Rafael Nadal

A page and forum to discuss all things Rafael Nadal.

Nadal 5

Current ranking: 14

Last result: Australian Open second round (lost to Mackenzie McDonald)

Next tournament: Roland Garros

90 Comments on Rafael Nadal

  3. [Google translation]
    EFE, May 19, 2015: ¤¤ Nadal will be awarded the highest honor of the city of Paris.
    Rafael Nadal will be awarded on Thursday [May 21] with the medal “Grand Vermeil”, the highest honor of the city of Paris, by the mayor of the French capital, the Spanish-born Anne Hidalgo.
    Nadal, the nine-time winner at Roland Garros in Paris, will receive the prestigious award at a ceremony at City Hall, the municipality said in the statement.¤¤
    http://www.efe.com/efe/noticias/espana/gente/nadal-sera-condecorado-con-mayor-distincion-ciudad-paris/1/29/2616661

    Reply

  5. Look away now Gussie:

    Even without looking at the TV screen, you can tell a French Open audience by the particular sounds it makes. Most famous are the rising cries of “Allleezzzz!!!” from the peanut gallery. The crowd in Paris may rise sharply in a burst of celebration, rouse
    itself into a storm of boos and whistles at a perceived injustice, or drop quickly into a sullen silence.

    When I started watching one morning during last year’s French Open, I was surprised to see that their flavor du jour was Austrian Dominic Thiem. They were rooting for him because of who he was playing: Rafael Nadal. Rafa may be a nine-time champion at Roland Garros, but his earliest nickname in Paris was “the Ogre,” and the image among tennis fans in France has stuck. Even more amazing than Nadal’s 66-1 record in Paris is the fact that virtually every match he has played there has been the equivalent of an away game in team sports.

    Why do the French dislike their tournament’s greatest champion?

    First, as his uncle Toni once said in rather pointed fashion, he’s Spanish. “They say it themselves and it’s true, the Parisian crowd is pretty stupid,” Toni said after the crowd in Chatrier cheered vociferously for the only man to beat Rafa there, Robin Soderling, in 2009. “I think the French don’t like it when a Spaniard wins. Wanting someone to lose is a slightly conceited way of amusing yourself. They show the stupidity of people who think themselves superior.”

    Then there’s Rafa’s playing style. The French love artistry in their tennis; Ilie Nastase and Roger Federer are their gods. Literally—I’ve heard Federer referred to as “Jesus” at Roland Garros more than once. By comparison, Nadal, at least in the eyes of the French, uses a physically bullying style to grind opponents down. The fact that Nadal the Ogre has beaten Jesus Federer all five times they’ve played in Paris has only added insult to injury.

    The Roland Garros crowds love to insert themselves into matches. Looking at the record, you might conclude that the French have had the opposite of their desired effect on Nadal. At 61-1, Rafa’s record in Paris is the best of any player at any Grand Slam in the Open era. Ironically, it was Federer, distracted by their oohs and aahs in Lenglen, who screamed at the crowd to “Shut up!” two years ago.

    Have the French actually helped Nadal dominate their tournament? Rafa has always said that “you have to love the suffering” to be a great champion; you have to learn to ignore adversity, whether it’s physical or emotional.

    Yet I think the way Rafa has thrived in Paris also shows how fundamentally different he is from Toni, and how that difference helps him. “This tournament is so important,” Nadal said, “such a beautiful tournament for me. Well, that’s the way it is. But I wish when I’m back they can support me a bit in key moments.”

    Whatever the reasons for it, Nadal’s story in Paris is a remarkable one. As far as I know, the French haven’t booed or hissed at him for a while, and they even sang “Happy Birthday” to him a couple of years ago. Should they take the next step and finally embrace their nine-time champion? It would be nice—and who knows, it might even make Rafa drop his guard and lose a match or two. But I get a kick out of the Rafa-at-RG dynamic. I respect, in a perverse way, the crowd’s stubborn consistency in giving Nadal the cold shoulder. And I respect Nadal’s record there even more because of it.

    http://issues.tennistuesday.net/05-19-2015/p/3

    Reply

    • rafaisthebest (at 7:36 pm),

      I read this article a year ago.

      About the article:
      —Ironically, it was Federer, distracted by their oohs and aahs in Lenglen, who screamed at the crowd to “Shut up!” two years ago.—
      The author is lying! Fed screamed at the crowd after he hit the ball into the net and people cheered for his opponent (Delpo)!

