Burnout is an insidious affliction.The ability to make sensible decisions disappears.Nadal has simply put in too many miles and needs to take a couple of months off.

Unfortunately for Rafa, everyone wants to see him play all over the world. Without him, tennis is boring so there is a lot of pressure on him to play.

Anyway, an exhibition is not arduous, it's just a bit of fun for tennis exposure. Rafa is doing his bit to promote tennis, he should be applauded for that.

It is not about the tennis. . It is about the travelling, the jet lag and most important being away from your home. He stated that he was not at home for more then two months. His team makes the decisions. He would never turn away so quicjky from his special ladyfriend.

Johan
Great first line bytheway/

It sums up what everybody is thinking. He is dragging himself from match to exho to matchto exho to match etc

I can just imagine the ATP guys laughing at Rafa when he says the schedule is too crowded, no rest, etc. He's like the boy who cried wolf. No credibility whatsoever from this clown. Get money, get money money! Burn burn burn it to the wind Rafa. Whoohoo!!!!!!!!!!

Sienna,your first comment is very funny,too much!

This is Rafa's second exho with David this year. Good for him for putting David in the position of making some extra cash and earning a little more recognition. I'm sure this exho will take no more out of Rafa than a good practice. Numero/Sierra, you've made your position more than clear regarding EVERYTHING Rafa does. Why don't you take a break. The repetition clearly shows how overwhelmed you are with Nadal's superstar status, but nothing you peons can do will change that. It's not like you ever offer anything thoughtful or objective, it's always just hateful digs toward Rafa which does nothing but expose your own miserable self-esteem.

When rafa does this exho, has he really got any r?ight to then complane the tennis tour is too long? ummmmmh. The man who cr?ed wolf, too often indeed numero.

Reminds me of his 'broken foot'. huuuummmmm. He didn?t always used to be like this. May be he be just scared of his injur?es?

What injuries? May be he makes up stories about them getting sympathY/?

Maya,

If Rafa wasn't so vocal about the scheduling being so exhausting I wouldn't comment on his exhibitions. It just reduces his credibility greatly. He's just a two-faced crybaby imo.

This decision is inexplicable to me. Yes, he was already going to Asia, so it's not like the jet lag is any worse than it would have been if he'd gone 3 days later...but to give up precious days of "off" time? I don't get it.

Rafa, at 19 tournaments is right in the mix with the other top 3 players in terms of tournaments played. To my knowledge he's played 4 exhos. One with Roger in Dubai, in prep for AO, another with Roger in Oregon just prior to IW (Maybe an hour plane ride), one with Nole in Colombia between IW and Miami, and now this one with David in Taiwan, which as you said Cheryl is pretty much on the path to Japan. He'll probably be one day on the ground, and I can't see where that's going to make or break him one way or the other. Is playing an exho that much different than what he would be doing when training at home. It's not like he was going to be home long enough to really let loose anyway. Is it really so unusual for the top players to do 3-4 exhos in a year? If as Sienna implies, Rafa was doing an exho between every tournament, then yes, you could say he is way over extended. But that's not the case. And yes Sienna/Numero, Rafa still has the right to complain about the schedule, exhos or no. It's the length of the season and the number of mandatory tournaments that's creating havoc on the players, not a handful of exhos scattered throughout the year. The top 5 players are the ambassadors for the game and do more to promote tennis than anything other than the big events. The ATP loves to have these guys out there showing off their stuff, but then hollers foul when the players ask for something back. And as much as posters like Sienna and Numero like to pretend it's just Rafa who's complaining, anyone who's been around for a few years knows that each of the top four have taken their turn at complaining about the schedule.

Rafa still has the right to complain about the schedule, exhos or no.Maya, 9/26/11 2:49 AM

He also has the right to make himself look like an ass which he is doing a very good job of. He's hung himself in the court of public opinion. Good job Rafa!;)

Numero - You and posters like you hardly represent the court of public opinion. As a matter a fact, you probably fall into the bottom 3%.

Well said Maya!

Jet lag, what jet jag, when Taipei is just a few hours from Japan, and is just a stop over before Japan?? Now if the ATP wants top players to promote tennis, then they should ease up the schedules for these players to do promotional work like exhos!! If not how do people in places like Taiwan, Columbia or Korea, for eg, get to watch love tennis, even for only one day, for a start?? The ATP should ease up the rules on the top players, get them to promote tennis all over the world, instead of tying them down to tournaments that are already well established and yet expect them to still go around promoting tennis. They are human, these top players, not machines! I'm sure Fed would spend more time doing exho these days, now that he has more time on hand.

Rafa is not only doing this players' protest for himself, but for the rest of the field. If not how then can Nole, Murray, Roddick, Ferrer and many of these top guys can have the time to do exhos, reach out to more people, promoting the sports and at the same time promoting themselves and their sponsors?? Think again instead of pointing fingers at them and criticising them! There are people out there who don't have a chance to watch live tennis because there's no ATP events in their country, and not everyone can afford travelling overseas to watch live tennis. I learn of some tennis fans in Philipines, who love Rafa, but they have little hope of seeing him playing live, as there's no ATP event there and they are too poor to travel overseas to watch him play. Cases like this, maybe an exho may help, though ticket prices may be too much for them still, but maybe they'll get a chance to meet him during autograph sessions or during other promotional works?

Tennis is NOT boring without Nadal!!! It may be your opinion, but please stop openly flipping off all the other players and their fans.

I have just realised why I have a sense of deja vu reading this thread.

http://www.tennistalk.com/en/blog/Cheryl_Murray/20091023/An_ode_to _the_ridiculously_long_tennis_season

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
"I can just imagine the ATP guys laughing at Rafa when he says the schedule is too crowded, no rest, etc. He's like the boy who cried wolf. No credibility whatsoever from this clown. Get money, get money money! Burn burn burn it to the wind Rafa. Whoohoo!!!!!!!!!!"


blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah...

"When rafa does this exho, has he really got any r?ight to then complane the tennis tour is too long? ummmmmh. The man who cr?ed wolf, too often indeed numero."

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah...

Tennis won't be boring for the general fans should any one of the top players left, however it would be boring should you be a die hard fan of that player. Rafa fans think this way, Fed fans too, some said they'll stop watching tennis when Fed retired! Sound familar?

To each his own, not everyone has to think the same way. I won't feel bored when there's no Rafa tennis, but I certainly won't be as 'involved' in the matches as when Rafa is playing. I'll still watch tennis after Rafa retires from it, but I won't be able to find someone as charismatic a player as Rafa for me to support so enthusiatically!

FWI, Roddick was basically saying the same thing like what Rafa was saying, during his recent exho. He also mentioned something about igniting or reigniting the interest in tennis in that part of the world where he held his exho, and that was exactly what I was thinking about when these players played their exhos! Thank you Roddick for bringing across that message so well!

Why doesn't everybody wait until some hard news comes out on the exact proposals to be put to the governing bodies. For the moment certain players are talking the talk and all the discussions on this tennis forum are hypothetical.

ATP guys laughing at Rafa? Yeh, of course they're laughing, not at Rafa, but they're happy that Rafa is reaching out to the people in that region, helping in opening the market for the ATP. Who knows, we may soon see an ATP event in Taiwan!

