Rafael Nadal Fans

VIDEO: Rafael Nadal back on the clay

Rafael Nadal has kicked off his clay-court season preparations after returning to action following his latest injury.

31 comments

  1. Do you agree with me that a fixed time 🕜 to stop and sign plus photos after the training session is a good idea ? 😮 Fiona in Paris

    Reply

    • Are you referring to his academy or any practice session?

      I think this is a question to be put forth to Rafa himself.

      For me, as an adult fan, I would say absolutely not. Rafa has a gazillion comments to fulfill. Just seeing him at practice or in competition is good enough for me. Or being able to say to him I love watching you in competition Mr. Nadal.

      Now, when it comes to his very young fans, the children, I could see him setting aside a little time to sign autographs after a practice session. Children don’t think about adult schedules or how tired someone may be.

      Furthermore, I think setting aside a specific time for autographs may have some unintended consequences. One comes to mind immediately: a deluge of fans congregating at the same, at the same place, to get an autograph.

      Let’s see what other fans have to say. They may come up with some good suggestions.

      RAFA ROCKS

      Reply

      • Yes Margo, thanks for replying 😀. I was referring originally to thé player stopping for 🕜 15 mins after a match on the condition that he has won 😀 and would be in a good mood. I havé seen the possibilité for that in R Garros and Paris Bercy. It seéms logical.
        The practice sessions I have seen only in the Aca Manacor and as I already saïd, he did not stop for long, about 5 mins, to sign and photos and signed the others whilst walking off, people walking, catching up with him.☺ taking photos. There is already quite a gathering of people every time. I said in Spanish wé understand it is not easy for them. 😯 In R Garros Saturday 25th May is Kids Day, they have fun seing him there, it is more relaxed , seeing him play with some of them 😀 in the fun games and signing the yellow balls 🎾 selfies etc. I am looking forward to Monte Carlo next week 🌞 for R Garros have gôt 1 ticket for the 1st week , ☺no luck for the final. 😕 Fiona in Paris

      • No Fiona, I’m in Manhattan [NY].

        Have a great time in Monte-Carlo.

        RAFA ROCKS

  3. Si good to see him training this week under el sol. 🌞 17 18 degrées still in Manacor. Must have sôme leisure time too⛵ 🏊🍦🌴to be in form for Monte Carlo, I can t wait for it. ☺ Went to the R Garros stade this week, it is under works, a building site to prepare for end May. 🎾Fiona in Paris

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    • Wé seé his last training session yesterday Thursday in Manacor 😀 on the Aca site. Tonight hope he arrives well in Monte Carlo for the draw 😉 Fiona in Paris

      Reply

      • Hé has arrived well, in Monte Carlo see him training Friday in the vidéoclip. 😀 Fiona in Paris

  4. Just stay healthy, and enjoy the clay season. What a privilege to watch Rafa in his element on clay😍😎good luck for the season🍀

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  5. I just received the first five players’ names on the ATP’s Race to London list. I’ve included six through ten. Rafa has a little catching up to do.

    ATP Race To London – 1 April 2019

    Player Points

    1. Roger Federer 2,280
    2. Novak Djokovic 2,225
    3. Rafael Nadal 1,605
    4. Stefanos Tsitsipas 1,460
    5. Dominic Thiem 1,145
    6. John Isner 1,060
    7. Gael Monfils 995
    8. Daniil Medvedev 895
    9. R. Bautista-Agut 890
    10. Kei Nishikori 890

    RAFA ROCKS

    Reply

  6. I thought I would post the following because it’s all about Rafa. I have not fact checked this The Grandstand post.

    New post on The Grandstand

    Has Nadal left the French Open door open for other contenders?
    by Ricky

    Since Rafael Nadal first played–and won–the French Open 14 years ago, only three times has he failed to lift the trophy.

    For those counting, that means the Roland Garros score dating back to 2005 is the following: Nadal 11, Roger Federer 1, Novak Djokovic 1, Stan Wawrinka 1, everyone else 0.

