-colored 16 jacket lying on the back of Roger's chair.

Nalbandian methodically licked the grease off his fingers and threw the bone over his shoulder. "Son of Nike, have you forgotten the year 2009, or the ones before, the years of Rafa at Roland Garros? Why do you speak of him with such contempt?"

They were interrupted by the sound of a child, wailing.

"Mirka! Shut that child up," cried Roger, Son of Nike, sweeping an arm across the table, sending bottles crashing to the floor. "I'll have no more of this talk!"

"Have it your way," said Ferrer the Small. "But if I were you -- if I were any of you, I would be afraid. Very afraid."

LOL-that was great TopDog!! Thanks for the laugh and break from all the seriousness. I hope all take it as it is supposed to be taken.....humorously!

Exactly the reason why i posted it F4T. As a rafa fan I saw no issue with it as its hilarious. :)

"I fear that the knees of the renegade Rafa are strong and he is up to his old tricks. He lies in wait for us, as the wolf lies in wait for the lamb." LOL

I love rereadig this piece

TopDog: that article is hilarious :D

ferrer the small. hahaha

...and what???
...no Muzza The Spoiled in story...
...or he's out, waiting for them to leave and clean the broken glass???

smr, that's nice.

for anyone (though you all probably have this anyway), the pre-release tickets are out at the WTF in November at the O2. Tickets now available. Good luck.

native: that's right some people will always be annoying. did you expect different? :)

i enjoyed this thread last couple of days til now i see roger has been introduced - by a roger fan of course wanting to cheer him on. nice! and they have the gall to accuse rafa fans of spoiling roger threads by bringing rafa into it.

homos,

Don't think it's only on this blog! They are on the other blog about Rafa, prattling on and on about how Fed would have won if he was at MC. Now that's tennis wisdom for you! So why on earth didn't the man himself go there and play? But yes, they are up to the usual antics, trying to steal Rafa's moment of triumph. Geez, the man can't even get his first win in all these months, only to have Fed fans try to taint it by saying that Fed would have beaten him.

They are a funny bunch, always full of self-delusion. As though Fed could have beaten Rafa the way he was playing. At least we have our ammunition the next time they call us out for spoiling Fed blogs.

http://www.nadalnews.com/2010/04/20/barcelon-interview-about-withdrawa l/

Nadal is assuminigly going to play madrid. And he actually loves the tournament.. lol

Here's little part of what he said in the link i have posted above:
The knees are fine, in Monte Carlo, I was perfect, I could move very well, playing aggressive, I could defend and the truth is that I was playing very, very well, the best weeks I?ve played on clay in my career

At the Madrid Masters 1000 Are you going? or will not? Do you have it planned or not yet?
Rafa: My plans, yes,except for setbacks. I, Madrid is a tournament that is in Spain, it is a mandatory tournament, you can earn many points for the ranking,it is a tournament that is very important and I love it. So I will make every effort to be there, of course

"""At least we have our ammunition the next time they call us out for spoiling Fed blogs."""

HA.HA.HA. NativeNY

he is getting older and wiser. Is a great idea that he is pulling out of barca. i do not think antone can stop him next wk in madrid

NNY, homos and Rain....... there aren't any current articles on here for fed so the fedfans have to MAKE one of them about fed.

"Have it your way," said Ferrer the Small. "But if I were you -- if I were any of you, I would be afraid. Very afraid.".......this says it all...Vamos Rafa!!!!!

Thanks TopDog...I enjoyed it! so, so funny...

Natashao

Your welcome it was just too funny not to share it with you guys. I new some people would appreciate it as much as I did. :-)

native, do try to be a little bit more humble and honest please. if it wasnt for nadline keep bringing up federer all the time, people wouldnt be bridges apart. you have plenty of compliments from federer fans (me included), am very happy for you, for homos, for vamosrafa, but really. try to be a little more objective, and not so aggressive. nadline is the problem here, she keeps going about federer, its obvious. she cannot go over him being world no.1, or over herself. please help her.

maxi: "she keeps going about federer, its obvious. she cannot go over him being world no.1, or over herself. please help her."

Sounds more like you than anyone else maxi. You're the one who is constantly chirping about fed being the best thing since sliced bread, reciting stats constantly, reciting ranking and points constantly regardless of whether the topic calls for it or not. You're the obsessed one who also is constantly making snide remarks about nadline in your posts also, regardless of whether she has even posted anything that concerns what you are writing about. You are too obsessed with fed and with nadline. *yawn*

f4t, well put. I know that maxi is obsessed with me, even though I have not responded to anything she has to say for ages. I simply don't have the stomach for arguing with someone who generally gets the wrong end of the stick and then becomes abusive when she loses an argument, and has two faces, and is in her elements when there are heavy weight Fedfans that she can cling on to.

