Rafael Nadal confirms he will play at Queen’s Club in London as part of his preparation for Wimbledon this year – 10 years after winning the event as part of a summer treble.
In 2008, Rafa clinched titles at the French Open, Queen’s and The Championships, Wimbledon.
Rafa:
I am very excited to communicate that I am going to come to Queen’s in 2018. It is going to be the 10th anniversary of my victory in 2008, it’s a great memory, winning there and three weeks later winning Wimbledon. It was an unforgettable year. I am very excited to be coming back and playing Queen’s again.
Queen’s Club tournament director Stephen Farrow said:
We are delighted that Rafa is planning to return to the Queen’s Club. His run 10 years ago will never be forgotten and to see him back at the top of the world rankings a decade later is a testament to his greatness and desire to achieve even more.
Source: The Queen’s Club Championships
Wow, I just came on the site to see how Rafa has been feeling and what he has been up to. I can’t believe how Rafa has to constantly be measured and judged by what Roger is doing.
I follow Rafa because he such a great person and champion who has overcome such adversity and injuries in his career. He is such a great ambassador for the sport. Even the GOAT discussion is just meaningless to me. I happen to prefer Rafa’s style of play and passion and never want him to be like Roger. Honestly I get bored watching Roger.
Personally, I find Roger’s matches unwatchable. I don’t enjoy his smug attitude and the way he struts around the court. I don’t watch him anymore. Who cares when he wins. He never plays as much as the other players because at his age he is conserving his energy. He always receives preferential treatment at the tournaments. All the matches he played at the Austrailian Open were at night so he didn’t have to deal with the Extreme heat and humid conditions. He faced a hobbled Marin Clilic at the Wimby final and when he faced Marin at the AO final, whenever Marin double-faulted the entried crowd cheered. Such disrespectful behavior. Roger is a media star/athlete. It seems that he is who the Tournament directors seem to pander to. I read Grigor was injured when he played Roger yesterday. I felt badly for Grigor. who has finally gotten his at together and is playing terrific tennis.
I know fans would like Rafa to perhaps follow the same abbreviated schedule as Roger to optimize his chances to win more Grand Slams but remember 2017, stellar year for Rafa.
I love watching Rafa compete. Let him be healthy and happy. Roger who? Rafa is my #1!
I have always had the feeling that Rafa gives Federer and Djokovic too much credit and thinks they’re better etc.
Not the right attitude.
Also absolutely agree that he could cut down on tournaments even clay court ones and concentrate on the slams. No. 1 is not top priority. If he wins important matches regardless of the surface he’ll automatically has a good chance to be no. 1.
Moyà also seems not to be firm enough for Rafa.
Wish Rafa all the best. Make the right choices.
Vamos!!!!!!
The easy victory of federer against dimitrov proves that the so called next generation is with the exception of krygios nothing more then totally crap.
Correct. We saw the best of Dimitrov last year at Aussie Open. This was Dimitrov at his peak and even that was not enough to beat Rafa who was not even close to his best.
DTMNA
From all what i am seeing right i do question the desire from rafa to really want to surpass federer. I feel like that is not important for him. There are a lot of examples. For example his unwilligness to cut his schedule in order to focuss primarly on the big tournaments. His refusal to play less clay court tournaments and try to improve on other surfaces.
His admiration for federer makes me too believe that he thinks that federer is better then him which is very sad to see
Rafa wants it, but is afraid of it. That’s the whole problem. Since Rafa started to fear things, which happened right after the last time that he beat Roger (Aussie Open 2014), things are different. I like to remind you that in 8 years ago today (Feb 2010) Roger had won 16 majors and Rafa was at 6. He made a giant leap that ended with the score being 17-14 in 2014 and then after a three year status quo it becamse 19-16 and now it stands at 20-16. If only he could bring back that fighting spirit of June 2010- August 2013 (in which he won 7 majors, while Djokovic peaked and Rafa even was injured, missing 2 majors!)… things would look different by now. It’s very much mental this catch up game.
federer will lose the nr 1 position to rafa again because the swiss has 2000 points to defend from iw and miami if rafa wins mexico and reach far at iw he will overtake the nr 1 again unless federer decides to play dubai.
