Rafa Nadal in Aussie Finals!

Nadal won vs Federer. Who would be his finals foe? Hopefully it's Murray! =)

Rafael Nadal - New Emporio Armani Underwear Ad

 This is what playing tennis can do to you. Haha.

Federer and Nadal: Fit of Laughter During Shooting

Rar Rar Rar Rar Rara.. Bad Romance haha.

RG 2011 | Round 3 | Rafa vs Veic

6-1 6-3 6-0
A breadstick and a bagel in just over an hour.
Short and sweet like that.

No More "Rafa Slam"

Rafael Nadal's quest to become the first man in 42 years to win four straight grand slam events has ended cruelly, with a hamstring injury leading to a limp Australian Open quarter-final exit against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.

The reigning French Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion, would have been within two victories of the historic feat - last accomplished by Australian legend Rod Laver in 1969 - had he overcome the seventh seed.

But despite Nadal having won their previous seven meetings, with Ferrer claiming a set in just one of those, the lower-ranked player took advantage of his weakened opponent to win 6-4 6-2 6-3.

Ferrer will play Scottish fifth seed Andy Murray in a semi-final, with Murray, along with the other semi-finalists Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, no doubt fancying their title chances more now that Nadal is out of the picture.

While Nadal won the Australian Open in 2009, Melbourne Park has since been the scene of two major disappointments.

Last year, he retired with a knee injury from a quarter-final when trailing Murray.
That was the only time he has failed to complete a grand slam match and also his last defeat at a major before losing to Ferrer, which broke a 25-match grand slam winning streak.

Nadal was dogged by illness coming into the Open, but had not dropped a set previously this tournament and showed no sign of injury when he started against Ferrer.

But, after a long first three games, the top seed called for a trainer and then a medical time-out.
After leaving the court, he returned with his upper left leg strapped and, obviously struggling, quickly fell down 5-2.

Ferrer muffed a chance to serve out the set at 5-3 and needed three set points in the following game to take the crucial one-set lead.

He also dropped serve early in the second, but sustained his level enough to win 11 of the last 14 games of the match, as the physical and emotional strain drained his countryman.
An increasingly morose Nadal showed spirit and sportsmanship by refusing to retire against his Davis Cup teammate.

Earlier, Murray booked his semi-final berth more predictably, with a 7-5 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 win over unseeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Murray, chasing his first grand slam title, admitted to finding Dolgopolov - who had ousted former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world No.4 Robin Soderling in the previous two rounds - a "tricky" and unconventional opponent.

But despite conceding his first set in the tournament, Murray said he never felt in trouble.
The Scottish star, who lost last year's final in straight sets to Federer and did the same thing in the final of the 2008 US Open, said he did not feel mounting pressure to break his grand slam duck.

"It's still the same as when I first was giving myself chances to win slams. It's still exactly the same as it was then. But it's not something that I lose sleep over," he said.

A gracious Ferrer said it was not a nice way to reach his second grand slam semi-final.
"I did my game, I played, I received, I would try to go into the net," he said.

"But if Nadal wasn't injured he would normally have won in three sets. This is a victory for me, but it's not how I like victory normally."

Source: Yahoo Sports

Rafael Nadal's Incredible 2010

What a year it had been for Rafael Nadal.

French Open 2010, Wimbledon 2010, and USA OPEN 2010 - The one and only Rafael Nadal won all three majors back to back which hasn’t been done in a long time. He's my favorite tennis player --> so humble! Last year, Nadal experienced numerous problems including knee tendonitis, abdominal pain, a knee injury and the break-up of his parents. Glad he bounced back tremendously. He became only the seventh man in history to win a career Grand Slam when he won the US Open trophy in September. Viva Rafa!!! =)

Viva Rafa!!!

RAFAEL NADAL IS KING OF THE HILL, TOP OF THE LIST, "A",
NUMBER ONE IN OLD NEW YORK ~ NEW YORK, NEW YORK

I can't say anything. At 24, he won a career gland slam. Whew.
Rafa's really amazing.. (and hot!)..Way to go Rafa!

Rafael Nadal of Spain rolls on the ground in celebration of defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia to win the men's singles final on day fifteen of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 13, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates with the championship trophy after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia to win the men's singles final on day fifteen of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 13, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images North America

Rafael Nadal of Spain bites the championship trophy after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia to win the men's singles final on day fifteen of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 13, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images North America

US OPEN 2010
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Rafa Nadal defeats Novak Djokovic
6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
Monday, September 13, 2010
~ a day late due to rain on Sunday ~
The second set had a 2 hour rain delay at 4-4, 30-30 Djokovic serving

Rafa is only one of three tennis players to win an Olympic Gold Medal and a Career Grand Slam
The three players are Andre Agassi, Stefi Graf and Rafael Nadal. Rafa is the first player since 1969 (Rod Laver) to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year

Rafael Nadal’s Pre-Service Routine

Rafael Nadal’s long-drawn-out pre-service routine has caused plenty of controversy in the past.

Opponents have often been frustrated by the amount time the Spaniard takes between points and the 24-year-old has received his fair share of time violations for exceeding the 20-second limit.

Recently, however, he appears to have cut down his idiosyncratic routine to at least some extent.

The images below show the world No.1′s actions from one point to the next during his first round clash with Kei Nishikori at Wimbledon 2010.

Source: Martin Caparrotta