Rafael Nadal

[DUN I LOVE]

Rzym 2011 - 6 finał Nadala w 2011 roku, 4 porażka. Hiszpan przegrał po raz 4 z rzędu mecz o tytuł w Nole Djokoviciem i zanotował 17 przegrany finał na 62, jakie rozegrał w swojej dotychczasowej karierze.

Rafael Nadal - przegrane finały (17)

2011 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rzym, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells
2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Doha
2009 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid, Rotterdam
2008 ATP Masters Series Miami, Chennai
2007 ATP Masters Series Paris, Wimbledon, ATP Masters Series Hamburg
2006 Wimbledon
2005 ATP Masters Series Miami
2004 Auckland

Nadal ma już na koncie 29 finałów turniejów Masters-1000, czym wyrównał wynik Rogera Federera

[jaccol55]

The evolution of Rafael Nadal: Part 1



Rafael Nadal has always sought to adjust his game to adapt to different conditions, and that is why he is a great champion.

This mental strength has seen him achieve things that no one believed he could, through masterfully turning around tough situations.
Physically, Rafa boasts amazing court coverage and endurance. Nothing seems to surprise him. He always strikes the ball with great power while the rotation speed has been measured as the fastest ever.
He always finds new challenges, new ways to compete: tennis, golf, football or video games, everything he touches immediately turns into a fight for victory. He does not sleep a lot, trains at full intensity and seeks hobbies to keep boredom at bay.
Every champion who has triumphed on all surfaces was forced to change his game to adjust to the conditions: tactically through working on sequences efficient on a certain surface, physically on the levels needed on that surface and mentally by learning patience, for example, or else the need to take the first opportunity to attack.
But the Spaniard has gone further than anybody before.
The main areas he has changed are his serve and forehand. Beside the strategy, the fitness or the mind, Nadal is the only one ever to have made a deep technical change to his motion in order to counteract tactical situations that were going against him.
This chameleon is always moving forward, looking to improve, making it difficult for his opponents to find an answer to him. Only his mental strength has remained stationary, so good was it to start with - he has the best ratio of wins in five-set matches of anybody still playing.

Phase 1: The Age of Innocence (until 2005)
Until his first triumph at Roland Garros, the young Nadal (pictured in 2003) was not thoughtful on technique, which he considered natural and instinctive. Nor was he or his uncle Toni worried about it; still in development, he was improving day by day, as shown by the evolution of his ranking.
This period allowed him to learn how to use his ability to become efficient. Every match played helped him learn how to behave in order to win, through solving the issues each rival brought to the table. Little by little, he also improved physically and his temper saw him achieve an out-of-this-world level of fitness.

Forehand:
This weapon displayed a lot of fluidity. It was the shot that allowed him to take the lead during points, enabling him to send his opponents all over the court. He found amazing angles with it and the quality of his topspin forced rivals to stand a long way from the baseline - meaning Nadal was safe from attack. His favourite shot was the short inside-out forehand which allowed him a great impact with the outcome - because of the speed generated by the motion - and also to keep an accurate position regarding the ball's rebound height. He used his right hand to prepare this motion, which ended in a big preparation loop.

Serve:
Following the great tradition of Spanish tennis, the serve is considered a minor shot, merely one that starts the point. At the start of his career, young Nadal was taken into this stereotype. He did not have many aces or winners. This did not play against him much because he mostly shone on clay, with his main goal being victory at Roland Garros. He used the slice a lot in order to get to his opponent's backhand and try to get back on his own forehand. Not feeling very comfortable with the serve, Nadal picked a rather shortened and compact preparation, directly armed, in a Roddick kind of way. His lack of power came from both a lack of speed generated by the head of the racquet, which stayed too parallel with the ground, and him not achieving enough forward motion.

http://eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/patri ... icle/1670/

-----------------------------------------------------

The evolution of Rafael Nadal: Part 2



Phase 2: The Quest for Wimbledon (2005-2008)

Having won his first Roland Garros at 19 years of age, the young Rafa craved new achievements. His next ambition was Wimbledon - the tournament no one thought he could win. There were two main obstacles: the technical aspects of his clay game were not suited to grass, and the domination of Roger Federer on this surface, a man with all the technical and tactical weapons needed to master it.

