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

31 Comments on Rafael Nadal

  1. nadline, thank you

    ed, I agree that one of the most outrageous false accusations brought up against Rafa is that he fakes his humility. Generally a person tends to want to be truthful pretty much at all times, minus perhaps some times keeping silent or saying white lies to protect some other person’s feelings or something of great importance. Others don’t mind spewing off lies and half-truths, exaggerations and fabrications quite often, in a number of contexts, with various people – I don’t expect such people to do so only in the (relative) anonymity of the internet. Alas there are plenty of people doing just that with their accusations and descriptions of Rafa. And as is clear… the real reason stems from how his rise in tennis affected Roger’s matches and records… the Emperor Has No Clothes type of perceptions. If Rafa was one of the top 30 to top 40 players that rarely had a whiff at beating Roger then those same people would not even bother posting any comments on him safe for talking about Roger beating him (while beating so many others). In that case Rafa’s humility would never be questioned, nor whether he uses banned substances. And these two are probably the most egregious accusations they have invented for Rafa. Another exquisite but alas invisible layer of clothing the emperor is wearing is “no, we are not making these accusations because of all the pain we feel at Roger’s defeats at the hands of Rafa and because of Rafa’s records eclipsing many of Roger’s…. no, no, no, that is not the reason at all… we are simply guardians of the truth regarding top male tennis players and simply cannot abide by Rafa’s cheating and false humility.” Such high ethical standards indeed 🙂 !

    A few months ago I read a famous essay by the late David Foster Wallace. He worked hard for a couple of years to become a professional tennis player when he was a teenager before deciding he didn’t have enough talent to make it high enough and went on to become a very talented writer. The essay described a match he witnessed of Roger’s. He describes in detail a number of plays, of specific moves, footwork, several strokes-ahead thinking in Roger’s mind, etc. He makes a strong case for how exceptional Roger was. He is right of course. Yet while reading it I felt very sure that he was also exaggerating unwittingly. The match was against Rafa as it happens. This very knowledgeable, observing and highly intelligent writer had also fallen into the trap of looking at Rafa in a mixture of realism and caricature. And in looking at Roger in a mixture or realism and mythical exaggeration. If someone of Wallace’s caliber – in tennis knowledge, intelligence, powers of observation and recall, and descriptive and penetrating writing – can fall prey to such mixtures of realism and unwitting exaggerations (of both players), then what can we expect of so many other people?

    Case in point: the title of the article: “Roger Federer as a Religious Experience”.

    Mind, his conclusion, as to why we enjoy so much watching someone play tennis so well (and that goes for Rafa for many of us, was very well perceived and conveyed in it.

    Reply

  2. I’ve just had another look at the article. He writes about more than one match, including one with Rafa and one with Agassi, back in 2006.

    Reply

  3. Rafa has earned his legions of fans all by himself without any relentless marketing and propaganda by the media and the commies. In fact he has had to cut through the Federer treacle, but with his charisma and style he’s been able to do it.

    Reply

  5. Roundabout 2007 Rafa was asked if he minded always being in the shadow of Federer and if it was his ambition to overtake him at No.l. He replied he was honoured to be No.2 to such a great player. A year later he became No.1. Federer’s riposte when this happened was “now we’ll see if he can cope with the pressure…………”

    I thought at the time it wouldn’t have hurt him to be a little more generous – a few words of praise would not have gone amiss if only as a sporting gesture.

    Reply

    • Ed at 2:11 pm: “I thought at the time it wouldn’t have hurt him to be a little more generous – a few words of praise would not have gone amiss if only as a sporting gesture.” Boy, did you hit the nail on the head on that observation. Over the years, he has delivered an endless number of back door compliments to Rafa. Even if one believes that Novak is not sincere, listen to the difference between how Novak talks about Rafa in his losses to him vs what Roger says.

