Lets go Rafa :-D

If Rafa wins, it will be sweet revenge.

That's good, I like going for the underdog. Have already made appointment with my manicurist to remove my teeth marks! :-)

Oh my god, this is going to be the cliff-hanger of all cliff hangers. I dont think even Nadal really expected to pull off Cincinatti in the exhausted state he was in. But Bejing is another matter altogether. More than any other title, this is going to be fought in the head as much as with the racquet. Tenstar: I plan to take some valium before it starts!

Go Novak go, you're so close, please, on the behalf of whole nation, do it today and make all the malicious, arrogant and suspicious folks to shut of their mouth, I adore you, I'm praying to God, present yourself best you can do, Rafa is great tennis player, very humble and normal guy, but you have chance once again to beat him, the rest is a history...

I bet Nadal beats Nole in 2 straight sets. It took him a while to acclimatize to Beijing's extreme weather conditions as we could see in the first round vs Potito Starace... But from then Rafa has put his game is at a different level again... It was just impressive how easily he demolished Hewitt, Andreev and Melzer.
...I do agree with ed251137... at Cincy Nadal was simply exhausted.

and I do agree with brazolatigo :))

Well, brazo, not far off, only took Nadal an extra set! :-)
I like Gonzo, but am rooting for the Spaniard!

Phew. Am still hyper-ventilating. It is so unusual for Nadal to win lst set and then lose the 2nd he had me worried. Djokovic was right back on top form (missed the early games when he was floundering) but he raised his level to new heights for the 2nd set and was threatening Nadal to the bitter end. It meant so much to both men (probably more than winning a Grand Slam) that losing in the semi and disappointing their countrymen was all the greater. You have to fancy Nadal against Gonsalez now.

Just realised... Cheryl's prediction hit the nail on the head: 'Nadal in three'!

Ed, mate, you want to see my manicurist or has the valium taken effect? 8-)

Sstay - sweet revenge in the bag, matey!

That middle set was a head-scratcher, for sure. Nadal's force of will is a fiercesome thing. I think he won that match based simply on the fact that he wanted to so badly.

Tenstar - just hope Nadal has not peaked too soon! Might need something stronger than Valium. Gonzalez put up the most amazing fight - coming back from the dead over and over again. The ugly controversy about whether the ball touched his racquet or not might well have unsettled him. He was obviously trying to get out of the way of a ball which was going out anyway and there is no way he was trying to cheat - but there is a question mark hanging over him. Just wonder if he can sustain his form into the final. If not it could all be a bit of an anti-climax. My nails were bitten down to the quick earlier in the week. Does your lady do nail extensions?

It's fake nails, Ed. Extensions are for hair, and God knows other parts of the anatomy.
If I had live telecast, I would have brought out my ironing board. The whole wardrobe would have been ironed. Valium don't do nothin' for me, and my nails are already bitten down to the cuticles.
Sweeeeeeet revenge indeed. I followed live scores and when I saw 6-4, 1-6, my heart sank and I went to bed. Bloody Foxsports didn't even cover it.
Gonzo can be dangerous when he's playing well but his weapons are limited - just the booming forehand. He tends to slice alot, that's when Rafa can do some damage, hopefully.

I hope Nadal hasn't peaked too soon. I worried about that after Queens this year and thought he wouldn't win Wimb. I agree with sstay, Gonzo can be dangerous. He's beaten Nadal before by playing a technically cleverer game. I give Nadal the edge as he's beating the top players on 'their' surfaces when he's not exhausted.
Nail, hair, anatomical extensions?? Guys this is getting freaky! I'm not going there!
sstay, if they show the final, I have a pile needs ironing!!! :-)
Oh and ed, are you getting ready for the final? If valium's out, I recommend casks of red. I figure if you drink enough, the effects could be the same or even stronger!
The controversy? Reminds me of Maradona's 'hand of god' goal.

Between watching tennis and keeping up with you guys on the blog, the ironing has piled up so high it has toppled over! Tenstar - I'm English, so will be breaking out the Pimm's* when the final starts. Will give the Valium a miss.

