28th of February

A great diplomat, leading renovator and former president of the International Olympic Cometee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, responded to an email full of questions from the cincodias.com website this week, right after launching in Barcelona the Global Sports Forum. A congress put together to discuss the relation between sports, marketing and politics.

Amongst his answers, Samaranch, a man considered one of the most influential people in Spanish sport, spoke out about the significance of Rafael in sport at an international level and in his home country.

“Beyond all the success he has had in his sport, I would like to highlight the contribution that Rafael Nadal continues to make through his ethics”.

“Rafa has given us all a lesson in moral values, especially when he had the kind gesture of comforting his rival, -a sad Roger Federer- at the trophy ceremony of the Australian Open when he won the title”, said Juan Antonio on his email. 

26th of February

On his way out of the ‘Santiago Bernabéu’ Stadium right after watching his favourite team play against Liverpool in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, Rafa Nadal gave a small interview to the ‘Canal Plus’ channel in regards to his experience at the match.

Unfortunately, “the result wasn’t what the team wanted, however, they have to keep being positive”, said the world number 1 after watching his beloved Real Madrid lose 0-1.

“In their next match they have to go out there and believe in victory. They have to go to Liverpool with their hearts full”.

“I’m simply one more fan, but I have to say that I saw them playing often from the back, it was real hard for them to come forward. It’s a pity that with the one chance (Liverpool) had, they scored”, completed the champion.

Photo: EFE

26th of February

Rafa Nadal is back home in Mallorca after spending yesterday afternoon watching the quarterfinals of the ‘Champions League’ match between Liverpool and his beloved Real Madrid at the ‘Santiago Bernabéu’ Stadium.

Sadly for Rafa, “the result wasn’t what the team wanted, however, they have to keep being positive”, “In their next match they have to go out there and believe in victory. They have to go to Liverpool with their hearts full”, said the world number 1 after Real’s 0-1 loss.

BACK TO (DAVIS CUP) BUSINESS

Rafa is also back training after spending a few days resting and relaxing from all the hard work he put into his last two tournaments in Rotterdam and the Australian Open.

In the video below, you can watch Rafa train in the company of uncle Toni and his physiotherapist Rafa Maymo, who is also watching over the world’s best tennis player. Together, they have started their preparation for the Davis Cup tie between Spain and Serbia, which starts next Friday 6th of March.

Rafa is scheduled to travel to Beridom with the rest of the ‘National Spanish Federation Team’ this Saturday, which is when the organizers of the tournament are expecting to have the courts finished and ready for the defending Davis Cup champions.

"It will be a very difficult tie, we have to respect everyone and have into account that they are great players. We will have to make a huge effort to win”, said the new Spanish Davis Cup captain Albert Costa yesterday.

Vamos España!

Tuesday 24th of  february

We all know how much Rafa loves his soccer…His second biggest passion right after tennis without doubt.

Ever since he was a little kid Rafa has lived in a soccer environment. It is thanks to his uncle Miguel Angel, (who used to be a professional soccer player for Mallorca, then Barcelona and even the Spanish national team) and his father, (who also shares this passion for this sport) that Rafa became not only a big fan but also a great player himself.    

AWARDED BY HIS BELOVED TEAM

During this past weekend, Rafa was given an award he’s very proud of. His team from home, from his childhood, the RCD from Mallorca, honoured him with a gold medal that Rafa is “very thankful for”.  

“Mallorca is my home team, the one that I followed since I was a little boy. I used to come watch them every Sunday and that is why this award is very important for me, because it was given to me here at home”.

RAFA’S PLAN FOR THIS WEEK: Being the avid fan of soccer and Real Madrid that he is, Rafa will be travelling today or tomorrow to Madrid to watch the ‘Champions League’ match between Liverpool and Real.

23rd of February

Rafa Nadal and his uncle and coach, Toni Nadal have been honoured today in their home town in Mallorca with a gold medal from their national soccer team as celebration for their incredible success in tennis.

During half time of the Spanish league match between Mallorca and Racing de Santander, Matéu Alemany, one of the league’s directors awarded Rafa with the medal as a symbol for his incredible results at such a young age.

Matéu said the reason for the award was because of “the amazing journey they’ve had together in their professional careers, which has taken them to the top of the world rankings and has made Rafa the best Spanish sportsman in history”. 

22nd of February

Rafa Nadal, David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Feliciano López and Nicolás Almagro (first reserve) have been chosen as the team that will represent Spain in the first round of the Davis Cup against Serbia from the 6th to the 8th of March in Benidorm.

The Spanish Armada is scheduled to travel to Beridorm on Sunday the 1st of March to start training at the stadium that has been put in place at the "Terra Mítica" park.

“I consider this team to be capable of winning”, was the statement that Albert Costa, the new Spanish Davis Cup Capitan gave at a press conference on Saturday after revealing the complete list of players that he’s chosen to play at next month’s tie.

Serbia is “a very difficult opponent that no-one wants to play in the first round. They are a very complete team, they have the number 3 player in the world, Novak Djokovic, then Janko Tipsarevic, a dangerous but equally irregular player; Nenad Zimonjic, best doubles player in the world at the moment; and Vicktor Troiki who is still in progress. Add to that the fact that they tend to get better when they represent their own country”, completed Costa.

