17th of February

Rafa Nadal, current world No.1, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Australian Open  and Olympic champion has been chosen as one of most influential personalities of the year by the internationally recognized Magazine, Hello!

The ‘Personality of the year’ has been chosen by a group of editors from their 13 publishers around the world, who count with a staggering 12 million readers in 100 countries. Between them, they were looking for the top 100 most ‘influential, inspirational and well know” public figures internationally.

In order to put this list together, their editorial teams had to design last January a list of names of those people who had excelled in 2008 and give them a score from 1 to 15.

The results will be published today in Spain, UK, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, United Emirates, Greece, Thailand, Canada, Malaysia, India, Serbia, and Ukraine, and it’s a real honour for us to share with you that Rafa is not only part of that incredible group of politicians, royalty, actors, models, athletes and musicians, but also, he was voted as  the No.11 most admired and followed personality internationally.

You can check out the full list here! 

• Barack Obama
• Angelina Jolie
• Brad Pitt
• Madonna
• Príncipe Harry
• Michelle Obama
• Rania de Jordania
• David Beckham
• Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
• Príncipe Guillermo
• Rafael Nadal
• Kate Winslet
• Michael Phelps
• Britney SpearsHillary ClintonGeorge Clooney
• Tom Cruise
• Princesa Mary de Dinamarca
• Princesa LetiziaPenélope Cruz
• Nicole Kidman
• Nicolás Sarkozy
• Hugh Jackman

RAFA IN MADRID

Rafa was in Madrid yesterday to attend a Sponsorship commitment. There he spoke about his knee, which prevented him from competing at his best level at the final of the tournament in Rotterdam.

It "will not be a problem to play the Davis Cup in Benidorm", He's "very excited".

"I'm not worried about my knee. It's not an injury like last year, it's simply been a matter of overload and fatigue. After the tournament in Australia I could not get enough rest before reaching the final, which was very long and demanding", said Rafa. 

"It's an overload in a tendon which, prevented me [to] get well, but we are almost certain that there will be no problems", added the world No.1. 

11th of February

BUSY BEE + ROTTERDAM FANS: You would think that after playing a match Rafa’s job is done for the day, right? Well, your wrong! Take Monday for example. After playing a doubles match, his routine started with a pit-stop at the locker room where he took a shower and got a massage. Then, he attended the media, which in this case were from France and Holland. Then, the compulsory ATP commitments.

Once he was done, it was time for Rafa to get back into rest mode. He’s really committed to do well at this years’ tournament because he feels like he owes it to his fans given last years’ performance. After all, it was the tournament where Rafa had his worse results in the whole season, so it’s more than pumped and ready to do better!

Vamos Rafa!

TONIGHT’S MATCH

Rafa will be back on court tonight after a first round loss in doubles on Monday afternoon. He’s concentrating on translating his singles game to the indoors surface for today's first round where he will open on Center Court against Simone Bolelli of Italy at 7:30pm (local time). It will be the first time they meet in the ATP circuit.

A week after winning the Australian Open with a fifth consecutive victory over Roger Federer, world number 1, Rafa Nadal hasn't budged from his belief that he's still just the world's second-best player.

(click on the title header to read full article

"I'm getting tired of this question", said the top seed on Monday after his doubles loss alongside fellow Mallorcan Ignacio Coll-Ruidavets at the Rotterdam Open.

"When someone has 13 grand slams and 14 Masters titles, there is no discussion about who is the best", he said respectfully of Federer.

Rafa flew to Rotterdam on Sunday where he had a night practice session only hours after touching down to get used to what is now a faster indoor court at the Ahoy arena.

"I didn't have much time off but it’s worse when you have lost," Rafa said. "After a win it is always difficult to play the next event”. "In tennis, when you lose you have the opportunity to win the next week but when you win, you don't have any time to rest."

10th of February

Rafa will be back on court this Wednesday after a first round loss in doubles on Monday afternoon. He’s concentrating on translating his singles game to the indoors surface for tomorrow's first round where he will open on Center Court against Simone Bolelli of Italy at 7:30pm (local time). It will be the first time they meet in the ATP circuit.

A week after winning the Australian Open with a fifth consecutive victory over Roger Federer, world number 1, Rafa Nadal hasn't budged from his belief that he's still just the world's second-best player.

"I'm getting tired of this question", said the top seed on Monday after his doubles loss alongside fellow Mallorcan Ignacio Coll-Ruidavets at the Rotterdam Open.

"When someone has 13 grand slams and 14 Masters titles, there is no discussion about who is the best", he said respectfully of Federer.

Rafa flew to Rotterdam on Sunday where he had a night practice session only hours after touching down to get used to what is now a faster indoor court at the Ahoy arena.

"I didn't have much time off but it’s worse when you have lost," Rafa said. "After a win it is always difficult to play the next event”. "In tennis, when you lose you have the opportunity to win the next week but when you win, you don't have any time to rest."

