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  1 comments Madrikd -- Rafa vs. Ljubicic (Set 5) Believe me, I never thought I'd be starting a thread for a fifth set. What a great comeback by Rafa. Although Ivan looks a bit tired, he's still holding serve very comfortably. It's anyone's ball game now, but certainly, the crowd is helping Nadal a lot. Vamos, Rafa! IL to serve Fault. Rafa into net. 15-0. Ace. 30-0. 25 aces for IL. Let. 26th ace. 40-0. BH goes wide. 40-15. Rafa's still looking pretty lively. Ace. Game IL. 0-1, Ljubicic. Rafa to serve. IL passing shot. 0-15. Fault. Rafa into net. 0-30. Danger time for Rafa. Vamos, Rafa! Return long, just barely. 15-30. Fault. Rafa's looking a bit weary to me. Great volley by IL. 15-40. Two breakpoints, and he does a huge fist pump. Vamos, Rafa! Rafa saves one. 30-40. Come on, Rafa. Let. Let. I'm tired of typing; I can just imagine how these guys are feeling. Bad miss by Rafa. Game to IL. Game to IL. 0-2, Ljubicic. Rafa just made things very complicated for himself. Double fault by IL. 0-15. Fault. Ivan, into net. 0-30. Vamos, Rafa! Almost 3 hours of play. Another UE by Ivan. 0-40. Three breakpoints for Rafa. Hopefully he gets one of these. Vamos! Saves one, after great serve. 15-40. This is key for Rafa. Fault. Late call. It was the right call, although Ivan is complaining. Second serve. Double fault. Rafa sprints to chair. 1-2, Ljubicic. Rafa to serve. 15-0, after volley winner by Rafa. I'm a nervous wreck. If I wasn't doing this blog, I'd be tempted to turn off the TV and check the final score later. 30-0, after Ivan hits wide. IL hits long. 40-0. 3 gamepoints. FH winner by IL. 40-15. Vamos, Rafa! Fault. Return goes long. Game Nadal. 2-2, on serve. IL to serve. Crowd is for Nadal, for sure. 15-0. Fault. Bad miss by IL. 15-15. IL is trying to keep the points short. Ace. 30-15. 40-15. Fault. Great return by Rafa. 40-30. Rafa wants this badly, you can tell. Fault. Winner by IL. Game IL. 2-3, Ljubicic. Rafa to serve. IL hits long. 15-0. Crowd claps for Rafa. Return is wide. 30-0. Great point by Rafa. IL had it won several times, but Rafa's defense prevailed. 40-0. Rafa fell down at one point, but got back up. Ace. Game Nadal. 3-3, on serve. This is a thrilling match, especially if you aren't a fan of either of the players. IL to serve. Vamos, Rafa! Let. Volley goes long. 0-15. Toni looks nervous. UE by IL. 0-30. Crowd goes wild. Toni gives a fist pump to Rafa. Volley winner by IL. 15-30. Ivan's serve is driving me crazy. S&V by IL. 30-30. Ace. 40-30. Nothing Rafa could do. Rafa hits long. Game IL. 3-4, Ljubicic. Rafa to serve. Vamos, Rafa! New balls. Fault. Volley winner by IL. 0-15. Important moment for Rafa. Return goes long. 15-15. Great serve, UE by IL. 30-15. UL is mad at himself, as he had a chance there. Toni says, "Vamos." Another long return. 40-15. Fault -- way off. Return winner. 40-30. Vamos, Rafa! Nadal has mised 3 first serves in this set. Deuce. OH by Ivan. Come on, Rafa! Mishit by IL after great forehands by Rafa. Ad Nadal. Rafa hits long. Deuce. Vamos, Rafa! Rafa went for it, but it was just too much pace. IL hits long, late call. Ad Nadal. It was the right call. IL not happy. UE by IL. Game Nadal. Tremendous rally, with Rafa winning. 4-4, on serve. Here we go. IL to serve. Drop volley after great serve. 15-0. Ace. 30-0. Again, his serving is driving me crazy. He has 30 aces to Rafa's 5 aces. 31st ace. 40-0. Let. Fault. IL hits long. 40-15. Volley goes wide. 40-30. Vamos, Rafa! Fault. Second serve ace. Game IL. 4-5, Ljubicic. Rafa to serve to stay in the match. What drama! Rafa's leaving it all on the court, that's for sure. He sprints to the baseline. Vamos, Rafa! The pressure is all on Rafa. Adjusts the socks. Fault. IL hits long. 15-0. Crowd is clapping for Rafa. Let. Great point, at the net. Rafa takes it. 30-0. Adjusts socks. Great serve, and forehand, draws error. 