ARTICLES:
- Rafa Nadal brands Gala León appointment “odd” (via Marca)
“There are a lot of candidates in Spanish tennis with great credentials for the position”, the world no. 2 said on the subject of León being “unilaterally” chosen for the role by Spanish Tennis Association president José Luis Escañuela. The Majorcan argued that being Davis Cup captain should be the reward for a “great career” and that there are ex-players out there “who had fantastic careers and haven’t served as captain yet”, so it may have been their “turn”. Nevertheless, Nadal noted that he hasn’t become acquainted with León yet and he has “nothing against her”. He also stressed that his opinion doesn’t count any more than that of other players.
A spokesman for Nadal said that he planned to play a full autumn schedule. … The world No 2 also intends to play at the Shanghai Masters, the Swiss Indoors at Basle, the Paris Masters and the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. However, Nadal will not be taking part in the IPTL, which will be played at four different venues in Asia at the end of November and the beginning of December. Nadal has decided that in the light of his injury-hit year he would be better advised not to play.
- Rafa defeats the world in practice for Ronaldo (via PokerStars)
If you have seen any of the Rafa vs. The World matches before, you could guess how it ended. The always aggressive but never reckless Rafa finished with 31-26 victory over The World. All in all, it was another good day as Rafa put in his practice round for Ronaldo.
Rafael Nadal ha mostrado en Palma su “máximo respeto” hacia Gala León por su nombramiento como capitana del equipo español de Copa Davis, aunque le parece “extraño” porque en España hay “muchos candidatos que han hecho grandes méritos para estar ahí”. … El jugador de Manacor ha aclarado que no conoce a la nueva capitana, que no tiene “nada en contra de ella” y que él es un “jugador más” que da su opinión sobre el nombramiento de León. … Preguntado sobre si algún día le tocará a él ser el capitán español de Copa Davis, Nadal ha respondido con tono de broma: “Depende del presidente”.
Nadal went on to underline his nephew’s commitment to Spain’s Davis Cup team and tried to downplay his previous day’s protests over León’s appointment. … “She isn’t a person we know on the men’s circuit, which is an added difficulty for her […]. I believe she doesn’t know the players, at least Rafael; and there is a logistical difficulty that is difficult to solve, because in the Davis Cup a lot of time is spent in locker rooms without much clothing and with a woman it would always be weird.
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I agree 100% with Rafa & Uncle Toni. Kudos to them for speaking out against this decision instead of biting their tongues in fear of the PC police. Nothing wrong with a female Davis Cup captain IF she’s the most qualified person for the job, which Gala Leon clearly is NOT! She was a mediocre WTA player with less than mediocre coaching credentials. It’s indisputable that Jose Higueras, Sergi Bruguera, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Costa(Rafa’s agent) are FAR more qualified for the job than Ms. Leon is. To call Rafa and Uncle Toni “sexist” for criticizing the appointment is total nonsense. The REAL sexists are the Spanish tennis officials who appointed a female captain just for the sake of appointing a female captain. VAMOS!!!
Rafael is usually so diplomatic so am surprised that he made any comment about the newly appointed Spanish Davis Cup captain and Toni talking about Locker Room ” and not much clothing” is weird. This is 2014
I agree with rafa Vamos nadal