The ATP sanctions these exhibitions matches, they need them to promote the game to a wider audience and who better to fulfill this obligation than their superstar Rafa. Playing one friendly match is not going to make any difference to anyone, you can hardly compare that to a gruelling 5 days on the trot competing in a best of 3 or 14 days on the trot in a best of 5, week in week out, so those who feel that an exhibition match takes as much out of a player as 5-7 rounds tournament do not really want to be objective.

A lot of players would give anything to have Rafa's pulling power to be so much in demand.

If Rafa wasn't playing in Taiwan he'd be on the practice courts.

Luckystar
That was just why I would suggest Roddick do all the talking and he leads the way because the others are a little out of sorts to say it in the nicest manner.
So they come together under supervision of Arod in order to give 1 sound advice after of course consoling it with Fed so their wishes and demands can be brougth to the board and the fans and press in the cleanest possible way.
I really have issues with the mental capacity some other topplayers bring outside their tennisbrain. It should never be Rafa or Andy to vent those issue's to the press. Cause nobody will understand any of it when they are finished. No? Even if we have understand everything they would have said.

You see sienna, Rafa is the vice president of the players' council, so if Fed is not in a good position to say anything, Rafa being the vice president have to take the lead. They just can't push the responsiblity to other players to do the job. Furthermore they're being asked about it, so they have to say something. However I do feel that Murray should be more tactful, instead of say it out loud, that they're considering a strike. A strike is too drastic a measure, and I seriously don't think any player would want to do that.

lucky,

2 Points :

1. If people can't pay for tickets to matches the ATP has no interest. No money to be made equals no tournament. The ATP is a business.

2. If these exhibitions are to promote tennis and initiate more tournaments starting in different places how is that supposed to ease a crowded schedule? I don't think they're gonna be able to start tournaments with players outside the top 50 since the top players want to play less. Contradiction!

numero - I agree with the essence of what your saying, but your particulars aren't correct.

1. The ATP has no stake in exhibition events. They very grudgingly allow them only on certain weeks, actually. And the only reason they allow them is to drum up basic tennis interest in what they call "emerging markets". There is no direct benefit to the ATP whatsoever.

2. They would never ADD more tournaments in, say, Taiwan. What we will see in the future are more tournaments pulled from the lagging European market and replaced with ones in Asia. The schedule, as you correctly pointed out, is already saturated.

Wrong número, while the exho tickets may be too costly, ATP tournament tickets may not be that costly. The locals may not be able to afford the travel overseas, but travel to local tournaments are still possible. Also there are rich people in these countries too, what the ATP should do is to create interest in the sport, so that rich or poor people can get to watch tennis matches should there be a tournament there.

Cheryl is right, in future the market potentials are in the Asian Markets, just like Formula One, where they are adding more and more circuits in Asia. We have first Japan, Malaysia, China and now we have Singapore Night Race. Korea and India are being added in now, not forgetting the Middle Eastern circuits. So as tennis is getting more and more popular in Asia, we may soon have ATP events in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore , Indonesia, maybe even Vietnam and the Philippines! Well that may be at the expense of some of the European tournaments, especially the indoor ones (may not affect the clay ones though)

The major spring clay events will stay put in Europe, but as you say, luckystar, the smaller indoor events in places like Sweden and Germany which have been decreasing in popularity, will most likely be on the chopping block. Asia is a HUGE market for the ATP. It's incredibly popular and local tournaments are sure to create interest.

The big problem is that tennis is dominated by European players atm. Those guys prefer to play closer to home and not traipse halfway across the world. There will be some pushback from the talent, no doubt about it...but the business will always win in the end.

Yes agree Cheryl, and Taiwan and Korea for a start, are wealthy nations, so if the sport is gaining in popularity there, there shouldn't be shortage of funds to pay high appearance fees to top players, or at least give good prize moneys to attract players there.

I think in the long run, ATP should help in the development of players, so that there will be more than the top four guys to attract people to tennis. Players like Delpo, Tsonga, Monfils, and the younger ones Cilic, Raonic, Dolgo, Dmitrov, Tomic and Harrison, they should be given their chances to shine on their own, instead of always living in the shadows of the top few guys.

There is also the hope that the exhibitions will encourage more nations to take up the sport and to follow it because the bigger the worldwide audience the more revenue they get. I know, for a fact, that attracting the top players to the Emirates is very much part of their tourist industry, which in the case of Dubai, is a very big part of the country's economy. A big worldwide following also brings in more cash for sponsors because they have a bigger market to sell their products.

The players who play exhos should be for their contribution to tennis.

@cherylmurray, 9/26/11 2:15 PM

I wasn't referring to the exho itself. I was responding to lucky's premise that there should be tournaments in places like the Philippines (because she claims there are many Rafans there) but the people can't afford tickets. She cleared it up later by distinguishing between the cost of exho tickets and the cost of ATP event tickets.

Incidentally lucky,

Filipinos like Rafa because he reminds them of Manny Pacquiao. He almost works as hard as Manny as is almost as successful. Nothing fake about Manny though. Rafa should have been a boxer; he has the scowls and dirty looks that are better suited for the ring than a tennis court. Also I don't see Manny fighting in the Philippines any longer as everybody goes where the money is.

So numero, when did the Filipinos tell you all this? Talk about making things up. Rafa doesn't hve any dirty looks. What on earth are you on about? Don't tell me you also inhabit Cloud Cuckoo Land as well.

My two cents-Its great that Rafas doing this exhibition for whatever reason (money, tennis exposure etc) he is free to do what he wants, but he cannot add extra tennis to his calendar and then complain about the length of the schedule, it will severely undermine any argument he has. We can talk about the effects of an exhibition compared to a practice all day and Nadal is free to play them but he is not free to then complain about the length of the tennis season, the ATP will justifiably point this out in any future discussions. I know you guys are fans of Nadal but you shouldn't make excuses for him that you know yourself you wouldn't make for other players.
Nadline - if Nadal isn't playing tennis can still be fun, I remember somehow managing to make it through Wimbledon 2009.

Your opinion stinks rbennett if you think Rafa shouldn't have a voice because he's played 4 exhos this year. It's just a ridiculous assumption. Roger's done maybe 3 exhos. Does he get a voice? David's done at least 2, does he get a voice? I'm sure you'll find that the other top players have played exhos as well, but according to you
none of them should have a voice in the length of their calendar year. If not those players then WHO?

I'm afraid rbennett got it wrong; it was precisely because of the long season that made it hard for the players to do exhos that's why they're complaining! Now if they can get some flexibility in terms of their playing scheduling, I think most of these players will be happy, balancing between competition and exhos, that means making some good money whilst promoting the sports and at the same time meeting their fans and making new fans.

As I've mentioned before, what's the point of tying down these top players to say Masters events like IW/Miami for eg, when these events are already well established. Fed or Rafa missing one of these events won't make the events any less attractive, as many other players would not want to miss it. Allowing the top players to skip one or two Masters may mean more time for them to do promotional work somewhere else. Rafa, Fed, Ferrer, Nole and Roddick, to name a few, had all done exhos this year, please stop singling out Rafa. He being the vice president has to speak out on behalf of the players. The ATP and the players have to come to an agreement, on how well to sustain the present tournaments and at the same time promote the sport to other potential new markets. It's not possible to expect players to play a long gruelling season and at the same time to be everywhere promoting the sports and getting in new businesses. They're humans, not machines.

The ATP should look to promote more players with potentials to become future stars, they can't just depend on the top few guys. Once the top few guys retire, the ATP will have problems getting players to fill in their shoes, so it's better to start now and not wait till it's too late.