*for those of you who have never been to Wimbledon, that is the traditional drink they serve there. But mine will be much stronger!!!

Rafa has the edge over Gonzo, mentally, but how the second set 1-6 to Nole happened, I cringe to think. Rafa sometimes lives on the edge. he manufactures a win even when facing break points but how long can he go on doing this. His intensity makes me think of fingernails scraping on blackboard.
I would sell my house, business, car, pets, friends, children to watch the final, but bummer, have to contend with www live scores. Red? Nah. Need something stiffer.

"I would sell my house, business, car, pets, friends, children to watch the final.."
You forgot soul, parents, siblings, drugs... ;-\

sstay - Actually you can have nail extensions. They are hideously expensive and once you start you have to stay with them as your own nails are f****** for ever. Have a neice living in Brisbane who is trained to do them. Sorry to the rest of you for this digression from tennis. I have nothing better to do until the Djokovic/Blake match starts. Apologies for rubbing this in if you won't be watching live!

sstay - you can watch the final here: http://www.eurovisionsports.tv/olympics/. At the moment they show Tennis on Channel 3

Swisstip, thank you. Apparently it can only be viewed in European Broadcasting Union territories. I live in Australia.

Well, I see Nole's just beaten Blake. I like this result, it means he gets the bronze at least. Was it a good match ed? After rubbing it in, you owe it to us - c'mon, report back, mate...

Re: Cheryl Murray's comment ("That middle-set was a real head-scratcher.")

Have to disagree. It's only a "head-scratcher" if sport is viewed purely from a physical perspective. If sport is viewed from a wholistic POV (we are physical, mental, emotional and spiritual beings), then the cause can be attributed to a factor other than physical.

Since the age of 18, Rafa has shown a pattern -- if he comes out strong in the first set, he'll meltdown in the middle set -- and he has lost key matches because of it. The root cause is psychological --subconscious programs triggered during the match. If they can be cleared quickly, and Rafa has the will, then he usually rights-the-ship. If not, he goes on to play another day. Fortunately, he had both the energy and focus to get a win this time.

I see no such pattern, jpbean. This year, Nadal has only lost the second set after winning the first five times in the 70 matches or so that he has played. I consider him a VERY good front runner.

tenstar: you wont believe it but I missed the match!!!!!! Both tennistalk and eurosport sites were showing no matches in action. By the time I had surfed the TV channels it was all over - just caught the last moments. That's life. It has been devilishly hard all the week to find out what is happening and where it is being shown. Have to tune in at 8.00am european time tomorrow to see the womens and mens finals. Hope I dont oversleep.

Oh no!!!!!!! Your poor thing. Oh well, never mind. I really hope you catch the final - that should be a good match. Please watch the match and cheer for Rafa, he won't hear you but it'll mean a lot to me!!
What happened to sstay? Must be busy selling off the family members - there's still time before the final I guess...

tenstar and sstay: I got up early at 5am this morning to make a wax model of Gonzales and am busy sticking pins into it now. Dont get me wrong, I really like watching this player and am usually routing for him but I will go off him in a big way if he beats Rafa. If our hero gets the gold my screams will be heard round the world.

Ah..witchcraft! Why didn't I think of that? I suspect proximity could be a key factor. When you're done with the pin positioning, I suggest leaping onto your Nimbus 2000 and making your way to the Green Tennis Centre in Beijing to enure maximum effectiveness. You know, I just heard some screaming, but that must be Gonzo from the pin holes, poor bloke...
GO RAFA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

Downturn in the market affecting EVERY aspect of life. could not get a decent price for any of my wares. meantime, went to consult my ancestors re feng shui, positioning of computer screen, etc, plus some speed course on hypnosis via invisible waves, etc. Outcome should be good. Just hoping roof structure can take my shrieks.

10.20am They're warming up. Playing to a full house - dont think there is a seat to be had. Gonzo came out first (thought there were a few hostile whistles) but the crowd gave Rafa a huge, huge ovation. He has won the toss and will serve. Hold your breath.

