A page and forum to discuss all things Rafael Nadal.
Current ranking: 14
Last result: Australian Open second round (lost to Mackenzie McDonald)
Next tournament: Roland Garros
Copyright © 2024 | MH Magazine WordPress Theme by MH Themes
A page and forum to discuss all things Rafael Nadal.
Current ranking: 14
Last result: Australian Open second round (lost to Mackenzie McDonald)
Next tournament: Roland Garros
Copyright © 2024 | MH Magazine WordPress Theme by MH Themes
rafaisthebest@July 4, 2014 at 6:40 pm
—why aren’t you in Mallorca stalking Rafa and posting the pictures here??—
Here comes a picture.
Rafa at the beach:
http://instagram.com/p/qCusIPMoVE/
Thanks @augusta08! Keep on stalking 🙂
^^I love reading some of the tag lines that people attach to their Instagram/Twitter, etc
posts. “smeltsofresh.” LOL.
@hawkeye 5.30pm
But you are so sure that when the crowd were booing in the Rafa v Grosjean match it was aimed at Rafa.
No, I didn’t say that it was.
#HopeThisHelps
Rafa has travelled to Ibiza (one of the Balearic Islands)
https://twitter.com/rafatriguero/status/486078152691974144/photo/1
Rafa has built a luxury enviro-friendly villa near Cala Conta beach in Ibiza
http://www.primelocation.com/international-property/news/ibiza-property-for-sale/
A picture Rafa posted on his FB page
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/486110252916801536/photo/1
Rafa has been enjoying vacation in Ibiza
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/486122970054922240/photo/1
PHOTOS: Rafael Nadal Vacations In Ibiza
http://rafaelnadalfans.com/2014/07/07/photos-rafael-nadal-enjoys-summer-in-ibiza-vacaciones-holidays/
^^Real men look hot in pink!
Everything about this photo says, “me, myself, I'”
https://twitter.com/sabrine931/status/486103490394345472/photo/1
You Have to be mighty confident to rock this look!
Love it!
Gorgeous or what? That look shows how relaxed Rafa is. Time to chill out before the American season.
I love him in pink. He’s got the perfect coloring for it.
This is what Alexandra Wills, a regular tennis scribe had to say about Rafa’s pink attire:
RT @alex_willis: “Everything in this photo is questionable, Rafa… ”
Bet you she turns up for work in tweeds and a Princess Diana bob…..
Lots of guys wear pink and look great in it. My husband was 6’5, 235, with coloring similar to Rafa’s. He wore pink shirts all the time because I liked them. No one ever gave him any crap about it, either.
Here you can see Mrs.Wills’s questionable look
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1125046876/5880_666110936549_36800850_39693888_7785400_n.jpg
^^Thanks @augusta08. Just as I thought, noone could ever mistake her for a style guru……….
More gorgeous pinkness:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2683065/Rafael-Nadal-flashes-toned-torso-fuchsia-shorts-board-luxury-yacht-Ibiza-cheers-shock-defeat.html
I am on the look-out for a hot pink polo shirt to pair with white pants. Unfortunately, I don’t have Rafa’s chutzpah to go all pink!
The abs? I am still working on them! 🙂
The 3 attributes that define Rafael Nadal: intelligence, energy and integrity.
https://twitter.com/MirzaSania/status/486469628743274496/photo/1
Vamos Rafa! Roll on Toronto……….
Rafa married already? Just saw this article bt it is too amateurish , so cant believe it
http://en.mediamass.net/people/rafael-nadal/married.html
^^This is nonsense, @Sanju. Scroll down the article and see some of the articles this paper publishes about Rafa. e.g. Rafa’s dog has surgery! Rafa does not like dogs.
#Yawn
Mediamass is a satirical website. NONE of the stories they publish are true. I wish they would decide to actually be funny, something similar to The Onion, instead of just printing false stuff and calling it satire.
sanju, here is another gem from MediaMass:
“Rafael Nadal’s adored labrador retriever “Spinee” has undergone a risky surgery on Sunday and is luckily beginning the slow process of recovery, according to Spanish media reports. The 28-year-old tennis player is said to have received waves and waves and support for Spinee, as he offered his Twitter followers an update on pooch’s status regularly.”
Rafa gets far more media coverage than any other tennis star. There is always something about in the media even when he is not playing. There never seems to be any stories about the so called fans’ favourite.