Nadal took three years to win Wimbledon in 2008, during which time he hugely changed his technique to become more efficient. His No.1 rival Federer - who won the tournament every year between 2003 and 2007 - was playing fast, taking the ball early and used a choppy backhand a lot. This gave the Spaniard completely different angles to deal with, compared to clay.

Forehand:
Rafa struggled when attacked on his forehand. The big loop his arm took often made him late to the ball, so he had to play shorter and with more fragility. In order to improve his counter-attacking game, he shortened his preparation, keeping his elbow lower and speeding up the work of the racquet head - a technique often used to return an opponent's first serves. With this change he generated less speed, but better use of the speed of the ball made up for this.

Serve:
He had to find more power, knowing that aces and winners are mandatory if you are to succeed on grass. Plus, if he could convince his opponents that he was unreachable on his first serve, he could place more pressure on their returns. He had to find a way to gain speed, so he increased the falling distance of the racquet - however this solution did not work. Instead of giving more freedom to his wrist in order to send the head of the racquet higher, he raised his hand and also lifted his elbow far higher than the shoulder line. Technically this motion lacks accuracy, but it did give him more speed: a 184km/h average speed compared to 158km/h in 2003 testifies to this. Even if he remains some way off the efficiency he seeks, he reached his goal of winning Wimbledon.

Bonus:
Besides this technical work, Nadal tried to improve all areas of his game - and especially his backhand, adding the slice. This shot improved a lot but was still not crushing enough, sometimes putting him on the defensive afterwards. Playing doubles on a regular basis also helped him work on the shots he needs: the serve, the return and the net game. As years passed, he began to play more and more offensively.

Phase 3: Success on All Surfaces (2008-)

Far from being satisfied with his Wimbledon triumph, Nadal set new goals for himself. He had never won the US Open, but knew he would shine on all surfaces if he could find a more universal technique. The serve was still his biggest consideration as he had to bring it up to the level of the rest of his game; at Flushing Meadows, with faster, lesser rebounding courts than those in Australia, the serve can be decisive. On the forehand, he was now taking advantage of his shortened motion but also knew he had lost his ability to find angles such as the inside-out short ones.

Forehand:
In 2005, his preparation was higher and his loop bigger. His hand was level with his pectorals, whereas in 2011 it is lower, near the abdominal region. His elbow was also much higher in 2005, ending the head of the racquet a good 50cm higher. Also in 2005 the elbow was placed further from the body - in 2011 its position prevents the big loop.

Serve:
Comparison between 2008 and 2011 clearly shows that Rafa is back to using his 2005 motion. His elbow is lower than in 2008 when his hand was high above his head. He no longer trespasses over the shoulder line. His wrist is still 'broken' when he raises the arm, but he now succeeds in better raising the head of the racquet in order to gain speed. His toss is now higher and he strikes the ball when it hits its highest point, whereas before he was hitting it on the way down. And he is finally dealing better with the bodyweight transfer forward so he gains more power. The numbers speak for themselves: he increased his average speed on first serves from 184 to 190 between 2008 and 2010, while the number of aces follows a similar path, increasing from 210 to 310.

Bonus:
During all the work on his forehand, he lost some speed because it was generated by the loop. Therefore he sought another way of gaining it, improving the work of the wrist to whip the ball. Rafa's forearm now travels ahead of his hand, which is in turn ahead of the head of the racquet, perpendicular to his arm. With a whip-like action it makes up for the lost time, arriving with a lot of speed. This is what gives the shot its striking quality. A lab based in San Francisco measured that Nadal's topspin reaches a rotation of 3,200 turns per minute, compared with the 1,900 turns per minute of Agassi and the 2,700 turns per minute of Federer.

http://eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/patri ... icle/1726/

[Barty]

Nie mam linka do tego artykułu, dlatego wklejam treść. Smutną treść, szczególnie dla fanów Rafy, nigdy się tak nie uzewnętrzniał.



Nadal feels like he's been 'playing for 100 years'

Rafael Nadal says the tour's non-stop schedule is exhausting him and there are days when he sees playing tennis as a job, rather than a sport. The Spaniard added that all his playing years have taken a toll on him and that even with the shortening of the calendar this year, the season will still be too long.

