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 Madrid Final -- Rafa vs. Ljubicic (Set 1) Saturday, October 22, 2005 Stay tuned for live play-by-play when Rafa takes on Croat Ivan Ljubicic in the Madrid Masters final. Ljubicic will be going for his first Masters Series title, while Rafa will be going for his fourth Masters title of the year. Join us here at 3:30 p.m. Madrid time, and at 6:30 a.m. PT and 9:30 a.m. ET in the USA. Vamos, Rafa!!!! They have finished the warm up. Rafa is wearing the same outfit, white shorts, orange shirt, white bandana. Ljubicic to serve. 15-0. BH winner by IL. 30-0. UE into net by IL. 30-15. Commentators note that Rafa's FH goes to IL's BH, which is his strength. IL uses a dropshot, but Rafa gets to it, and IL into net. 30-30. IL hits wide. 30-40. BP to Nadal. The replay shows it's a bad call. Fault. Winner by Nadal. So Rafa breaks. Good result for Rafa, but he did get the advantage from a bad call. 1-0, Nadal. Rafa to serve. UE by IL, into net. 15-0. Rafa hits BH down the line wide. 15-15. Shows Toni. Return long. 30-15. Ace. 40-15. Fault. UE by IL. Game Rafa. 2-0, Nadal. They are still talking about the bad call that IL got. Rafa into net. 15-0. Commentators note that Rafa seems to be moving well. Let. Ace. 30-0. 40-0, after good serve. Game IL. Very easy service game for him. 2-1, Nadal. Rafa to serve. Great serve. 15-0. BH winner by IL. 15-15. Let. Great serve by Rafa, but Rafa couldn't handle volley. 15-30. Rafa hits wide. 15-40. Bad error by Rafa. Two BP's. Fault. Winner by IL. Gane to IL. 2-2, on serve. IL to serve. The break was a shame, because I don't think Rafa is going to get that many chances on IL's serve. 15-15. Ace. 30-15. Ace. 40-15. 4 aces for IL. FH passing winner down the line for Rafa. 40-30. Return goes wide. Game to IL. 2-3, Ljubicic. Rafa to serve. The stadium is packed. Crowd is for Rafa. Adjusts his socks. Fault. FH into net by IL. 15-0. Dozens of photographers. Fault. We should have many photos from the final. IL BH goes out. 30-0. Great serve by Rafa; IL hits wide again. 40-0. Ace. Game to Nadal. Much better service game by Rafa. 3-3, on serve. 15-0, IL serving. 30-0. It's going to hard to break him again. Fault. Double fault. 30-15. Fault. Rafa into net. 40-15. Fault. Ace. Game to IL. 3-4, Ljubicic. Rafa to serve. New balls. 0-15. Long rally, great BH by Ljubicic forces error by Rafa. Great serve by Rafa. 15-15. Fault. Double fault. 15-30. Trouble for Rafa. Come on, Rafa. Crowd is supporting him. Return goes long. 30-30. Short points for the most part so far. Fault. Great return, and Rafa goes into net. 30-40. BP for IL. This is a virtual set point. Come on, Rafa. UE by Rafa. Into net. Game to IL. 3-5, Ljubicic. IL serving for set. Great passing shot by Rafa. 0-15. Good serve. 15-15. Another passing shot winner by Rafa. 15-30. Return goes long. 30-30. Rafa not happy about that. Fault. Winner by Ljubicic. Set point to IL. 40-30. Ace. Set to IL. posted by Susan @ 8:29 PM  0 comments Madrid -- Nadal vs. Robredo (Set 2) Thursday, October 20, 2005 Getting ready for the second set, after Rafa took the first 6-2. It's apparent that Robredo has been a bit intimidated by Rafa. His strategy has been to hit hard, and if that doesn't work, hit harder. And it isn't working well at the moment. Vamos, Rafa! Commentators are talking about how carefully he places his water bottles under his chair. They are saying that Rafa probably had a tidy bedroom as a kid. Guess they haven't listened to his Mom. Tommy to serve. 15-0. That FH worked. 30-0. Ace. 40-0. Tommy is picking up his serving here. Fault. UE by Tommy. 40-15. FH winner. Game Robredo. 0-1, Robredo. Rafa to serve. Fault. Tommy hits FH long after rally. 15-0. Fault. BH down the line is just wide. Late call. 15-15. Let. Tommy hits BH long. Overhitting a bit by TR. 30-15. Great scrambling by Rafa to win that point. 40-15. Fault. Another FH UE. Game Nadal. 1-1, on serve. Rafa to change racquet. Tommy to serve. Tommy hits FH wide. 0-15. Rafa hits dropshot. Tommy gets to it, but hits wide. 0-30. Fault. Commentators think Tommy is trying too hard. Great scrambling by Rafa, and then he misses the easy one. 15-30. Good FH by Robredo. 30-30. Wonderful FH angle by Rafa. 30-40. BP for Rafa. Fault. Second serve. Bad UE by Tommy. Game Nadal. 2-1, Nadal. Great serve. 15-0. UE by Tommy. 30-0. Rafa FH long. 30-15. Second UE from Nadal in this set. TR has 7 in this set. BH UE by Robredo. 40-15. Rafa has won 28 baseline points, and lost 17. He's been in control of baseline. TR goes to net, forces Nadal error. 