Monday, June 8th 2009

As mentioned by Toni Nadal in the media, Rafa is in Barcelona today and tomorrow (Tuesday) undergoing medical tests on his knees. We will inform through this website the results and his participation at Wimbledon.

Thanks for all your support.

Monday, June 8th 2009

Rafa is in Barcelona undergoing medical exams. He arrived this morning to the Spanish city together with his physiotherapist Rafael Maymo. Carlos Costa (his manager) was waiting for them at the airport and took them directly to the venue where they will do the tests accompanied by Angel Ruiz-Cotorro (Rafa's doctor).

We will provide the information about the test results and his participation at Wimbledojn tomorrow around 2.30 pm CET.

Many thanks.

Rafa's quote:

"I am very disappointed to not be able to come this year to Queen's, defend the title I won last year and enjoy playing in front of their magnificent crowd. To play in London has always been special to me, to play at the Queen's Club is an honour and the fans in the UK are among the best I have ever seen, always supporting me since the first time I played there. 

It's no secret to anyone that I have been having some problems in the past months with my knees, which did not allow me to compete at 100%. 

I need to work with my team to recover well, work on my physical condition to be at my top form and get ready to play on grass at Wimbledon. I hope I will be ready to compete by then. 

I am really sorry and I hope that the people at the Club will still want me to come next year."

Rafa

June 5, 2009

“Defeats never make you grow, but you also realise how difficult what I achieved up until today was, and this is something you need sometimes. You need a defeat to give the value to your victories.”

- Rafa Nadal, May 31, 2009                        

‘Rafael Nadal finds deep meaning in defeat,’ was the headline on Timesonline.co.uk 2 days ago.  An amazing article written by Matthew Syed, it talks of Rafa’s completely unexpected loss at Roland Garros last Sunday, and more importantly, it encapsulates the way a champion like Rafa Nadal handled one of the biggest defeats of his career.

“Rafa almost made it sound like a blessing; that his success at Roland Garros had endured for so long that victory was beginning to lose its emotional vitality; that his reign in Paris had, to paraphrase Shakespeare, begun to feel like an overlong holiday. How better to remind oneself of the savour of victory than to taste the bitterness of defeat…”

You can read the rest of the article through this link…

June 4, 2009

Yesterday, Rafa, his family and friends celebrated the world No.1's 23rd birthday in style (for the first time since 2005), however – as he said in a press conference a few days ago – he hopes to “continue celebrating it in Paris for years to come.”

On Saturday or Sunday, Rafa will be flying over to London where he will start the grass season at the Queen’s tournament (as the defending champion), followed by his favourite tournament of the year, Wimbledon.

Vamos Rafa!

June 3, 2009

23 years ago, in the beautiful Island of Mallorca, a cute baby boy named Rafa Nadal arrived in this world as a precious little gift to his family…

Today, 8 years after becoming a professional tennis player, ‘Nadalek’ (as he’s famously called by his friends) has become an inspiration to millions of people around the world, who not only follow him for his incredible talent but also admire him and respect him for the simple fact that they see in him, their hopes and dreams.

From the bottom of our hearts, we’d like to thank you Rafa…For your kind heart, your respect towards others, your perseverance, your  honesty, your strength, your mentality, your character, your attitude towards life, but on top of everything, we’d like to thank you for the millions of times you’ve filled our lives with joy and beautiful memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

In behalf of RN.com and all of your fans around the world, Happy B-day!! We wish you all the best for today and always…. You deserve it all the way!

June 2, 2009

Rafa Nadal is back at home in the beautiful Island of Mallorca where he arrived on Sunday evening, right after his fourth-round match at Roland Garros.

Yesterday, the champion wrote his last Roland Garros Blog entry from his home (where he explained in more detail his thoughts about the tournament) and then spent the rest of his day relaxing, playing golf with his uncle Toni and uncle Miguel Angel, and later enjoyed a trip to the beach with his friends.

Tomorrow, Rafa, his family and friends will be celebrating his 23rd birthday (for the first time since 2005), however – as he said in a press conference a couple of days ago – he hopes to “continue celebrating it in Paris for years to come.”

On Saturday or Sunday, Rafa will be flying over to London where he will start the grass season at the Queen’s tournament (as the defending champion), followed by his favourite tournament of the year, Wimbledon.

Vamos Rafa!

May 31, 2009

“It wasn’t a great day” for Rafa and his fans around the world…Sadly, things didn’t quite work out for our champ today, and as he said it himself a few days ago, “you can’t always win [everything].”

Robin Soderling was a man on a mission today, as he defeated Rafa in 4 sets, 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 y 7-6, after more than 3 hours of play.

"I have to accept with the same calm when I win than when I lose. After four years, I lose here, and the season continues," a gracious Rafa told a news conference.

"Sure, he did well. He did very well but I didn't play my best tennis. I didn't play my tennis, and for that reason I lost. That's it," he said.

"I was not calm enough to face the important points, so I had to fight. But sometimes fighting is not enough. You have to play a good level of tennis.”

"Sometimes people think I win because I'm physically fit, but, no. When I win, it's because I play well, and that wasn't the case today."

Aside from the match itself, one of his biggest disappointments for Rafa was to see the lack of support from the Roland Garros crowd, who sadly, have never been too kind to the champion, “It’s a pity to see that in a tournament as especial as [Roland Garros] is to me, the crowd has never had a nice gesture towards me." 

Moving on to the start of the grass season and his preparation for it, Rafa joked that the only preparation he will be worrying about any time soon, will be, “[the time he will spend] at the pool of his house.”

Before leaving to Mallorca, where he will be spending his birthday in the company of friends and family for the first time in many years, Rafa told the press that he would like to see Roger Federer win the title because, “It would be great [to see him win it], so that he can complete the Grand Slam. If anybody deserves it, it’s him,” concluded Rafa. 

Vamos Rafa!