"It's my ninth year on the tour, and its completely the same feeling every year," Nadal told reporters. "You don't have the chance to stop, never. I think for that situation we have a shorter career. So having a different model of ranking, of competition, I think we can have longer career, no? I [am] almost 25, but seems like I am playing for 100 years here on the tour. I didn't spend a weekend at home since the week of Davis Cup before Indian Wells. That's too much. Tennis is a very demanding sport mentally and physically. I won Roland Garros five times, but next Monday I am practicing on Queen's. So that's makes the career shorter for everybody.

"We have four Grand Slams, we have nine Masters 1000, and the year is 12 months. I know that they're gonna reduce two week but, seriously, is not enough. [We are not ] gonna have these changes for my generation, but hopefully for the next generations to have a better sports life. Because I think you need two months, two months and a half of rest at the end of the season. You have to practice. I never able to practice and to try to improve the things during the off-season, and that's something I think terrible....Sometimes it's like work. And, in my opinion, tennis is not work. It's passion."

[DUN I LOVE]

12 wielkoszlemowy finał Nadala!



Wczorajszy solenizant (skończył 25 lat) jutro zagra po raz 6 w finale Roland Garros, a już po raz 12 w finale turnieju wielkoszlemowego. Nadal ma znakomity bilans gier o tytuł w najważniejszych imprezach tenisowych świata: 9-2 (2 porażki z Federerem w Wimbledonie).

25-latek z Manacor zanotował 7 finał z rzędu, dotychczas w 2011 bilans jego pojedynków finałowych jest jednak ujemny: 2-4 (4 porażki z Djokoviciem).

[Bombardiero]

#46) Roland Garros 2011



R128 John Isner (USA) 6-4 6-7(2) 6-7(2) 6-2 6-4
R64 Pablo Andujar (ESP) 7-5 6-3 7-6(4)
R32 [Q] Antonio Veić (CRO) 6-1 6-3 6-0
R16 Ivan Ljubicić (CRO) 7-5 6-3 6-3
QF [5] Robin Soderling (SWE) 6-4 6-1 7-6(3)
SF [4] Andy Murray (GBR) 6-4 7-5 6-4
F [3] Roger Federer (SUI) 7-5 7-6(3) 5-7 6-1

To już 10 wielkoszlemowy tytuł Nadala, 6 w Paryżu.

Najwięcej tytułów wielkoszlemowych:
1. Roger Federer - 16
2. Pete Sampras - 14
3. Roy Emerson - 12
4. Rod Laver - 11
4. Bjorn Borg - 11
6. Bil Tilden - 10
6. Rafael Nadal - 10

[jaccol55]

25-letni Hiszpan wyrównał wynik Bjorna Borga, który także 6 razy triumfował na kortach im. Rolanda Garrosa.

Nadal: Trudne chwile uczyniły triumf wyjątkowym



Za Rafaelem Nadalem jeden z najważniejszych i zarazem najtrudniejszych turniejów w karierze. Mimo słabego początku i pięciosetowego boju z Johnem Isnerem w pierwszej rundzie, Hiszpan zdołał po raz szósty wygrać French Open, wyrównując rekord Bjoerna Borga, i obronić prowadzenie w rankingu ATP.

W przeciwieństwie do 2008 roku, gdy wygrywał na kortach Rolanda Garrosa bez straty choćby seta, wywalczyć tytuł w obecnym sezonie było zdecydowanie trudniej. Dość powiedzieć, że już w pierwszej rundzie Rafa musiał stoczyć pięciosetowy horror z Amerykaninem Johnem Isnerem.

- Rafael był bardzo nerwowy - przyznał wujek i trener tenisisty, Toni.

Nadal pojawił się w Paryżu z dwoma wygranymi turniejami w kieszeni (Barcelona i Monte Carlo), ale i z przegranymi w finałach w Madrycie i Rzymie z Novakiem Djokoviciem.

- Prawdziwy Rafa to Rafa przegrywający i wygrywający. Rafa grający dobrze i Rafa cierpiący na korcie - powiedział Nadal na pomeczowej konferencji prasowej.

- Spójrzmy prawdzie w oczy. Jeden i drugi to ten sam Rafa. Najważniejsze jednak, że nie raz byłem w stanie odmienić sytuację na korcie i zachować pozytywne nastawienie, które mi to umożliwiło - dodał.

