[Ggskbpbz]

Outstanding story. If you're a fan, you can't miss this.

If someone who's a big Rafa fan wants the original hard print copy of today's Sunday Times magazine, PM me.

"Ripped...or Torn Up?



There was no moon over the tennis stadium, but it was after midnight, the risers still crowded, and Rafael Nadal was playing the Argentine David Nalbandian. This was in Indian Wells, Calif., three months ago, at a tournament in the desert called the BNP Paribas Open. People had taken off their visors and straw hats, and the night now was windless and warm, and although Nadal is No. 1 in the world and Nalbandian was that week No. 11, Nadal was having a terrible first set. He’d try one of his scary forehand drives, the whole arm whipping around so fast and the wrist snap so fluid that it’s like watching a thick rope flicked and hissing, and he’d uuunhh the way he does as his racket meets the ball, the sharp grunt that for an instant would be the only sound in the stadium, and then the ball would splat straight into the net. Or the ball would go long, meant to drop spinning just inside the baseline but instead sailing a whole foot out, and thousands of people would wince all at once. “It’s O.K., Rafa, come on.” Sometimes the stadium fans love to roll the R in the Spanish manner, especially when they’re singing to him, “RRRAfa, RRRAfa,” but these were sober, unaccented voices calling from the risers to Nadal, who didn’t look up.

Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/ma....html?_r=1&hpw

[berdyanskdotsu]

Outstanding story. If you're a fan, you can't miss this.

If someone who's a big Rafa fan wants the original hard print copy of today's Sunday Times magazine, PM me.

"Ripped...or Torn Up?


There was no moon over the tennis stadium, but it was after midnight, the risers still crowded, and Rafael Nadal was playing the Argentine David Nalbandian. This was in Indian Wells, Calif., three months ago, at a tournament in the desert called the BNP Paribas Open. People had taken off their visors and straw hats, and the night now was windless and warm, and although Nadal is No. 1 in the world and Nalbandian was that week No. 11, Nadal was having a terrible first set. He’d try one of his scary forehand drives, the whole arm whipping around so fast and the wrist snap so fluid that it’s like watching a thick rope flicked and hissing, and he’d uuunhh the way he does as his racket meets the ball, the sharp grunt that for an instant would be the only sound in the stadium, and then the ball would splat straight into the net. Or the ball would go long, meant to drop spinning just inside the baseline but instead sailing a whole foot out, and thousands of people would wince all at once. “It’s O.K., Rafa, come on.” Sometimes the stadium fans love to roll the R in the Spanish manner, especially when they’re singing to him, “RRRAfa, RRRAfa,” but these were sober, unaccented voices calling from the risers to Nadal, who didn’t look up.

Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/ma....html?_r=1&hpw

Thanks Moose for this

[aliceingoogs]

Excellent read. Enjoyed every minute of it.

I :love: Rafa.

[sFs4aOok]

Great article. Thanks, Moose.

I Rafa too.

[daguy]

I will await your return Rafa