      —“This tournament is so important,” Nadal said, “such a beautiful tournament for me. Well, that’s the way it is. But I wish when I’m back they can support me a bit in key moments.”—
      Rafa said this in 2009, the only time the hooligans (a certain fanbase) booed.

      —As far as I know, the French haven’t booed or hissed at him for a while.—
      The author is trying to give impression that Rafa has been booed regularly at Roland Garros. Hooligans have booed Rafa at Roland Garros only once – in 2009.

      –they even sang “Happy Birthday” to him a couple of years ago—
      The crowd has sung “Happy Birthday” to Rafa several times, last year they sang on the practice court.
      I remember back in 2011 when the crowd was singing, but the English-speaking TV announcers continued to talk about their own things and didn’t pay any attention to the crowd!

      Reply

  7. http://www.tennisnow.com/News/2015/May/-Could-Early-Loss-in-Paris-Mark-the-End-of-Nadal%E2%80%99s.aspx

    Just shut up Everta nd Pat McEnroe. We know how much u both hate Rafa.

    Articles on Rafa is finished etc are increasing day by day. I wonder if Rafa storms back and wins few slams, what will these moronic losers say? I guess they will continue their crap.

    Hey but the media did write off Serena so many times including people like Evert and Martina who wrote off Serena so many times. Today Serena has crossed them.

    Media wrote off Federer too in 2011, 2013..well he is still around and No 2 and winning 4-5 titles/year.

    Media wrote off Djokovic too before 2011..

    Reply

  8. That’s why I don’t even bother to read any of it. I am not surprised that some are writing Rafa’s epitaph. It’s what they do. But they aren’t only doing it to Rafa. They have done it to other players. When someone is in a slump and struggling, then they just go for the jugular.

    PMac has always been a Fed fanatic, so he would want to believe that Rafa is done.

    Reply

  9. From Tennis Magazine (n°464), May 18, 2015
    By Jean-Baptiste Baretta (translated by Moondancer)

    ¤¤ Nadal, the incredible challenge
    In the recent number of Tennis Magazine (n°464), we look back on a decade of an historical reign but we also take a look at the personality of this champion through the eyes of his close ones but we also talk to people from the Roland Garros organisation and his prime opponents. Rafa? Perhaps the nicest player on tour…

    Hélène Vinot (hostess in the « practice » department of Roland Garros since 21 years) : Rafa has always been extremely open, smiling, nice and respectful to the ‘little’ staff, like us. Each year, he comes to celebrate his birthday with the entire reception department. But the most astonishing is that he comes to get the balls himself and sometimes, he even books his own courts. And this has never changed. In the same time, I’ve seen others change and get big-headed. Players we often used to see at first but, once their stature changed, we’ve never seen them back in our department. Rafa still visits us.”

    Aurélien Pajot (personal driver of Rafael Nadal since 200 : The first time I met Rafa and his team was when I had to collect them from the Orly airport a couple of days before the 2008 edition. I was a bit intimidated at first. But they introduced themselves in a simple, easy-going way. Obviously, he’s somebody who draws in the crowd. But what always strikes me is his patience. He has no problem with taking pictures or signing autographs, even when it was not expected. In the car, their discussions are desultory. Often, they talk in Mallorcan, whereas I speak Castilian Spanish so I don’t understand it at all. And then, they start talking in Castilian all of a sudden so then, I know that I’m included in the conversation. 80% of the time, they talk about football! We’re often not on the same page by the way, because I’m a huge Barça supporter and it’s all about Real Madrid for him. These days, we exchange messages all year long just to find out what’s new. My feeling is that I’m part of their team. It’s very enjoyable and rewarding. ¤¤

    Vamos the nicest player!

    Reply

  11. Here is the whole thunder in a teacup in a nutshell:

    Steve Tignor (no less!) write a year ago the same thing that we used to write about (along with Cheryl) on TT years ago and more recently a few times here on tenngrand:

    SOME (a great number but NOT ALL) of the RG crowd have been CONSISTENTLY rude to Rafa, booing him, cheering his opponent (whoever it might be on the day), simply because a) he is Spanish, b) he kept beating from the first time their hero, c) other bad reasons to be such boors towards him.

    SOME other fans (a great number but NOT ALL) of the RG crowd have been and continue NOT to be rude to rafa but rather are respectful and many of them love Rafa a lot.

    In all this, what is there here not to understand and take as facts everyone knows about?