(Click on the header title to read full article)

DOUBLES MATCH

Rafa got back to work on court yesterday afternoon, adjusting to indoor conditions during a doubles match which he unfortunately lost after one hour and three minutes of play.

The world number one teamed with fellow Mallorcan Ignacio Coll-Ruidavets but the wild card pair had no luck against a much experienced couple,  Frenchman Michael Llodra (last year's singles champion) and compatriot Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-4.

Rafa said that his brief participation the team event was mainly for fun and to get accustomed to what are speedier conditions at the Ahoy arena for this edition of the first-ever 500 series event on the ATP 2009 calendar, as well as try to help his 21-year-old friend Ignacio Coll-Ruidavets, with whom he frequently trains.

“I also want to help a young player from Mallorca”, said Rafa. “I trained all of December with him, he helped me prepare for Australia. I was trying to help him here”.

Vamos Rafa!

15th of February

Rafa Nadal avenged his only defeat of the year by nailing Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4 to set up an ABN Amro final with Andy Murray this Sunday at 2:00pm (local time) on center court.

Monfils beat Rafa in the Doha quarterfinals last month, but this time around, it was Rafa who came out on top: "I knew Gael was not at his best," said Rafa, bidding for a second straight hardcourt title this year.

"It's not so nice to win like this but I'm very happy to be in this final. It's hard to concentrate, you never know if the opponent is going to retire or play on. In the final I'll try my best, it's great to be in a final on a fast surface."

Two weeks after winning his first Australian Open, and sixth Grand Slam singles title, Rafa will play for his 33rd career title on Sunday. The Spaniard was off to a best ever 13-1 start to the year.

After beating Ancic, second-seeded Murray said, "I hope I end up facing Rafael Nadal in the final. Our matches are usually guaranteed to be a spectacle."

Rafa owns a 5-1 record against the Scot, but Murray won their last clash in the U.S. Open semifinals.

It will be first Rotterdam final between the top two seeds since 1984, but Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors didn't play because of a bomb scare.

15th of February

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Rafa wasn’t able to conquer what would have been his second straight singles title, but instead is really happy for being able to reach the final. An incredible result given the amount of effort it took him to get there.

We are very proud of him and we all understand that it’s still a final, and it hurts to lose, but Andy was simply too good and he deserved to win. Congratulations to him!

"Andy has had a wonderful season and is playing at a great level. He simply was better than me today, he deserves the Rotterdam title and I congratulate him for that” were Rafa's words at the trophy ceremony.

“It wasn’t my day, but I don’t want to steal Andy’s thunder, is not the time to talk about me and my issues. He deserved this win, there is nothing more to say to that” the World number one completed.

Muray won the Rotterdam title with a three set win over Rafa, 6-3, 4-6 y 6-0 in one hour and 50 minutes of play. Our champ required the help of a physiotherapist in the middle of the second set, and was clearly uncomfortable by the pain his knee was causing him. At moments he was seriously considering retiring, however, he didn’t want to do it out of respect for Andy and instead tried to keep on fighting.

Rafa will be travelling tomorrow back to Spain where he will have a few days off. The season is too long and these days will be fundamental for him to recuperate. There are a total of 4 consecutive tournaments coming up: Dubai, Davis Cup in Benidorm, Indian Wells and Miami,  and he knows he has to be at his best to play them.

Well done Rafa!

9TH of February

Rafa Nadal and his fellow friend, Ignacio Coll Riudavets didn’t have a perfect start to the week at the ATP World 500 tournament played in Rotterdam, where they lost their double’s first round encounter in straight sets, 6-4 6-4.

The Spaniards had a tough test ahead of them in the form of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra. A French doubles team that together have won the Australian Open in 2008 and Wimbledon in 2007.

In the end, it was the couple with the more experience that had the advantage after only taking an hour and three minutes to book their second round ticket.

SINGLES

Rafael will be playing as then top seed at the Rotterdam Open for his singles opening match set for Wednesday night (at 7:30pm - local).

It’s a great chance for some kind of revenge after last year’s second round loss to Italian Andreas Seppi, as he takes on Simone Bolelli, ranked 37th in the world and from Italy as well.

The match is scheduled on center court and it will be the first time they will play together.

Looking ahead he could meet Tomas Berdych in the second round. If he makes it past Tomas, there could be a potential quarter-final clash with french star Jo-Wilfred Tsonga  and in the finals he could expect Nikolay Davydenko, Igor Andreev, big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic or Gael Monfils.

Before heading to Holland, the world number 1 paused for only a few days of down time in his native Mallorca. 

Vamos Rafa!

14th of February

Rafa Nadal again showed his amazing battling qualities as he held off Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three tough sets to reach the semi-finals of the Rotterdam men's Open where he will meet another Frenchman, ranked 12th in the world, Gael Monfils.