¤¤ Rafael Nadal voted the US Sports Academy’s June Athlete of the Month
Rafael Nadal has chosen as the Athlete of the Month by the United States Sports Academy based on the results of an online poll. /—/
The USSA determines candidates for Athlete of the Month after receiving recommendations from journalists, sports organizations, government agencies and the public. ¤¤
http://rafaelnadalfans.com/2014/07/08/rafael-nadal-voted-the-us-sports-academys-june-athlete-of-the-month/
Vamoooooos!
Rafa annonced on his FB page: ¤¤ Enjoying a great meal with stunning views.¤¤
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/486603286494330881/photo/1
Does anyone know the name of the guy on the extreme right (Rafa’s far left) in the picture? He is always with Rafa, even on the road, must be a very close friend……….
rafaisthebest ( at 7:18 am)
His name is Joan Suasi
https://www.facebook.com/Nadal/photos/a.456161351025.251362.64822581025/10151364663241026/?type=1&theater
rafaisthebest ( at 7:18 am),
Poker News. An hour with Rafa Nadal
http://www.elpokerdeas.com/noticias/actualidad-poker/video-una-hora-rafa-nadal-noticia-2397
rafaisthebest ( at 7:18 am),
http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/rafa_nadal/2013/rafa-storms-pokerstars-sunday-130525.html
Thanks @augusta08
finally the english version of what connors said :
“In this game we need someone like Rafael Nadal to be World No.1. He puts such passion in his game in a way that never fails to excite me. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic sure have the talent, but Rafa has it as well, but he brings a whole lot more of emotions together with that. An example? When he came back from his injury in 2013, to end up collecting all those incredible wins”
“I think Nadal’s best shot is his return of serve. He is the best in that in the tour, and numbers are there to confirm it. Someone like Rafa needs to always be aggressive and play close to the baseline, like I did at my time using flat shots. Against Kyrgios however, his return didn’t work. Sure the Australian played a great match that day, but I am sure that if Nadal were to play better with his return, trying to be more aggressive, he could have won the match”.
Best return of serve? Perhaps Connor is referring to the best return game overall and then he is right. Rafa’s numbers on the return are incredible and he has been at the top in that department for many years. The initial return shot off the serve is what rafa needs to improve on . He has got a good return but it can become a liability on some occasions. If he can bring in even a 5% improvement, he will be unstoppable.He can do it and I think he will do it to make up for the loss of speed as he ages.
And yes, connors is so right when he says rafa brings in so much passion and excitement. You have to get back to no.1 Rafa !! VAMOS
“return of serve” LOLOLOLOLOL
haha… I am not sure what connors was referring to. Rafa’s return of serve is definitely not the best but his return game overall has been/is one of the best in the past decade.
We can argue about who has the best ROS, but what is not in dispute is what Rafa brings to tennis. Rafa’s charisma permeates the world of tennis more than any other player and only two other players, that I know of, have had this effect – John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg. Despite McEnroe’s antics people flocked to see him wherever he played.
It’s essential that Rafa gets back to #1 and I have no doubt that he will do so. He is playing the best tennis right now except for his unfortunate draw at Wimbledon which would have taxed any other top player. Let the luck of the draw be on Rafa’s side now.
#undiluted Rafan
Djokovic , very closely followed by Murray, has the best ROS in the game right now. Who has the best return game is arguable.
I agree that rafa is unique in the way he brings excitement and passion to the game. The energy he brings every time he steps on a court is unparalleled.
vamosrafa, do you know this for a fact or is it just a figment of your imagination?
ATP Match Facts of Career Return Games Won:
1. Guillermo Coria 1355 3850 35 324
2. Rafael Nadal 3210 9665 33 817
3. Alberto Berasategui 1738 5374 32 473
4. David Ferrer 3162 9850 32 835
5. Jordi Arrese 888 2801 32 245
Djokovic and Murray are not even in the top 5.
Nadline, i thought I made it clear I am not talking about the ‘return game’ but rather the ROS (the initial return on the serve)…
Like I said, rafa has one of the best return games and the numbers above back that up.
As far as ROS is concerned, I would rate Djokovic, Murray and ferrer (how did i miss his name) in the top league.
Do you have any disagreements?
@vamosrafa,
You are absolutely correct. Stick to your guns! But remember that you violated one of the sacred rules of the so-called Rafa “fans” here! You said something good about one of his rivals! You know that is a no-no!
When Tsonga lost to Ferrer in the RG13 SF, the commies said that the energy had been sucked out of the court by the Nadal/ Djoko SF and that Tsonga would have had more crowd support if their SF had been played first. Same was said when Heather Watson lost at Wimbledon, that the Nadal/Kukushkin match preceding her match had sucked out the energy from the court. They admitted that it’s always an anti-climax to follow a Nadal match.
