I. DODIG/R. Nadal
16, 76, 76
An interview with:
RAFAEL NADAL
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Rafa.
Q. You were up a break in the second set. You were up a break two times in the third set. In the end you lose the match. What happened?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, seriously I didn't felt that I played bad. But that's true. In the decisive moments, I didn't play well. That's the true.
He played well. Little bit of everything. Little bit of long time without competition. Little bit of I started one week and a half ago playing tennis.
He played very well, very aggressive. He didn't feel the pressure in the important moments. And at the end of the match, probably I was a little bit unlucky today, no?
I felt I played enough well to win that match. But that's tennis. The only thing I can do is congratulate the opponent and keep working for Cincinnati.
Q. Was your foot a problem today?
RAFAEL NADAL: No.
Q. Not at all?
RAFAEL NADAL: (Shaking head negatively.)
Q. Do you think it was one of his best matches?
RAFAEL NADAL: You can ask him later. I don't know. I didn't saw all his matches, so...
Q. So it wasn't him; it was you played your best, and you thought everything was right with you?
RAFAEL NADAL: I thought he played well. He played well important moments. He played without pressure. He played aggressive. His serve worked well.
I had to close the match with the 53 in the third set. I had to close that match probably in the second when I was playing very well, 61, 31, playing very high level of tennis.
After that, the tennis is like this. You are winning without many problems, you have one mistake, and after the opponent start to serve very well, play very aggressive.
I was serving very well at the beginning of the match, and after my serve was worst.
Q. Sometimes you've won when you haven't been at 100%. You said you were happy with how you played.
RAFAEL NADAL: I didn't say I am happy the way that I played because when you are winning 53 in the third, you lose the match, when you are winning 30 in the third and you lose the match, I can't say I played well because when you have all of these advantage, you have to win the match.
I said, if we talking about level of tennis, especially in the beginning, the beginning of the second set and the first set, I played well. Play well is when you have to win. I didn't today.
Q. Have you ever been in a match like this when you can't explain what happened? It was an incredible match.
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, for me wasn't that incredible (smiling).
Was an emotional match and bad for me. Is not the first lose in my career when I had an advantage. That's happens. Not going to be last time for me. I have to accept these loses exactly the same like the victories and keep working.
So I didn't have a lot of time to work before here, for the foot in Wimbledon, and I have few more days now for Cincinnati. Is not a good new for sure.
Thinking positive, I will try my best to arrive in perfect conditions to Cincinnati.
Q. Does it change anything in your preparation for the US Open? Certainly you were hoping to get more matches. Are you going to do something different?
RAFAEL NADAL: What can I do?
Q. I don't know.
RAFAEL NADAL: You know any recommendation?
I don't know. Play Cincinnati and play the US Open. That's the only calendar for me. Any change not going to affect to my level of tennis before US Open.
Q. After a night like this, what is your psychological recovery process like? What do you do to get something like this out of your mind?
RAFAEL NADAL: You know, the worst part on a lose like this is all the work that you did, that I did the last week. I arrived Thursday to prepare well the tournament. I arrived probably today being competitive. Lose a match like this when I didn't felt that I was playing bad. We talk about tennis. That's tough because you have to start another time right now.
In the beginning, everything is hard because you think remain one week to play another time. Everything is hard. You cannot come back home, so you gonna be here.
The beginning, everything is tough. But, you know, tomorrow day off. I didn't stop playing tennis for two weeks. I will have one day off tomorrow. Friday I will be in Cincinnati practicing.
When I gonna start practicing there, I gonna try my best. I gonna try to thinking positive. I gonna try to think what worked well here, what didn't work well, and work on that. I'll work on be ready to play well in Cincinnati.
Q. Do you feel the pressure to play well in Cincinnati?
RAFAEL NADAL: I would love to do it. I don't have to. That's the sport. You don't have to play well every week. You don't have to be all the time at your best. It's not an obligation win or be in the final every week. That's what I want to do all the time. That's what I try all the time. But is not possible, no?
This year is been fantastic year for me with tough moments. Today probably is a tough one. But worst when you lose five finals. I lost five finals this year. I'm playing well. You know, after long time without strange lose, I lose today. Let's work hard to try don't to repeat that in Cincinnati.
Courtesy: Official Rogers Cup Website
Showing posts with label Montreal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montreal. Show all posts
Rafael Nadal - No Joy In Montreal
Courtesy: Sky Sports
Nadal, who relinquished his Wimbledon title and top ranking to Novak Djokovic last month, looked in charge in his first match since the final in south-west London when he took a one-sided opening set against Dodig.