40-30. Return goes wide. Game Nadal. 3-1, Nadal. Sorry, had some technical problems. It is now breakpoint in Robredo's favor. 30-40 on Nadal's serve, after Robredo held. Robredo BROKE, with a passing shot. So back on serve. 3-3, on serve. Double fault. 0-15. Come on, Rafa! FH winner by Robredo, who seems to be playing better. 15-15. Volley FH winner by Robredo. 30-15. 9/14 at net for TR. Long rally, with BH mishit by Robredo 30-30. Great FH angle by TR. 40-30. Rafa hits BH wide. Game Robredo. 4-3, Robredo. Rafa seems to have let up a bit, and Tommy is taking advantage, becoming more aggressive. Hopefully Rafa will keep fighting, too. Vamos, Rafa!!! Rafa to serve. Rafa UE into net. 0-15. Return long. 15-15. Tommy runs into backboard, can't handle FH. 30-15. Ditto. 40-15. Let. Fault. FH winner by Tommy, right on the baseline. 40-30. Rafa's been hitting too many short balls. Let. Rafa hits FH out, forced error. Deuce. Come on, Rafa. Fight! Great serve and FH's; Tommy hits into net. Ad Rafa. Unreturnable serve. Game Nadal. 4-4, on serve Tommy changes racquet. New balls. TR to serve. Great serve, even better return, TR can't handle volley. 0-15. Fault. Tommy his FH long. 0-30. Shows Uncle Toni. Long rally. Tommy UE into net. 0-40. Three breakpoints. Fault. FH winner by TR. 15-40. Saved one breakpoint. Commentators note that TR has been inconsistent. Great BH by Rafa, and Tommy responds into net. Game Nadal. 5-4, Nadal. Rafa to serve for match. Rafa changes shirt. John Barrett says it probably isn't going to get very wet. He also notes that Rafa seems to be moving well, without much pain, if any. Fault. Double fault. Come on, Rafa! Barrett is saying "he is human after all." 29 UE's for Robredo. Just hit hit his 29th. 15-15. His 30th. 30-15. Tommy seems surprised that Rafa is able to return some of his FH's. Volley winner by Rafa. Fist pump. 40-15. Two matchpoints. Tommy hits FH long. MATCH TO NADAL, 6-2, 6-4. He acknowledges the crowd. Rafa 11 UE's, 11 winners Robredo 31, UE's, 17 winners Tommy only had 1 BP; Rafa converted 4 of 6. Great match for Rafa!!! Stepanek is next! posted by Susan @ 11:43 AM  2 comments Madrid -- Nadal vs. Robredo (Set 1) Rafa is playing Tommy Robredo in the third round of the Madrid Masters. We will be providing live play-by-play coverage as soon as the match starts -- at approximately 11 a.m. PT. Stay tuned . . . . Rafa and Tommy are on court, warming up. Rafa is wearing the same white shorts and orange shirt that he wore yesterday. Only difference is a white bandana, instead of a yellow one. Rafa is wearing the knee bands again. But he was jumping during the coin toss and sprinted to the baseline as usual. The arena is full. The commentators are saying this surface will favor Robredo, because he grew up on hardcourts. So this may be a tough one for Rafa. Vamos, Rafa!!!! Tommy to serve. Rafa hits return long. 15-0. Fault. Tremendous FH angle by Rafa. 15-15. That was a long rally. Fault; let. Great FH pass by Rafa. 15-30. Fault. Tommy hits long. They are blasting forehands at each other. 15-40. Two breakpoints for Rafa! FH winner down-the-line by Rafa. Game Nadal. 1-0, Nadal. Rafa to serve. Adjusts socks. Unreturnable serve. 15-0. Ditto. 30-0. Ditto again. Tommy hits return wide. 40-0. Shows Toni. Rafa hits FH long. 40-15. Fault. UE by Tommy. Game Nadal. 2-0, Nadal. Fernando Verdasco is watching the match. Tommy to serve. Fault. Double fault. 0-15. FH winner by TR after short return. 15-15. Unreturnable serve. 30-15. FH winner. 40-15. TR is playing better now, not as tentative. Fault. Mishit by Rafa. Game Robredo. 2-1, Nadal. Rafa to serve. Fault. Rafa hits BH just out after fending off a number of FH's. 0-15. Crowd is getting noisier. Unreturnable serve. 15-15. Let. Rafa hits FH long. 15-30. Great FH by Rafa; Tommy hits wide. 30-30. Rafa ran around his BH a couple times. Fault. Long FH slugfest. What a rally!!! Power and depth. Tommy into net. 40-30. Great point! Rafa is still breathing hard after that rally. Ace. Game Nadal. 3-1, Nadal. Tommy to serve. Fault. Double fault. 0-15. Tommy hits FH wide. 0-30. BH long by Rafa. 15-30. Fault. Return long. 30-30. Mishit by Tommy. 30-40. Breakpoint for Nadal. FH winner by Tommy. Deuce. Rafa hits return long. Nice volley by Robredo. Game Robredo. 3-2, Nadal. Rafa to serve. Drinks some water, properly places the bottle under his chair. Adjusts his pants and socks. ;-) Fault. Tommy FH into net. 15-0. Tommy is hitting as hard as he can. Shows Toni. Fault. Great forehand sets up volley put away. 30-0. Let. Fault. Return long. 40-0. Great BH by Nadal, Tommy couldn't handle. Gane Nadal. 