40-0. Great play by Rafa. Game Nadal. 5-5, on serve. Rafa's jumping like a boxer again, as IL prepares to serve. Let. S&V. 15-0. IL takes the game, after one double fault. 5-6, Ljubicic. Rafa to serve to take it to a tiebreak. Hope Rafa keeps fighting. Vamos, Rafa! Adjusts socks. Great serve, IL returns long. 15-0. Another long return. 30-0. Toni is holding his daughter on his lap. Great BH by Rafa. 40-0. Hits long again. 6-6, TIEBREAK. Oh, man, This is so nerve-wracking. Vamos, Rafa! He certainly is excited. The crowd is going nuts for him. Ljubicic will serve first. 1-0, Nadal. IL into net 2-0, Nadal. IL hits long 3-0, Nadal. FH angle winner by Rafa. IL not happy with call. He may be right; it waws very close. 3-1, Nadal. Rafa hits wide. 3-2, Nadal. Return goes wide. Rafa to serve. 4-2, Nadal. Ace. Change ends. Rafa to serve again. Crowd is going wild. 5-2, Nadal. After great serve. IL to serve. 5-3, Nadal. Great point by IL, after fault. One more serve for him. 6-3, Nadal. IL into net. Championship points for Rafa. HE WINS, can you believe it!!!! WOW!!! Vamos, Rafa! posted by Susan @ 9:38 AM  176 comments Madrid -- Rafa vs. Ljubicic (Set 4) Rafa is now down two sets to one. Have to give credit to Rafa. He was being outplayed in every department, and yet found a way to get a break against Ljubicic and served out the third set. He's a fighter! But he has a huge battle ahead of him to win this match. Vamos, Rafa! IL to serve. 15-0. Rafa is running like crazy now. He's like a different player than he was in the first two sets. Fault. FH winner by Rafa. 15-15. Fault. Unreturnable second serve. 30-15. BH winner. 40-15. Ace. Game IL. 0-1, Ljubicic. Rafa to serve. Rafa hits long, after good serve. 0-15. Return goes wide. 15-15. Fault. Rafa wrong-footed. IL hits BH winner. 15-30. Great volleying by Rafa. Fist pump. 30-30. Rafa's won 10 of 13 net points. Rafa winner. 40-30. Rafa remains aggressive. Vamos by Rafa. Game Nadal. 1-1, on serve. IL to serve. 15-0. Great point bhy Rafa. 15-15. Commentators think IL is tiring, but he still looks pretty dangerous to me. Rafa is running better, though. Fault. I think he's forgetting about his knees. Oh, man. Amazing winner by Nadal. Running FH winner, on the line. 15-30. Unreturnable serve. 30-30. I love the fight Rafa is demonstrating, though. Ace. 40-30. 21 aces for IL. Driving me nuts. IL hits wide, surprisingly. Deuce. Great point by Rafa. Ad Nadal. BP for Rafa. Let. Fault. FH winner by Rafa. Rafa breaks. 2-1, Nadal. Nadal serving. 0-15. Winner by IL. 0-30. More pressure on Rafa's serve. Great serve by Rafa. 15-30. Fault. UE into net by IL. 30-30. Fault. Just misses. Return goes long. 40-30. FH winner. Game Nadal. 3-1, Nadal. 30-0. Two good serves by IL. Fault. Ivan looks irritated. UE by Rfa. 40-0. Fault. FH goes wide. Game Ljubicic. 3-2, Nadal. Rafa to serve. Fault. Winner by IL. 0-15. I hope Rafa can keep up his energy level. Unreturnable serve. 15-15. Let. UE by Ivan. 30-15. Rafa hits long. 30-30. Crowd is supporting Rafa. Let. Mishit by IL. 40-30. IL upset with himself. Let. Fault. UE by Rafa into net. Deuce. Rafa is a little tight, I think. Vamos, Rafa! Crowd is supporting Rafa. Rafa hits wide, very tentative. Ad IL. BP for IL. This is key for Rafa. Vamos! IL hits wide, thank goodness. Deuce. Fault. UE by IL. Ad Nadal. Great serve. He holds. 4-2, Nadal. IL to serve. Rafa changes racquets. 15-0. Return goes long 30-0. Ace. 40-0. Fault. UE by IL. 40-15. Game IL. 4-3, Nadal. Rafa to serve. Commentators are saying IL is fighting fatigue, Nadal and all of Spain. Ivan into net. 15-0. Let. Fault. IL hits wide. 30-0. Volley winner by Nadal. 