"Filipinos like Rafa because he reminds them of Manny Pacquiao..." - numero , 9/26/11 8:09 PM

You presume too much, and you even make it sound as gospel truth! I started to be drawn into tennis after watching Rafa win the FO in 2005. Manny was not even in my radar then...and oh, I'm a Filipino by the way.

Actually, numero, it's quite patonizing to Filipino's to imply that they can't tell the difference between a boxer and a tennis player.

You know, you try to have a reasonable argument here and then numero makes that comment about Filipinos and it all goes down the drain! I don't understand some of these bizarre analogies that numero comes up with at times. This is NOT boxing, it's tennis for heaven's sake.

For the record, I agree with lucky's analysis of this situation. Comparing playing in exhos to real competition is absurd. Exhos are not responsible for the length of the tennis season. These events are needed to promote the sport of tennis, especially in countries where they don't get to go to tournaments or see any of the top players. That's why Rafa and Nole flew on a private jet to Bogota, Columbia right after the I/W final. The fans were ecstatic to see them and they played a two set exho without pushing each other. Rafa also played in an exho in Eugene, Portland with Fed before he flew to I/W. The top players take their responsibilities and obligations to the sport very seriously. If they can make fans happy by going to places where they are rarely seen, then that is what they should be doing.

Filipinos like Rafa because he reminds them of Manny Pacquiao. He almost works as hard as Manny as is almost as successful. Nothing fake about Manny though.
numero
, 9/26/11 8:09 PM

And you like Federer because he reminds you of who.....................Yoda? He almost looks as pretty as Yoda and is almost as successful. Nothing fake about Yoda though................

Trying to have a normal discussion with some of you is a complete waste of time, my opinion 'stinks' what because I don't agree with you? In any other line of work if you complained about how much you have to work then did extra work on the side your employer wouldn't give you the time of day, so why should tennis players be any different?
This is true for any player that chooses to play more then they have to then complains about how much they have to play, if a player doesn't play extra then yeah they're worth listening to.
I don't know it a difficult situation but im not saying Rafa playing extra tennis will undermine his argument for fun, its just the truth, if he wants the tennis calendar to be shortened he needs to stop playing more then he needs to and find a different way of increasing tennis exposure.

Rbennett, from your post above, I seriously doubt that you ever know how many tournaments that Rafa had played these past few years. For your benefit, I'll tell you here, to save you the trouble of going to the ATP individual player's page and check the tournaments played details.

Rafa had played seventeen events last year: four slams, one WTF, eight masters (he skipped Paris because of minor shoulder injury), Tokyo, Doha, Queens and Bangkok. In 2009 he played three slams (missed Wimbledon due to injuries), WTF, nine Masters, Rotterdam, Beijing, Barcelona, Doha, also seventeen tournaments. This year he had played fourteen tournaments so far: four slams, seven masters, Barcelona, Doha and Queens. He's scheduled to play Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris and WTF, all in all eighteen tournaments.

May I know, my dear friend, rbennett, how is Rafa overplaying?? Please go and check the details if you don't trust what I've posted!!

I heartily agree there rbennet! We need saturation exposure of his Armani jeans and undies campaign - glad to have you on board for that :). Also show that too cute pic [squeeeee :)] of him holding that little doggie determinedly away from him and flashing that smile - sigh. That should take care of SE Asia.... I have more ideas if you care to hear them rbennet? We are both agreed that you can never have too much Rafa :) - all aboard who's going aboard and all that...

Okay Luckystar so if Rafa isn't overplaying then why does the ATP need to reduce the amount of tournaments?
You can be sarcastic or talk about Rafa in his undies as much as you want haha it doesn't change that what im saying is just the truth of the matter, you can think comparing exhos to real matches is absurd and argue about how tiring they are as long as you like but as long as the players play more then they have to nothing will change, its a simple as that. The ATP won't want to change the amount of tournaments and whether they are mandatory or not so if they have an excuse not to or an argument to fall back on they will use it.

Excuse me rbennett, you're simply crutching at straws. I must say you're losing in your argument that's why you're now asking why then Rafa is complaining when he's not overplaying. Please, he's not overplaying because he DID NOT play more than that's required, ie not more than 19 events (including the WTF). However to these players, having to play the full schedule of 18-19 events are simply too much for them. Please also note that should they miss any mandatory events without a valid reason,they'll be severely penalized.

Please stay on topic if you're addressing your posts to me. What has Rafa's Armani ads got to do with this topic? Don't try to divert the subject just because you're losing your argument here!

lucky,

If he isn't overplaying then he shouldn't be bitching and whining about the schedule and the fact that he's tired.

Actually, numero, it's quite patonizing to Filipino's to imply that they can't tell the difference between a boxer and a tennis player.
nadline, 9/27/11 8:13 AM

Actually nadline, it's quite unbelievable that that's what you got from my statement. I did not say that. I said there are obvious similarities between the two :

1. Rafa is seen as the hardest working tennis player. Manny is the hardest working boxer.

2. Both are seen as the mentally toughest, never say die, never give in athletes in their respective sports.

3. Both are icons in their respective countries.

4. Both are relatively soft spoken and still learning English.

Native,

I watch a lot of sports so I can make these comparisons if I want. Once again, you're not the moderator here so please don't tell me what to post.

rbennett, your working hours are obviously not long enough that's why you can find the time to come on a tennis forum. Does your employer know that you have all this spare time on your hands? I think he should increase your working hours.

número, please see my post above. I'm not going to repeat till no end. If people pretend that they don't understand such simple matters, then I can't help them!

numero, do I take it then that the Filipinos were not asked who was the most trusted after Mandela? Did they ask the Spaniards or the Serbs, I wonder. I think all tennis players should feel offended that 55k people don't think they are as trusted as Federer. Is he the only one who can be left in the locker room with all their valuables? Oh! I get it. Federer is the only player who does not challenge a call when the ball is about a foot out - NOT!

numero sometimes it's better to resort to mathematics.

16>10

^^^^^the equivalent of a Fedtard going nuclear...............bringing up the slam count! So now we know why Fed is second to Mandela only on the trustworthiness count.......he has 16 GS compared to Rafa's 10!

Filipinos everywhere take note................

I think it's the h2h that determines who is most trustworthy - 17>8.

rafaisthebest, LOL.
I'll be clear this time just so you understand.
Numero stop trying to explain your point because when people are anti federer they are mentally unable to process anything that's positive towards roger as truth.
So in my opinion you should just leave those people be and live in their delusional world. Don't bother trying to put anything through their thick heads.


rafaisthebest, as for 16 > 10, I think your mentally altered state still allows you to comprehend a simple mathematical expression.

And by the way about the subject of the article, of course federer came second as I said in a post above roger is as a good a person as he is a tennis player if not better.

P.S.: rafisthebest, you shouldn't be disrespectful to filipinos when answering my post. You make it seem that I was being disrespectful to them in the first place when I never mentioned anything about that.

^^^^^^hmmmmmm, now there's a defensive posture if ever there was one......I wonder why!!

nadline, to cite rafaisthebest "^^^^^the equivalent of a" Nadaltard "going nuclear...............bringing up the" H2H "count!".

P.S.: I don't like calling fans as tards, I just used it because I was citing rafaisthebest.

when you attack someone it is only natural for that person to defend itself.
Don't be afraid I'm not going to attack you back.