4-2, Nadal. Ace by Tommy. 15-0. UE by Tommy. 15-15. Let. Fault. Another BH UE. 15-30. Crowd clapping. Fault. Rafa BH into net. 30-30. That was a long rally. Showing Toni again. Let. Bad FH mishit by Tommy. 30-40. Another BP for Rafa. Tommy hits FH long. Game Nadal. 5-2, Nadal. Rafa serving. FH volley by Rafa. 15-0. Fault. FH UE into net by TR. 30-0. Nadal only 6 UE's, 14 UE's for Robredo. Rafa misses BH. 30-15. Fault. FH goes long. 40-15. Two SET POINTS!!! Tommy into net. SET TO NADAL. 6-2, Nadal. To a new thread for second set. posted by Susan @ 10:24 AM  0 comments Madrid - Second Round - Post-Match Analysis Wednesday, October 19, 2005 Nadal def. Victor Hanescu 7-6(5), 6-3 Rafa was cautious, and looking a bit rusty at the beginning of the match. But once he won the first set, his tennis went up a notch, and he played much better. In fact, he was playing very well at the end of the match. He was imposing his game more on Hanescu, who started making more errors to compensate, and that made things easier for Rafa. That's what he typically does on clay, but before then, Hanescu was holding fairly easily on his service games. But if you didn't know about Rafa's knee issues, and see the bands on his knees, you wouldn't really know he had tendonitis in his knees. His movement seemed very good; he was even running down Hanescu's dropshots (I couldn't figure out why he kept going to that shot.) Moya or Robredo will be much more of a test for Rafa, certainly. If he plays the way he did at the end of today's match, and if his knees aren't an issue, he has a shot. Oh, as for the piratas, the commentators were saying they thought he wasn't wearing them because of the knee bands, as they would get caught in the pants. They obviously hadn't heard that Nike had decided a while back that he was going to wear regular shorts for the rest of the year. My speculation is that there is a shortage of piratas available for supply (Tennis Warehouse can't get them), and that they are now using Rafa to market regular shorts now. I do hope he pulls out of Basel, though. (Sorry to any Swiss fans out there.) The knee tendonitis is still a concern. Vamos, Rafa! posted by Susan @ 10:34 AM  0 comments Madrid -- Nadal vs. Hanescu (Set 2) We'll start a new thread for the second set. Rafa did well to win that first set. Great fist pump when he won the first set. He's not jumping much, though. Go Rafa! Commentators expect Rafa to play better in second set, now that he has a set under his belt. Hanescu to serve. 15-0, Rafa into net. Rafa can't quite get to drop shot. 30-0. Rafa got to that dropshot. FH on thee line. 30-15. Hanescu wants to make Rafa run more, I think. 40-15. Let. VH really has been serving well. Ace. Game VH. 1-0, Hanescu. They have too many tennis balls, so are trying to straighten out that situation. The models are having to work now. ;-) Rafa to serve. Great serve, sets up volley. 15-0. Rafa hits BH long. 15-15. Rafa pounded several FH's, finally causing UE by VH. 30-15. S&V by Rafa. 40-15. Commentators again are saying he's moving well. He's just making a few uncharacteristic errors because of rust. Nice FH. Game Nadal. 1-1, on serve Trainer called -- by Hanescu!!! He's getting treatment on his legs, perhaps for cramping, in the left thigh. Commentators are saying they shouldn't allow injury time-outs. Rafa runs out to take his position. Great FH. 0-15. Unreturnable serve. 15-15. Fault. Rafa UE into net. 30-15. Fault. VH long. 30-30. Lopez smiling. Rafa was running everywhere in the point, after a great return. But FH had last word. 40-30. Unreturnable serve. Game VH. 2-1, Hanescu (on serve) Rafa to serve. 15-0. Two unreturnable serves. 30-0. VH hits long. 40-0. Serve into the body, VH can't handle. Game Nadal. 2-2, on serve VH to serve. FH pass by Rafa. 0-15. Amazing point by Rafa. VH plays half-volley through the legs. Rafa gets to it, and VH into net. 0-30. Fist pump. Fault. 15-30. Fault. BH goes wide. 30-30. Great FH, on the line. 30-40. Breakpoint for Rafa. Couldn't handle serve out wide. Deuce. Fault. FH into net. Ad Hanescu. Easy OH for Hanescu. Good serving by Hanescu causes Rafa problems. Game VH. 3-2, Hanescu (on serve) Rafa serving. VH dropshot doesn't work. Rafa gets to it, and has some help from the net cord. 15-0. FH goes wide. 30-0. 40-0. Ace. Game Nadal. 