Nie obyło się jednak bez bólu i strachu. W pierwszym secie finału, przy stanie 5:2 dla Federera, Hiszpan musiał bronić piłki setowej. Dopiero seria siedmiu wygranych gemów z rzędu sprawiła, że to Rafa na dobre przejął w tym meczu inicjatywę. Jednak zwycięstwo przyszło dużo trudniej niż w finale z 2008 roku. W tamtym sezonie Nadal stracił w całym turnieju ledwie 41 gemów.

- Trudno powiedzieć, bym nie był zadowolony ze zwycięstwa. Aby wygrać turniej tej rangi, trzeba naprawdę grać bardzo dobrze. Czasem dużo cenniejsze jest trofeum wywalczone w bólach. W 2008 roku grałem najlepiej w karierze, ale po końcowym zwycięstwie nie czułem się jak triumfator Rolanda Garrosa. Wygrywanie meczów, w których wychodzi się z trudnych sytuacji jest wyjątkowe. Takie zwycięstwa lepiej smakują - uzasadnił Nadal.

http://www.eurosport.pl/tenis/roland-ga ... tory.shtml

[Jacuszyn]

Nadal Becomes Second Player To Qualify For 2011 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals



Rafael Nadal has qualified for the year-end finale seven straight years.

Following his win on Wednesday at the AEGON Championships at The Queen’s Club in London, Rafael Nadal, who captured his sixth Roland Garros crown in seven years on Sunday, has become the second player to qualify for the 2011 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Nadal’s 6-4, 6-4 win today over Australia’s Matthew Ebden at Queen’s means the Spaniard now counts sufficient South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings points to ensure himself a place among the world’s Top 8 singles players at the season finale in London. The 25-year-old Spaniard joins Serb Novak Djokovic as the first players to qualify for the event, to be held November 20-27 at The O2 in London.

“It’s always a pleasure to play in London. It’s a fantastic city and The O2 stadium is one of the nicest indoor stadiums in the world. It was a fantastic tournament last year for me, playing in the final, with very emotional matches. I’m very happy to be qualified and to come back again this year,” said the Mallorca native.

Nadal, who tied Bjorn Borg’s record of six Roland Garros titles, is the top seed in this week’s AEGON Championships at the Queen’s Club in London. The Spaniard has reached a career-best seven consecutive finals (3-4 mark) on the season heading into this week’s grass court event at The Queen’s Club.

This is the seventh straight year Nadal has qualified for the year-end finale. Last season he reached his first final, losing to rival Roger Federer in three sets.

Nadal has ranked No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings for 99 weeks, including the past 53. He first became No. 1 on Aug. 18, 2008 and he held the top spot for 46 weeks.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... alify.aspx

[Joao]

Nadal: Ciężko pracowałem, żeby być w tym miejscu



Szóstym triumfem w Paryżu Rafael Nadal wyrównał osiągniecie legendarnego Bjoerna Borga. - To zaszczyt, że jestem do niego porównywany - podziękował tenisista z Majorki.

Rekord pod względem liczby zwycięstw Rolanda Garrosa dzierży Max Decugis, który wygrywał aż osiem razy, ale dokonał tego na początku poprzedniego stulecia, gdy turniej w Paryżu nie był imprezą tak globalną co teraz.

Nadal w niedzielę wywalczył szósty triumf w Paryżu i pod względem zwycięstw jest na drugim miejscu ex aequo z Bjoernem Borgiem.

- To dla mnie bardzo ważne, ale najważniejsze jest, że wygrałem Rolanda Garrosa - powiedział Nadal. - Ciężko pracowałem, żeby być w tym miejscu i żeby znów tu zagrać. To honor, że jestem porównywany do Borga - dodał.

Nadal w Paryżu wygrał sześć razy, a jego konto wielkoszlemowych zwycięstw uzupełniają dwa tytuły na Wimbledonie i po jednym w Australian Open i US Open.

- Nie jestem najlepszym tenisistą w historii, ale jestem wśród najlepszych i to mi wystarcza - powiedział skromnie.