If anyone makes a claim that diminishes Rafa's achievements, you bet I will come out and make my point.

Hi maxi , good to see you :) just waiting for rome to commence, rafa finally taking a wise decision in terms of scheduling and federer will be back there too, nice prospect :D

fan4tennis,

Thanks for having my back! I am determined to ignore the few Fed fans who persist in trying to disrupt this site. Homos asked me why I haven't been here that much. Now you have the reason. It never ends. It just goes on and on and on. I will not let any petty Fed fan keep me from enjoying Rafa's great victory at MC. I am still on a high. Rafa is looking great right now and making good decisions with this schedule.

Thanks for also pointing out the incessant "yawn" and "boring". As if these words substitute for intelligent comments. It sounds like a 10 year old.
nadline,

Try and ignore if you will, but it doesn't stop. I try to take the high road, but the same person keeps repeating the same lies over and over again. I even stay away, just to avoid this nonsense, but if I come back, the garbage happens all over again. All we can do is ignore the silliness and celebrate Rafa's great win. Our guy is back better than ever and ready to reclaim his trophy!

Vamos, Rafa!

really maxi, you seem to be overly obsessed with nadline. nearly every time you post, you are on her case... her husband's case, children's case, grand children, pets, etc, etc. and you think she needs. next you will be condemning the town she lives in, her priminister, back benchers, homeless people, etc. etc...

native: trust me, i know why you didn't post. am just glad when you do. i read and don't always post too. same reason. remember miniarbre? i miss her. she probably left because of the same 'thing' you and i have a natural aversion to. lots of perseverance required on our part friend.

homos,

Dear friend! Yes, I think miniarbre left for that very reason. I do miss her so much. She was an intelligent, thoughtful poster who always had something worthwhile to say. But it takes some effort and will to stay here.

It is beyond shameful that any Fed fan would even try to interfere with our long awaited celebration of Rafa's great win. I mean, come on! The guy has been through hell and finally breaks through - so give us a few days to glory in it! I expect a lot more of those days ahead for us.

I will hang in here if you will! :)

Rafa friends - I can't believe what I'm hearing. In the words of Johnny Mac "You can't be serious"!! You cannot give up the good fight. Our boy deserves better. Maxi is tidy and predictable and says the same thing over and over again. Rarely does she make a good point and most of the time her arguements are baseless. Basically she's harmless. We know what we know about Rafa so her little digs should be totally ignored. If she says something worth noting, then good on her, but otherwise she's just a crazy fed fan so let it run like water off a ducks back. Rafa is a great role model for just that. VAMOS!!!!!!

Nadline - You suggested I not respond to a certain "go murray" so I stopped. Same thing here. Ignore, Ignore, Ignore.

If Nadal plays like this.... I am sure Federer will not retain his FO trophy... Go Rafa... take your trophies back....

Maxi - Sorry you missed the word "fans" in my post. It's Roger's fans that are to scarred to calculate beyond Wimbledon is what I said. Just wondering, is English your primary language? I think Roger would be foolish if he weren't a little worried Maxi. There head to head on clay is ridiculously in Rafa's favor and his play in Monte Carlo is better than it's ever been. Your not calling Roger a fool are you?

Maya,

We're still here! There are just times when I need to take a little breather. We couldn't even have this blog to ourselves to celebrate Rafa getting a great win and making history in the process. I honestly do try to ignore most of the nonsense, but when someone comes on here and has the absolute gall to say that if Fed was at MC, then he would have beaten Rafa, well, them's fighting words! It's the same as the Djoker fans saying that he would have beaten Rafa in the finals! Believe me, I have read this on another tennis forum. I don't know if it's been said here. Now that is even more ridiculous. No, if Djoker had done his job and beaten Verdasco the way he was favored to, then he would have had his chance at Rafa in the finals. Looking at how on fire Rafa was, no one, but no one, was going to beat him in that tournament. I hope we see more of the same in Rome. The top four are all scheduled to be there, so the gang's all there. Maybe some questions will be answered. However, I would like to point out that Rafa has been doing his part by getting to the semis in the last two hardcourt events of the season. The others didn't manage to get there.

In summary, if your player doesn't show up or gets knocked out early by another player, then all ifs, ands, or buts are off limits!!