      In both Wimby ’08 and Australia ’09, the post match ceremonies were more about Roger losing than Rafa winning. In 2008 Wimby, Roger said an obligatory sentence or two for Rafa, while Rafa devoted half his speech to Roger. We all know what happened at Australia ’09.

      Roger is obviously well liked by most of the other players and I think he really is a nice guy. But I also believe that his ego took a fatal hit by the “upstart” Rafa and that there will always be an underlying resentment by Roger toward Rafa, regardless of the fact that he likes him…..as I’ve noted before, similar to the older brother who loves the younger brother yet resents the younger for outshining him.

      Reply

  6. Why is it that very single year Roger HAS GOT to be nominated for Stefan Edberg Award along with 3 other players who are, say, outside the top 50. This year, as in 2010, they have had to include Rafa, and when they did so for the first time in 2010, Rafa won it. They cook it so that the players have no choice but to choose Federer. If you nominate Neimenen, Ljubicic, Nishikori and Federer, who are they going to vote for?

    Reply

    • I dislike all those awards, since they are a pure marketing instrument. If it were really for attitudes or achievements, many lesser known players would’ve won over the years. That’s, why I don’t pay a lot of attention to them. IMO, they don’t really influence the legacy of a player anyway.

      Reply

  8. Littlefoot, just as I thought. This is straight from TW

    Originally Posted by KillerServe View Post
    His father, Robert, told him not to worry. “…Just never cheat.”

    Wow that explains a lot, vis a vis Nadal and his behaviors on court.
    Totally. I always find it hilarious whenever haters criticize him for crying.

    I love that quote from Robert, and that is why Roger gets the sportsmanship award.

    http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?p=7856901&posted=1#post7856901

    Reply

  10. I don’t care about sportsmanship awards. Rafa’s conduct on and off the court speaks for itself. With or without the awards, he has shown himself to be a class act.

    Reply

  16. Berdych on Rafa! at his pre-WTF presser: “If we were to talk about the strengths of Rafa it could take some time.”

    Sounds to me like a man that’s thrown in the towel already, no?

    Reply

  17. RT @SI_BTBaseline: “#1 Ranking is in Rafa Nadal’s control. If he wins 2. At he wins 2 matches in London, it’s his. He’s 47-8 vs his Group”

    There you have it Rafans, no need to frazzle, Rafa’s got this………….

    Reply

  18. Filip Peliwo ‏@filippeliwo 19m
    After my 2nd practice with Rafa this week. He’s the most humble guy out there, deserves all the praise he gets. #legend #ATP #FinalShowdown

    Never in doubt. Humb1e GOAT.

    Reply

  19. RT @SI_BTBaseline: “Nadal was asked whether given his post-USO results, Novak is the favorite in London. “Yes.” Then he sipped his milkshake. #finalshowdown”

    Reply

  20. The ATP World Tour Awards winners are announced.

    Roger Federer receives three honours in the 2013 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moët & Chandon, while Rafael Nadal wins Comeback Player of the Year and can clinch the ATP World Tour No. 1 presented by Emirates award at this week’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

    Federer has been selected by his peers as winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a ninth time and by fans as the ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite presented by Moët & Chandon for an 11th straight year. In addition, the 32-year-old Swiss has been named the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year for a second time in recognition of his foundation’s support of children in Africa and Switzerland. Since 2003, Federer has won a record total of 27 ATP World Tour Awards.

    As winner of Comeback Player of the Year, Nadal becomes the first to clinch awards in all the player-voted categories. The 27-year-old Spaniard won Newcomer in 2003, Most Improved in 2005 and Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship in 2010. He was also awarded as the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian in 2011 and can claim ATP World Tour No. 1 presented by Emirates for a third time (2008, 2010) this week in London. Novak Djokovic kept his hopes alive in the battle for the year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking with his triumph at the BNP Paribas Masters title on Sunday.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.




Copyright © 2024 | MH Magazine WordPress Theme by MH Themes