The good news is that "we will have the courts available to us beforehand and therefore that will allow us to prepare ourselves in advance".

In regards to Rafa, he continues to be at home in Mallorca resting his knee, just like his doctor recommended. As usual, he is happy to be part of the Davis Cup team again and will do everything in his power to help his team win next month.

Vamos España!

February 21, 2009

It’s hard to believe it’s already been 8 years since a talented young kid from Mallorca first burst into the tennis scene.

It was the 24th of September of 2001 the first time the name of Rafael Nadal first appeared in the ATP entry rankings list, opening as the world No. 1002 tennis player in the world and finishing the same year as world No. 811.

When you look back then and examine his ‘rookie’ years it wouldn’t be so hard to believe that Rafa was capable of going far - VERY far. However, no-body, NO one in the world expected what was to come from the then 15 year old tennis ‘prodigy’.

He’s broken records like no other, and at only 22 years old, the world number one has done more than most legends of the sport did at his same age.

 (to read the full article please click on the title header)

RAFA, THE TENNIS PLAYER

Those of you who have followed Rafa from the beginning know it all started in April of 2003 when he played the Master Series of Monte Carlo for the first time in his career. Being the biggest stage he played since becoming a tennis player, it was absurd to think he would make it past the second round of the tournament (given his opponent), however, it was there and then that the world first learned about Rafa’s immense talent after he beat the world No.7 tennis player in the world, Roland Garros champion, and clay-court master, Albert Costa in straight sets.

Then, on the same year, one month later, Rafa was at it again at the Master Series of Hamburg. It was the second round of the tournament and due to play the then world No. 4 in the world, Carlos Moya (his best friend on the circuit and another clay court specialist) when he surprised everybody with an easy 7-5 6-4 win.

But that was just the beginning for Rafa…

In June 2003, he participated for the first time at Wimbledon. As a kid, he never played any junior Grand Slams simply because he was too young and his mother didn’t want him to miss any school, so this was ‘IT’ for Rafael, and boy did he make his debut one to remember.

His reputation as a clay-courter was perhaps one of his best allies during the tournament. He had no pressure, no high expectations from anybody, all he had were simply a bunch of opponents who probably underestimated him for his lack of experience and now wished they hadn’t.

Ranked 76th in the world, Rafa easily disposed of Mario Ancic (68) in four sets, then Lee Childs in straight sets before going down to Thailand’s superstar Paradorn Srichaphan (11) in the third round.

Not bad for a first timer who had never played on a grass tournament in his life, right?

Then we fast forward to today, after Rafa played the teenage-hero role in the 2004 final against the U.S. that made him front-page news across Spain and the world, and after winning the title again last year.

After earning 32 singles titles, (6 of them Grand Slams that are double the amount that Roger had at the same age), a Gold Medal (on his first try) at the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, and countless of international awards for his amazing sportsmanship and human values.

He even became the first player since Andre Agassi (who is one of five men to capture all four Grand Slam trophies) to win majors on all three surfaces: clay, grass and hard court.

He is the deserving world No.1, a role model, an icon to millions of kids around the world who one day dream of being just like him.

As for Rafa? He’s just a “very happy person with my life. Everyday I wake up and say to myself that I'm very fortunate”

Credits: Youtube video made by Juliette2007!

Feb 19th. Posted at 5 pm CET

"I am very disappointed not to be able to compete in Dubai but the doctor has advised me to stay home and rest after the pain I got on my knee in Rotterdam last week. It's nothing to be worried about but it needs some rest. I ask my fans and the tournament organizers to understand and I am sorry for this. Dubai is one of my favorite tournament, as you can tell, I have always liked playing there. The field is always great and more importantly the crowd is always very supportive of me. I expect to be back in competition the following week for the Davis Cup tie in Benidorm against Serbia and then traveling to Indian Wells and Miami".

February 18th

To all of you wondering what Rafa is up to this week the World no.1 is in Mallorca for the next few days for some well deserved time off before heading to his next tournament.

At the moment he’s still concentrating on recovering from a very long month and a half of tennis and practicing for the upcoming events.

“I hope I can go (to Dubai), the season just started, and I already have way too many long matches under my belt, we’ll see how I go”, said the champ this week on national television. 

Come back soon for more Rafa updates!

11th of February

Rafa Nadal has survived a scare in the first round of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam today after being a set down to Italy's Simone Bolelli before fighting back to secure a 4-6 6-2 7-5 victory.

Rafa admitted he had struggled with the pace of Bolelli's shots, saying: "In tennis, every match is very tough and I'm very happy to win the first match. He's a very good player, he played big shots from the baseline. He improves every year, I want to congratulate him."

Then he continued, "I found my rhythm, but I had a bad game in the first set before I started playing better. I'm in the second round and I expect a better result. I'm hoping to play better."

Next up for the top seed is a meeting with 17-year-old Bulgarian wild card Grigor Dimitrov, who knocked out Tomas Berdych on Tuesday.

Dimitrov has a hard-hitting game that could give Rafa trouble. however, Dimitrov lacks experience in big matches and in the end, Rafa’s ability to play under pressure should allow him to navigate through this match.

Vamos Rafa!