    And it’s not like he is showing any signs of stopping at 32 years old. The Spaniard heads into the upcoming clay-court swing as the two-time defending French Open champion and he has not lost a match on the red dirt of Paris since 2015 (to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals).

    But is the door at least partly open this time around? Nadal’s injury-plagued past is well-document and he withdrew from the recent Indian Wells Masters prior to a scheduled semifinal against Federer because of a knee injury.

    “I’m just gonna keep going, and I’m just gonna keep doing the things that works well for me and accepting that sometimes these issues can happen,” Nadal said while announcing his Indian Wells exit. “So all the things that are in my hands I am doing well. The things that I can’t control, I can’t control. So (I must) accept the situation even if [this] is a sad moment for me. Try to be always positive and grateful with all the things that tennis give to me and life give to me.

    “So I can’t complain much, because I feel very fortunate for all the things that I did in this life and happened to me in the world of tennis. So it’s normal that after all those things you go through, sad and tough moments, too, and that’s it. Just keep going.”

    You can bet on tennis and get Nadal at -110 to triumph for a 12th time at Roland Garros. That’s right; he is favored against the entire field.

    And why not? Aside from the knee issue, there is only good news for Nadal. The world No. 2 is now going to clay, as the European swing from April through early June is played entirely on the slow stuff. Only once in his career has he struggled physically as a result of too much clay-court tennis (his 2009 French Open fourth-round loss to Robin Soderling can hardly be explained otherwise; his 2016 mid-French Open withdrawal prior to the third round was due to an out-of-nowhere wrist injury).

    As for other contenders, there are many–but none without question marks. Although Djokovic is holding three major titles right now, he slumped in Indian Wells and Miami (again). Federer has not played on clay since 2015. Wawrinka appears to be past his prime, at least for the moment. Thiem still looks like a future Roland Garros winner, but his blowout loss to Nadal in last season’s final suggests he is still at least a year or two away.

    You can bet on tennis and get Federer as a +370 second choice behind Djokovic to win Wimbledon. At the French? He’s all the way up at +2500–the fifth choice behind Nadal, Djokovic, Thiem, and Alexander Zverev.

    A lot of that has to do with Federer’s superiority on grass instead of clay. But a lot of that also has to do with the competition level. If the 37-year-old Swiss faces Nadal on the green stuff, he is a considerable favorite. On clay? He–and anyone else–is a clear underdog.

    A changing of the guard will come at some point, as Father Time is undefeated. But it’s taking a long time to defeat Federer and–at least on clay–it may take just as long to defeat Nadal.

    Ricky | April 1, 2019 at 4:38 AM

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    • Love this article Margo… Thanks for posting it… I pretty much see it the same way except for 1 little thing…
      (well maybe not so little) . His name …Novak Djokovic .. Ok, so we saw some flaws in Novak’s game his last two outings but I honestly don’t think he’s slumping… I think it’s just the human factor and I believe he’s going to come into Monte Carlo ready and hungry. It’s Rafa’s mindset when playing Novak that I find concerning and so I hope that Rafa comes into Monte Carlo with the confidence that he owns the clay court season and nothing and no one will stop him. If he brings that confidence, will, and determination along with his expertise and superior play then Rafa will be unstoppable …

      Reply

      • Happy you enjoyed the article Marileena.

        I think Rafa really loves being in Monte Carlo. And the prince was present at the dedication of the suite named for Rafa so I hope that keeps giving Rafa an extra boost.

        You know what? I forgot Nole lives in Monte Carlo, unless he moved away. Home turf but not really if you get my drift.

        About Djokovic, maybe he missed his meditation sessions. But he’s not the only threat.

        I think Monte Carlo will give Rafa a sense of better things to come in the clay season. He’s gotta win, he will win.