But world number 41 Dodig fought back to take the next two on tie-breaks, twice coming from a break of serve behind in the deciding set, to triumph 1-6 7-6 (7/5) 7-6 (7/5) for the most impressive win of his career.
"This is the biggest win of my career, of my life," said an excited Dodig. "I enjoyed it so much. I was fighting hard for every point. In the end I managed, I'm really happy."
The 26-year-old fired 19 aces past Nadal, to seven by the Spaniard, as he avenged his straight-sets defeat on clay in the Barcelona semi-finals earlier this season.
Decisive
"Honestly, I didn't feel I played bad but I can't say I played well. In the decisive moments, I didn't play well, that's the truth," said Nadal.
"He played very well, very aggressive. He didn't feel the pressure in the important moments."
Nadal, who relinquished his Wimbledon title and top ranking to Novak Djokovic last month, looked in charge in his first match since the final in south-west London when he took a one-sided opening set against Dodig.
But world number 41 Dodig fought back to take the next two on tie-breaks, twice coming from a break of serve behind in the deciding set, to triumph 1-6 7-6 (7/5) 7-6 (7/5) for the most impressive win of his career.
"This is the biggest win of my career, of my life," said an excited Dodig. "I enjoyed it so much. I was fighting hard for every point. In the end I managed, I'm really happy."
The 26-year-old fired 19 aces past Nadal, to seven by the Spaniard, as he avenged his straight-sets defeat on clay in the Barcelona semi-finals earlier this season.
Decisive
"Honestly, I didn't feel I played bad but I can't say I played well. In the decisive moments, I didn't play well, that's the truth," said Nadal.
"He played very well, very aggressive. He didn't feel the pressure in the important moments."
Nadal & Djokovic - A Different Kind Of Rivalry
The rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, when it was just about the two of them in men's tennis, may have been the most civilized, friendly one in tennis history.
The developing duel between Nadal and Novak Djokovic, whose first match as the No. 1 player in the 
The chemistry among the combatants couldn't be more different.
Federer and Nadal always seemed as comfortable together as an old married couple.
Nadal and Djokovic could be more like oil and water.
And with the players on both the men's and women's tours are being so nicey-nicey with each other these days, a little fire and brimstone will be most welcome.
The dynamic of the Federer-Nadal relationship was set early, as Nadal spent the early part of his career looking up in the rankings at the player he considers to be the greatest of all time.
Even after Nadal caught up and eventually passed Federer, they always seemed like Jedi and Jedi master 
This week, Nadal said that despite the fact that they're very different people, one big thing they have in common is their sense of fair play, the way whatever happened on court never affected what went on outside the court.
They've had a fascinating road together, and that shared history is the fuel that nurtures the relationship.
They're hardly best friends, but competing work colleagues who have tremendous respect for the fight.
With Nadal and Djokovic, it's a totally different story.
It's like the Serb is the Darth Vader in this screenplay.
For one thing, they're peers — just a year apart, even though Nadal was more precocious in his rise to the top 
Then again, he didn't have just one player to chase; he had two. It wasn't the player he was chasing, but the peak.
When asked this week what his relationship with Djokovic was like, compared to his relationship with Federer, Nadal's answer was long on Federer, short on Djokovic. It's not that he doesn't like him; it's hard to imagine Nadal disliking anyone. Basically it was this: he has no problem with Djokovic. He's a good guy. He's had an incredible season. And that was about it.
To be fair, Djokovic has beaten him like a drum in 2011, on every surface. He's probably in Nadal's head much the way Nadal himself got into Federer's head, when he started dominating their rivalry.
But the little clues are in the subtle moments.
After the French Open final, Federer and Nadal stood together for all the obligatory photo opportunities with 
And the drama after the 2009 Australian Open final, with Federer's tears and Nadal's comforting gesture, will remain one of their defining moments. When Federer left the stage in Paris to give Nadal his solo time with the big trophy, he gave him a gentle pat on the butt, and a smile, as he exited.
"This is your time, kid," it seemed to say.
It was a small gesture that spoke volumes.
At the Wimbledon final, it was Nadal and Djokovic who stood there.
It was professional, workmanlike, and positively devoid of any warmth even though Nadal said all the appropriate things when he took the microphone to utter a few words of congratulations.