3-3, on serve Fault. Hanescu is driving me crazy with that serve out wide. Rafa got to it, and fortunately, VH hit UE. 0-15. And ditto again, this time into net. 0-30. Two FH errors by Hanescu. Nadal hits return into net. 15-30. VH has 18 errors and 2 winners in this set. Fault. FH goes long. Rafa pumps fist. 15-40. Two breakpoints. Toni encouraging Rafa. Come on, Rafa! Beautiful cross-court angle winner. HE BREAKS! 3-4, Nadal 30-0. Rafa is playing much better now. He seems a lot more confident. Fault. Too much pace on the Nadal FH. 40-0. Fault. Easy volley put away. Game Nadal. 3-5, Nadal VH to serve. Great BH passing winner by Rafa. 0-15. Double fault. 0-30. VH's level of play has gone down. Let. Ace. 15-30. His 9th ace. BH winner by Hanescu. 30-30. Right on the line. Muffed dropshot by VH. 30-40. Matchpoint for Rafa! UE by VH. 7-6, 6-3 HE WINS!!!!!! He signs the camera lens. Rafa played a lot better toward the end of the second set. 24 winners and 18 UE's for Rafa overall. He got 3 of 6 break opportunities. He will play either Moya or Robredo next. posted by Susan @ 8:16 AM  3 comments Madrid -- Nadal vs. Hanescu (Set 1) Rafa has confirmed he will play his match against Hanescu today. According to the doctors, he cannot further damage he knee by playing today. Stay tuned for live coverage, courtesy of VamosRafael.com. Rafa is warming up now. First, he gave a presentation to the widow of a tennis player who passed away. He's wearing white shorts, with black bands under both knees. An orange sleeveless shirt, and a yellow headband. Rafa to serve to start. Hanescu won the toss. Rafa was jumping around the way he normally does before the match, and sprinted to the back court. 0-30 -- He hit long on the second point. Fault. Seems a little rusty to start. 15-30. Hanescu hits wide. He's making Rafa run around. Rafa hits forehand long. 0-40. Two breakpoints. Fault. Lucky let cord for Hanescu. He breaks. Change side. 1-0, Hanescu. Hanescu serving. Hits long. 0-15. Mishit by Rafa. 15-15. Great FH down the line, hit on the run. 15-30. Rafa into net. Great serve by Hanescu. 40-30. Fault. BH long. Game Hanescu. 2-0, Hanescu. Rafa still isn't looking too comfortable out there. He's moving okay, though. Rafa to serve. Fault. 15-0. Fault. Hanescu hits long. 30-0. Unreturnable serve. 40-0. Much better service game by Rafa. Fault. Rafa hits FH wide. Uncharacteristic errors by Rafa. 40-15. Good serve. VH into net. Game Nadal. 2-1, Hanescu. Hanescu to serve. The commentators are wondering if Rafa will complete the match. VH volley into net. 0-15. Ace. 15-15. Fault. Rafa couldn't get to dropshot. 30-15. That couldn't have helped his knee any. 40-15. Rafa couldn't get to serve. Ace. Game Hanescu. 3-1, Hanescu. Rafa to serve. Good serve. 15-0. 30-0. Fault. Good FH by Rafa, forcing VH to mishit. 40-0. Great FH angle. Game Nadal. Good service game by Rafa. 3-2, Hanescu. VH to serve. Come on, Rafa. VH hits long. 0-15. Let. Great serve. But let cord didn't help VH this time. Ball out. 0-30. Rafa looking focused. S&V by VH. 15-30. Great passing shot by Rafa. 15-40, to set up two breakpoints. Rafa moved quite well in that point. Vamos! Fault. He breaks. Fist pump!!!! VH didn't play well in that game, and Rafa took advantage. 3-3, on serve 15-0, good serve by Rafa. VH hits long. Great FH's by Rafa. He's pounding the ball. Angle volley by Rafa. VH couldn't handle. 30-0. He's finding his range now. Fault. FH long by Rafa. 30-15. VH hits long. 40-15. Rafa tried to S&V, and he passed Rafa. 40-30. Another S&V, but this time worked. Game Nadal. 3-4, Nadal VH to serve. 15-0. Ace. 30-0. Fourth ace by VH. Rafa mishits, and yells at himself. 40-0. Rafa is hitting a few too many short balls. Let. Commentators are noting that Rafa seems to be moving well. VH hits out. 40-15. Fault. BH mishit by Rafa. Game VH. 4-4, on serve They are showing Carlos Costa and Toni Nadal. Rafa to serve. FH wide by Rafa. 0-15. Adjusts his pants. Fault. Return is long. 15-15. Replay confirms it was long. Fault. Beautiful down-the-line FH pass by Rafa. 30-15. Fist pump! Let. Great BH crosscourt angle by Rafa. 40-15. Right on the line! Fault. There are model ballgirls. They don't seem to be distracting Rafa. VH hits wide, after good Rafa FH. Game Nadal. 4-5, Rafa VH to serve. Unreturnable serve out wide. 15-0. VH is serving quite well. Fault. Great return by Rafa, but then he followed up with FH into net. He yelled at himself. Rafa has half as many winners as errors. Ace. 40-0. Fault. FH down the line winner by Rafa. 40-15. Towels off. VH hits wide. He's trying to go to Rafa's BH as much as possible. 