Roger steamrolled Potro 63, 60, 60.
Either Rodge was working some really powerful mojo or Potro lost all control of his admittedly very gangly limbs at the start of the second set.
I wish I was home to watch it. Damn this chinese new year thing.
*shakes fist*
********Yeah, yeah, I know this is supposed to be a blog about Rafa and all his fabulous assets, but since this is a grand slam, and he is still very much in the draw, everything and everyone in it has a certain involvement with him, no? Yes? No?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
You Adorable Thing You
How many chin-ups can you do?
Lauren, CanadaRN: Sorry but I don't know what it is.
Quote from Rafael Nadal's blog at Times Online.
Roddick vs Djokovic AO 2009
I'm watching the match right now, and so far each has taken a set (7-6, 6-4) and Djoko is up 2-1 on the third. I have to say Roddick is playing better than him, converted 2/3 breakpoints while Djoko has not.
There's a commotion right now on Djoko's bench. He's called the trainer it seems. Oh man. BAD move. After what happened on the last USO? Just a bad move. I try to like him, I really do try, but he makes it so terribly hard.
This is the first match of Roddick I've watched on this AO and I cannot believe it, but he is playing superbly against Nole. Would be an interesting match if our boy meets him.
UPDATE: Still in 3rd set, Andy is up another 2 breakpoints and Nole has called the officials again. If he retires in this match, I will lose all respect for him. Terrible sportsmanship.
UPDATE 2: surprise surprise, Nole retired. 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2 2-1. We all saw it coming with all the subtlety of an elephant dancing ballet. Some Nole fanatics will probably slam me for this, but I'm sorry. He is just so obvious. At this point it does not matter if he really has injured himself or not. He does this ALL the time.
I hope Andy continues to play as well as he did today. Easy matches makes for boring ones methinks.
Match Stats
There's a commotion right now on Djoko's bench. He's called the trainer it seems. Oh man. BAD move. After what happened on the last USO? Just a bad move. I try to like him, I really do try, but he makes it so terribly hard.
This is the first match of Roddick I've watched on this AO and I cannot believe it, but he is playing superbly against Nole. Would be an interesting match if our boy meets him.
UPDATE: Still in 3rd set, Andy is up another 2 breakpoints and Nole has called the officials again. If he retires in this match, I will lose all respect for him. Terrible sportsmanship.
UPDATE 2: surprise surprise, Nole retired. 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2 2-1. We all saw it coming with all the subtlety of an elephant dancing ballet. Some Nole fanatics will probably slam me for this, but I'm sorry. He is just so obvious. At this point it does not matter if he really has injured himself or not. He does this ALL the time.
I hope Andy continues to play as well as he did today. Easy matches makes for boring ones methinks.
Match Stats
Five Freakin' Hours, Y'all.
From bleacherreport:
Get a load of this stat. Rafael dismissed (with a capital D) F-Gonzo 3, 2, and 4 in straights today at Laver. Here is another one, he has spent five hours in total on court at Oz this year, which is four hours less than the second highest player of the top 4. The third one sums it up for me on how well he is playing, compared to the other three.
The winner-unforced errors differential is +101 for Rafael, while second is Rodge with +31. Does it seem like Rafa is playing on another planet? I just don’t see how Rodge is going to find a way past Rafael. If you do know … make sure to send me a note, mate.
How. The hell. Does anyone play FOUR 3-setter matches in FIVE. FREAKING. HOURS.
And I thought Dasco was the one working it.
Rafa's Switch A Maldrobe Malfunction?
From CNBC.com:
It is being called, by some, the most controversial clothing change in all of sports.
The world's No. 1 men's tennis player, Rafael Nadal — known for his capri shorts and sleeveless muscle T's — showed up at the Australian Open wearing shorts that are showing his full knee and his top and a regular polo with sleeves.
An Australian Age columnist could have put it best by describing the "anger, disbelief, hurt among the Vamos brigade," referring to Nadal's loyal fans from Spain.
After one aborted attempt by Nike at last year's U.S. Open, when it seemed like people in the Nadal camp thought the change was coming a bit too soon, the reality of the business world is that this change had to come.
Why?
Well, put yourself in Nike's shoes.
You have the No. 1 tennis player in the world who is an incredible player, but he wears these cutoff shirts and extra long pants that almost no tennis player is going to wear. Not many people would wear that for fashion purposes, either.
So Nike officials don't have any choice if they are going to make the money they pay Nadal work for them.
"This is a very good move for both Nike and Nadal," said Erwin Ong, author of the tennis fashion blog Tennis Served Fresh. "It's time for Nadal to shift his image anyway from the really loud, young strong guy to a more mature position. And for Nike, it's not like they're giving up the sleeveless look forever. They'll still have Monfils, Del Potro and Moya to sport that."
When asked about the stark change, Nadal replied, "'Important thing in the end is not the clothes; is the ball and racquet and play well."
Nope, that's not the most important thing, Rafael.
The most important thing is that Nike has confidence in selling your new shirts for $55 and up.
FIFTY FIVE DONALD DUCK DOLLARS???? JAYSUS.
Here in the third world you have to sell your right kidney and your second son to buy that infuriating thing. No, not really.
Well, kinda.