Rafans, we should not succumb to Fedfans trying to shut us up or drive us away from this site; the reason I decided not to engage with maxi anymore was because I quoted SkySports saying that many people had written to them questioning how it was that Roger had won the sportsmanship award in a year when he was less than sportsmanlike, and that they would ask the ATP about the procedures for the award, and maxi said SKY never said that, and people should take no notice of what I say because I am always making things up.

That was the last straw to be accused of lying, because that is questioning my integrity, so I decided to ignore her from then on. I always quote the source of anything I report here, why would I make anything up like that up when so many posters here watch SKY as well, that really hurt.

They always accuse Rafans of sour grapes and now Fedfans are helping themselves to a truckload of sour grapes, and after all the heartache we have had in the past year over Rafa's injury and recovery, they still begrudge us a little bit of celebration when Rafa wins his first trophy in 11 months.

maxi also has the habit of using people's pen names fro other forums here, that is intruding into personal matters, people sign under different names because that's what they want to be known as on different forums, for someone to infiltrate that privacy is totally out of order. It just shows how immature she is.

The truth is Roger would never win FO if Rafa was in the final last year....

ok native: i'll hang in here. wouldn't give them the satisfaction anyway :) it's just the same pointless arguments can get tiresome. i think some people try to be reasonable but all you need in one meat head to say something stupid or like nadline says revealing people's actual names from other forums shows a lack of form. hard to stick to the game and the players.

they say the same, rafa doesn't make the finals of HC or HC slams etc. so the H2H doesn't count because it only reflects clay, etc, etc., he didn't make RG finals so how can he beat fed in 09, etc - same pointless argument applied differently. they're using that here now. you have to laugh.

nadline they accused me of lying too after the QF match at AO. remember the famous gamesmanship incident? it happened in front of the whole world, yet i still made it up. only one fed fan admitted to it, think it was FIG, had his own explanation which was fair enough but only one fan. you have to wonder.

anyway back to rafa. much more worthwhile to post about him. i'm still hoping he'll skip madrid because, like ricky has said, he'll not tank a match. he hasn't committed to madrid yet even though he says it's on his schedule. i think that's why tiriac was worried he'd pull out. i hope he makes the right decision. why do they even have madrid there, why not put a grass masters in between rome and RG???

grass masters in btw Rome and RG? R u serious?

I think having Madrid which has a different clay surface and playing conditons is good for the sport. The players as professionals are expected to adjust to the conditions and find a way to succeed. Even earlier when we had Hamburg, the conditions there were slightly different from the other clay courts which explains Rogers' handful of titles there.
Though Madrid's clay isnt to Rafa's liking, he still has the weapons to pip opponents there as he demonstrated by reaching last year's final considering his sore knees. Also roger demonstrated it is possible to play Madrid and then adjust to conditions in Paris.
By the way how do the people who post here know each other. Because I assume if you are referring to another as she, you must be knowing them

max: i gather you didn't get the sarcasm. fine.

vmk, certain people have said which gender they are, then of course you can tell by some of the things people say, ie. referring to themselves as fangirls, or one poster said he wanted to play on the ATP tour. It's a lot easier to relate to people if you know whether they are male or female.

ah Alrte dood!

Some people have perfected the backhanded compliment that someone else does so well. :)

I, too, hope that Rafa skips Madrid. Everyone seems to grasp that it is not really like true clay (closer to a HC than clay) and a different altitude adjustment to make right after Rome and then he would have to make that adjustment all over again right after Madrid for the FO. Granted, the other players face the same thing, but I am not concerned about their schedules and their knees, only Rafa's. He flat out said that playing 3 weeks in a row, he could not do that, so maybe thinking that FO is coming up, along with his commitment to Queens after that, then Wimby, I am hoping he decides to rest a bit more before the big ones. Though my heart and head says skip Madrid, my gut thinks that he won't.