But I think that most important thing for the spaniard is being fit again 100 percent and in my view i couldnt care less about nr 1 the most important thing is winning grandslams. I rather see rafa winning miami and beating federer then being nr 1 again.
Moya should put common sence in rafa head and convince him not to respect and adore federer that much on the court. The spaniard is better then federer if he believes in himself and come with a new strategy. The old one is not working anymore
Mjus, I certainly hope you’re right! All along Roger said that he wasn’t bothered about the no.1 spot. Who was he fooling? We all know he entered Rotterdam for that very reason. In his post match interview he said “ ….So this one (no.1) maybe means the most to me throughout my career – getting to no.1 and enjoying right here at almost 37 years old”. So Roger was hungry for it alright! Nearly all sports people play to win and aspire to achieve the highest accolade. If they say any different, it’s BS!
Yes Mijus, you’re absolutely correct.
I care more about Rafa’s fitness and tennis game more than world no.1 spot. I mean there is still a fact that Rafa is the oldest male player to FINISH the year as no.1. Federer might be the oldest to reach top 1 but yeah he won’t be given a world no.1 trophy at ATP Tour Final like what Rafa had last year LMAO.
As for Rafa’s game, i am seriously worried about his knees. Just look back what happen in the very first round of AO you guys could notice that his footwork was really slow and he didn’t chase down to save opponent’s strokes anymore.
I think now Rafa and Moya have to make a big decision here. There are still a lot of “agressive hard court tournament” including 2 slams in a year. If Rafa wants to prolong his career , he has to find a way to bring back the devastating serving motion again. There is a MYTH that his shoulder is injured when overperforming that serve but we never know…
The slam race to Federer might be locked for good but the season is not over yet. There are still goals to achieve including the “Career Super Slam”.
DMTNA
I have to disagree with you. The slam race is not locked for now if rafa wins in paris and pulled out a stunt in london this race could still be open. The only thing is does rafa want to surpass federer or not.
Rafa needs to be smarter with his body. That is why i have critize him and for being in denial about his age. Federer is more clever with managing his career only play tournaments that matter to him. Federer is not planning to play a lot of tournaments because he knows that his body cant take that anymore
I can tell you this if djokovic was in the position that rafa is right now only 4 slams behind he will do what it takes to surpass federer and managing his schedule you wont see him playing little tournaments like barcelona or acapulco
mjus
It’s fine. Everyone can entitle with their own opinion.
But i still think Federer is going to make 21 this year by winning another Wimbledon. That guy is always gonna be the favourite on grass. On the other hand, Rafa’s knees have been severely damaged since 2012. The last time he reached his the final was in 2011. Of course, there are signs that he could compete well on grass again since Moya came. Last year, before the match Rafa accidently knocked his head on the roof by himself before the match against Muller and that may have affected seriously the first 2 sets.
I still think that Rafa needs to improve his game to be more competitive on grass AGAIN as he could not run like he did during Wimbledon 2008. He is 31 not 21. Changing is always difficult but he needs.
“Does he want it or not?” LOL mjus. Why do you say that? What do you mean by that? Sorry but i can’t stop myself from laughing…
RG is not a given anymore these days guys. Please don’t make weird predictions leaning on winning RG and then maybe Wimbledon. Rafa might as well skip Wimbledon. His chances of success there are slimmer than Roger’s at RG. And Roger is smart enough to skip RG!
If Fed thinks he is as good as some say he thinks he is, if Fed is as arrogant as some feel he is, and considering his current oldest world No. 1 status, who is to say he won’t try this year’s FO. It is the only slam he hasn’t won twice.
Jean, I don’t see him doing RG either but I’ve been reading articles suggesting that Fed may wait to see how Rafa is playing. If Rafa is not at his best, Fed may just throw down the gauntlet. Or, he may just rest up during the clay season as he did last year.
Stay healthy Rafa and I hope your new racquet brings you a lot of wins.
RAFA ROCKS
Well, the inevitable has happened. Roger has taken over the no.1 spot and I can’t deny that it’s deserved. I’m hoping and praying that Rafa stays fit and healthy to claim it back!
Geez Lorna, I was avoiding that information. LOL
In any event, Rafa will be back to No. 1 yes, if he takes care of his gr8 body.