^^^^I'm having pork although I'm not suppossed to...........just wanna experience rolling in mud like the porkies do!!

You have officially lost it. LOL
Watching a nadal fan acting crazy makes me laugh so hard. Please continue.

Don't be afraid I'm not going to attack you back.
bleck
, 9/27/11 3:04 PM

No, what is funny is reading you going back on your word, mate................it's okay, not easy to think straight when you're all excited..........................

I didn't attack you. I simply said you were acting crazy because you were. What kind of post was that?!

I see you settled down now. Good.

I would love to continue this conversation because i can see you are in dire need of company but have to go..................am sure you can find something else to do with your hands!!

Ciao......

rbennet & bleck - It's pretty clear that you two are argueing for the sake of argueing and know nothing about why the players are unhappy with their schedule. Why don't you try reading these two articles, http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/sep/20/andy-murray-atp-tour- strike, and http:www.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/15008898.stm. Yes, these articles are
pro player, but the comments cover both sides of the arguement. At least then you can be a little informed before taking sides, unless you like looking like twits.

Bleck,
Welcome to TT site. i see you did not find it hard to bump in to the usual suspects.

It is because you are positive about Roger. this site is full of haters who will try everything to bring him down.
Do not let them put you down because this is just the beginning.

Sienna, You might try reading the articles recommended above as well. It would be interesting to hear what your take is on the players situation, and wouldn't it be fun to have an actual discussion about tennis, instead of constantly recruiting buddies to bash Rafa. Your the hater Sienna. Now ask yourself, "Would Roger want this?". Is Roger a hater too? I've always been convinced that he's not, but maybe you know better.

Sienna thanks. I've had a little personal confrontation with a poster. But I don't like to do that so I let him/her have the last word and it appears to have worked.
Despite posting in this site for not too long I'm starting to understand the nature of some of the more active posters.

Maya this article is regarding nadal exhibition match. Before starting to post ridiculous false statements I would encorage you to read other articles where I've posted about the scheduling problems.

But I'll sum it up for you. In my opinion there should be a reduction of the mandatory 250 and 500 tournaments partially or completely. More than that it's hard because the season is already so packed that to give players let's say 2 months off season would be extremly difficult.
A player always has the control on their hands (except for the mandatory tournaments). If you look at federer he has been able to have very little injuries during his career due to intelligent scheduling.
Reducing the number of tournaments would also hurt a lot of lower ranked players who depend on playing lots of tournaments to earn ranking points and prize money.

numero,

Don't fall back on other people's false arguments! You should at least try to stay on topic and your tendency to bring up irrelevant things like satan, is bizarre to say the least. It's what you do!

Trying to throw out that old comment that I am not the moderator on the site, is again both irrelevant to the issue at hand and simple false on its face. What's more, you know it full well.

Do I have the power or ability to delete posts or ban people? No! So stop making insulting comments just to try to divert the issue!

Haha where to start oh my! Luckystar-the Armani comment was originally made by Blessed, I just added to it thats all. And I didn't mean to clutch at straws I just got confused! And fair enough Rafa doesn't play as much as I thought, he does play Monte Carlo which is an optional masters. Anyway, basically,my point about the exos and and any extra tennis he plays still stands, the more tennis he plays that he doesn't have to, the less likely the ATP are likely to take his complaints about the tennis season being too long less seriously, thats all! I wasn't looking for a huge argument or anything as entertaining as they may get on this site.
Nadline-I DID have a full time job, I work at an old peoples home and I caught a resident and injured my back instead of letting said resident fall like Im supposed to apparently, so now im off work till im better, glad you've noticed my presence though;).

^^^Hope your back gets better soon.

@numero , 9/27/11 1:57 PM


So why do you like Federer? Because he reminds you of Mohamed Ali?

nadline,

Now you're talking! I guess if we must be subjected to the cross references to boxing figures, why not go with another one! :)

^^^Nobody can compare to Roger really but for their dominance as athletes and for raising the levels of their respective sports only Usain Bolt or Michael Plelps can come close.

Oh, now we are on to comparisons with a sprinter and a swimmer!

At least it won't be boring, with only boxers being in the mix.

Well somebody agrees with me :

http://espn.go.com/tennis/blog/_/name/bodo_peter/id/7007731/tenni s-enough-enough-andy-murray-rafael-nadal

bleck - You must not have typed them in right. I tried them both again and they came up fine. These are good articles. Pro players, but as I said the comments argue back and forth and there are good points made. I don't think the players are interested in reducing any of the tournaments, particularly the 250-500 tournaments, because as you said it's the lower ranking players bread and butter. What they would like to do is reduce the number of MANDATORY tournaments played throughout the year, so that if a player turns up exhausted (Fed not playing Shanghai), or hurt (Djokovich not playing Shanghai), then they aren't penalized as they might be now. It just gives them a little more leeway to get through the year. Rafa has already said that the players group is only interested in a common sense approach that is beneficial to all. Andy and Rafa are spokespeople for their group. What ever changes might be made would have to be approved by a majority I'm sure. Really, you should read the articles. Even if you don't agree it does no harm to know both sides of an arguement.

rbennett, my feeling is that the ATP will listen to the players, the simple reason being the ATP needs these players to cooperate with them in order to make more money. Just imagine, if these players all boycott certain events, like skip it because they can (for eg Ferrer, Roddick and Rafa can do so as they have played more than 600 matches) and some claimed that they're injured or ill, the ATP can't penalize them and the said event will suffer. For it's own interest, the ATP has to listen to the players, afterall, the ATP is formed to protect the interest of the players in the first place!

My thinking is, they should cut down the number of countable events towards the rankings from 18 to 16, ie 7 Masters, 4 slams, 3 500 events and 2 250 events. Those who qualify for the WTF of course would have one more countable event. Players are allowed to choose which Masters they want to skip, or they can play all the Masters and get the beat seven as countable; as sometimes they may be knocked out in the first or second rounds in some. The season can end at end of October, and some smaller events can still continue until the year end, that way the lower ranked players, or the up and comers, can have their chances to continue playing, earn some ranking points and some prize money. Maybe the ATP should do something like promoting the young players during this period and let them have their chances to shine and let the tennis fans get to know them better. It's time that ATP start to promote some other players instead of just relying on the top few guys to bring in the crowd.

luckystar - That sounds like an excellent, doable plan and as I understand it, very close to what the players are looking for. You need to make a presentation! There will still be 9 masters 1000, but only 7 would count toward the ranking. Is that what your saying? I like it! Now how hard was that. You should be a negotiator luckystar.

Yes Maya, that's what I mean. In the past, without all these strict rulings, Fed and Rafa did skip some Masters events. In 2005, they both skipped the Paris Masters, and Fed skipped Canada (maybe sick or injured or something) and the Madrid masters. Fed also skipped Rome and went to Hamburg, while Rafa played at Rome but skipped Hamburg. In 2006, they both skipped Hamburg, due to they being tired after that long final match at Rome, and they both skipped Paris Masters.

Now that they have so many outstanding players, the ATP should let them all have their chances to shine, instead of relying heavily on the top few guys to bring in the crowd. I think the Masters events should be fine, even the Paris Masters (as there are enough outstanding French players to draw in the crowd). Now Shanghai, if you noticed, since 2009 when it became a Masters event, the arena was not full most of the matches, even when Fed or Rafa was playing. I think only the SFs and the Final matches, played during the weekend, draw in more people. I think it's up to the tournament organiser there to think of ways to attract fans from around that region, like Korea, Taiwan and also SE Asia.