@vamosrafa,
Some just don’t understand the difference between a player’s return game and the ROS. Thanks for trying your best to explain the difference.
1st serve return points won
1. Guillermo Coria 5374 14921 36 324
2. Magnus Gustafsson 8363 24423 34 525
3. Rafael Nadal 13119 38474 34 817
4. Jordi Arrese 3825 11279 34 245
5. David Ferrer 13148 38878 34 835
6. Andy Murray 9683 28743 34 575
7. Slava Dosedel 5953 17685 34 372
8. Tomas Carbonell 4843 14410 34 312
9. Alberto Berasategui 7435 22185 34 473
10. Novak Djokovic 11124 33277 33 683
2nd serve return points won
Career 2nd Serve Return Points Won
Points Won Total Points % Matches
1. Alberto Berasategui 7687 13658 56 473
2. Andre Agassi 16704 29909 56 876
3. Patrick McEnroe 4681 8449 55 251
4. Rafael Nadal 13699 24756 55 817
5. Thomas Muster 11092 20083 55 609
6. Michael Chang 14990 27181 55 804
7. Carlos Costa 7369 13387 55 422
8. Byron Black 8293 15069 55 465
9. Andy Murray 10164 18472 55 575
10. David Ferrer 14444 26338 55 835
11. David Nalbandian 10016 18353 55 546
12. Guillermo Coria 5801 10670 54 324
13. Novak Djokovic 11879 21851 54 683
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Matchfacts/Matchfacts-List.aspx?c=7&s=0&y=0
Just look at the facts. There is a tendency not to give Rafa full credit for what he’s achieved. It doesn’t matter how you rate them,
I am well aware of these facts but I am not sure what you are trying to say here. Rafa’s footwork, counterpuching abilities , his defense and the ability to turn defense into offense means he can even win points on mediocre returns. When some other great returners hit a mediocore return, ferrer for e.g, their chances of winning the point is not as high as is the case with rafa.
Hence rafa’s RETURN GAME is one of the best ever. ROS is a totally different shot and I have no clue what you are saying !
No, it’s no judgement based.please. It’s like a djokovic fan coming out and saying Djokovi c has the best forehand in the game as it does not matter how you rate them. Or someone comes up and says federer’s backhand in the best as it does not matter how you rate them.
the differences are QUITE obvious.
Rafa was only behind Roddick and ahead of Isner in service games won by the end of 2010. Does that mean Rafa had the second best serve in the world? No! it means, the combination of his serve and groundstrokes was the best . He again finished 3rd in 2013 service games won behind Isner and Raonic and the difference was marginal.
So I am giving rafa credit for plenty of things here as my posts talks about many other qualities that make rafa’s return and service games the best among the top 4.
I have no idea what you are on about. If you have any stats to support what you are saying, it might help.
@vamosrafa,
Right on! Preach it! Your tennis knowledge and appreciation of the respective aspects of the top players’ games, is exemplary.
Rafa brings the most passion and energy no doubt. He has that extra something..the X factor
However ROs….Djokovic is far far ahead..he crushes return hard and deep like no other..He is very feared by one and all in that department including Rafa
“However ROs….Djokovic is far far ahead..he crushes return hard and deep like no other..He is very feared by one and all in that department including Rafa”
@Sanju, I am following this discussion between @nadline10 and @vamosrafa with interest. Please can you back up your contention with facts? Thank you. How do you know Rafa fears Novak? If this is your opinion, fine, but please say so. Do not present your opinion as fact.
“However ROs….Djokovic is far far ahead..he crushes return hard and deep like no other..He is very feared by one and all in that department including Rafa”
@Sanju, I am following this discussion between @nadline10 and @vamosrafa with interest. Please can you back up your contention with facts? Thank you. How do you know Rafa fears Novak? If this is your opinion, fine, but please say so. Do not present your opinion as fact.
RITB, rafa said after USO 2011 that Novak has the best Return of serve in the history of the game. And I am repeating it again, DO NOT confuse ROS here with the overal return game (of which rafa is a master)
@vamosrafa, I am well aware of what Rafa said about Novak’s return of serve after USO 2011, which you quote correctly. I do not see fear in that statement, which is what @Sanju said. Where does Rafa say he is afraid of Novak’s return of serve?
You must have me confused with @nadline10, nowhere in my posts have I commented on ROS and overall return game, and the differences thereof. I know the difference.