        RAFA ROCKS

      • Margp…..Yes..Nole lives in Monte Carlo and he’s feeling the “home court” thing … But as we know.Rafa has the love of the tennis world behind him especially when he steps out onto the clay court … The whole stadium wants to see him at his best and if healthy, he is poetry in motion… Personally I would love it if Rafa had to face Federer and Djokovic in Monte Carlo … If he could beat them both not only would his confidence go through the roof, but he would set the tone for what’s to come at the FO…. Now wouldn’t that would be sweet!

  7. Rafa get healthy for the next tournament vamosssssss# champ to many injuries you have get well 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾❤️😘❤️

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  9. I just hope that Rafa gets the balance of his aggressive and baseline game right, on clay. He needs to shorten points even on clay and conserves energy to last the whole clay season without injury and winning most if not all the big prizes, including the FO.

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  10. Hopefully Rafa gets to meet and beat both Fed and Djoko on clay. He has been meeting Fed on the HCs so often, time for Rafa to turn the table on Fed and starts beating Fed, first on clay and then on other surfaces. Likewise for Djoko.

    Fed always ready to capitalise when Rafa is absent and Djoko not playing well; he’s the best among the rest; only TOP form Djoko (and Rafa) could beat him, the rest of the field basically can’t do anything to beat him, unless they play inspired and lights out tennis (Tsitisipas at AO and Thiem at IW).

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    • Luckystar, Rafa will beat them both on clay. But I have to mention according to Roger he has been out of the FO because of injury and spending more time with his family. That doesn’t sound like he is trying to capitalize on Rafa’s injury.

      Also, Roger was injured in 2016 and took almost a year to return to competition. He said he was feeling really good then and started practicing on clay. I believe his words were, “After about an hour of practice on clay my team had that look and asked me, ‘Do you really want to do this?’” Roger said he didn’t even bother to ask why. That was in 2017.

      In 2018 he took the opportunity to take his family to South Africa where he visited the schools and villages which his foundation supports on the continent. He also stayed in Dubai where he owns an apartment. He loves Dubai because of the quiet and the practice he can do in seclusion.

      Sounds smart to me.

      Whatever the case may be, for each tournament I am looking only to see who lands in which quarter. Draws always change. I want Rafa to be the last man standing.

      RAFA ROCKS

      Reply

      • Nah, I was referring to Fed capitalising on Djoko’s poor form here at Miami, and Rafa’s absence too.

        Isn’t it obvious I wasn’t talking about clay here since Fed hadn’t played on clay for the past three years??

      • Apologies. Taking your first paragraph into consideration, I thought you were echoing previous posts by fans’ claims that Roger was afraid to play Rafa on clay.

        Aah, now it’s clear what you meant. Roger can’t capitalize on anything because he doesn’t choose his opponent is how I see it. John Isner played while injured; I would call that lucky for Federer.

        Thiem may very well pose a serious threat more so than any other player.

        RAFA ROCKS HIS FAVORITE SURFACE

  13. So glad to see you practicing on clay. You will always be the King of Clay Rafa. Good luck in the upcoming tournaments😄😀xx

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    • Yes, thé vidéoclip is super 😀 on the clay courts next to the Aca. That is where I met him last Oct when he signed his book for me and photos.😃 Then he came out of the covéred court. Thèse fans are lucky to see him outside, it was 17 degrées in Manacor 🌞 thèse last few days. This is the Manacor town public sports centre next to the Aca, 🎾🏃has been there for years, the Aca was built next to it 3 years ago. You see the cafétéria béhind, where wé went for our café con leche☕ I have my tickets for atp Monte Carlo soon, hope to see him ☺there. Fiona in Paris

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      • Pleased to seé that 4 of you have ticked my report 👍 it brought back nice mémoires for me 😀 Monte Carlo is also on thé Med. 🌴🌞and Barcelona, the orange clay under the sun. This is in Manacor where where asked him for photos and autographes after the training session and I have already asked you fans for some comments about my suggestion about a fixed time 🕚 for that and had none back. 😕 All I wish to know is that, now you see in the vidéoclip where we were, before he walked off to the gym or the car park. . 😯😉 ? That is better for the fans, I think. Fiona in Paris

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