PS. I for one would like to go to the Shanghai Masters as it's the nearest Masters event for me, though my favorite Masters events are all in Europe during the clay season.

I live in California and have been to IW twice now, and loved it both times. My dream is to follow the clay season from MC to the FO. I'll need to save a few dimes and nickels for that though. Shanghai would be a wonderful experience too, and I
did notice all the empty seats during the week last year. Do you think the tournament is not promoted well, or just a general lack of enthusiasm for tennis?

Maya, I think it's both. I think the Beijing and Tokyo tournaments are just the week before the Shanghai Masters won't help matters, as fans would have already had their dose of live tennis, especially if you're fan of Rafa, Nole or Murray. Fed doesn't play in Beijing or Tokyo these days, and this is the second time he misses Shanghai, having missed it in 2009.

As I've mentioned, it's important for the ATP to promote it's other players, so that even without the top four players, other players still can help to bring in the crowd. I think the Shanghai Masters should do more promotional work in the region, and offers some special packages to the regional fans, if they can't bring in the locals during the weekday matches.

I've attended the 2008 TMC in Shanghai and the attendance then was pretty good. I guess that was because it's the top eight guys playing, and I noticed many foreigners in attendance. I think the earlier rounds in the Masters events may be less attractive to the locals there as they may not know many of these lower ranked players. Really, more promotional works need to be done. I'm hoping they'll offer some good packages for people like me in the SE Asia region, so that I can make a trip there every year!

@numero , 9/27/11 1:57 PM


So why do you like Federer? Because he reminds you of Mohamed Ali?
nadline , 9/27/11 11:05 PM


No! Federer is comparable with Mayweather, they both have big mouths.

^^^Nobody can compare to Roger really but for their dominance as athletes and for raising the levels of their respective sports only Usain Bolt or Michael Plelps can come close.

numero , 9/28/11 12:52 AM


Would this be the same Michael Phelps who was 'suspended for three months by USA Swimming and dropped by his sponsor over a photograph of the him holding a marijuana pipe.

USA Swimming also cut off its financial support, and said that the Olympic champion had to win back the federation's trust and the trust of his fans'.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article56729 60.ece

Numero, you've shot yourself in the foot by comparing the man who has supposedly just been voted the most trusteworthy man in the world after Mandela to Michael Phelps in whom the USA lost their trust. Hahahahahah!

Typo again - TRUSTWORTHY.

TT, it would be nice to have editing facilities.

Maya,

Great posts - I appreciate your continuous efforts to inform the people who are posting on this article as to what is really involved - ie MANDATORY events.

I was in IW in 2009 too when Rafa won the tournament. It was my first live tournament and will hopefully not be my last. I really enjoyed the informal atmosphere and being able to get really close to the players. The night match Rafa v Nalbandian was so thrilling because Rafa came back to win from being 2 match points down. It was like a Spain v Argentina Davis Cup match. I would also like to go to the FO someday.

Thank goodness for live TV coverage, particularly the livestreaming facilities which allow us to watch tennis year round. But there is no substitute for the thrill of actually being present particularly if you are lucky enough to see your favourite player(s). However one does always risk shivering with cold through hours of rain delay - or even of seeing no tennis at all!

You are right ed live is not always the best, especially when it is cold and raining and that is why I chose Indian Wells. Mind you watching the matches in the hottest parts of the day was not for the faint hearted either.

It was a good experience but I am happy watching tennis on the TV or even through live streaming which I did for the US Open when I was on holiday over there this year. Are you in the UK ed? It's just that it said the live streaming was not available in the UK - same for the Davis cup live streaming. If you can get live streaming in the UK perhaps you could let me have the website address - thanks.

@nadline, 9/28/11 11:38 AM

I was referring to his dominance in the pool, not what he does in his personal life. I've come to realize that everything needs to be explained to you in detail so that you can understand.

For that matter, you could compare him to Tiger when he was dominant; just his athletic performance not the personal life. I think the reason they became friends during those Gillette commercials is because they had a lot in common. Unfortunately for Tiger, his personal transgressions have gotten in the way of his performance. Thankfully, Roger is not declining as rapidly.

schatz: Although I'm English I live in France. Deuce or Nadline are the people who can best advise you on receiving in the UK but this is the site most people use for finding free tennis streams wherever they live. They publish a complete list of all the TV coverage and tell you if there is a commentary is in English.

http://www.livescorehunter.com/Livescores/Livescore-Tennis .html

It takes a little practice to negotiate the site and sometimes you need to try several of their links to find one that works for you. It is also possible with this site to open up several links at the same time - I've been known to have the TV on and be watching at least three other matches on the computer!

Thanks ed, I will give it a try. Keep enjoying your tennis - especially Rafa.

ed and schatz, I ended up watching one of the USOpen matches, on livehunter, with Spanish commentators because it was the best stream! Could just about have understood if it had been French....:)

schatz, Thanks for the kind words. It's hard not to get caught up in the silliness sometimes, but tennis deserves better. My goal is to see Nadal win on clay. It's something I'd be spouting on about at the old folks home (many years from now hopefully) :)

Deuce: The problem when it is a French commentator at the Slams it is likely to be Guy Forget. I have never known anyone* love the sound of his own voice as much as he does You can lose the will to live when he starts droning on!!!!
*(on second thoughts, without mentioning names, I can think of someone else ;-)

ed, the Spanish commentators were at least fun, even though I only understood about one word in 50! BTW I know exactly who you mean......;)

Deuce: I knew you would know. I agree about Spanish commentators: they are so animated it is infectious - even though I only know about 20 words of Spanish in spite of spending two months a year there.

Here in the U.S., I am extremely grateful for the tennis channel. They carry everything, DC matches, even the lesser 250 and 500 tournaments. Otherwise I would have to rely on espn2. They don't cover the smaller tournaments and DC. I also love the commentators on the tennis channel. They are all about the tennis and don't try to inject their own personalities or irrelevant things into their commentary. They don't talk a lot, make good points about the tennis and good analysis of the shots and strategy. It's a pleasure listening to them and much better than livestreams, because I can record it, too.

NNY, I've now changed a very unseemly shade of green..;)

deuce,

I am sorry. I should have been more sensitive to your situation. It's just that I waited a really long time for my cable provider to carry the tennis channel. I only got it last year right before the USO.

If it's any consolation, I did have to rely on livestreams for a long time. It was not a very convenient situation when there was a big time difference.

What I love is that the tennis channel has British commentators who are so knowledgeable and concise in their comments. I think Robbie Koenig and Marty Petchek are two of the ones who have done a good deal of commentary. I don't know if I spelled Marty's name right. I also think Tim Henman joined them. I have heard a difference of opinion about them, but compared to the talkathon at espn2 and the likes of Patrick McEnroe Cliff Drysdale and some of the others, it's heaven.

I apologize for appearing to rub it in. :)

I do love the Tennis Channel too but we all know Robbie has a man-crush on Rafa so sometimes that's irritating.

numero,

Isn't there someone who has a man crush on Fed?

McEnroe also has a crush on Rafa, I bet numero does too.