40-0. Game Nadal. 5-3, Nadal. IL to serve. S&V. 15-0. 30-0. 24th ace. 40-0. Rafa mishit. Love service game. 5-4, Nadal. Rafa to serve for the set. Vamos, Rafa! There's no doubt that Ivan would like to get this done in 4 sets. Great serve by Rafa. Ace. 15-0. Fault. Rafa hits long. 15-15. Rafa likely is a bit nervous. IL into net, after great FH by Rafa. 30-15. Vamos! Nice volley by IL. 30-30. Go Rafa! Let. Great passing shot winner by Rafa. 40-30. Set point to Rafa, after it looked as though Rafa was out of the point. Adjusts socks. Fault, but it was close. Ivan hits long. Rafa takes the SET. VAMOS!!! 6-4. posted by Susan @ 8:51 AM  55 comments Madrid -- Rafa v. Ljubicic (Set 3) Rafa is down two sets to love, and things aren't looking good for him at the moment. Ljubicic is playing too well, and I don't see that changing. Also, Rafa is not 100%, there's no question. I just don't think Rafa can play 3 more sets in any event. Rafa to serve. 15-0, after ace. 15-15. BH into net. 30-15. Come on, Rafa. BH down the line winner 30-30. IL is driving me nuts now. Rafa FH forces error from IL. 40-30. FH winner by Nadal. He holds. 1-0, Nadal. Ljubicic to serve. Fault. Unreturnable serve. 15-0. UE by IL. 15-15. Ace. 30-15. Another ace. 40-15. Too good. Game IL. 1-1, on serve. FH goes long. 0-15. Fault. Bad call for Rafa. 0-30. Rafa is upset that a long ball was not called long. IL hits wide. 15-30. IL hits long. 30-30. Rafa is fighting. Mishit by IL. 40-30. Crowd is getting into match. OH by Rafa. He sprints to chair. I love the fact that he's not giving up. 2-1, Nadal. IL to serve. Successful dropshot by Rafa. 0-15. Fist pump. He'll take whatever he can get on IL's serve. Fault. Crowd cheers. Rafa tried hard on that point. 15-15. Fault. UE by IL. Crowd is going wild. 15-30. 30-30, after great serve. Fault. Double fault. 30-40. BP for Rafa. Great serve. Deuce. Rafa is frustrated. Ace. Ad Ljubicic. Fault. FH winner by Rafa. Deuce. Rafa has a second wind or something. He wasn't playing like this earlier. Fault. S&V by IL. Ad Ljubicic. Winner by Rafa. Deuce. He's fighting. Fault. Double fault. Third of the game. Ad Nadal -- finally. Fault. Second serve. Rafa BH missed. Deuce. IL hits long. Another Ad Nadal. Crowd is happy. Fault. He got the break, after a great point. 3-1, Nadal. He's a long way from winning the match, but at least it's something to cheer about. Dropshot by IL, Rafa into net. 0-15. He had to work so hard to get that break. Return into net. 15-15. 15-30. Important point. Go Rafa! Fault. Total silence. IL hits volley wide. 30-30. Rafa hits long. 30-40. BP for IL. Come on, Rafa. Rafa is hitting harder, and paid the price there. Great serve. Deuce. Fault. Rafa hits wide. Another BP. Ad IL. IL into net. Deuce. Rafa is being more aggressive. Rafa hits long. Ad IL. Vamos, Rafa! Great passing angle by Rafa. Deuce. Three BP's saved. IL overhits. Ad Nadal, finally. Rafa holds, as IL overhits. Rafa sprints to chair. 4-1, Nadal. IL to serve. Unreturnable serve. 15-0. Ace. 30-0. Ace. 40-0. He's back to normal, I see. Another ace. Game, IL. 4-2, Nadal. Rafa to serve. Rafa passes. 15-0. Fault. Rafa can't get to volley. 15-15. Rafa hits FH wide. 15-30. Toni is encouraging Rafa. Nadal camp is looking less than happy at the moment, though. Great lob by Rafa. 30-30. Go Rafa! Return goes long. 40-30. Santana is looking nervous. Let. Deuce. Another dogfight game. Great dropshot by Rafa. IL into net. Ad Nadal. Fault. Double fault. Deuce. Rafa is pressing a bit. Second DF for Rafa. Great serve. Ad Nadal. Vamos, Rafa! IL hits long. Game Nadal. 