    Of course, one can choose to only take into one’s mind the facts of the second “SOME (other) fans” …. and against every kind of evidence year after year deny to oneself the equally true facts of the first “SOME (of the crowd)” paragraph.

    If you really want to be in denial it is usually nigh impossible for others to help you come out of denial.

    #EvenNadlineKnowsTheScore

    Reply

      • No, you completely and intentionally missed the whole point of the article which was you can tell that Rafa has lost a point at RG just by listening to the response of the RG crowd when he is playing almost any other player.

        Anyone can do this. If I’m not looking at the TV, it is easy to tell when Rafa loses a point and when Federer wins a point compared to their respective opponents and the relatively loud cheer in both cases.

        ” I could hear that familiar Chatrier roar from my television set before I turned to look at it. One point would be followed by sounds of joy and hope, the next by a disappointed hush—the French sound sad when things aren’t going their way. This time the crowd was obviously rooting hard for someone; I assumed it was one of their own. When I started watching, I was surprised to see that their flavor du jour was Dominic Thiem, a 20-year-old Austrian. How many people in the audience had seen or heard of Thiem before today? No matter, they were firmly on his bandwagon”

        Federer wouldn’t even be able to recall the woman who prematurely called out before the point ended. So he was not yelling shut up because the fans cheered after the point concluded.

        In other words, it is you who is intentionally lying. Nothing new.

        Reply

      • augusta,
        I don’t usually write such harsh things in public or anywhere else… but the dishonesty in your posts is rather extreme…

        Reply

      • May 20, 2015 at 2:54 pm
        —-you completely and intentionally missed the whole point of the article..—-
        ================================================

        The point is that the article contains a lie (see my post at 2:35 pm).

        Reply

      • what is it, gussie, about the abondant facts year after year of HALF (or whatever large fraction) of the RG crowd being openly loudly and abrasively rude against Rafa (and perhaps against no other player to this extreme and this consistently…. that you want to blatantly deny over and over?

        Reply

      • where is the dishonesty?

        gussie, you know full well:…. a) you distort the facts about the Federer small story of one remark once to the crowd…. already discussed here to death many times… but more importantly, b) you keep tossing this little story about Federer as a distraction when the much more substantial story is presented about so many of the RG crowd being very rude to Rafa repeatedly over the years… e.g. in the article above by Tignor about THIS topic, in which the Federer topic was a small detail on the side.

        Equally dishonest is to consistently and dishonestly accuse other people of the very dishonest or rude things you do as soon as they point this out about you.

        Got it? Understand? Or as you going to willfully now (again) write that I am doing those things you are doing?

        Reply

      • Very well stated chloro but it is falling on hear-no-evil (i.e., truth) ears.

        Why a self-called Rafan would defend the indefensible RG crowd behaviour towards Rafa is beyond me.

        Reply

      • chloro
        May 20, 2015 at 4:01 pm,

        —a) you distort the facts about the Federer small story—
        Nope, I don’t distort the FACTs. It’s not true that he was distracted by “oohs and aahs.”

        —when the much more substantial story is presented about so many of the RG crowd being very rude to Rafa…—
        I believe that I am under NO obligation to write about something that is important to YOU currently or whenever.

        You didn’t present any FACTs about my dishonesty. Try to be honest next time! 🙂

        Reply

  12. I fully expect that half (or whatever the fraction is) of the RG crowd that is consistently, annually, self-righteously, outrageously disrespectful to Rafa to be even more so over the next couple of weeks when Rafa will (very likely) struggle a lot more there than he usually does.

    Reply

  14. hawkeye and chloro,

    I respect both of you for your good humor, patence and fundamental integrity and honesty on this site. 🙂

    Reply

      • True. Wont be more painful than past 11 months. It might have been if Rafa’d had few bad days lately and we were expecting La Decima to happen this year, but as it is our expectations should be lower than they’ve ever been for RG. I do hope he gets deep into the second week.

        La Decima might yet happen another year: here’s hoping. But should it happen this year it will be much more shocking than AO ’09, the ’13 comeback, to name but two examples.

        Reply

      • To me this season is as if rafa was badly injured… the losses have little to do with his abilities, his experience, all his training, his willpower and passion, his intelligence, and quite often little to do with who he is playing against.

        Reply

    • May 16, 2015 at 6:13 pm,
      I don’t care what YOU said.
      ==========================
      I am wondering why you continue to care about what I said when you lied about not caring what I said.
      Try to be HONEST sometimes.

      Bot-and-Kettle.

      Hilarious!!!

      Reply

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