40-30. Great pass by Rafa. 40-40. Well done by Rafa. Fault. Then great serve out wide, finished it off with volley. Ad VH. Then another great serve. Game VH. 5-5, on serve Rafa serving. OH by VH after long rally. 0-15. Fault. Great FH by Rafa. 15-15. Great FH angle. 30-15. Feliciano Lopez is watching match. FH winner by Rafa. 40-15. Fault. Double fault. 40-30. Commentators saying he's a bit rusty. Couple punishing forehands. Game Rafa. He runs to chair. 5-6, Nadal. Vamos, Rafa! VH to serve to take it to a tiebreak. Fams are holding up Nadal posters. Fault. Rafa mishits long. 15-0. Volley long by VH. 15-15. That was a bit surprising. Go Rafa! Let. Fault. Geat volley winner by Nadal, after getting to dropshot. 15-30. Fist pump by Rafa. Crowd into this. S&V, volley wide by VH. Unforced error. 15-40. Call was correct. Two set points for Rafa. Great serve by VH. Rafa's return into net. 30-40. One more set point. Come on, Rafa! Lob long by Rafa. It was close. Deuce. Toni looks nervous. Crowd is cheering for Rafa. Go Rafa! Return into net. Ad Hanescu. Rafa not happy. Winner FH by Hanescu. Game Hanescuu. 6-6, TIEBREAK 0-1, Hanescu. Rafa unforced error into net. 0-2, Hanescu. Return into net. 0-3, Hanescu. Rafa down a mini-break. Rafa to serve. 1-3, Hanescu. Great serve by Rafa. VH hits long. 2-3, Hanescu. Fault. VH long. VH to serve. 2-4, Hanescu. Winner by VH. Change ends. 3-4, Hanescu. Great return by Nadal, and then BH winner by Rafa. Rafa to serve. 4-4, On Serve. Ace by Rafa. Go Rafa! First Ace. 4-5, Nadal. VH hits wide. Rafa makes happy noise. Feliciano is smiling. 5-5, Hanescu. Nadal hit FH wide. One more serve by VH. 5-6, Nadal. UE by VH. Third set point for Rafa. He yelled Come on or Vamos! 5-7, Nadal, Return goes long. SET TO NADAL. posted by Susan @ 6:48 AM  3 comments Sunday Morning Quarterbacking Sunday, September 04, 2005 Now that we have gotten over the "shock" of Rafa's to loss to American James Blake in the third round, we can analyze it better. First, we must admit, even if just to ourselves, that the loss was not a shock. As Rafa readily admits, he did not play very well in the first two rounds. It was enough to beat two much lower-ranked opponents, but we all realized he was going to have to play better to beat an in-form Blake on Blake's favorite surface. He raised his level in the first two sets against Blake, taking the second set, but unfortunately, Blake upped the ante himself. His forehand was firing all day, hitting 53 winners to Rafa's 29. He imposed his game on Rafa, instead of the other way around. If anything was surprising, it was Rafa's lack of self-belief in the third and fourth sets. Yes, he was being beaten, but usually he's able to dig in and play better, or make his opponent work harder. On clay, he has the confidence to do that, but he isn't quite there on faster surfaces yet. Some people are pointing to this and saying, "He's a claycourt specialist. He'll never be anything else." One poster on a messageboard suggested it's time for Rafa and his coach to go back to the "drawing board," as he's nothing more than a pusher and retriever right now. It's a bit too early to say that a guy who just turned 19 is never going to get any better. As Brad Gilbert said recently, "I've never seen a player who was complete at age 19. Time is on his side." And it is. Regardless, I think most players would sacrifice their all-court games for Rafa's "pusher and retriever" one if they could post in their careers the results Rafa has posted in just one year. He has won to date nine titles, including a slam and three masters events. Not only did he win a hardcourt title, but it was a big one (AMS Montreal). He also reached the final in Miami, and the fourth round of the Australian Open, where he had Lleyton Hewitt on the ropes. He isn't going away. To the contrary, he is going to get better. Players say they learn more from their losses than they do their wins. Rafa will learn from this. He learned from the loss to Roger Federer in Miami that when he gets an opportunity to close out a match, he better take it, or he may not get another chance. He put that experience to good use in Monte Carlo when he was in nearly the same situation, and he thought to himself, "It's Miami all over again." Instead of panicking, he dug in and closed out the match. It's been a long year for Rafa, with many successes. We are so used to seeing him win that we sometimes forget how young he is, and that his game is still a work in progress. The loss yesterday doesn't mean he won't win the U.S. Open. It just means he wasn't ready to win this year. He has the fall to develop his game on hardcourts, and it won't be long before he's back on the slower hardcourts of Australia, where he'll be ready to do some damage. Vamos, Rafa!!! posted by Susan @ 4:04 PM  1 comments Fourth Set -- Nadal vs. Blake Saturday, September 03, 2005 When I last left you, Rafa had just lost the third set on his serve. The score now is 4-6, 6-4, 3-6. Hopefully Rafa can regroup, and up his level of tennis. Vamos! Blake to serve. 