..I repeat, if that is @Sanju’s opinion, that Rafa fears Novak’s return of serve, he is entitled to it. I just feel it should be clear that is an individual opinion, not fact.
In fact, if my memory serves me right, after Novak beat Rafa in that long Australian Open final, Rafa praised Novak’s return of serve in similar words.
umm yeah…we can never know whether rafa ‘fears’ Novak’s ROS. I guess what Sanju meant was that rafa has the utmost respect for novak’s ROS and is well aware of how destructive novak’s ROS can be. Same is the case if we consider how novak thinks about rafa’s forehand ! He thinks it is the best forehand in the game.
Federer said during USO 2007 that rafa and ferrer have the best return game …
I think it is universal truth that a strong return is the cornerstone of Novak’s game, together with his DHBH. We saw how his game suffered, relatively, in 2013 when his DHBH went awol. He still managed to be a strong #1 and #2 thanks to his return game.
Rafa’s return game is not shabby either. The problem with Rafa’s, in my opinion, is he can have a bad return game once in a while and that tends to stick in people’s minds longer. Looked at overall, those few lapses do not dent the overall strengths of his return game. The same applies with his other weapons, the BH and the FH. We have seen how these can go awol in some matches, few and far between however, and this can skew people’s perceptions overall, I think.
@Sanju,
Do not allow yourself to be intimidated by anyone here. You have every right to express an opinion. It does not have to be backed up by so-called facts. One thing I have learned is that these facts or stats can be used selectively by anybody to make their argument. So they can be cherry-picked at will.
It’s find to have an opinion. That’s the point of being part of a discussion. Don’t let anyone tell you what to say and how to say it!
I did not say Rafa fears Novak . I said Rafa and all players fear and respect Novaks return of serve. Did he not say it himself ..read his AO 2012 presser after final..he said he was astonished how Novak hits those returns so deep and that too all through the match.He infact sounded impressed and amazed.
What is so difficult or so touchy about Rafa fearing and respecting Novaks ROs. Is he not his key rival and is ros not Novaks strongest part of the game?
Even Novak fears and respects Rafas FH, his agility on court, his ability to play every point like a MP..they all fear and respect parts of each others game.
In your opinion, Rafa fears Novak’s return of serve. I disagree. I have not seen any evidence of fear in Rafa to this effect. Respect, yes (inferred in words Rafa said, quoted numerously above). Fear, no, because I have not seen evidence to corroborate this.
^^Just my opinion. If it’s intimidating to you, sorry! But we are all entitled to an opinion, no? 😉
Cheers.
And of course, nice to know that someone can get in Rafa’s mind and know what he fears when he says something, especially with respect to Novak’s return of serve.
😉
Sanju @July 9, 2014 at 9:57 am
Aren’t you extrapolating from your own feelings (fear) to Rafa’s feelings?
@augusta,
So what if he is? It’s not a capital offense for heaven’s sake! Good grief! Someone give an opinion and they are picked apart. People have a right to say what they think, even if others do not agree with it.
nativenewyorker7 ( at 10:35 pm),
I am wondering if everybody who doesn’t agree with sanju commits ‘capital offense’ and ‘picks her apart’. She must be in pieces!
😯
In addition to Rafas all round game prowess, if he had a serve like Feds to bail him out of difficult siuations and a ROs like Novak..he would have had a 95% winning percentage
@Sanju, what is Rafa’s winning % in 2014? Career-wise? Please provide answers with comparisons to Novak and Djokovic. Thanks.
@Ricky, why are my posts being moderated of late?
I will serve you the trouble @Sanju, here are the stats, facts:
http://www.tennis28.com/slams/winpct_onesurface.html
Clay:
Rafa 98.3%
Roger 80.6%
Novak 80.0%
Murray 75.0%
Grass:
Roger 89.3%
Murray 84.1%
Rafa 83.7%
Novak 82.6%
Hard Court:
Roger 87.5%
Novak 86.3%
Rafa 83.7%
Murray 79.5%
Rafa is the only one with a winning % over 90% on any one surface.
You did not understand my comment . I know Rafa has the highest winning % but what I said is In addition to Rafas all round game prowess, if he had a serve like Feds to bail him out of difficult siuations and a ROs like Novak..he would have had a 95% winning percentage on all surfaces.
UsO should be very interesting..Novak or Rafa is the fav for sure..all depends on the draw..
1 of Rafa/Fed/Novak can draw Murray in 4th round..geez
@Sanju,
I agree about the USO. I can see Novak and Rafa as the faves. The draw will tell us a lot more.
It’s a bummer that Murray has fallen so far down in the rankings.