What it boils down to is that people admire Federer but love Rafa.

nadline,

You are on fire these days! Well said!

nadline,

Rafa attracts gay men is what you're saying? I could only wonder why. As for me, I'm a raging hetero thanks. Now Anna K. or Ana I. that's what I'm talking about!;)

Not sure about Rafa attracting gay guys, but Rafa does attract non gay ones. I'm sure vamosrafa and chloro would agree with me. Be careful número, not to offend the male posters who are Rafa fans here.

lucky,

Don't try to twist my words. It's impossible for a straight man to have a crush on another straight man. You know very well I wasn't talking about Rafa having male fans like vamosrafa.

Blame my above response on nadline who thinks that just because she wants to get boinked by Rafa that everybody else does too. She needs to leave her fantasies to herself.

So número, what are you implying about Robbie having a man crush on Rafa?

So numero, is JMac gay?

Gay men are attracted to good looking men so it's understandable that they are attracted to Rafa, but they are not the only ones and it's not Rafa's fault. There is nothing he can do about it.

As usual numero, you make a lot of assumptions. I bet you can't name 2 gay men who have a crush on Rafa.

^^^You mean besides Robbie and Mac?

Hi everyone,

Nice to see that you are having some nice light hearted exchanges and also some informative ones.

I was watching a recording of the US Open and Johnny Mac has definitely fallen out of love with Rafa. His new love is Djokovic :)

Ed, I tried that live tennis streaming website you gave me and when I try to watch a match that I have picked it comes up with Access Denied - any suggestions anyone? Or any other live streams that are available in the UK? Any info would be much appreciated.

By the way I found a site where you can buy DVDs of old tennis matches. I bought 2 when Rafa won his gold medal in Beijing. The quality is not too bad and the price was £6.50 for each DVD. The choice was amazing - I think they had nearly every match that Rafa has played since 2005/06. If anybody is interested the address is:

http://www.tennisdvdworld.net/index.html

Interesting. Thanks schatz. I would love to have a copy of that Safin-Federer match from the Australian Open. That was some of the finest tennis I've ever seen.

I use sportlemon.tv .... it almost always has all of the livestreams easily accessible.

^^^You mean besides Robbie and Mac?

numero , 9/30/11 1:33 PM


JMac??? Words fail me.

@guys, for those who are familiar with gadgets & technical stuff, it is easy to catch satellite feeds for tennis events. You don't have to be on same continent where tournaments are, because broadcasters around world are using those feeds to transfer broadcast around globe...

You need motorized satellite dish, and satellite receiver capable of receiving feeds format (4:2:2), and just watch http://twitter.com/#!/satelliweb tweets. When event begins, tweets will show location which needs to be set in order to see feed.

Feeds are next best thing to watching match live. No commercials, some don't have commentators at all, and you can watch fully Rafa rituals ;)

.............and you can watch fully Rafa rituals ;)

atg , 9/30/11 5:41 PM


I'll get a satellite receiver then. Lol

Taipei, Oct. 1 (CNA) A reserved and smaller-than-anticipated crowd showed up at a tennis exhibition match between Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer Saturday, with the former taking about 100 minutes to take victory 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

In front of fewer than 5,000 people, the level of excitement was muted in the first set, with both players trading short rallies and taking little time between points.

Only around 60 percent of the tickets were sold, according to Jay Ching, general manager of Yu-Tsai International Marketing Inc., which organized the match.

It was not until world No.5 Ferrer of Spain caught his compatriot off-guard with a cross-court return in the third game of the first set that the crowd burst into a significant cheer.

The match heated up slightly in the second set, when Ferrer broke Nadal to bring the score to one set all.

But Nadal found form quickly in the final set, wrapping up the game with a powerful forehand.

"It's a pity that the spectators failed to react to good shots in the game," said Lee Wei-yang, a zealous tennis fan who keeps close track of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament. "We simply don't have the tradition."

Other fans, however, said it was the players who made it a dull match.

"They were not playing hard enough," complained Evelyn Huang, 22. "Nadal only grabbed his shorts a few times in the match, which meant he was not serious at all."

Presented with basketball-sized golden trophy balls after the match, however, Nadal and Ferrer said they enjoyed the match and had a great time in Taiwan.

"We tried our best, we did well, and I hope the fans enjoyed the match, " he said, adding that local tennis fans acted "professionally" throughout the match.

^^^^Doesn't sound like they will be invited back............ever!

I wouldn't waste my precious dollars to see an exho match between those two coz it's obvious what the outcome will be. So much for people all over the world wanting to see some of these tennis *stars.* It's only hoopla in some people's minds.

Do you know why, número? The ticket prices are ridiculously expensive, reportedly between USD220 to 420 each. As I've mentioned, exho ticket prices are expensive and not many can afford them. The same scenario happened to the Sharapova vs Zvonareva exho match the week before in Taipei, attendance was poorer than expected. Furthermore not much publicity work done for these exhos.

Come to Spore, the situation will be different. The Sharapova vs Chakvatasi exho a few years back was well attended. We'll make sure proper promotional work will be done before the actual exho. We're having a WTA exho here during Dec, six players will be here, including USO champion Sam Stosur, so let's see how's the attendance. I'm looking forward to. Rafa exho here in Spore, he went to KL for exho a few years back.

Well these exhos are good for players concerned to meet their fans, not all countries have ATP tournaments so it's understandable why some of these exhos are held. Without exhos, some fans may never have a chance to see their favorite players.

Tennis is still not as well loved as say soccer or even golf around the world, especially this part of the world that is Asia. We love soccer here more than any other sports, golf may be second (I'm not sure about that though). In Taiwan they love baseball, same with Japan, on top of soccer. South East Asia, it's always soccer. I suppose India is cricket. More work has to be done for tennis to be popular here.

In Spore we're well aware of tennis as most private properties here come with tennis courts (hard courts for easy maintenance), however no professional tennis star I'm afraid.

This is precisely what these exhos are for, to promote the sport. It's a work in progress and no one can expect them to start off with a bang. The match will have been televised to reach a wide audience so more people will become interested after seeing it then next time they'll have more spectators and if they eventually have an ATP tournament far more people would participate than if they had never seen the top players in their country.

Anyone should be able to see that.

Hi Nadine, for sure the exho's are to promote the game, also for the sponsers to showcase their products. Having discussed this with male friends and relatives who watch football but not tennis, they have grown up with football its always been easily accessable where as they tell me tennis has a sense of elitism which football doesnt have. This could be a tough barrier for the ATP/Sponsers to unlock.

For a start, tennis lessons are costly. Football or soccer can be played anywhere when you can find some empty land, tennis, and also golf, are a bit more difficult.

I like tennis because it's an individual sport where the player has to be on his own, and uses everything that he has, including his stamina, fitness, skills, brain, and athletism. I think it's the most difficult racquet game played. I'm glad I find somebody like Rafa that I enjoy watching, he has all of the above qualities and plays an unorthodox style, he's special. For the classical style Fed is the best representative, they both make the sport of tennis wonderful to watch during this time and era.

I don't know whether it's cause or effect. Here in the UK, football gets maximum exposure and tennis very little. For instance even with Andy Murray in the a tournament this week hardly any mention has been made about it and normally the one person that would generate any interest in tennis in the UK media is Murray. This is because the football season has just started.

The sports section of a UK newspaper is really the football section. Football is promoted all over the world so much from the UK that there are fan clubs in the most unlikely places in the world of UK football stars, they even have fan clubs of clubs like ManU, Chelsea etc. and will tell you every small detail of an English footballer's life.