Rafa and Monfils have played a total of 4 times before, with the Frenchman coming out on top in their last meeting at this year’s Doha tournament. However, that has been the only triumph for Gael as the other 3 encounters were all victories for Rafa: Paris Master Series (2008), Rome Master Series (2006) and Monte Carlo Master Series (2005).Tonight’s match is scheduled at 7:30pm (local time) on center court.

Rafa’s road to the semis has been a long one, the top-seed and world No.1 has been taken to three sets in both of his previous matches this week, and Friday proved no different as he beat seventh seed Tsonga 6-4 6-7 6-4.

The Australian Open champion had chances in the second set to wrap up a quick victory, but could not convert as Tsonga won six successive points in the tie-break to take the match to a third set.

Vamos Rafa!!

14th of Februry

Rafa Nadal had no need to fight for his life last night as he breezed through his semi-final encounter against Frenchman Gael Monfils is straight sets, 6-4, 6-4 after and tour and a half of play at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.

It is Rafa’s first time in the finals of the event, as well as the first time in a week that he didn’t play more than two sets on a surface that is possibly his least favourite in terms of the potential damage it can do to his body, (specially his knee). However, that was no excuse for the champion, he was out there blasting his shots with all his power and showing an incredible fitness level. Without doubt, a ‘key factor’ that contributed with Gael running out of gas at the end.   

Once again, it goes to show just how difficult it is to keep up with the world number 1’s ability to recover and mental strength.

Next up for the Australian Open champ is another amazing tennis player, world No.4, Andy Murray. The Scotsman knows really well how to play and beat Rafa, which is why it is going to be a very difficult match. Nevertheless, we know he will go out there to win and hopefully take home the title.

THE MATCH

Monfils, the player who beat Rafa this year in the Qatar Open quarter-finals last month, made a poor start by dropping his first service game.He broke back but then surrendered his serve again in the fifth game.

Rafa, who went to three sets in his previous three matches this week, only needed a single break in the second set to close out Monfils.

Vamos Rafa!!

9th of February

Rafa Nadal arrived in Rotterdam today to continue his fantastic start to the hard court season. He is scheduled to appear on both the singles and doubles categories of the tennis tournament in Holland. 

DOUBLES

It will be Rafa's first appearance in the doubles tournament of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Open which is planned for Monday afternoon.

Together with his partner Ignacio Coll-Riudavets,  they will play at 2.00pm (local time) against Michael Llodra (titleholder in the singles), and Arnaud Clement. A very strong team, that reached the 2008 Australian Open finals and even won Wimbledon in the prior year.

SINGLES

Rafa Nadal has an opening round match against Italian, Simone Bolleli, after the draw ceremony of the ABN AMRO WTT Rotterdam Open was revealed on Friday night. (They have never played before in the past).

Looking ahead he could meet Tomas Berdych in the second round. If he makes it past Tomas, there could be a potential quarter-final clash with french star Jo-Wilfred Tsonga  and in the finals he could expect Nikolay Davydenko, Igor Andreev, big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic or Gael Monfils.

Vamos Rafa!

13 of February

Rafa Nadal was pushed to the limit by teenager Grigor Dimitrov before prevailing 7-5 3-6 6-2 at the World Indoor Tournament in Rotterdam.

Rafa said the contest brought back memories of when he played - and beat - Roger Federer as a 17-year-old in Miami. 'The motivation is great and you have nothing to lose. It was the same for me then.

'He is for sure heading to the Top 10,' said the Spaniard, who broke on seven of 12 chances. 'It was a really tough match.'

Dimitrov won the Wimbledon and US Open juniors last season and is currently improving from his 490th ranking.

THE MATCH

The world number one looked to be heading for a comfortable win after taking the first set with ease. But Dimitorv came fighting back and showed his huge potential midway through the second set.

The youngster came up with a sheer moment of brilliance to break Rafa at 4-3. Dimitrov was at least two feet behind the baseline when out of nowhere he came up with a bullet forehand down the line, which measured at 167kph.

(Click on title header the full article)That point set up the break point and Dimitrov went on to break after the world number one came up with an unforced error. Dimitrov showed no signs of nerves as he comfortably served out to take the set.

Dimitrov jogged back to his seat after winning the second set and showed the kind of swagger in his step which is usually seen from Rafa.

The 17-year-old continued to match Nadal in the decider and the pair were locked at 2-2. Dimitrov then had golden chances to break, but wasted two break point chances. Rafa saved the first break point with a punishing forehand cross-court winner which clipped the line, while Dimitrov found the net on the second break point.

Dimitrov looked devastated after failing to break Rafa and his body language changed and looked to have lost confidence. Rafa took advantage and broke to take a commanding 4-2 lead.

The young Bulgarian looked more jaded as the set wore on and looked to be struggling with a calf injury. And though he had a break point on the Rafa service game at 4-2 down, he was unable to convert and was broken again to lose the set 6-2.

His next opponent will be the winner of the match between <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> Dmitry Tursunov and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.