No doubt he was bitterly disappointed after the defeat; but he has lost Grand Slam finals before. 
The two didn't exchange five words; they were like two strangers up there.
It was similarly businesslike at the hit-and-giggle held last weekend to inaugurate the rooftop Har-Tru courts at Uniprix Stadium.
The two arrived separately, hit tennis balls for a few minutes, posed for the obligatory photos together — the crowd-loving Djokovic smiling broadly, Nadal looking a little tired and rather grim — and exited separately. None of this is meant as criticism; no one has done anything wrong here. And it's totally okay if they don't love each other. It's just that it's so different. And the potential for this rivalry to get a little heated is delectable.
The best part of it is that because it will be so different, it will never have to suffer in comparison to Federer-Nadal. It will stand on its own; the two can create their 
And somehow, you get the feeling the old Jedi Master still will have something to say about it before he's done.
Courtesy: Montreal Gazette
Rafael Nadal - No Double Delight
Rafa & Marc were beaten 3-6 6-7(5) yesterday so to console ourselves let's have a picture of shirtless Rafa to soften the blow :)
Rafael Nadal - Doubles Delight
Straight into action for Rafa as the Rogers Cup kicks off today.
Here is a link to the Doubles Draw
http://www.rogerscup.com/men/pdf/draws/MDD_aug8.pdf
Once again Rafa with play with Marc Lopez and they start against Berdych & F Mayer.
Full OOP for Monday is here
Here is a link to the Doubles Draw
http://www.rogerscup.com/men/pdf/draws/MDD_aug8.pdf
Once again Rafa with play with Marc Lopez and they start against Berdych & F Mayer.
Full OOP for Monday is here
Nadal & Djokovic Open New Courts
The top two players on the ATP World Tour, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and World No. 2 Rafael Nadal, inaugurated Tennis Canada’s new clay courts at the National Tennis Centre in Montreal on Saturday.
After launching the NTC in 2007, Tennis Canada identified that clay courts were essential for training its upcoming promising prospects. With no room to construct new courts in any local parks, the governing body opted for an alternative solution, building courts on the roof of the NTC.
The project was made possible through investments contributed by three levels of government – Canada, Quebec and Montreal, as well as Tennis Canada. Two rising stars have come through the National Tennis Centre over the past four years, including 20-year-old Milos Raonic, who is the highest ranked singles player in Canadian history, and WTA newcomer Rebecca Marino.
Courtesy: ATP
Rafael Nadal - Twitter Updates
Rafa is certainly getting into Twitter :)
Here are a few of the pics posted the past few days.
On his way to dinner
Signing a few autographs
Having a practice with Pico
Here are a few of the pics posted the past few days.
On his way to dinner
Signing a few autographs
Having a practice with Pico
Rafael Nadal - Montreal Draw
Here is Rafa's quarter. To be honest this should prove no problem at all for Rafa. I fully expect him to reach the semi final with no problems.
I also see no threat from the other quarter on his side. Murray & Fish are the top seeds and whilst both are decent HC players and Murray is defending Roger's Cup champion, I see Rafa as the winner if he meets either player.
Novak/Roger look like the likely final opponent. A final v Roger would be a welcome change. Have they ever met (bar Miami way back) in a non-clay Masters final??
Rafael Nadal Arrives In Montreal
We have arrived to Montreal! Going to the hotel and afterwards training with Francis Roig. The american tour begins! :)
Rafa & Novak Playing Doubles In Montreal (although not together)
Thank God, after last years mess up in Toronto that I was witness too.
Courtesy: TenBalls
Montreal, July 27, 2011 – Rogers Cup presented by National Bank Tournament Director Eugène Lapierre
announced today the doubles entry list for the 2011 tournament. This year's draw will be very strong as the top
eight teams in the world as well as five Top 10 players have confirmed their entry.
The top-ranked Bryan brothers will be back to defend the title they won last summer in Toronto. Meanwhile,
Canadian Daniel Nestor and his partner, Max Mirnyi of Belarus will be seeded second. Several players have decided
to team up with their compatriots. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will team up with Janko Tipsarevic, Rafael Nadal will
play with Marc Lopez, Gilles Simon will make up an all-French team with Richard Gasquet and two-time defending
Rogers Cup champion Andy Murray will partner with his brother, Jamie Murray. In addition, Gael Monfils and Jo-
Wilfried Tsonga have entered alongside Pablo Andujar and Stanislas Wawrinka, respectively.
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