Nadal is in a different class to Soderling, I was never convinced that he was any threat to Nadal just because he beat Rafa when he was at his lowest emotionally and physically. I'm so glad that Rafa has proved his doubters wrong, and I hope he goes all the way. Federer losing is of no consequence to Rafa, because he is the least of Rafa's problems.

VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where on earth is Attentionseeker - ATR??????

Looks like Djokovic is getting competition in the impressions department. Oliver Golding doing Rafa http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/blogs/2010-06-30/20100630127792817 8404.html

Looks like Djokovic is getting competition in the impressions department. Oliver Golding doing Rafa http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/blogs/2010-06-30/20100630127792817 8404.html

Nice article for an atonement piece. But why no mention of that ridiculous MTO?

Afraid to start another fire Ricky?

Well, Soderling might be mentioned as the underdog in this article, as he well is in terms of ranking and experience but that wasn't the general belief before this match, by far!
I'm a bit dissapointed at how quickly people started saying that Rafa would lose the match - especially once Fed had lost and Rafa was 4-0 down in the first set.
It's bad enough with Rafa haters always undermining his prowess...
tch, tch, tch
;)

Shireling, I actually said on another post that I'd never speak to Rafa again if he didn't beat Soderling...I agree with nadline, Soderling's nowhere near in Rafa's class but nor do I think he's (Sod) nearly as good as Berdie and delpotro. His movement forwards is poor and his volleying is wayward. Berdie moves much quicker but not so good forwards as well, which for some unknown reason Fed did not use, drop shot, drop shot, drop shot.

Phoenix: Full marks to Ricky for not dignifying Soderling's childish antics by calling it an MTO or even gamesmanship when it was clearly a spiteful gesture. I hope the umpire is feeling suitably embarrassed at allowing that incident to occur in the first place.

Have you guys had a look at Kate Battersby's two articles about Nadal's win over Sod and about the post-match interview?
Am I wrong in seeing plain resentment and biassing? (not to mention not knowing much about tennis).
I'll copy-paste them below so you can give your opinion - I thought Sod and Rafa plaid some good tennis and the power and quality of some shots was scary!! but this is the title she choses to sum up the match: 'Nadal muddles through after umpire row' .... yes, Nadal was angry - and he usually doesn't do this but - was this short incident representative of the whole match? ....

Here is the first article :

'Nadal muddles through after umpire row'

You want shocks? Day Nine gave you a huge shock, with Roger Federer's exit. You want excellence? Day Nine served up Novak Djokovic's virtuoso performance. You want plain peculiar? Look no further than Court One, where the much anticipated quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Robin Soderling turned out to be a thoroughly strange encounter with both players profoundly out of sorts. Nadal barely turned up in the first set and did his best to throw away the third. Yet Soderling - tipped by many shrewd observers to take the title here - could not get into his game either, and somehow Nadal muddled through to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.

Even the umpire had a bad day, and could at one point be seen staring into space, shaking his head in confusion at the string of events which befell him. Pascal Maria called out a Soderling ace which was clearly in, as the Swede's baffled challenge demonstrated, and later called the score wrong. Above all he got into a prolonged row with Nadal at the start of the second set. The Spaniard, having surrendered the first set, thought he had game point when a Soderling forehand was called long. But the Swede challenged successfully to stand instead at break point, which left Nadal aghast because he believed the point should have been replayed, as he strongly argued that he had only hit his backhand return into the net after the ball had been called out.

"Pascal," pleaded Nadal, first from the baseline and then marching towards the chair, "what are you saying? He [the line judge] says out, I hit the ball. No! No! Call the supervisor! I don't want to play this. What happened? Umpire, come on! No, Pascal. That's unbelievable."

Yet his disbelief appeared to subside as quickly as it appeared, and he abruptly gave up the fight to serve again. It was a wise investment of his energy, because he held serve with the kind of extravagant celebration befitting the rescue of half-a-dozen Championship points. Small wonder, perhaps, after a first set in which he was 5-0 down at exactly the moment that a tidal wave of noise drifted across from the Centre Court, announcing Tomas Berdych's defeat of Roger Federer. The defeat of one legend in a day is sufficiently overwhelming. The prospect of another had the Court One crowd looking a tad queasy.

Even when he was strolling to that 5-0 advantage in the first set, Soderling was hardly playing out of his skin. Nadal was the man who wasn't there, with the game for 4-0 particularly horrendous. But it was definitely telling that he recovered some respectability by surrendering the set 3-6 rather than anything worse - which was why regaining his composure after that row with Pascal Maria was so important.

Soderling, at 1-4 in the second, could be seen blowing out his cheeks, as if already knowing he was in deep trouble even though he was a set up. Perhaps even then he was feeling the problem with his left foot which prompted him to summon the trainer for a medical timeout at 4-5 in the third. By then he was a break down, thanks to his errors at 2-2. Yet when play resumed it was Nadal, serving for that set, who delivered what must have been one of the worst games of his entire career to level the score. The tie-break turned matters around again, with Nadal relatively untroubled, while the fourth set was a positive breeze for the Spaniard. It was all very odd, and his relief at the end was plain to see.