Hanging in there!!
VAMOS!

button up please fan4tennis and nadline and homos. really, just button up, zip it and get over yourselves.

nadline, so deceptive you are on tennis.x. why do you even pretend to care about federer? you do not deceive me one little midas. it is yourself nadline who constantly criticises roger. i am sick of it. it's childish and ridiculous. they are an intelligent crew over at tennis.x and will suss you out in a second, so whilst it's lovely to think of you complimenting roger over there (which is just ridiculous when it comes from you), i am over there most of the time, and i know that you dont mean any of it. you have just become obsessed. i feel sorry for you (sorry to say carrie). (really sorry to say).

vamosrafa, yes. good to always talk to you, the BEST rafafan here. you are lovely vamosrafa. it is you who i enjoy my conversations with more than anyone, so i want to thank you for that. please come and have a chat with us over at tennis.x, your statistics are second to none, and you will be in good company with other tennis experts, who teach me so much over there.

native, grow up. grow up please. get off your ever growing soap box, you really are an actress in the making? were you part of charades/shakespeare's stage actors? the west end? in any shows? you are becoming the biggest yawn on the tennis planet. ever. *yawn*.

cheryl,

any chance you could complete the blogs you said you were going to do a fair bit ago now? you were going to write about rafa's shorts? and also perhaps his "outburst" on court, which was very unrafalike? I think you mentioned something about it, some 3-4 weeks ago, still waiting -

maxi, hehe,,actually it is even nicer of you to compliment me so often, u are great, a lovely tennis fan and then a lovely roger fan too. i am thinking abt joining tennis-x , hopefully will see you there.

barcelona is not interesting anymore. Waiting for rome, rafa will be there and might dominate again BUT atleast roger will be there, one thing i always like abt roger being there is that he has that KILLER forehand (best shot in tennis perhaps) ...so unlike others who get ovewhelmed by nadal's forehand on clay (best shot in tennis on clay) , federer altho has lots trble handling rafa's spin on clay but he has his own electrifying forehand. Like in rome 06 (fed's best match according to rafa) fed's forehand was ON FIRE, so when its ON very entertaining and rhythm disrupting. anyway wud love rafa to win his 5th rome title in 6 years.

maxi, maxi, maxi *sigh* (oops.....let me button up my shirt since mama maxi says so-lol)

You wrote: "nadline, so deceptive you are on tennis.x. why do you even pretend to care about federer? you do not deceive me one little midas. it is yourself nadline who constantly criticises roger. i am sick of it. it's childish and ridiculous. they are an intelligent crew over at tennis.x and will suss you out in a second, so whilst it's lovely to think of you complimenting roger over there (which is just ridiculous when it comes from you), i am over there most of the time, and i know that you dont mean any of it. you have just become obsessed. i feel sorry for you (sorry to say carrie). (really sorry to say)."

My gosh, anyone reading that can tell YOU are the obsessed one! Why should we ON TENNIS TALK give a rats behind about what is said on another tennis site that you keep plugging every chance you get. Even inviting others from here to join there. Are you paid to do their advertisement??? Again, YOUR OBSESSION with nadline and fed shows thru. You sound almost maniacal!

For someone who loves Rafa's game, and always wishes him the best and *gasp* would never say anything bad about him (all those things you CLAIM you do)......it is interesting that you ask Cheryl to complete blogs and offered suggestions as to a Rafa subject for them. Your suggestions are both negative minded (most people agree his shorts were ugly BTW) and nothing whatsoever to do with his tennis game. For someone who SUPPOSEDLY likes Rafa (we know fed is your fave...don't have a hissy) , it is interesting that you would NOT suggest a blog about Rafa's record setting 6th win or just his amazing form on clay so far, instead wanting to read about inane crap. Just wanted a reason to get more shots in???

Save your fingers also. Not a chance in heck that I will shut up for you so you can quit writing that.

By the way, how many people here really care what someone else's name is on another site and do you think that someone should announce other peoples names that are on other sites? And since we are on TennisTalk site, shouldn't we respect the TT people and not shamelessly plug other tennis sites constantly and instead concentrate on what is said here and by whom it is said by ON HERE?

TT, please let maxi know that quoting bits of dialogue from another forum here is out of order. What people say on any other site in response to whatever the discussion is that's going on there is nothing to do with conversations on TT.

It is out of order to keep listing everyone's pen names from here there and every where when they chose to use different names on different sites. This is an invasion of privacy, and she has no right to do it.

maxi comes on here and picks a fight with people about topics that are not even being discussed here, quoting posters who don't even post here, and she is CONSTANTLY DERIDING TT, and plugging Tennis-x.

I have just been on tennis-x, and maxi has been doing the reverse, quoting things that go on on TT.

This is getting beyond a joke.

i am not even going to bother reading your posts ladies/gentlemen - nadline?carrie?nadine? chloe? I lose track. You are all "yawning". Nadline, really. you must be bored. You told me many times to "go back to tennis.x", and now you have joined! It's great news. I love to hear what you have to say over there, join some fine conversation. see if you can say the things about federer over there that you can over here. you will be out of your depth! May be a few people - experts on tennis - over there will teach you the rudimentaries of tennis - they have, me. and I am still learning and loving the teachings.

fan4tennis. you make me smile. (in between my tiredness). *yawn*. Are you this boring in real life?

:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Maxi wrote: "nadline, so deceptive you are on tennis.x."

Then she wrote to nadline: "You told me many times to "go back to tennis.x", and now you have joined! It's great news. I love to hear what you have to say over there, join some fine conversation."

So which is maxi? You have been claiming for awhile she has been lying over there and now you say you're glad she just joined. Oh, the contradictions!

I think you insult the intelligence of the posters and the writers here by saying that someone can't post the same things here as there because they are the tennis experts there, as tho they aren't on this site. If they are so much better over there, then by all means, STAY OVER THERE. We won't mind.

Hey f4t

Doesn?t seem like my last post (well the comical piece) did any good. Lol :-)

Since we are so focused on TENNIS.X
Just checked the site for the first time EVER (for me I dont need more than one site to tell me whats going in the tennis world). Its alright no real difference though. There people who know their stuff, people who talk about current matches and people who just say hello (lol) or talk about day to day stuff. The usual that goes on on any other tennis website. (Its very interesting as I could pretty much guess the people that are on TT who are also on tennis.x just from the way they talk or do things). The weirdest part was that I saw quite a few Fed fans who really/honestly appreciate and respect Rafa. I was pretty blown away. Here there is a huge dichotomy between both fans. But hey take it easy. Looking foward to seeing Nadal in Rome.

Ciao

maxi, today was the very first day I have mentioned tennis-x to you, I have never ever told you to go back to tennis-x. I hardly ever go to tennis-x even just to read the posts, I think I may have posted there about 5 times in all ever, if that. The only reason I go there is to see if there is any news that's not on other forums, I like to stick to one site otherwise I just end up having to put up with people like you talking a load of rubbish everywhere.

You just spend your time falling out with people on all sites and cross referencing what people say where and when, picking bits off posts and taking them elsewhere and accusing people of things they haven't said in other places, continuing arguments started on tennis-x on TT with people who are not on TT, and you, if you don't mind me saying so, are nothing but a nuisance.

Maxi, people use different pen names on different sites because they DO NOT WANT things said on one forum to be transported to another forum, and it is not for you to go around telling tales about what people have said in relation to whatever wherever, so please stop this nonsence.

You are nothing but the equivalent of the village gossip.

nadline, your bizarre. sorry to say.i dont fall out with people. i dont think i ever have. i'm one of the good guys. i enjoy this type of media so much. it helps me carrie. with my disability. enormously. i have met so many lovely people through this forum. i feel (rightly or wrongly), that you try to scare people away who dont agree with you. i find that wrong. just wrong. i am respectful and i think it is just not right that you try to frighten me with horrible words, and irresponsible comments. i started my tennis life on tennis.x and widened that knowledge (for me), to this forum, as I read a few posts from ricky a while ago, and really enjoyed them. now, with time having gone on for a few months, i have been attacked by you, (when i tried easily to have great conversations with you), for some reason. i am not a nuisance. you probably find me that because you dont like federer, i am a fan of federer for long time now. its your choice. hopefully should you post more on tennis.x you will learn more and become a nicer person to converse with. good luck and all the best to you.

nadline, you have never once told me to STOP using your different names. i feel that as you use so many, you dont mind being called them. if you want me to stop using all your names, then tell me. a gossip? I dont understand this word? having lots of conversations with like minded people - yes. is this gossiping? I dont tell tales? I reall dont see where you are coming from. by the way, I "do" mind you saying this. It's not right. I'm not going to post here for a few days as I think you need to rest.

fan4tennis. you ARE boring in real life. I get it.

So I went over to Tennis X to see what the brouhaha was all about and I'm sorry to say this but Maxi, that was completely an unprovoked and quite frankly unnecessary attack on Nadline. People were discussing their thoughts on Rafa's withdrawal from Barcelona and out of NOWHERE, you post something about another poster that had NOTHING to do with the subject matter.

You don't care for Nadline, that's fine. I'm sure she's not losing any sleep over it. But carrying on the way you have been, taking it across to OTHER boards is really petty of you I have to say. It's unnecessary and verging on childish. Whatever problem you have with her originated here, why take it elsewhere and spoil that board?