RAFA ROCKS DiCaprio in Amsterdam
I’ve been thinking…. 2018 could be the year that fans witness a seesaw effect between the top two players of the world because no other player is close to them in the rankings.
It’s only the beginning of the year. If Rafa slips to No. 2, he can regain No. 1 if he wins the Mexico Open. Depending on who wins what, we could see a battle for the No. 1 spot until November.
I am going for a healthy Rafa to win the Slams and Masters.
RAFA ROCKS
Yes, exactly my thoughts too. I think there’ll be a lot of twists and turns in the battle between Rafa and Roger from now until the end of the year. However, it’s going to be harder for Rafa in this fight for supremacy.
For those who are interested, there are YouTube videos of Rafa’s physical transformation through the years; 1 to 31, 5 to 31. Just sweet.
RAFA ROCKS
I’ll have a look. I just love seeing old videos of Rafa. He used to be nicknamed Mowgli (the boy in The Jungle Book) when he was a teenager on the tour and I can understand why – so sweet!
On another note, I notice that Sky keep replaying the 2005 Miami final between Rafa and Roger where Rafa lost in five sets after winning the first two sets. Why don’t they do replays of any epic finals between the two where Rafa comes out the victor? I’m sure there are many. Bias or what?
Lorna, the videos are pictures of him but the 1 to 31-years-old has more of him as a child. Just adorable.
Re Sky, they are not the only creeps. Agree about showing Rafa in a winner.
Recently, I forgot which website it was, either the ATP, the AO, or some other site, instead of a pic of Rafa as the world No. 1, I couldn’t believe they had Fed’s mug showing. I remember this because within the context of what I was reading it should have been a pic of Rafa. I don’t anger easily but I was fuming at the time. Don’t worry, when Rafa says adiós, they’ll be crying about lowered profits.
RAFA ROCKS
This Sunday, Rafa and Carlos are headed for Cozumel to train for the Mexico Open. The following weekend they are scheduled to arrive in Acapulco.
His new racquet, being now referred to as the Pure Aero Décima in a different article, sports the Spanish flag colors, and orange for the Parisian clay courts.
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen such a busy Rafa during a recuperation period: in Alicante talking local politics and announcing he will play the Mexico Open, to playing a golf tournament, and yesterday in Amsterdam at the Goed Geld Gala with Mary by his side.
[Sources: Twitter, MARCA, Punto de Break, as]
Totally excited and wishing him the best.
RAFA ROCKS
Rafa will debut his new racquet at the Mexico Open. The Babolat Pure Drive Décima racquet has a design commemorating his ten Roland-Garros titles. [Punto de Break, Feb. 14, 2018]
I have read how much tennis players become attached to their racquets. I hope his brings him great results.
RAFA ROCKS
To the moderator. Please delete the last comment as you have posted my full name. I DO NOT WANT THIS!
Maybe because we already have a Lorna?
Lorna,
Whatever the case may be, in a sensitive situation as this, I would use the RNF contact page for privacy. Just google RafaelNafalFans contact and a contact link should come up. Then you can send a private email.
RAFA ROCKS
Oh dear! Can be confusing? Good suggestion to Lorna W, Margo.
Yes, am trying to figure out how that happened. I know lately I’ve been having various problems with the RNF program, ads appearing willy-nilly, too many missing links to respond to a comment….
I hope she gets it resolved. Last time I looked RNF had not removed her comment. They are slow to react to important matters such as this, or when the “F” bomb was dropped here recently. I think if fans wanted that sort of thing they would be on a different site.
This is a far better site than the rest and I hope they keep it like that.
RAFA ROCKS
Lorna,
You can also email RNF using:
contact@rafaelnadalfans.com
from your own email program.
RAFA ROCKS
I used to post comments on the ATP website but I stopped doing so because there were a lot of stupid clowns who didn’t know much about tennis, posting silly personal comments, many of which were personal and had nothing to do with tennis. As a Rafan, I use this website because it allows interesting, healthy debate about Rafa and tennis. To be critical of Rafa doesn’t necessarily mean that his professionalism is being questioned. More often than not it means that we care about his long term health and success. If everyone had the same opinions it would be boring. C’mon guys……!
Yes, VERY boring.
RAFA ROCKS