Pod względem zwycięstw w turniejach wielkoszlemowych Nadala dystansuje Roger Federer. Szwajcar wygrywał je 16 razy.

http://www.eurosport.pl/tenis/roland-ga ... tory.shtml

[Wujek Toni]

Dobra wiadomość dla Amerykanów

Tired Nadal cuts out Davis date in order to rest

Rest will take top priority for Rafael Nadal, with the Spaniard deciding to skip the July 8-10 Davis Cup quarter-final against the US in Andy Roddick's hometown of Austin, Texas.

Nadal informed Spanish newspaper AS that there is no way he can make it to central Texas for the date and will rest for up to three weeks at home in Mallorca to regain strength for the second half of the long ATP season.

Nadal has long been an outspoken critic of what many top players consider an overly crowded schedule. "The ITF is making a mistake to insist on this format and Davis calendar," said the Spaniard. "There is zero sensitivity to players."

The Wimbledon top seed has played nearly nonstop since March and is desperate for a decent break from the game. The Davis Cup date, which would require him to leave London only hours after any potential Wiimbledon final, will just have to be struck from his calendar.

"I will not be against the United States. The first thing is to be healthy, and now I have to stop," Nadal told the paper. "I can't be everywhere. Now, after finishing the first half of the season, I need rest. I need 15 or 20 days to get ready for the second part of the season."

Nadal said that his problematic knees are not the cause of the decision, saying he want to be ready for the US Open, the final major of the season from August 29.

http://tennistalk.com/en/news/20110627/ ... er_to_rest

[DUN I LOVE]

Rafael Nadal już przez 100 tygodni zasiada/ł na tenisowym tronie, dziś rozpoczął 101 tydzień 'panowania' w męskich rozgrywkach. Już tylko 1 tydzień dzieli go od Andre Agassiego i 9 od Bjorna Borga.

6. Bjorn Borg (SWE) - 109
7. Andre Agassi (USA) - 101
8. Rafael Nadal (ESP) - 100
9. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) - 80

[DUN I LOVE]

Wimbledon 2011: 13 wielkoszlemowy finał Nadala!



25-letni tenisista z Manacor zagra w najbliższą niedzielę w swoim 5 wimbledońskim finale. Rafa wygrywał tę imprezę 2 razy: w roku 2008 i przed 12 miesiącami. Hiszpan przegrał mecze o tytuł przy Church Road w latach 06-07, kiedy na drodze stawał mu Roger Federer.

Rafael Nadal - 13 wielkoszlemowych finałów

(dotychczasowy bilans: 10 -2)
2005 - Roland Garros
2006 - Roland Garros, Wimbledon (porażka)
2007 - Roland Garros, Wimbledon (porażka)
2008 - Roland Garros, Wimbledon
2009 - Australian Open
2010 - Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open
2011 - Roland Garros, Wimbledon

[DUN I LOVE]

2011: 5 przegrany finał Nadala.



Rafael Nadal przegrał swój 5 finał w tym roku. Po raz kolejny uległ Novakowi Djokovciowi, tym razem w pojedynku o tytuł w Wimbledonie. Nadal zagrał 5 raz w finale przy Church Road, poległ po raz 3. Wszystkie finałowe porażki Hiszpana w WS pochodzą właśnie z tego miejsca.

25-latek z Manacor przegrał swój 18 finał w karierze, 3 w Wielkim Szlemie (pierwszy od Wimbledonu 2007). Przed wczorajszą porażką Nadal miał na koncie 7 kolejnych zwycięstw w wielkoszlemowych finałach.

RAFAEL NADAL - przegrane finał (18)
2011 Wimbledon, TMS Rzym, TMS Madryt, TMS Miami, TMS Indian Wells
2010 WTF Londyn, Doha
2009 TMS Szanghaj, TMS Madryt, Rotterdam
2008 TMS Miami, Chennai
2007 TMS Paryż, Wimbledon, TMS Hamburg
2006 Wimbledon
2005 TMS Miami
2004 Auckland

[Jacuszyn]

Nadal says no tennis reign lasts forever



Rafael Nadal makes no excuses for his Wimbledon final loss to Novak Djokovic.

Reports in the British press suggest that the Spaniard lost the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic while carrying a hairline fracture of his left heel, but Nadal's team has confirmed that the injury is not a fracture.

