ARTICLES:
- 7 reasons Rafael Nadal on clay is the most dominant athlete in the world (via usatoday.com)
His career winning percentage on clay is .934. Only two other men in history (Bjorn Borg and Ivan Lendl) are over .800. Roger Federer’s .871 winning percentage on grass is the highest on any other surface and it’s still more than .060 points behind Nadal’s mark on clay.
- Rafael Nadal, following Theodore Roosevelt and Eliot Ness’ lead, still embraces tennis as war (via oregonlive.com)
For Rafael Nadal, tennis has always been war. It is brutal, merciless battle. Think Little Bighorn with a net strung across the middle of the field. And with the Monte-Carlo Masters under way, the tennis season’s phony war is over and the real one, the one for real men, is beginning.
- Nadal Opens Bid For Ninth Title; Dimitrov Battles (via ATP Wolrd Tour)
“It was very important that point, 3-1, break point for him,” said Nadal. “I saved it with one good shot and one good volley. After that I felt that was the time to try to push a little bit more and increase a little bit the rhythm and the intensity. I did, I think. I played a good game to have the break back. I felt that I had the match a little bit more under control. “Always in the first match, the thing that you want at the beginning is get into a rhythm, play some long points, find the feelings. But I didn’t have that chance because he started very quick with finding the winners on the first ball that he could.”
“Put the watch there [pointing on court] and then you don’t have to do nothing, Pascal,” Nadal said, implying the chair umpire needed to use his discretion as opposed to just count the seconds on the clock.
- Rafa Nadal to reign? Ten issues clay courts will serve up this season (via independent.co.uk)
The best clay-court player of all time aims to complete a 10th year of domination, having won his first French Open in 2005. In 60 matches at Roland Garros Nadal has lost only once…
- Nadal se corrige a tiempo (via El Pais)
Tras entregar su primer saque, el español debuta en Montecarlo ganando 6-4 y 6-1 a Gabashvili, que tuvo bola de 4-1… Ante Seppi, el español buscará su victoria 300 en tierra batida.
- Nadal, harto de los ‘warnings’ de los jueces de silla (via elmundo.es)
“A veces soy el primero en aceptar las cosas, pero hoy no puedo aceptarlo, porque ha sido un peloteo muy largo, era punto de ‘break’. Creo que Pascal (Maria) es bueno, pero no tenía razón.”
PHOTOS:
- Rafael Nadal defeats Teymuraz Gabashvili to reach third round in Monte Carlo
- Rafael Nadal has a horrible poker face (via SI.com)
VIDEOS:
- Interview: Rafael Nadal will watch El Clasico on TV – “Siempre es difícil adaptarse a un nuevo terreno” (in spanish)
- Interview: Rafa reflects on his opening win over Gabashvili (in english)
- Nadal attempts to catch Gabashvili’s Racquet
- Rafa helps sail the Tuiga around the Monte-Carlo harbor
- ATP Monte-Carlo – Wednesday Round-up (via TennisTV)
REMINDER: Nadal vs. Seppi – What time does Rafa play? / A que hora juega Rafa en tu país?