The statisticians will tell you that Nadal has never lost so many sets on his way to a Grand Slam final as he already has to get as far as Friday's semi-final. So he is having adventures, but he is still in the tournament. And that is, after all, more than some can say

And here's the second (what I think pisses me off a bit is the way they undermine his achievements and hard run so far in this championship turning him into some sort of villain... in preparation for the match against Murray)


If ever any government should need to put up a frontman to face the press and play down all talk of any crisis, they should consider Rafael Nadal for the job.

In his press conference following his quarter-final win over Robin Soderling, Nadal neatly diffused any discussion about his non-performance in the first five games of the match and his patchy display thereafter.

Then he poured oil on the troubled waters of his heated exchange with umpire Pascal Maria at the start of the second set; and finally smoothed over the shock value of Roger Federer's defeat by Tomas Berdych. Crisis? What crisis?

According to Nadal, the problem in the first set was merely that Soderling was "playing great", which is possibly not how the No.1 Court crowd interpreted the Spaniard's 0-5 start to the match.

"It was a hard start for me because playing against a big server like Robin is very difficult to come back in the set," explained the No.2 seed. "I didn't have a lot of chances in the beginning. But after the first game of the second set, everything change."

Ah yes. What about that exchange with the umpire in that game? "For the umpire sometimes it is not easy to make the right decision," said Nadal mildly. "[It] was a drastic mistake. But everyone can have a mistake. Was an important moment for me, because if he broke me then, it was going to be hard for me to accept. But I saved that point, and everything changed after that. I started to play much better."

Moreover, far from being locked in his own personal zone during the match, it turns out Nadal is as keen a fan as any spectator in following the scores from other courts that are flashed up on the scoreboard during changeovers. So he was aware that Federer had lost.

"Sure, I saw it," he acknowledged. "It certainly didn't affect my game. But I always watch the scores and results from other courts in the changeover. I like to do it.

"That was always going to be a tough match. Players like Soderling and Berdych have a very good serve and powerful baseline shots. It's very difficult to stop them sometimes. Roger has been amazing for the last seven years, so some day this had to happen. It happened today. I am sorry for him, and I wish him the best of luck for the rest of the season."

Meanwhile, in the immediate short-term, Nadal's own season will continue with his semi-final on Friday against home hero Andy Murray.

"It's a dream to be in the semis again here," said the 2008 champion, who is undefeated here for the past three years as a result of the knee injury that prevented him defending his title 12 months ago. He was asked about his Australian Open win over Murray where he trailed by two sets before turning the match around, and once again played down any alleged early crisis that day.

"I was very happy about my level in those two sets," he recalled cheerfully. "I lost both but I was ready to win both." And anyway, he did win the next three.

Nadal's English is improving, but his competitive mindset means he is eternally resistant to learning the word "crisis".

Nadal plays down poor start and umpire row

This is to you Ms Battersby - learn more about tennis and stop manipulating. Murray doesn't need this sort of 'help' to have the crows supporting him.
(to use a very british word, with which Ms Battersby I'm sure would relate, what a load of 'codswallop!'

that was an interesting read, Shireling. I don't make a habit of openly disagreeing with other journalists -- but that was an....odd bit of observation.

I can't tell if she's taking umbrage with Nadal because he didn't say anything controversial, or if she's just surprised that he manages to be optimistic all the time. Either way, she apparently isn't very familiar with the way he does things. She writes as though what he's said will be shocking to people -- but most of us could have practically written the transcript for that presser before-hand.

Weird. Very weird.

rafael's blog

http://www.nadalnews.com/2010/07/01/wimbly-rafa-blog-day-10/

RAFA IS NOT ALONE:


JULY 01.2010, LONDON, UK

They don?t make such an exhausting effort, but they suffer as much as Rafa in each match. The team which goes with Rafa around the world is as a little family. This is logical because they spend most part of the year away from home. They thoughtfully observe from the stand his forehands, shouts, jumps for joy, and his disapproving face when he is not doing well. Their expressions truly reflect what is happening on the court.

There are two team members who are always off-stage, his uncle Toni and his physiotherapist Rafa Maymó. Toni Nadal started working with his nephew when he was a child. Tenacious, persevering and strict, one of his main roles is to keep the concentration of Rafa. Rafael, as he always calls him, deeply admires him and is grateful for his productive work and unconditional support. His physiotherapist Rafael Maymo always goes with him. He tries to prevent injuries and is responsible for the muscular recovery.

Along with the sport related issues, there are two other important persons as well in the environment of Rafa. Carlos Costa, his agent, and Benito Pérez Barbadillo, his press chief. Apart from being one of the best tennis player in the world, Rafa is an idol. Fans, media and the sponsors love him. Therefore Carlos and Benito take care of this part of the champion?s life.

These four people are the main structure of the team, which might be larger in some tournaments. Doctor Angel Ruiz Cotorro, Tuts from Nike, his friends Tomeu and Marc Lopez, and his family sometimes go with him in some of the European tournaments. Rafa is alone on the court, but keeps good company out off courts.

Hope to see all of them happy tomorrow again.

¡Vamos Rafa!

It?s amazing!!! My boyfriend thinks the same with me. He- is a black man, lol. We met online at an interracial dating site_________ **** B l a c k W h i t e C u p i d (C o m) ***** ______?a nice and free place for singles- black & white, to interact with each other. Maybe you wanna check out or- tell your friends