You are both free to 'duke it out' as much as you want (although I beg of both of you, enough already) but the truth is, life is too short to argue incessantly on an internet forum. Think about it.

maxi wrote: "that you try to scare people away who dont agree with you. i find that wrong. just wrong. i am respectful"

But yet, before that she wrote: "button up please fan4tennis and nadline and homos. really, just button up, zip it and get over yourselves."

It doesn't take a genius to figure out who is the real one that has a problem with others that disagree with her.

I will leave it to Cheryl or Ricky to decide what, if anything, should be done about the bizarre and increasingly hysterical ramblings of one Fed fan who is determined to disrupt this site at all costs.

I was a victim and had my real name used, despite my specific request that this person only use my screen name for this site. So what we have here is a person who is going back and forth from tt to tennis-x, looking for people here who also post on that site, using their different screen names here and outing them and accusing them of being deceitful. It's getting positively insane. Now this person is posting incoherently, babbling on and contradicting herself in every other sentence. Going back and forth from one site to the other and accusing people here of saying things on another site that they never said, is crossing the line. Why is this one person jumping back and forth between these two sites like a jumping jack? Why does this person incite people both here and on tennis-x? These two sites are not in competition with each other. Everyone is free to post wherever they wish and no one gets to tell anyone when and where to post. The purpose of all this jumping back and forth is to cause as much disruption in the discussion as possible. The more we get distracted and focus on this one needy person who appears to be positively desperate for attention at all costs, the more we digress from talking about tennis.

Using people's screen names from another site on this site, is at the very least extremely disrespectful and discourteous. At the worst, it is intended to embarrass these people in the most unseemly manner.

One can only wish that this infantile, immature individual would go back to her playpen at tennis-x, where people seem to find her comments more palatable. However, I don't expect to see that happen, because people like this thrive on being destructive, mean-spirited, petty and outrageous. I come here each day and find yet another personal attack directed at me and other Rafa fans. We are accused of things by someone who knows precisely nothing about us as people.

vamosrafa, you seem like a kind and generous person. But you are being used by someone who has their own personal agenda. The vindictive comments that are directed at people who are honestly trying to ignore this person, is just another example of the spiteful nature of the behavior. This person will turn on you in a nanosecond, so you have been warned. This manipulation of a Rafa fan in an attempt to divide and conquer, is so obvious that it's almost laughable. I can only sit here and shake my head at the energy being invested in these endless, personally offensive and gratuitous attacks on members of this forum. Such a sad waste of a life.

Bloody HELL! You mean some of you are on this site and another too? Some of you are on here every waking hour of the day as it is. Do you ever take a moment off to actually PLAY tennis (like I've been trying to do this evening)...?

i do goafago :) except my staminas my weakest link...

WOW-looks like some people just dont get on n never will

tj600,

I just went over to tennis-x and the same crap is happening over there. The person who has been instigating this uproar has continued it over there. In fact, she virtually copied one of her posts here attacking nadline, word for word on this site. Now that's just plain nuts!

Don't presume to assign blame for this any except the person who always starts it! Or are you blind! It's a disgrace that one person who has this obsessive need for attention, has to ignite the same old, tired insults to specific Rafa fans. They have become almost cliches. She started it and don't you dare try to shove the responsibility onto any of us.

The only thing that myself and other Rafa fans should try to do, is pretend this individual does not exist. Even if we have to bite our tongues, just ignore her! This person feeds on any kind of response or interaction. I am guilty of getting involved, too, but I am only human and get only so much. Let's just promise ourselves to look forward to Rome next week and another chance to see Rafa playing some great tennis. Let's make a pact to discuss tennis and, even if it kills us, just do not respond to this pest! This is a person who has no life and has issues, shall we say. Let's not feed them!

A (very belated) congratulations to Rafa and his fans. 11 months is a long time to go without winning any titles, and winning Monte Carlo must have been an incredible feeling for him. I think this might just be the return of the king... on clay, at least.

I think he made a very intelligent decision in skipping Barcelona. It looks like he may be learning from his previous mistakes. I'm looking forward to Rome... Hopefully the tournament where we will get another Fed-Nadal match. And it had better be awesome!!!

Again, congratulations to all Rafa fans. I'll wager its been a long time since you've had something cheer about; in the tennis world at least. And I hope you're not letting anything spoil that.

Best wishes to all.

