Рафаэль Надаль: «Хочу поблагодарить Роджера за его настрой»

Испанец Рафаэль Надаль, обыгравший в финале «Ролан Гаррос» первую ракетку мира швейцарца Роджера Федерера со счетом 6:1, 6:3, 6:0, поблагодарил своего оппонента.

«Я сыграл идеальный матч. Мне жаль, Роджер, что итог таков, но ты играл тоже хорошо. Я хочу поблагодарить Роджер за его настрой в игре», – цитирует Надаля Eurosport.

Рафаэль Надаль: «Я номер два в рейтинге, а это место ближе к третьему, чем к первому»

Испанец Рафаэль Надаль, обыгравший в финале «Ролан Гаррос» первую ракетку мира швейцарца Роджера Федерера со счетом 6:1, 6:3, 6:0, прокомментировал игру своего оппонента и сообщил, что не праздновал свою победу из уважения к Федереру.

«Я чувствую себя номером два, а не номером один, потому что я занимаю второе место в рейтинге. А номер два ближе к третьей позиции, чем к первой.

Роджер сегодня ошибался гораздо больше, чем обычно. Но и я улучшил свою игру по сравнению с прошлым годом. Я контролировал матч, играл агрессивно, что не характерно для моего стиля на грунте. Но повторю, что Роджер сегодня играл не на своем уровне, иначе я бы не выиграл с таким счетом, какой теннис я бы ни показал. Такой счет был бы просто невозможен.

Сравнение с Боргом лестно для меня, потому что он гораздо лучший теннисист, чем я. Но сейчас меня больше волнует моя победа, которой я хочу насладиться.

Я никогда специально не готовлюсь к тому, чтобы праздновать победу. Ты празднуешь так, как чувствуешь в данный момент. В прошлом году я одержал трудную победу в четырех сетах, и матч был гораздо напряженнее нынешнего. Счет 6:1, 6:3, 6:0 говорит сам за себя. Учитывая это и наши отношения с Роджером, я просто не мог праздновать чересчур эмоционально», – приводит слова Надаля РИА «Новости».

Rafa Rampant: Nadal sweeps to 4th French crown

PARIS—  The victory was expected, but the manner was not. Rafael Nadal routed Roger Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in the final of the French Open to win his fourth straight French title and stay undefeated at this event.

No top seed in memory has ever taken such a beating in a Grand Slam final. It was the most lopsided encounter in all their 17 contests against each other, and the second most one-sided final in French Open history after Guillermo Vilas' 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 destruction of Brian Gottfried in 1977.

Nadal had fallen to the ground in delight during past victories but only raised his arms in triumph this time. The slow inevitability of the result and sympathy for his opponent prevented anything more exuberant.  "You celebrate the way you feel it," he said. "Today 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, given the way things occurred and given the relationship I have to Roger, I just didn't want to celebrate too much."

With his sheer domination of the field during this fortnight, Nadal now not only stands undisputed as the king of clay but also without any apparent challengers. The Spaniard had defeated Federer in the final the previous two years and in the semifinals the year before that, but Federer had managed to take a set each time. On Sunday, the gap between them on this surface seemed to have yawned into a vast gulf.

He has been winning here for so long that even a little of the native language has seeped into his vocabulary - for the first time, he began his his post-match speech with a few words in French.

But the modest Nadal was reluctant to proclaim his superiority over his colleagues, saying only, "the numbers say I am the best player in the world on clay for the last years."

The Swiss world No. 1 was one of only two players thought capable of derailing Nadal at this event, and the second potential challenger, Novak Djokovic, had already been authoritatively dispatched in the semifinals.

Nadal and Djokovic had had a lengthy battle in Hamburg just a few weeks prior and had he dropped their rematch, Nadal would have lost the No. 2 ranking he has held since August 2005. But Nadal left no doubt that he still has the measure of his Serbian rival on this surface, withstanding a late challenge to win 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(3).

It was still the closest any player came against Nadal during these two weeks, for he dropped only 41 games games and no sets on the way to the title. The performance rivaled Bjorn Borg's victories at Paris in 1978 and 1980, when he dropped just 32 and 38 games, respectively.

With his win, Nadal also tied Borg's record of four French Open victories in a row. Fittingly, the Swede was there to present his present-day equivalent with the trophy, and has said this week he sees the 22-year-old breaking his record of six titles here.

Nadal preferred to stay in the present. "Right now I'm only happy about my victory here in Roland Garros," he said. "[It's] always nice for me to be in comparison with Borg, especially because he's much better than me."

IMPACT ON WIMBLEDON?

The Spaniard now heads on to the grass, where he will try to match Borg's feat of winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back. Federer and Nadal have also contested the Wimbledon final against each other for the past two years, and Nadal came very close to winning last season when he had break points in the fifth set.

But the green lawns of the All England Club have been Federer's turf for the past five years, and he has no intention of easily relinquishing his hold.

"I've beaten Rafa 6-0 in a set, I've beaten him in finals before. I've beaten him also quite comfortably on previous reasons, didn't really give me the edge on clay against him," said Federer. "I still definitely feel very strong about my chances and being the big favorite going into grass.  It's so far away, grass and clay, that losing in four or five or [having] no chance like today, I don't think it has a big effect on me mentally."

But even Federer may find it difficult to shrug off such a defeat. It was the heaviest loss of his Grand Slam career - seven games against Andre Agassi at the US Open 2001 being the low in 173 previous matches. This was also the first time he has lost a bagel set in almost nine years.