15-0, overhead by Blake. Rafa is retaping his racquet. Kind of strange. Ace. 30-0. Wild FH by Blake. 30-15. Fault. Another wild FH. 30-30. Vamos. 30-40. Breakpoint by Rafa. Ace. Deuce. Fault. FH winner by JB. AD JB. He holds. 0-1, JB. Rafa to serve. 0-15. Rafa can't handle Blake's fh. Blake is just outplaying Rafa right now. Long return. 15-15. UE by Blake after blistering return Rafa was lucky to get back. 30-15. Blake is really attacking Rafa's second serve. S&V by Rafa. 40-15. Ace. Vamos from Rafa. 1-1. Blake to serve. 15-0, another fh winner on the run. 30-0. Ace. 40-0. 10 aces. Unret. serve. Game Blake. 1-2, JB. Rafa to serve before a record day crowd at the Open. Adjusts the socks. Fault. Another FH winner by Blake. 0-15. Bad luck with let cord. 0-30. Another UE by Rafa. Very sloppy game. 0-40. 3 BP's for JB. Big whole to dig out of. Fault. Blake broke. 1-3, JB. As Mary Carillo said, Blake is playing a better hardcourt match, and he is. 15-0. FH wide by JB. 15-15. 30-15. Rafa doesn't know what to do. Fault. UE into net. 40-15. Game Blake. It's all Blake right now. 1-4, JB. Come on, Rafa. 0-15. 0-30. Rafa is rattled. Bad let cord for Rafa. 0-40. Blake is dominating. Poor Rafa. Rafa hits long, and is broken at love. 1-5, JB. Well, things aren't looking too good for Rafa. 15-0. Another FH. 30-0. It's all Blake now. Another great serve. 3 matchpoints. Blake wins!!! Final score: 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 1-6. Rafa congratulates him. Rafa signs autographs on way out. James gives a lot of respect to Rafa, saying Rafa has many more wins ahead of him. September 3, 2005 posted by Susan @ 12:10 PM  12 comments Third Set -- Nadal vs. Blake They are now 1-1, with Rafa breaking Blake to take the second set. Score is 4-6, 6-4. The good news for Rafa is that Blake seems to be slowing down a bit. He played his heart out for nearly two sets, and Rafa seems the fresher one. But great match so far. The J-Block is still out in force. Blake served just 43% first serves in second set. Rafa will start the third set serving: 15-0, unreturnable serve. Commentators are saying Rafa is playing with more energy. Fault. Winner FH by Rafa. 30-0. Blake is subdued. Blake hits drop shot, and Rafa passes. 40-0. Return into net. Game Nadal. 1-0, RN. Blake to serve. 15-0, overhead by Blake. The crowd is a bit subdued, too. FH winner by Blake. 30-0. Mishit return. 40-0. Game Blake. 1-1, Rafa to serve. 15-0, great rally. Blake dictated, but Rafa hit a great volley, and forced the error. Fault. Blake hits long. 30-0. Fault. Mishit FH by Rafa. 30-15. Great winner by Rafa, James applauds. 40-15. Rafa dictated that point, trying to wear down Blake. Commentators think Rafa is prolonging rallies on purpose. Rafa UE. 40-30. Come on, Rafa. J-Block is yelling. James hits long. Game Nadal. 2-1, RN. Blake to serve. Well, in the middle of commentary, my electricity went out. And as you can see a lot has happened since then. My power went out on breakpoint, so I missed seeing that point. But Rafa's still in this. 4-2, RN, with Rafa down a break. Rafa is serving. 30-0. Rafa volley into net, after great shot by Blake. 30-15. Fault. Missed volley by Blake. 40-15. Rafa misses FH. 40-30. Come on, Rafa. Great volley by James. Deuce. He's getting more energized now. Vamos! Rafa passes, and James applauds. Ad Nadal. Rafa fist-pump and vamos -- well earned. Blake hits long. He holds. 4-3, JB. Blake to serve. 15-0, great serve. 30-0. Blake is serving much better this set. Fault. BH long. 40-0. Rafa is fighting, but Blake is too good at the moment. Fault. Rafa into net. Rafa looked a little tired in that game. They are saying that Rafa is not playing his best tennis, and this is true. 5-3, JB. Rafa to serve. 15-15. Rafa mishits. 15-30. Rafa seems to be losing focus here a bit. 30-30, return into net. Misses his FH again. Set point Blake. Come on, Rafa! 30-40. Blake wins set, after great shotmaking. Will this be going five sets? posted by Susan @ 11:36 AM  21 comments Second Set -- Nadal vs. Blake Vamos, Rafa! For second set. He lost the first set 6-4, after one break of serve. Rafa to serve. Fault. Blake passes him with a FH winner. 