Madrid -- Nadal def. Ljubicic -- Trophy Ceremony Sunday, October 23, 2005 I cannot believe that Rafa won. With the way Ivan was playing at the beginning, I thought Rafa was going to lose in straights. Rafa won because of his sheer will to win. The family is thrilled. They are showing Toni, and also Rafa's Dad. Final score: 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 I am not sure that Rafa would have won it if it had been played anywhere but in Spain. But I don't care about that. I'll take the win -- his 11th of the year, and his 4th Masters title. He's tied with Federer on those stats, and has more wins this year. They are showing on the big screen a number of highlights from the tournament. Trophy ceremony is about to start. The Princess is there, along with Santana and Tiriac. They are calling Ivan up to get his trophy from the Princess. He gets $189,000 Euros. He doesn't look very happy. Rafa is still sitting down -- they just called him up, to rousing applause. The Princess gives him the shield, which he holds up. He is getting hugged by everyone. They are taking photos of him and Ivan together. Ivan steps back, and they take photos of Rafa as he bites the trophy, as usual. Ivan speaks, in English. He thanks his team and crowd. Says it was bad luck to play against Rafa, a Spanish guy. Wishes Rafa a healthy future, and says that he thinks Rafa is going to win many more matches. Rafa speaks, in Spanish. Thanks everyone who made it possible for him to be in the tourney. It's been the best year of his life. He thanks his support team, Toni, and his parents. Refers to the difficult times during the week, with the knee injuries. Thanks everyone, including the ball persons, organizers and sponsors. Wants to come back again next year. Santana speaks. He's the tourney director, and he's thanking everyone involved with the tourney. He congratulates Rafa Nadal, who is laughing with the Princess. Ion Tiriac then speaks, congratulates both players. Says he knew the first time he saw Rafa play that he would be one of the best players in the world. Rafa has his arm on Santana's shoulder. Quite a friendly group. Now he's talking with Ljubicic -- not paying attention to the speakers. They are getting champagne bottles to spray at each other, I guess. This is Rafa's fave part. They are shaking up the bottles and spraying the ball kids -- although Ljubicic is spraying Nadal. Rafa drinks some and spits it out ont he camera. He is soaked from Ljubicic's revenge. They are now going to take photos of him, now that he's all wet. He's smiling -- looking very cute. He needs to shave. He bites the trophy again. I guess that's about it. Ljubicic is leavingf the stadium, while the photographers spend more time with Rafa. They are taking photos of him at the net with the shield. He has a mantle-full of those things now. Now he's being asked to kick a tennis ball, for another photo opp. Gotta love The Tennis Channel for showing the whole match, and also the whole ceremony. Boy, The Tennis Channel is about to replay the match again. Even though I know the result, I don't know that I can take any more drama today. *lol* posted by Susan @ 10:44 AM