Until the blow of Sunday's scoreline, Federer had rebounded well from a tough beginning to the year, partly attributed to a bout of mononucleosis. During his domination on other surfaces during the past three seasons, he has also established himself as the second-best player on clay. But his attempts to complete the career Slam by winning the French has been blocked by Nadal's skills each time.

Mentally, too, Nadal seems to be a hurdle for Federer, who usually struggles to produce his best form against him.

"Maybe before I had a bit of a Nadal complex but not any more," Federer had told European television earlier in the week, but those words rang hollow on Sunday afternoon. Federer lost the first set 6-1 and piled up error after error during the late stages of the match (35 in all, according to the official statistics.) He won 49 percent of his first serve points and 20 percent of his second serve points, holding serve just three times during the match.

Things were briefly competitive during the middle stages of the second set, when Federer broke Nadal for the only time and  held comfortably (without facing a break point) for the only time. For a spell of about 20 minutes, there were flashes of the contests everyone had expected as Federer managed to dislodge Nadal from his favorite areas of the baseline with a few serve & volley attempts, some angled shots and handful of fiercely hit forehands. The Spaniard also threw in the odd unforced error, helping Federer get to break point at 3-3 in the second. But on the next three points, Federer sent the ball into the net.

"I guess that was my best chance. But if that would have completely turned the match, I don't know," Federer admitted afterwards. He did not win another game, losing nine straight at the end. The disappointment in his face was striking as he sat down in his chair afterwards.

Not surprisingly, he was reluctant to discuss it afterwards. "The match is over, clay court season is over," he said. "I'm just here to answer some questions, not to analyze the match."

His recently-hired coach Jose Higueras was afterwards spotted nodding at an acquaintance's beer and saying, "I need a few of those." The two will continue to work together during selected weeks during the year.

Nadal, however, did not hesitate to say Federer had been subpar. "[Even] if I am playing my best tennis ever, I never going to win 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 against Roger Federer, no?" said Nadal. "For sure it's impossible. He didn't play very well.  Everybody knows that because of the result."

Federer plays in Halle next week, looking to extend his run of 54-match winning streak on grass, while Nadal haeds to Queen's. The Spaniard faces many more potential challengers on the slick English lawns but is probably fresher than he has ever been heading into the grass season after his smooth run in Paris. Physically, he had no significant trouble with the blisters that plagued him in Rome, and showed no sign of the foot and knee troubles that have hampered him in the past. Mentally, he proved that his off-court battles with the ATP over scheduling and the Spanish tennis federation over the site selection for the Davis Cup semifinals in September would not affect him on court.

In four weeks' time, Nadal and Federer could meet again in the Wimbledon final, where Nadal would look to show he has closed the gap on grass much like he has expanded it on clay.

As Federer notes, his friend and rival is only improving. "He no longer plays short balls as he did in the past.  You can no longer attack him on his forehand, as I could in the past," said Federer. "He is getting much more aggressive, and it's becoming much more difficult."

Nadal agreed. "I think I'm playing more inside the court, so not typical two meters behind court," he said. "For sure I am playing with topspin, but improving different things - having so much slice, changing more directions.  And with the backhand, sometimes putting more flat shots.

"If you are not improving always, always is difficult continue to be in the top positions."

By Kamakshi Tandon

Rafa Nadal and Xisca, a very stable couple

Mallorcan tennis player Rafael Nadal and his girlfriend Xisca form one of the most stable couples among the famous. Despite rumours of a romance between Nadal and Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, Xisca and Rafa are still together and very united

At the present moment, Rafa Nadal is defending his title at Roland Garros in Paris, the Mallorcan has won Roland Garros for the last three years and if he wins again this year he will make history. His girlfriend Xisca Perelló usually remains in the shadow of the famous player as because of her discreet character she does not like to attract the attention of the press much.

It seems the couple are more in love than ever; the fact that everything is going so well for Nadal on the tennis courts greatly helps to keep things going well in a relationship. In any case, the intensity of it all and the large number of matches he plays during the year also means that the couple are often thousands of kilometers apart. Nevertheless, if things keep on as they have until now, the young couple have years of happiness ahead of them.

May 28th, 2008 Photo: Hola (2007).Перевод nou.amic c VB.com

Доброе утро,Ира...он уже года 2,если не больше,как занят

Решила написать о Хиске(Maria Francisca Perello).Инфа с ATPtour

-гыыы))))Подлееец)

Продолжение следует...

всегда пожалуйста))Но я просто скопировала,поэтому спасибо Ольге за красивый рассказ)

Фотки в море очень даже невинны)Где-то видела круче))Найду-выложу)

гыыы)))))))Та обращайся,если вдруг надо будет нарыть какую-нибудь лав стори)

Хахаха,где ж я ее тебе нарою?Только если лав стори 'Марат&теннис'

Рафаэль Надаль за час управился с Бьоркманом в Лондоне

Испанец Рафаэль Надаль (1) уверенным образом провёл свой первый матч на травяном покрытии.

Двукратный финалист "Уимблдона" переиграл в Лондоне опытного шведа Йонаса Бьоркмана – 6:2, 6:2. Матч длился чуть более часа. У Йонаса был всего 1 брейк-поинт, а у Надаля – 6. Четыре из них Рафаэль реализовал.