ARTICLES:
- Nadal To Miss Remainder Of 2014 Season (via ATP World Tour)
Nadal confirmed after a 6-2, 7-6(4) loss to 17-year-old Croat Borna Coric Friday at the Swiss Indoors that he would not play again this season. “I have maximum respect for both tournaments. I love the city of Paris and the people who work there. London is a fantastic tournament with great fans, so it wasn’t an easy decision for me. “If I don’t have a chance to win, I’m better to let my body try to recover… I accept [that] and I know [that] I have to be better for the beginning of 2015, and the only way to be better is to work on my health. Without health, you cannot work.”
- Rafael Nadal calls time on 2014 season after loss to Borna Coric in Basel (via The Sport Review)
“It’s true that I wanted to do the surgery straight after Shanghai but that wasn’t possible. With all the antibiotics I took doctors told me I needed a few weeks to be without risk after the surgery,” said Nadal. … I’ve got a little bit tired of what happened the last five or six months. It’s been hard to play and compete when you can’t practise weeks in a row… So is the day to say goodbye for the season, is the day to say it was a good first six months of the season. It’s been hard since Australia with my back, then my wrist, then appendicitis. It’s been very hard for me mentally and physically too, so this is the time to say I will not play in Paris and London. “I need to do the surgery, to work on my back a lot. Since Australia I am not 100 per cent recovered. I need five weeks to be right again. If I play the last two tournaments of the season, I am not going to be fit or competitive, so no chances to try to win. And without that, it is better to try to recover my body.”
- Nadal To Play In Rio Open In 2015 (via ATP World Tour)
“I am thrilled to have the chance to return to the Rio Open and defend my title,” said Nadal. “Playing in the inaugural event in Rio this year was an incredible experience and the support from the crowd was unmatched. From visiting Corcovado, to my first football match at Maracanã stadium, to the beaches and the energy of the people, Rio de Janeiro is a special place and I look forward to experiencing it again.“
- Nadal ya piensa en 2015 (via El Pais)
Borna Coric, croata de 17 años y número 124, eliminó por 6-2 y 7-6 a Rafael Nadal en los cuartos de Basilea. Fue una derrota con sabor a despedida, porque puso punto final a la temporada del balear. El campeón de 14 grandes no competirá en el Masters 1.000 de París-Bercy (desde el lunes)…
- Serving with Honor (via tennis.com)
A new year, and a fresh start, can’t come soon enough for Rafa, who spent the second half of this season sidelined by a wrist injury and then waylaid by appendicitis. He’s scheduled to have surgery for the latter on November 3. His first set against Coric was perhaps his worst of the season (he trailed 5-0), and he didn’t seem desperate to extend his stay in Basel any longer. If he hadn’t signed an appearance contract with the tournament last year, you have to wonder if he would have been there at all.
- Charity auction (via hotelmastorrent.com)
Mas de Torrent celebrates its 25th anniversary with a charity auction of a selection of wall hangings designed by sport, art, gastronomy and music celebrities with their personal view of happiness. Some of the items have been designed by Rafa Nadal, Marc Márquez, Leo Messi, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Josep Carreras, Ute Lemper, Andrea Motis, Roca brothers, and Philip Stanton, among others.
PHOTOS:
- Rafael Nadal loses to 17-year-old Borna Coric
- Rafael Nadal beats Pierre-Hugues Herbert to reach Basel quarterfinals
- Real Madrid vs Barcelona celebrity fans: Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez, Rafael Nadal, and Shakira… the famous supporters bringing even more class to El Clasico (via Daily Mail)
VIDEOS:
- Borna Coric’s Hot Shot Against Rafael Nadal In Basel
- Rafael Nadal will play in 2015 Rio Open (via Rio Open)
- Interviews with Borna Coric and Rafael Nadal (via Blick)
- ATP World Tour Uncovered: Rafael Nadal reflects on early career
- R2 Basel: Interview with Rafael Nadal
- Getting To Know Borna Coric (via ATP World Tour)
Rafa I am so pleased that you are going to have an operation I worried when you were playing that it might become burst appendix and that would take a lot longer to recover from as well as being very dangerous I know it happened to me many years ago.
Get well soon Rafa our prayers will be with you .Caroline a xx
Rafa, I AM SO GLAD you have finally made arrangements for your surgery!!! You will be a better player for it, because you will prepare as only you know how to regain all your playing powers for that first time you step back onto the tennis court, where you will always be NO.1!!!
VAMOS, RAFA, NUESTRO CAMPEON!!!
Rafa,if you have to have surgary,,,then take the rest of the year off,and come back fit ,well, strong,and healthy ,,,we will miss you,but your health comes first,
Dear RAFA, go for it that surgery, comeback strong w/out painssss…………….VAMOS WARRIOR
Always a champion player and person. No one compares
Will you be playing in Abu Dhabi Rafa?