The former No. 1 - now down to second behind his Serb rival - made no mention of injury after his four-set loss. "He's in the best moment of his career, I'm in one of the best moments of my career," said the Spaniard.

"But that's still not enough (to beat) him. I have to play longer. I have to play more aggressive. I have to have less mistakes - that's what I have to do. I lost because I am playing against the best player of the moment, the best player of the world tomorrow, and I am the second."

The winner of ten Grand Slams is far from giving up hope. After all, nothing is forever in tennis. "My experience says this level is not forever. Even for me when I was last year winning three Grand Slams, my level of last year is not forever.

"Probably the level of Novak of today is not forever. I'm gonna be here fighting all the time, waiting my moment. I've already won three tournaments this year and one Grand Slam. But I'm waiting my moment to beat him another time."

http://tennistalk.com/en/news/20110705/ ... ts_forever

[DUN I LOVE]

Długo o Rafie nie pisaliśmy, czas to skończyć. Rafa odpoczywa i korzysta w uroków wakacji. Poniżej zdjęcia z gry w golfa i wizyty na jednej z plaż (w towarzystwie Xisci):

[Jacuszyn]

Nadal now vying with Federer, Murray in book sales



Nadal now vying with Federer, Murray in book sales Just in time for the start of the US Open in a month, an authorised biography of Rafael Nadal is due for release in the US and Britain.

The No. 2 tennis earner behind Roger Federer is the subject of the work by a writer for the international edition of Spain's Il Paes newspaper.

Nadal will be following the example set by Federer - biographies of the longtime No. 1 have been published in both German and English - and Andy Murray, who was somehow the subject of an autobiography unwisely published as he was barely out of his teens and yet to make a major tennis breakthrough.

"Rafa" is due for release August 23 in the US and slightly earlier in Britain.

According to bookseller Amazon.com: “This book takes us to the heart of Nadal’s childhood, his growth as a player and his incredible career. It includes many memorable highlights, from his victory in the 2008 Wimbledon final …

"It transports us from Nadal’s lifelong home on the island of Majorca to the locker room of Centre Court. … It offers a glimpse behind the racquet to learn what really makes this intensely private person who has never previously talked about his home life tick. And it provides us with a story that is personal, revealing and every bit as exciting as Nadal himself.”

Nadal is starting to tout the product, posting on his Facebook page: “Hi everyone, after a year working with the well-known writer John Carlin, I want you to be the first to know that the book is due in August and and I want to share with you the title page. What do you think about it? Also, very soon I’ll release the first chapter only for you . Rafa”."

http://www.tennistalk.com/en/news/20110 ... book_sales

[robpal]

Nadal Sets Alight Twittersphere


Rafael Nadal added 160,000 Twitter
followers in little more than 24 hours.

Rafael Nadal has set the Twittersphere alight! After joining the social networking giant Tuesday, @rafaelnadal had attracted 160,000 followers by 5pm ET Wednesday. Nadal, who will play his first match since Wimbledon at next week’s Rogers Cup in Montreal, overnight became one of the most-followed tennis players on Twitter.

Andy Roddick’s insight and dry humour sees him top the list of active players with 671,000 followers, with Andy Murray (541,000), Juan Martin del Potro (364,000) and Novak Djokovic (254,000) also popular.

Rafa opened his tweeting career tentatively with: Hi all! I have Twitter profile! I am thrilled to have your support here! You’ll hear more from me Rafa. Making good on his promise, Nadal followed up with two posts from his final practice sessions before leaving Spain, sharing photos, including one with his young cousins.

Nadal currently follows 18 Twitter accounts, including those of NBA star Pau Gasol, Janko Tipsarevic, , Cristiano Ronaldo, ATP World Tour and the Royal Spanish Football Federation

With Robin Soderling also an active tweeter, Roger Federer is now the lone Twitter holdout among the Top 5. Federer, however, is still the Facebook king among tennis players, with more than 8.5 million fans as of Wednesday. A post during Wimbledon of Federer with Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar received more than 70,000 likes and more than 14,000 comments.

Nadal had more than 7,850,000 Facebook fans as of Wednesday. Djokovic had almost 640,000 fans, Murray almost 390,000 and Roddick 367,000.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... light.aspx

[jaccol55]

Count Nadal in for Davis Cup semis in September



Rafael Nadal has confirmed that he's ready to sign on for the September Davis Cup final at home in Spain against visiting neighbor France.