Thank you Champion7!! We are all looking forward to Rome. The clay season is going to be great!! As our sweet Deuce on this site said on another thread....." watching Rafa play does far more for your well being than a visit to the doc's!" I couldn't have said it better myself!!!!

champion7: what a lovely post. thanks so much for brining us back on topic. yes, the cheering has been a long time coming. i agree barca decision is a good one. he has learnt from his mistakes. once you get to the top, your schedule can no longer be the same, he should have realised that. but as they say "better late than never".

fft, did deuce really say that? where is deuce? hope murray comes back strong very soon so we can have the muzz fans back.

someone should get rid or ignore the cat among the pigeons. i'm really astonished someone can bring other user names into a forum and than say i didn't know you didn't want me to use them. even after native repeated not to use her actual name, it continued? if users wanted to be recognize they'd use the same name. it's nothing more than a malicious and conscious move to hurt those who are fans of another player and who disagree with their opinion, and reveal personal their details on the internet. cyber bullying is another term for it. miles below the belt. i'm just glad it's not a rafa fan doing it.

back to the tennis please.

@nny
i get wat ur sayin. i read the comments on tennis-x. but how did she find out your real name?

Champion, thanks a lot for celebrating Rafa's triumph with his fans, we've waited a long time for this, and hope there are plenty more where that trophy came from. Everyone knows that tennis is energized when Rafa and Roger are in full flow, whichever camp you are in, and I look forward to their rivalry to return ASAP.

Friday, April 23, 2010

NADAL SERVES AS PALLBEARER AT SAMARANCH'S FUNERAL

Rafa Nadal has served as a pallbearer at the funeral of Juan Antonio Samaranch on Thursday in Barcelona. The high profile funeral was full of other sporting personalities other than Nadal. The King of Spain, King Juan Carlos, and the current president of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, were also in attendance.

His casket was draped in the Olympic flag and was placed in the cathedral in Barcelona for people to pay respects to the man who changed the face of the Olympics and also brought the Games to Barcelona in 1992.

It has been a very quickly organised affair in Samaranch's honour. The 80 year old died on Wednesday of cardio-respiratory failure. His remains will be cremated and buried in a private burial.

Nadal spoke to media, saying "I came here above all to support the family and show appreciation for everything he did for our sport. He was able to revolutionize sport, until he became one of the most important people in the international Olympic movement. He will always stay in our thoughts... He is the most important person in the history of Spanish sports."

Posted by Pip C at 2:33 PM

@Native...:D dont worry fellow. I wont let any one here on TT manipulate me to create discord. I said before, i love all my fellow rafa fans here and i have always been on good terms with maxi too, so no worries :)

Hi there f4t and homos! Nice to see yer! And just gr8 to see Rafa so fit and strong again, can't wait for the FO!
homos: pleeaassse don't ask me about Andy, am very likely to burst into tears if you do....yes, he's due in Rome but he's so short of match practise that unless he's made to play all 3 qualifying matches he'll probably be knocked out in rnd 2 again!

You mean Andy Roddick - the dude that's just pulled out of Rome for "personal reasons" - right, deuce?

That Andy Roddick who just took a tournament you mean? You KNOW I don't, stop teasing!

tj600,

I used to post on tennis-x under my real name. But I left because it was such an intensely pro-Fed and anti-Rafa site. It still is very pro-Fed, but I have to say that there are some knowledgeable people who have great discussions about tennis. I don't have any personal dislike for Fed. It's SOME of this fans that bother me a great deal.

Unfortunately, someone from tennis-x who used to post here, made the connection between my name on that site and me here with my other screen name. I don't normally use my real first name online now. I just don't know that it's a good idea. But when I first posted on tennis-x last year I went with what I was doing at the time. This person is in regular contact with our resident troublemaker here and that's how she found it. So for spite, problem child came here and called me by my real name, even after I asked her several times not to do it It is a sign of extreme disrespect and quite unethical. But people seem to think that this is good sport. I don't even know why we have these accusations back and forth about using different screen names. It's all perfectly natural and normal. Also, the troublemaker herself has used different screen names, so talk about the pot calling the kettle black. It's all very childish, stupid and a real waste of time.

Some people like to harass, intimidate or embarrass people online. They have nothing better to do in their pathetic lives. But it's getting out of hand here. Some of the more rabid Fed fans can't get away on this site with the things they do on tennis-x. There are too many Rafa fans here.

I have tried to avoid these people, but honestly I have had it with coming on here and seeing someone attack me for no reason. I leave for short periods of time to preserve my sanity. But if this nonsense is going to start up again, then I am not going to be diplomatic.

vamosrafa,

You are your own person. I see you as a genial, likeable presence on this site.