The UK is the organ for World communication and because we have not excelled in tennis for 75 years or so we don't give it too much space. With the emergence of CNN and Fox, American sports are now getting the exposure. Football also appeals to the masses because you can play it anywhere and you don't need too much kit so it can be played in the most deprived areas of the world, whilst tennis needs courts etc.

Exho's are helping to promote tennis and the charitable foundations of the players also contribute a lot, so let's not knock them.

Yes let's not knock them. The top players are doing their best to help to promote tennis. Actually thanks to Fed and Rafa, more and more people are more aware of the sport tennis. Both of them are well loved all over the world, even in places where there're no ATP events. Both are charismatic in their own ways, one suave and polished, the other rugged and athletic, both are friendly and rather appealing too. It helps too with their rivalry on court. I hope they, together with some others, continue to attract people and also endorsements to tennis so that the sport will flourish, even after Fedal are gone from the scene.

So lucky,

Based on the lousy turnout and the lack of cheering in this dull match, do you still think the ATP will have an event there in the future? I don't. Their boring game and lack of effort killed it's chances it seems. Some promoters of tennis. Worst idea for an exho ever : Rafa against one of his homeboys.

número, apparently you've not read my earlier posts. Taiwanese love baseball and soccer. Tennis is not well known there, worst still the ticket prices are ridiculous, between USD220-420 per ticket, how many people can afford that. Also those who know tennis there reflected that it's a cultural thing that some poeple there do not know how to react during a match, maybe they do not know when they can cheer and when not to make noise??

Can you imagine, one lady even commented that it didn't look like a real match, come on, this is an exho, not a Wimbledon match, what did she expect?? Even the exho between Fed and Rafa at Switzerland and Spain last year didn't look like real matches, did they? This goes to show how much more promotion work needed to be done, at least in Taiwan.

FYI, we'll be having a WTA tournament here in Spore, earliest by end Nov 2012, if not by Jan 2013. I'm so happy to hear that, I think Jan is a better time slot as it's a good place to acclimatize to the hot and humid weather during that time of the year and get ready for the AO. Hopefully a ATP event can follow. A Jan time slot makes more sense than this Oct time slot for the Asian swing. I noticed the Bangkok tournament and the Tokyo one (last year) are well attended as they're more established. The Beijing and the KL(Malaysia) ones were not well attended, probably they're new to the calendar, since 2009, so more promotional work have to be done to attract the crowd.

Sorry, the Beijing event is not new, new as a 500 event since 2009, formerly a 250 event. The venue is new since 2009, it's the Olympics stadium for tennis and hence it's bigger than the previous venue. The stadium was not filled up during the Beijing Open tournaments since 2009, hopefully this year there's improvement in the attendance.

número, apparently you've not read my earlier posts. Taiwanese love baseball and soccer. Tennis is not well known there luckystar, 10/2/11 2:54 PM

Yes I have read them and I was referring to this one :

Who knows, we may soon see an ATP event in Taiwan!
luckystar, 9/26/11 9:46 AM

Case closed! Need help taking your foot out of your mouth? Ask nadline; she's had a lot of practice. :)

Excuse me número, what's wrong with you, picking up fight? I said who knows, we MAY soon see an ATP event...

Any problem with that? Or do you need me to explain what does the word 'MAY' means in that sentence? Do you need help??

Maybe the Taiwanese and numero do not understand what an exhibition match is about. It's not supposed to be a normal competition. It's and EXHIBITION. It's demonstrating the game of tennis, promoting it.

There are different types of exhibitions in tennis, there are exhibition MATCHES and exhibition TOURNAMENTS. The one in Abu Dhabi is a tournament so it's obviously more competitive, the one in Taiwan was a single match played just for the sake of a demonstration.

numero, I hope you understand the difference now.

lucky,

You never really answered my question about having a tournament there. Instead you tried to deny you ever said it so I just called you out is all. Classic flip-flop scenario.

nadline,

Obviously the crowd was bored with the style of tennis and the perceived lack of effort. Rafa and Ferrer are boring just face the reality. They would have been cheering wildly if this were and exho between Roger and Nole for example.

numero, your crystal ball is not working. You are the master of assumptions. If they thought Roger and Nole were more exciting, they would have invited them.

nadline, número is just interested in picking up a fight. He jumps at every opportunity to pick on us the Rafa fans. He's not interested in discussing tennis, instead of picking up what some tennis fans said about the exho match, he chose to pick that remark by that one lady. If they expect an exho match to be the same as a normal match, then I'm afraid they'll be disappointed.

The ticket prices they charged are ridiculous. I remember the Sharapova exho in Spore few years back, the ticket prices were quite reasonable, at about USD100 even though the USD was much stronger then. I'll wait and see how Spore charge for the WTA exhos here in Dec. I really hope one day Rafa and Fed may come to Spore for an exho, maybe in Jan on their way to Melbourne, after their Doha tournament. BTW have you any idea will Rafa go to Doha next year for his warm up tournament?

número, when did I flip flop? I said who knows, we MAY have an ATP event in Taiwan soon, which part of it you don't understand? Did I say they'll sure have an event there? Are you trying to clutch at straw? Again from what you wrote, I can gather how petty a person you are, always finding fault with Rafa fans, jumping at every opportunity, and most times making a fool of yourself, just like the times when you pick on what I posted about players making the best of opportunities opened to them, happily questioning me about Rafa and who he faced at MC.

Stop being so petty will you? The Taiwan exho is not being properly promoted and tickets not being properly priced. Even if it's Fed there, the crowd would also be bored as it's just an exho, not an actual match. Don't think too highly of Fed, especially when it's an echo match. The crowd simply don't know how to react during a match as it's a cultural thing, mentioned by some people there. I'm sure they know better about the Taiwanese people than you do número.

Yes I heard a rock star say that in that part of the world it's not done to cheer during a performance they only do it at the end.

I think Rafa will probably go to Doha because he is commited to Abu Dhabi so it's easy for him to get to Doha so long as he doesn't participate in any water tennis which caused his flu this year and all the fall out from that. I saw Rafa in Abu Dhabi last year because my daughter lives in Dubai. That was sooooooooo good to see him beat The Fed live.

I'm reading Rafa's book now - I know, I've said it several times so I should have finished it by now, but I'm reading it whilst watching the Wimby final of 2008, because he describes his emotions during the match so I don't want to do it in one go. Rafa is so respectful and complimentary to Roger in his book, but the reason his fans are not, is because unfortunately, Roger's fans bring the worst out of people.

If they thought Roger and Nole were more exciting, they would have invited them.
nadline, 10/2/11 4:36 PM

How do you know they didn't?

lucky,

My final attempt : Do you still think there may be an ATP event soon in Taiwan?

P.S. I feel like I'm interviewing a politician here.

Thanks nadline.

Well I can understand why some Fed fans, or should I say almost all Fed fans dislike or even hate Rafa because 1) Rafa beat the crap out of Fed 17 out of 25 times they met; 2) they're worried that Rafa may one day surpass Fed in his slam counts, and worried that Rafa will become the 'Goat'.

So, they're wishing and hoping that somebody comes along and stops Rafa from getting more slams and hopefully beat Rafa more often than not. First they placed their hope on Delpo but mission failed, so now Nole is their latest hope. While they rejoice now that Nole was beating Rafa that many times this year, they forget that Nole also beat Fed many times this year. Nole MAY soon join Rafa and Murray and have a positive H2H against Fed.