To be honest, while I do miss the biceps - I tremble with yearning when I see flashes of it nowadays - I kinda like the infuriating things. Blasphemous, I know, but the blue ones makes him look just so edible. Edible Rafa - always a good thing.
Not selling my kidney for it though. Unless it's saturated with Rafasweat.
Rafa Rolls On.
Damn this chinese new year thing. I had to go to my grandmother's to eat good food and receive money in red envelopes all day long instead of watching the Latin Hotness match.
*shakes fist*
I even went so far as begging my grandfather to look for a tennis broadcast but he clenched the remote so tight I was afraid I'd be disowned if I tried to go for it. Oh well. Family before Rafa, eh?
*shakes fist*
Rafa won easily over Gonzo 63, 62, 64. Not to say I expected much trouble for him coming up in this match, but from what I've read all over blogland and my news reader it was really quite a cakewalk for Rafa.
Murray The Ginge Hotness is out by Nando (ugh). Verdasco is probably the only Spanish tennis player that doesn't do a thing for me. Not. A. Thing. He used to, until he dated that Ana girl. I am icked out by girls with a "pure" image. Everytime I see her or read about her being all cutesy and shit, I feel like taking the biggest teddy bear doll from like, Harrod's and bash her head in.
But that's probably transference or whatever you psych people call it, from her snagging Nando and making me lose my hard-on over him.
*shakes fist*
*shakes fist*
I even went so far as begging my grandfather to look for a tennis broadcast but he clenched the remote so tight I was afraid I'd be disowned if I tried to go for it. Oh well. Family before Rafa, eh?
*shakes fist*
Rafa won easily over Gonzo 63, 62, 64. Not to say I expected much trouble for him coming up in this match, but from what I've read all over blogland and my news reader it was really quite a cakewalk for Rafa.
Murray The Ginge Hotness is out by Nando (ugh). Verdasco is probably the only Spanish tennis player that doesn't do a thing for me. Not. A. Thing. He used to, until he dated that Ana girl. I am icked out by girls with a "pure" image. Everytime I see her or read about her being all cutesy and shit, I feel like taking the biggest teddy bear doll from like, Harrod's and bash her head in.
But that's probably transference or whatever you psych people call it, from her snagging Nando and making me lose my hard-on over him.
*shakes fist*
Sunday, January 25, 2009
So Good
Rafa is looking too good for words. Yes I am talking about his tennis.
Rafa defeated Haas today 6-4,6-2,6-2. He won 98 points, hit 53 winners and made 8 UE. How amazing is that stat? 20/23 points on the net. I like.
Haas was just too self-destructive for his own good. He let each point lost to bother him on the next one. A lot. So as they say, too bad, so sad, pass the gravy. He played very well in the beginning of the first 2 sets, but by the end of each he just sort of rolled over and died. Rafa was just too good. His forehand, cross court, down the line, on the line, was phenomenal. By the 3rd set Haas just unraveled. He also kept insisting on coming to the net, and Rafa just kept putting the ball pass him. Done and done.
That said, I don't know about him winning the whole thing. I think Wertheim's Mailbag yesterday just about sums it up.
I cannot say it better, really.
*sigh*
I already miss the biceps, but the abs is consoling me. Not by much though. Next up for Rafa is Gonzo. I already have heart palpitations, expecting the explosion of latin hotness on court. May it be a good match.
Rafa defeated Haas today 6-4,6-2,6-2. He won 98 points, hit 53 winners and made 8 UE. How amazing is that stat? 20/23 points on the net. I like.
Haas was just too self-destructive for his own good. He let each point lost to bother him on the next one. A lot. So as they say, too bad, so sad, pass the gravy. He played very well in the beginning of the first 2 sets, but by the end of each he just sort of rolled over and died. Rafa was just too good. His forehand, cross court, down the line, on the line, was phenomenal. By the 3rd set Haas just unraveled. He also kept insisting on coming to the net, and Rafa just kept putting the ball pass him. Done and done.
That said, I don't know about him winning the whole thing. I think Wertheim's Mailbag yesterday just about sums it up.
What do you think about Rafael Nadal's most challenging point of this season?
a. To finish the year at No. 1
b. To beat Federer in every meeting like last year
c. To defend his crown of Wimbledon and Roland Garros
d. To win the Australian Open, the first grand slam of the year
e. To help Spain to defend its Davis Cup title
-- Yuwak Gurung, Kathmandu
• First, a Mailbag rule: any reader from Kathmandu gets special dispensation. Second, isn't it funny how Nadal -- the top seed and winner of two of the last three Majors -- has become the forgotten man in Australia? They asked Marat Safin to predict a winner of the tournament last night and he, too, omitted Nadal's name before being prompted.
I, too, don't see him winning. But as I write this, it's sure hard to find fault with his form. Anyway, one figures that he'd be thrilled achieving, say, two of the five points you mention. Going undefeated against Federer is not a big priority or goal. Much as he loves Spain, he's already experienced Davis Cup glory. Winning the Australian (i.e. a hard court Slam) would be nice. But, overall, I suspect "a" and "c" would be his biggest goals.
I cannot say it better, really.
*sigh*
I already miss the biceps, but the abs is consoling me. Not by much though. Next up for Rafa is Gonzo. I already have heart palpitations, expecting the explosion of latin hotness on court. May it be a good match.
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