Frankly, I think posters should be prohibited from morphing different message boards, especially as half the time when they continue arguments here that were started on tennis-x, for instance, people do not know what they are talking about and cannot make head or tail of it. I for one register on other forums with a different pen name simply because I don't want people quoting what I said on one forum in a particular context, in another board, in an arbitrary manner.

It is, no doubt an invasion of privacy, to go on sites and list pen names that people have used elsewhere, and sometimes accusing people that they are some other poster that they think they are, with no proof and then base their opinions on their own deduction of who they think people are here there and everywhere, and I just think it should be discouraged.

I am registered on other sites, but I post mainly on TT, I only post on other sited if I really have something I think I ought to say. A lot of these blogs inevitably end up in arguments, so it's much better to stick to one forum then you don't get confused about what you've said where, and you avoid having arguments with half of cyber space.

I posted on tennis-x with the same pen name I use here simply because I don't want you know who to think I am trying to hide under a different name.

Oh boy... i can't believe i just spend my time browsing through this load of comments. What is wrong everybody? Surely we don't have to fill our time making personal attacks on a tennis forum just because the tennis is not engaging enough?

Anyway, I scrolled through most of the comments here because when you listen to a bunch of people over a period of time, you start to care for what they think of each other too, and all i have to add to the discussion is this -

Congrats Rafa! Vamos! Thanks for not letting us down and saving us from a lifeless clay season!

About the withdrawal, I don't care if it good or bad for him (ya ok, i am insensitive, he needs rest etc) but we really have had too less of Rafa for more than a year... :( Wish he was playing, especially since I am getting live broadcast of this event and have nothing to cheer for match after match...

@nadline, maxi-

Why don't you two just agree that you can't get along and let it go at that? both of you i am sure are very agreeable persons, but it is quite obvious that you two are not going to be agreeable to each other ever. So, just let it go and don't make it into a fed fans vs rafa fans thing... the two groups were really beginning to get along well and that was really making TT one of the nicer forums (I go to other forums sometimes when I can't have enough headlines of some fantastic victory or news but take the trouble to read the comments only here, by the way, has anybody noticed how difficult the registration process is on tennis-x? i tried twice and then gave up on it, I can never get past the captcha stage)

nadline,

I know a lot more about what is going on at tennis-x than you might think. I saw your posts on there and also saw the encouragement you received after maxi attacked you. I think it's all getting completely out of hand. It is wrong to come to one site and "out" someone by using the name they may be using on another site. It's also wrong to take what someone said on another site and then quote it here. But it's just an attempt to disrupt this site.

I am going to deal with this as I see fit, depending on what happens. If the troublemaker comes back and tries to attack me personally or engage in any inappropriate behavior, then I will take things in my own hands and call this person out directly. But for now I want to move on to the upcoming tournament in Rome. We are in for some great tennis. The draw should be coming out tomorrow or Sunday and then we can discuss all the potential matchups. I am looking forward to it.

FEDistheGOAT,

I appreciate the fact that you are trying to be the negotiator here, but you have to understand that an agreement cannot be reached unless BOTH parties are willing to deal in good faith and respect the other person. When you have one person who continuously talks out of both sides of their mouth, pretending to be nice and want peace and happiness and then keeps coming here and attacking people at random over and over again, then there can be no mutual agreement.

I think most of the Fed fans here are reasonable and can have an intelligent, respectful discussion with Rafa fans. We have a lot of great tennis to look forward to next week and both our guys will be back in action! Let's hope that the focus will be on tennis and only tennis. Our two great champions deserve no less!

Sooo.... Rome. Can anyone explain to me how the draw is chosen. I thought I knew but theres been alot of different discussion and I'm not sure now. I always thought 1st -4th place went top left, bottom right, top right and then bottom left. More recently I read that 3rd & 4th place is actually drawn. Does anyone have the actual lowdown on that? Thx.

deuce: ok please don't burst into tears :( i was wondering about latest news on andy. the clay season is short. hopefully he picks himself up by the end of it for the even shorter grass season. he seems to do ok at wimb despite the tremendous pressure. than it should be onto his favourite US hart court stretch in the later part of the season. it would be great to see him make an impact during that time. i wonder if delpo's wrist will also be well and truely recovered by then to defend his US title. this season has started of with too many injuries.

natice: i'm looking forward to rome too and keen to see if rafa's going to play in madrid.

nadline: have you seen the pics of the funeral? it was a big occassion, coffin covered in the olympic flag, rafa and about 5 other guys carrying it. apparently rafa was lead poll bearer. you can see it in rafa's babolat forum or search for it.

that should have been "native" and not "natice"!