I believe that Rafa will soon get his own back on Nole.

Rafa said time and again in his book that Roger serves far better than him, which is true, but when his serve is not working, Rafa will beat him every time with his ground strokes.

número, you won't let go right? Fine let me tell you, if they're serious in promoting tennis there and organize events properly, ie doing the right promotional events, setting prices at a more affordable level, and having 'meet the tennis players' sessions and autograph signing sessions, then yes the possibilty of having an ATP event there is positive. They do know who is Rafa and who is Ferrer, if not why do the exho organizer pay to get them there? Just like they pay to get Sharapova and Zvonareva there, all these are top ten players.

The organizers don't do this for fun, they'll learn from this experience and will do a better job in future. Of course the aim should be to have a proper event in future, just like what we're doing here in Spore.

^^ Well thanks for finally actually answering my question. Peace out! Time for real football i.e. the NFL!

Yes nadline I believe so. I'm positive if Rafa can play like he did at IW and Miami this year, but with good serve and good backhand, he should be fine. I watched that AO 2009 final again on DVD and I was really in awe with Rafa's CC backhand then. Where has that backhand gone? It's such a lethal weapon back then, flat, precise, forceful and he could hit all sorts of angled shots with it. I also think that Rafa should improve his DTL backhand shots to allow himself more options against his opponents. One more thing, improve his sliced shots further and varied his pace more to keep his opponents guessing. I really can see many areas for improvement for Rafa. It's amazing what Rafa has achieved this year despite not being at his best physically and with parts of his game not functioning too well, taking into consideration the strong field out there. Hopefully Rafa can still scale new heights in his career when he's able to improve the various aspects of his game.

All players have their ups and downs. This year Rafa hasn't been as much on song as he could be and players go on court thinking that they should be able to get the better of him because he is not in form but even his 'B' game can take care of the rest of tem apart from Nole when he needs his 'A' game firing on all cylinders. I watched Rafa's game against Golubev this afternoon and Rafa was playing really badly but Golubev still couldn't take a set off him.

Cheryl, I checked tennis dvd world and they do sell Federer v Safin semi final Australian Open 2005. It lasted over 4 hours and Safin won in 5 sets. Hope this is the one you are referring to.

I was watching DVD of Monte Carlo finals 2006 Fed v Rafa yesterday and learnt from commentators Peter Fleming and Mark Petchy that Fed grew up and learnt his tennis on CLAY. I was really surprise but presume this is true as they would not have said it otherwise. The commentary was really interesting as it was 5 years ago and at that stage the H2H between the two was 4 - 1 to Rafa with the 1 win by Fed coming in the Miami 5 setter which Rafa should have won really. So, if this is true then Rafa has never had the real advantage that they keep saying he has on clay because Fed grew up on it too.

This is just a thought but I think Rafa's serving has gone downhill since he alterted it for the US Open last year. Although he served really great there, it has not stayed that way and seems to have developed into a weakness. When you watch past matches his serving was never really a problem like it seems to be now. Even though it was never the fastest it was usually well placed and reliable etc.

Nadline, Agree with your last post. I think one good win against Djokovic will do a lot to improve his confidence and level of play. Hoping for this very soon.

Lucky, I have watch AO 2009 many times and it is one of my favourite matches - Rafa's backhands were just fantastic that day. That is another shot that seems to have developed a problem. I also watched the semi final of the Beijing Olympics - Rafa v Djokovic and everything was on song. No problem with the serve or backhand there.

I believe Rafa will never stop trying to find a way - he will always be my favourite no matter what. Vamos ..................

schatz, what has the fact that federer grew up playing on clay have to do with nadal having and advantage over him on clay?!
Federer's worst surface is clay and Nadal is one of the greatest ever clay courters. How can you not see that nadal has an advantage when playing federer on clay?!
The one pivotal exchange in their matches - the top spin forehand to federer's backhand is much more difficult for federer to handle on clay because the bounce is higher.

schatz, I discovered TennisDVDWorld recently because I missed Rafa's DC matches. The quality is excellent and each DVD has it's own case. I have just got to the point in Rafa's book where he talked about the SF in OZ 2009 with Verdasco so I'm watching that now but I seem to have misplaced the DVD of the final, so I've ordered that because that's what he talked about next. I've also ordered the 2008 FO final. That's my favourite Rafa match on clay - the way he gave Fed the run around is a joy to watch. I bet Fed fans didn't find that boring at all.

People make out that Rafa is good on clay because he grew up on it, but so did Federer and Murray.

nadline, Andy didn't exactly "grow up" on clay. I think he was 15/16 b4 he moved to Spain. He would have spent his early years on hard.

Bleck,

The point is that it has always been pointed out that Rafa had the edge over Federer because he "grew up" on clay intimating that Roger did not. After all there is an art to it according to the commentators. So how can there be an advantage when you are playing another player brought up on clay? Both have had equal experience and training on that surface. That makes it a level playing field. It is obvious that Rafa would have an advantage on clay against say Roddick because he grew up on hard courts.

Hi Nadline,

That site is great for tennis DVDs. If Rafa's match against Tsonga in the DC was as good as they said it was I might get that one too - what do you think? Was this one of Rafa's better matches?

Sorry Bleck, did not answer the second part of your post re Rafa's spin to Fed's backhand. I can see your point about that being the case now but when I watched the Monte Carlo 2006 final Rafa's spin was not so pronounced and such a weapon going into Fed's backhand. You would be surprised at how good Fed's backhand was then - many variations, eg slice, chip, and the backhand drive - all were good and able to cope very well with Rafa's spin. The match was closer than you think.

schatz, Rafa was supreme, he was in his kingdom after all and Tsonga seemed a little bit overwhelmed playing Rafa on clay for the first time.

What I liked most was the look on Guy Forget's face when it was clear Tsonga was going to get a good licking, because he was their secret weapon against Nadal. They led everyone to think Nadal was going to play Simon then put Tsonga in his place.

Nadline, Thanks for that - I shall get the DVD. By the way another great match played in DC at the same venue was against the USA when Rafa beat Andy Roddick -think it was 2009/10. Rafa was superb in that match and I even felt a bit sorry for Andy - the atmosphere was electric.

Yes I've been wondering whether to get that one too because I missed it as well. It was in 2008.

I have soooooooo many DVDs of Rafa's matches, virtually all the matches he's won since about 2008 when I got my recordable DVD player. I can never have enough though.

nadline: I'm wondering how you ever find time to cook dinner, or does hubby do it while you are glued to the screen :-))

ed,

You are cracking me up lately. Maybe nadline has a very understanding husband! :)

ed, Marks and Sparks take awaways perhaps ;)

Very intersting question. First of all my husband makes good bacon and egg but that's the end of his repertoire in the kitchen. It was 15 years after we moved into our house that he found out where the grill was in the oven. The next thing is, I am averse to ready meals.

So how do I do it? Organization. I make all my meals from scratch but I don't do it every day, because there is something called a freezer. So you could say I make my own ready-meals on a weekly basis.

My husband spends all his time writing, so I spend all my time watching tennis - simple.

Sounds like a good arrangement. But we clocked the poor man was reduced to whisking you off on a cruise out of reach of TV coverage for your holiday during the USO ;-))