The world No. 2, who returned for the March first-round win over Belgium and won two matches after not playing for his country during all of 2010, says he'll be happy to front up on clay September 16-18: "I'll be there," he said.

The Spaniard, who only joined Twitter this week and amassed 150,000 followers in just a few days, is on his way to Canada for the Montreal Masters and the run to the US Open, coming is as title holder for the first time.

The tie is set for the bullring in Cordoba. Spain is seeking a third Davis Cup title in four years after Serbia won it last December over France in Belgrade.

http://www.tennistalk.com/en/news/20110 ... _September

[Wujek Toni]

Busy Rafael Nadal Trains and Tweets



Rafael Nadal continues to prepare for a strong run during the summer hard-court season, in addition to keeping his fans up to date on Facebook—and now on Twitter as well. The world No. 2 has been working hard over the past few days, both on and off the court, as he trains for the upcoming Rogers Cup and makes an impressive Twitter debut.

On Monday, Nadal wrote, “These days are being tough and very physical intense workouts. I’m really keen on returning to competition!! Here goes a video of today’s training with Pol Toledo. Thanks for your support!! Rafa”

The video of the training session features Nadal with the 16-year-old junior, whom he mentioned last week, having called their past workouts “enriching.”

The next day, Nadal took the leap of joining Twitter, posting the following announcement to his Facebook wall: “Hi there, today I create my new Twitter profile @RafaelNadal. I look forward to your support in this new adventure Thanks for being there! Rafa”

After offering his first tweet Tuesday morning, Nadal had reached over 150,000 followers on Wednesday, with the number quickly climbing.

Hours after making his Twitter debut, Nadal was back on Facebook, posting a picture of himself with three of his cousins, writing, “Today, my cousins came to the training! we took a photo:)”

The Spaniard was back to business on Wednesday, having his final practice session before heading to Montreal, where he looks forward to competing in next week’s Rogers Cup against the top players in the world.

On Wednesday, Nadal wrote, “Last training before traveling to Montreal. I am excited because we have worked hard to prepare the US summer swing.Rafa”

Nadal is currently the No. 2-ranked player in the world, behind world No. 1 Novak Djokovic for the fifth consecutive week that the two have held the top positions in this order. Nadal holds 11,270 rankings points, while Djokovic has a total of 13,155 points.

The hard-court season will be pivotal for Nadal as he seeks to reclaim his place at the top of the field in a showing that he hopes will include a successful defense of his U.S. Open title. Last year’s summer hard-court season was an overall success for the Spaniard, as he reached the quarterfinals in Cincinnati but went on to win the first U.S. Open title of his career, defeating Feliciano Lopez and Novak Djokovic along the way to the victory.

Nadal will seek to be in peak form in Montreal if he is to send a strong message to the elite hard-court contenders this summer. The 10-time Grand Slam champion has claimed two Rogers Cup titles during his career, winning in 2005 and 2008.

Are you glad to see Nadal on Twitter? Will Nadal rule the hard courts this summer?

Tell us what you think in the comments below!

http://www.10sballs.com/2011/08/04/busy ... nd-tweets/

[robpal]

Western & Southern Open Draw is out

The final big test before the US Open begins Sunday with the Cincinnati Tennis Masters. The draw is much like Montreal’s with the additions of Andy Roddick and David Ferrer. Novak Djokovic is again in the same half as Roger Federer leaving Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal in the bottom section.

Rafa gets a bye in the first round and will face a qualifier or Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second. It looks for the world like Rafa and Mardy Fish will clash in that quarterfinal. Both have good roads out the final eight. Rafa could meet Fernando Verdasco before Fish, while Mardy, a finalist there last year, might have to deal with Nikolay Davydenko and Richard Gasquet.

The tournament starts Sunday with the Blake and Del Potro matches. The top seeds begin on Tuesday.

FULL DRAW
http://assets.usta.com/assets/663/15/ATP_MDS-1.pdf

Vamos Rafa!

http://www.rafaelnadal.com/content/west ... n-draw-out

[jaccol55]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSYq6nK0 ... ture=feedu[/youtube]