Vamos for 9th!
April 13, 2013 § Leave a comment
After a strong practice with Janko yesterday, Rafa took part in the draw ceremony at noon today :
And also managed to make an 18 year old very very happy 🙂 Happy Birthday Sara 🙂
Practiced with Milos Raonic:
3 easy-peasy steps to the Monte Carlo Masters 😉
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
See? It’s as simple as that 😀
Rafa also attended the Bacardi Champions Drink Responsibly Event in Monaco.
I think he is the only person living/dead who looks SOOOOO good in Pink 😉 It looks like one of those really comfy Cashmere buttery tees one slips into. ( ok stopping my swooning now 😀 )But I guess, I won’t be able to order a drink if he was to be my potential bartender 😉 ( the word potential always reminds me of the potential match-ups, once draws are released, and everybody scratches their heads and ponders over potential quarter final and semi finals clashes 😉 )
It was a glorious mañana. As glorious as can be, on a court, that practically juts into the beautiful mediterranean. Rafa practiced for 2 HOURS!!!!!!!!! today, and being the buena gente that he is, he did his rivals the courtesy 😉 to post that on Twitter 😉 I am just teasing, but Rafa did cheekily add the 2 hours at the end of the tweet 😀 Looks like someone is on fire already 🙂 #Vamos
Speaking of the Draw…here are the “potential” clashes for Rafa en-route to the historic 9th 😀
2nd Round: The winner of Aussie’s Marinko Matosevic or compatriot Fernando Verdasco.
3rd Round: The winner of Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci or Germany’s Philip Kohlschrieber
Quarters: Janko Tipsarevic ( one day the Serb could be cast on Miami Ink 😉 or Baguette bread ( French) Gilles Simon
Semis: The newly minted world no.2 Andy Murray
Finals: Novak Djokovic or Delpo
I am excited to see Ernests Gulbis in Novak’s part of the draw. He’s so funny, they need to erect a statue in his honor at Madame Tussaud’s 😀 And people need to pay to see this Latvian cuckoo! He opens against John Isner ( Serve as big as the Empire State ) and could potentially play Novak, in the third round. The lefty half of the draw, is quite challenging with big clay courters like Juan Monaco, Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin Del Potro, on the same side of the subway map 😉 . And not to forget Benneteau ( who upset Roger in straight sets ) and Jerzy Janowicz, who is an ATP find! Novak has to get through a tough section to “potentially” meet Rafa. Speaking of the right half, Baby Federer could meet Janko in the second round, and the first round between Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut ( who is surprisingly good) and France’s Gilles Simon, will be interesting to watch, as Agut has some very good shots in his arsenal. He played extremely well against Nole in Dubai, and created the same angles as Djokovic,accurate and unreturnable. He lacks playing experience, just like Gulbis lacks any mental fortitude. At one point Verdasco was considered the shadow of Rafa, as was evident in the 2009 Australian Open semis, but he quickly lost steam. Being a lefty and banking on past experience ( he did beat Rafa on the hated and banned blue clay last year) he could be difficult to put away, but overall he’s not scary in the sense, that his shots are very predictable unlike say a Delpo’s or Gulbis’s. Both gave Rafa such a hard time at Indian Wells, creating impossible shots out of thin air and making Rafa cover so much ground, by hitting crazy angles. The good news is that this is clay, which allows for sliding, and Rafa does have a pretty straight forward draw as compared to Novak. Rafa’s head to head with Tsonga is interesting. Not only has Rafa beat him on clay ( they have met only once), but he owns him on hard courts as well ( which is Rafa’s most hated surface). Tsonga did beat Rafa at the WTFs ’11, but Rafa has never won the WTFs, so Tsonga can’t be patted on the back for his effort back then, and Rafa did beat him in Miami last year. His head to head with Nico is lopsided as Rafa owns Nico 9-0. Kohlscrieber did beat him in Halle last year,but Rafa has successfully defeated him in their last eight meetings. As far as the rest of the subway map is concerned, Rafa need not be worried, although I am a little worried about Andy 2.o. Historically, Andy has never even made a clay final, but with his new training blocks, re-booted body and Ivan Lendl and slam dunk status,my feathers are a bit ruffled. ( Ivan is scary expressionless, he always looks like the agent from Matrix who eerily calls Keanu Reeves: Mr. Anderson!)
Irrespective of outcome, 😀 they should remove this:
and replace it with this: 😉
Speaking of the mini-tennis, in front of Hotel de Paris, it was a mini match between Novak and Andy. Novak looked relaxed and fit. And Andy was surprisingly smiley and just as relaxed. The mini tennis court was flanked by fans ( one fan asked Djokovic about Pierre…) and reporters alike, and here’s a snippet off Youtube:
This article drives home very interesting points, especially the one about the world no.1 trying to find an in, to derail the clay no.1. The world no.1 and 2 may be lost to Rafa and Roger, but as far as clay is concerned, it has been a Rafa-centric universe. This summer it’s not just about the ninth crown at Monte Carlo, but an eighth Barcelona title, 7th in Rome,3rd in Madrid/Hamburg, and a legendary 8th in Paris. Rafa’s eighth at Paris is very likely, despite his greatness plagued by self-doubt and a certain Serb, standing in his shadow, adamant to be the seventh man in the Open Era to complete a Career Slam. But Rafa has had enough of being on the sidelines, and while many speculated his return to form, irrespective of him not feeling 100%, he has had a stellar comeback- a man on a mission,hungry for more. Andy has big plans to go deep this year, but with clay not being his area of expertise and Wimbledon just around the corner, his body language should show where his “real” conviction lies. It’s a shame Roger and David will not contest at Monte Carlo. Roger rejoins the tour after a two month hiatus on the red stuff at Madrid. Thankfully, none of us have to put up with the hideous blue clay anymore, I mean what were the ATP thinking? That’s right..the ATP weren’t thinking, it requires a certain grey stuff 😐 Ferru is out with thigh injury and he hopes to rejoin the tour very very soon. What is with all the injuries plaguing the tour all of a sudden? And not just Tennis mind you…Kobe was badly injured during a Lakers game, and it looked painful 😦
The never ending debate is whether Rafa can become the greatest of all time? For me, he already is and I can’t see why he can’t bag two slams a year to inch closer to Roger’s 17. The rankings don’t matter and neither does the head to head ( he has a head to head advantage over MOST rivals). What really matters, is whether he can remain fit and healthy and kick the chronic tendinitis to the curb. Martina beat it, and so can he. Andy and Nole are both amazing, with their sheer athleticism and determination to hang in there till the very end, but there will not be another Rafael Nadal. 🙂
Good luck Rafa 🙂 La fe mueve montañas…
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