0-15. Winner by Rafa. 15-15. They are talking about what a big win this would be for Blake. Fault. Blake passes Rafa. 15-30. Rafa better be careful. Fault. FH into net. 30-30. FH winner by Blake. 30-40. Another BP. Come on, Rafa. Great winner by Rafa. Blake even applauds. Deuce. Rafa is pumped. Vamos! Fault. Blake misses FH. Ad Nadal. Game Nadal. 1-0, RN. JB to serve. Nice to see a little fire from Rafa. There are some Spaniards in the crowd, waving the flag. Fault. JB hits long. 0-15. Fault. Mishit by JB. 0-30. Rafa has an extra spring in his step. Fault. DF. 0-40. Three breakpoints. Vamos, Rafa! Rafa breaks!!!! 2-0, RN. Rafa to serve. Rafa into net. 0-15. Great point, but Rafa couldn't scramble enough. 0-30. Come on, Rafa. Both guys are scrambling like crazy. FH winner by Rafa. 15-30. Another FH winner. 15-40. Now he has two breakpoints. Vamos! Return winner. Blake breaks. 2-1, RN. What a match! Too bad he couldn't hold onto the break. But they are both putting on a show. Blake to serve. 0-15. Great volley winner by Blake. 15-15. Mary Carillo says she has never seen Blake play this well. I tend to agree. S&V. 30-15. Fault. Mishit BH. 30-30. Vamos, Rafa! Fault. Another volley winner. Rafa is running everywhere. 40-30. Fault. Rafa into net. Game to Blake. 2-2, Rafa to serve. Come on, Rafa! DF. 0-15. Rafa is feeling the pressure. Switches racquets. Rafa is a little rattled. Return goes long. 15-15. FH winner by Rafa. 30-15. Blake overhits return. 40-15. Long rally, until Rafa mishits fh. 40-30. Hard hitting. Blake overhits volley, after Rafa did drop shot. Game to Nadal. Rafa is trying different things. 3-2, RN. Blake to serve. But Blake is playing better, and is playing about the best tennis I've seen him play. Credit to Rafa's defense that he's still in this. Vamos, Rafa! 15-0, as Rafa overhits return. Fault. UE by Rafa. 30-0. Rafa is changing tactics, using more spin. DF #3. 30-15. Fault. FH winner. No trouble with Rafa's topspin. 40-15. Game Blake. Easy hold for Blake. 3-3. Rafa to serve. 15-0, FH long. New balls. FH wide. 30-0. These guys are working. Great serve and FH by Rafa. 40-0. Unret serve. Rafa holds. Vamos! 4-3, RN. Blake to serve. Go Rafa! 0-15. JB hits wide. Seems to be slowing down a bit. Fault. Another FH wide. 0-30. Passing shot by Rafa. 0-40. James seem a bit more tentative now. Vamos! FH winner by JB. 15-40. Fault. FH winner. 30-40. One more chance, Rafa. Come on, Rafa! Fault. Rafa UE into net. Man! Deuce. Rafa into net again. Ad Blake. I can't believe Blake is still in this. Rafa seems a little nervous. Rafa hits out. Blake holds. 4-4. Rafa to serve. He will not be happy that he didn't convert one of those opps. Go Rafa! 15-0, JB into net. They are saying Rafa had a bit of a mental lapse. I think that's true. Great serve. 30-0. Volley put away. 40-0. Rafa is rebounding. S&V by Rafa, but Blake passes. 40-15. Be careful Rafa. Blake misses FH. Game Rafa. 5-4, RN. Go Rafa! If Rafa can take this set, it would be good for him as Blake seems to have lost a bit of steam. Vamos! 0-30. Great BH down the line for Rafa. Volley hits the line. 15-30. Groundstroke goes long. 30-30. Rafa is working hard. Fault. Long rally, but Rafa hits just wide. 40-30. 24-stroke rally. Fault. FH winner return. Deuce. Rafa likes that. FH winner by Blake. Ad Blake. Fault. Blake hits long. Deuce. JB misses half volley. Set point for Rafa. Ace. Deuce. Exciting stuff. Fault, and then mishit. AD Nadal. Second set point. Fault. Just wide by Rafa. Rafa thought he had it, but missed. Deuce. Fault. UE by JB. Ad Nadal. Third set point. Vamos! His camp is looking nervous. Fault. UE by JB. Rafa wins the set, and celebrates with a fist pump and leap. Vamos! posted by Susan @ 10:49 AM  20 comments First Set -- Nadal vs. Blake We are waiting for the guys to come on court. CBS is showing the second set tiebreak between Ljubicic and Gasquet. 6-6 in TB. Richard just saved set point. Now Richard has a set point. 7-6. Great passing shot by Richard, who takes the set. They are 1-1. Now they should go to Ashe for Nadal and Blake. Vamos, Rafa! They have a nice video promo of Nadal and Blake. Lots of fist-pumps and Vamoses. They are warming up right now. Rafa is in the blue-and-white outfit. Tight blue shirt, and white capris. Short interview with Rafa before match. He's jumping around. Reporter says good luck to him, and he admits it's going to be a tough match. John McEnroe says Nadal isn't playing with a lot of confidence, and Blake is playing the best he's ever seen him play, so McEnroe thinks James can win. Rafa to serve, as he sprints into position. 