Correction: the time was 11.20am.
11.35 and Nadal has just broken Gonzo to go 2.0 up. He has come out firing on all 6 cylinders. Make that 8!

Awesome!!

tenstar - SBS televising it now!!!! go watch!!!!!

11.45 and he is already 4.1 up. If this goes on this match is going to be over fairly quickly - as long as he doesnt go walk about in the 2nd like he did with Djokovic.

sssh ed don't say that. bad luck

11.55 and it's 5.2 Rafa has held his service to love twice in a row. Gonzo is serving well though.

OMG!!!! THANKS STAY! JUST TUNED IN!

5-2 yay!!!!!!

sstay - don't touch that computer screen!
ed - leave those pins alone!

I was about put the fish into the frying pan for dinner, can't now. The red is out.

12.08 That's the first set 6.3 Rafa pulling out all the stops and sending thundering backhands and forehands down the line. He is also reading Gonzo's service pretty well but a few worrying DF's creeping in as well. The good news is he managing to win the points on his serve even when Gonzo gets the ball back to him. sstay: I will keep my mouth shut in future about the outcome.

sstay: have told the man if he wants lunch he gets it himself.

Yeay!!!!!!!!!! sstay was that your roof collapsing??

hey, ed, you're a few minutes ahead. SBS is not real time.

roof barely holding up

Steak went back into the fridge. Just got out the cup noodles!!

Starving but can?t tear myself away so having some almonds to tide me over

12.21 Another tense few moments but it is 1.1. Gonzo fighting hard. Rafa making a few silly shots.

gonzo is putting up a good fight.

Can?t bear it , checking live scores as well, we?re one game behind!!!

12.30 2.2. Nadal just held service to love again. First serve percentage must be up in the 80's.

12.40 4.3 and we could be heading for a tie-break if Gonzo serves as well as he is.

i know what it is - the stupid ads. they keep us further and further behind real time

yeah, very annoying. we're couple fo games behind. 5-5 now.
Someone tell Nadal to keep hitting to his backhand please...

OMG. That was close. Rafa nearly lost the set. Hold your breath for the tie break.

the roof came down!!!

I've just sacrificed my steak to the gods. What the heck..it won't be cooked tonight anyway.

That noise was my roof lifting off. Not making any predictions..............but I think the pins worked.

i thought it was best of three so I thought he'd already got Gold! never mind, 2 sets to love is good. I'll leave fish for tmr. cup of soup won't do me, tenstar. might open can tuna

ed, I can just see you doing the pins

2.1 It is still very close but Gonzo only just holding on. The jaguar has scented blood and is waiting to pounce.

3.1 The tide is turning. Nadal has no intention of giving up his juicy meal.

sstay, all except final.
3-1 in 3rd.
C'mon Rafa!! Please, please!!

he's got the break!!! tenstar - deities lovd your steak!

4.1 two love games in a row and a break. This is awesome to watch.

jaguar is already tasting blood

5-2
when is the medal ceremony?!?!?!

Cant believe it. Two double faults. And 15.40. But still he comes out on top. That was heart attack inducing.
5.2 The man has gone out (in a huff because there was no lunch) but I am going to break out the champagne anyway. Put it in the fridge earlier in the hope of a celebration.

Serving for the match. I can hardly bear to watch.

Yippeeeee That's our boy. A gold medal the day before he is crowned No.1. This is a red letter day!!!!!!!! Cheers to you all out there - particularly tenstar and sstay. Great sharing this momentous time with you.

YEAY!!

HHHooooraaaayyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheers to you too, ed and sstay. sorry for your roof sstay. i have a wimbledon umbrella i bought last month you can borrow anytime if it rains on you!!!
Will see if I can retrieve my meat from the deities...

wow, that was indescribable!!! I'm ssooooooo happy for Rafa. What a lovely surprise for the evening. I had my washing machine going, thank god I didn't have to pull out the ironing board, just hand the clothes out. Thanks sooooo much tenstar and ed for thrills and laughter and memorable moments. I'm staying on to watch ceremony