5-2, Nadal. IL to serve. Return goes out. 15-0. Fault. Crowd is noisy. Rafa tells crowd to quiet down. Rafa into net. 30-0. Fault. 40-0. FH winner by IL. Ace. Game IL. 5-3, Nadal. Rafa to serve for set. Vamos, Rafa! New balls. Dropshot by IL. Rafa can't get to it. 0-15. S&V by Rafa. 15-15. Fault. Late call. Return winner by IL. 15-30. Rafa is going to have to be very careful here. Vamos, Rafa! Great serve. It was called a fault, and then overruled. So Rafa gets a first serve; he's not happy about the bad call. But he gets the next point anyway. 30-30. Crowd is going wild, clapping. Return goes wide. 40-30. Set point. Match is 2 hours old. Vamos, Rafa! Great point by Rafa. He wins set. 6-3. Vamos, Rafa! posted by Susan @ 7:59 AM  50 comments Madrid -- Rafa vs. Ljubicic (Set 2) So far, no real surprises. Rafa is getting outplayed by Ljubicic, who is serving extremely well. Hopefully Rafa can regroup, and keep fighting. He's not going to have a lot of chances against Ljubicic today, so if he gets some opportunities he'll have to take them. Vamos, Rafa!!!! Nadal to serve in second set. Great volleys by IL. 0-15. Fault. Return goes wide, thankfully 15-15. Rafa hits long. 15-30. Toni looks a bit worried. Dropshot winner by Rafa. 30-30. BH winner by IL. 30-40. Another BP for IL. Let. Come on, Rafa. IL into net. Rafa is happy with that. Deuce. Fault. Rafa UE into net. Another BP for IL. Rafa knows he's in a dogfight. AD IL. Great serve by Rafa. Deuce. IL returns into net. Ad Nadal. IL returns long. Game to Nadal. He sprints to the chair to take a drink. 1-0, Nadal. IL to serve. Unreturnable serve. 15-0. S&V. 30-0. Fault. 40-0. Not much Rafa can do. Let. Serve into body. Game IL. 1-1, on serve. Rafa to serve. 15-0. Rafa FH goes long. 15-15. FH winner by IL. 15-30. Dropshot winner by IL. Rafa is doing everything possible, but it isn't enough. 15-40. Two BP's. Fault. FH goes wide. He breaks. Crowd is silent. 1-2, Ljubicic. This is going to be a real learning experience for Rafa, I think. He's trying everything he can, but with IL serving so well, the pressure is all on Rafa's serve. The crowd is trying to get behind Rafa. Fault. FH winner by IL. 15-0. Fault. BH winner. 30-0. Rafa is not running down some things -- a question about his knees?? Ace. 40-0. IL hits long. Surprising error. 40-15. Volley winner. 1-3, Ljubicic. Rafa to serve. He needs to hold here. BH goes wide. 15-0. Volley winner by IL. 15-15. UE by IL. 30-15. FH winner by IL. 30-30. On the line. Finally, a volley winner by Rafa. A fist pump from him. 40-30. The crowd is going wild. Great serve. Game Rafa. 2-3, Ljubicic. IL to serve. Rafa is frustrated. 15-0. UE by IL. 15-15. The crowd is getting noisy. Fault. Easy put-away for IL. 30-15. Not much Rafa can do. But crowd is encouraging Rafa now. Rafa just missed. 40-15. Rafa's game is slightly off. Missed return. Game IL. 2-4, Ljubicic. Rafa to serve. Rafa can't handle dropshot. 0-15. Commentators are saying that Rafa doesn't seem to want to run as much today. Let. Fault. Another dropshot winner. 0-30. That couldn't have been good for his knee. UE by IL. 15-30. Another UE. 30-30. FH winner by IL. 30-40. Another BP. Come on, Rafa. Fault. IL hits long. Deuce. BH winner by IL. Ad Ljubicic. UE by Rafa. Game to Ljubicic. 2-5, Ljubicic. Commentators are saying Rafa is not 100%, and I think that's right. But even if he was 100%, he'd be having troubles with Ljubicic. New balls. Ace. 15-0. OH by Rafa. 15-15. Toni is clapping. Rafa hits great return. 15-30. Crowd is going wild. Fault. Rafa is fighting. 15-40. Two BP's for Rafa, after two FH errors by IL. Great serve. 30-40. S&V winner. Deuce. Ace. Ad Ljubicic. Set point. Another ace. 6-2, Ljubicic. posted by Susan @ 7:20 AM  11 comments