15-0, UE by JB. Rafa is going to Blake's BH. UE by Rafa. 15-15. Commentators saying the conditions today are better for Rafa than the Scoville match. 30-15. Unreturnable serve. Fault. 40-15. James overhits return. Fault. DF. 40-30. Come on, Rafa. Deuce. Great FH by Blake. Rafa into net. Great serve. Ad Nadal. UE by Blake. Game Rafa. 1-0, RN. JB to serve. 0-15. Great serve, 15-15. Fault. Crowd is quiet right now. UE by Rafa. 30-15. But the J-Block can be heard. JB is 10-0 against lefties. FH winner. 40-15. Another fh winner. Game, JB. 1-1. Rafa to serve. 0-15, Rafa hits wide. 15-15. JB hits lob long. 15-30. Great FH by Blake. Rafa taking his time. Great serve. 30-30. Another great serve. 40-30. Ditto. Game Nadal. 2-1, RN. James is playing very well, but Rafa is hanging in there right now. JB to serve. 0-15. 15-15. Rafa hits BH just wide. He knew it when he hit it. Great scrambling by Rafa, but James puts volley away. 30-15. Bh wide. 40-15. UE by Blake into net. 40-30. Return goes long. 2-2, Rafa to serve. 15-0. FH winner. 30-0. Great serve. 40-0. Let. Return long. Easy hold. Good serving by Rafa. 3-2, RN. Breaking JB will be tough. J-Block are making noise. Fault, let. DF. 0-15. Wild FH by JB. 0-30. 15-30, after S&V. Fault. BH mishit by Rafa. 30-30. Return into net. 40-30. Blake misses FH. Deuce. Beautiful pass by Rafa. Ad Nadal. Breakpoint for Rafa! Deuce #2. As Rafa goes into net. UE by Blake. Second BP for Nadal. Ad Rafa. Vamos, Rafa! OH winner by Blake. Great point. Deuce #3. Blake S&V. Ad Blake. Let. Fault. Return into net. Too bad Rafa missed those chances, but he is putting pressure on. 3-3. Rafa to serve. Fault. Rafa FH wide. 0-15 Stay focused, Rafa. Fault. Blake missed FH after long rally. 15-15. Blake hits long. 30-15. FH winner. Blake says "yup." 40-15. Fault. DF. 40-30. Come on, Rafa! Wind is picking up. Rafa missed fh, just wide. Deuce. Great rally. Ad Nadal. James hits wide. Game Rafa. 4-3. JB to serve. Rafa is giving 100%, even though you can tell things aren't going just the way he would like. Vamos! Ace. 15-0. 30-0. Unret serve into body. Long rally with FH winner by Rafa. 30-15. Fault. Beautiful pass by Rafa after defensive shots. 30-30. FH winner by Blake. 40-30. Fault. Another FH winner. Game JB. 4-4. Rafa to serve. Vamos! 15-0, return into net. Rafa his FH long. 15-15. Fault. Come on, Rafa. OH by James, after long rally. Lots of hard hitting in this match. 15-30. 15-40. JB has two breakpoints. Come on, Rafa. Rafa hits fh long. Gets the break. :-( 4-5, JB. Rafa is making some uncharacteristic errors, but James is forcing them. Vamos, Rafa! JB to serve for the set. Rafa adjusts his socks. JB FH wide. 0-15. Just showing his parents, and Carlos Costa, and sister. Ace. 15-15. Unreturn serve. 30-15. Rafa winner after very strange point. 30-30. Blake S&V. 40-30. Set point. Fault. Winner by Rafa after favorable let cord. Deuce. Exciting stuff. Ace. Ad Blake. Another set point. Rafa keeps fighting. Deuce #2. Let. Rafa hit a lob. He thought it was good, but it was called out. Ad Blake. Rafa complained, but no good. Rafa his return wide. Set to Blake. 6-4. Crowd going wild. Will need to start a new thread. Rafa is not happy at all. He looks disgusted with himself, but he's not playing badly. James is playing better right now. Let's see if he can turn it around. Vamos, Rafa!! posted by Susan @ 9:43 AM  3 comments Nadal vs. Blake -- U.S. Open (Third Round) VR.com's live reporting of Rafa's third round match against James Blake at the U.S. Open will occur on Saturday, September 3. The match should get underway around 12 to 12:30 p.m. ET. Join us then! Vamos, Rafa! Good morning/afternoon. It's 12:05 p.m. on Saturday, and the match before Rafa's is in the second set. Justine Henin-Hardenne seemed to be cruising to a quick victory, but her opponent is showing signs of life. Stay tuned . . . . Justine Henin-Nardenne is serving for the match. If she wins, Rafa and Blake will be up soon. In the meantime, I'll give you all a "key" of the abbreviations I'll be using: RN: Rafael Nadal JB: James Blake UE: Unforced error DF: Double fault (I'm sure Rafa won't do any of those). BH: Backhand FH: Forehand S&V: Serve and volley (probably won't see much of that!) Justine has gone off the boil again. Two breakpoints. She saved one. She was broken. Tiebreak time. 3-3. 5-4, HH. 6-4, two matchpoints (finally). Game, set, match, for Justine. Rafa up next. We'll start a new thread. Vamos, Rafa! posted by Susan @ 9:41 AM  0 comments