NADAL RECEIVES SAMARANCH PRIZE; BATTLE FOR NO. 1 SET TO RESUME IN MADRID

Rafael Nadal concedes that there is a strong chance he will lose the No. 1 South African Airways ATP Ranking to Novak Djokovic within the next few months, even if he repeats his perfect clay-court sweep through Roland Garros.

Speaking after being awarded the international Juan Antonio Samaranch Prize in Madrid, Nadal said that even winning ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in Madrid and Rome the next two weeks and a sixth Roland Garros title may not be enough to hold the surging Serb at bay.

“Djokovic has a good chance of being No. 1 in the next two or three months,” said Nadal, who is the top seed in Madrid, which begins Sunday. “I could lose the No. 1 ranking even if I win nearly everything and this isn’t normal. He has very little to defend and I am defending a lot of points through to Wimbledon. For me, what is important, is the points at the end of the year.”

Last year Nadal won all three clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles and Roland Garros. He began this year's European clay-court season by winning his seventh consecutive title in Monte-Carlo, followed by a sixth title in Barcelona.

Nadal was honoured Thursday in Madrid as he received the Samaranch Prize in recognition of the success he has achieved in recent years and for the sporting values he has shown throughout his career.

Upon receiving the award, the 24-year-old Nadal said he felt “very proud” and was touched to receive a prize in Samaranch's name. The Mallorcan described Samaranch, the Spanish former President of the International Olympic Committee who died last year, as “a great ambassador, an extraordinary person, and it is to him that we sportsmen owe all the privileges we have.”

Albert Soler, the Secretary of State for Sport hailed Nadal as the “indisputable winner” of this prize, because he is “one of the most complete sportsmen and one of the best examples of fundamental sporting values.”

Nadal arrived in Madrid early, so as to watch the UEFA Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona at the Bernebeu on Wednesday evening, and on Thursday began his preparations for the Mutua Madrid Open.

The Mallorcan is riding a 34-match winning streak on clay and is looking to retain the trophy at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court event, where he defeated his great rival Roger Federer in the final last year.

There is the possibility of a much-anticipated match-up between Nadal and World No. 2 Djokovic in the final at the Caja Magica, but Nadal insisted on Friday that he was focussed only on his first opponent.

“Djokovic is absolutely not my concern, I can only face him in the final” declared Nadal of the Serbian, who has a perfect 25-0 record in 2011. “My concerns are always the first player I will face, my physical well being, and avoiding injury.”

The battle for No. 1 has been a well-documented topic this season, with Nadal, Djokovic and Federer the standout players challenging for the coveted year-end No. 1 spot in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings. While Nadal acknowledged he was “very satisfied” with his start to the season, he was quick to point out Australian Open champion Djokovic is currently the frontrunner.

Looking ahead specifically to the Mutua Madrid Open, where he is a two-time former winner, Nadal said, “We’ll see what happens. I think I have played well in the past few tournaments, but every tournament is different. To play in Madrid, at home, is very special and I have in mind how much support I have received from this crowd; I can’t forget it.”

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis … Award.aspx

Rafael Nadal rozegrał wczoraj swój 5 z rzędu finał turnieju ATP, 4 z serii Mistrzów. Hiszpan przegrał 3 taki pojedynek, 3 z Nole Djokoviciem. Rafa przegrał tym samym 16 z 61 rozegranych do tej pory finałów. Była to jego druga finałowa porażka w Madrycie.

Rafael Nadal - przegrane finały (16)

2011 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells
2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, Doha
2009 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid, Rotterdam
2008 ATP Masters Series Miami, Chennai
2007 ATP Masters Series Paris, Wimbledon, ATP Masters Series Hamburg 
2006 Wimbledon
2005 ATP Masters Series Miami
2004 Auckland

Statystyki Nadala z meczów w Rzymie

Nadal expects a loss from Djokovic - sometime

Spanish world No. 1 Rafael Nadal weighs in on his fourth straight loss to Novak Djokovic.

Rafael Nadal is facing the biggest challenge of his clay tennis career as he tries to somehow stay ahead of hot rival Novak Djokovic, who beat him for the second week in a row in Rome to win a Masters 1000 trophy on clay.

The world No. 1 Spaniard and the No. 2 Serb will resume from Sunday when the French Open starts, with each tipping the other as the Grand Slam title favourite.

Nadal's biggest job is to try and regain his longstanding superiority. He smilingly says he's trying it all. “I’m doing everything I can, I can’t ask myself anymore now. I’m doing very well but one player is doing better than me. I am waiting every week to try solutions, so let’s see.”

He takes faith in the fact that it is “impossible” for Djokovic’s streak to continue ad infinitum. “I have to wait for my moment to win."

Nadal knows that Djokovic is playing out of his skin at the moment and has done so since last December. The man who forgot how to lose now owns seven titles from seven events in 2011.

"He's playing the best right now," said Nadal. "In the last few months he's been at a different level, he's doing amazing things. He's playing with a lot of confidence. I'm the second in the race. My goal is to be there the next time.

"The big champions are not just those that are able to win every week but those that are able to wait until the right moment," he said. "I've beaten him in the past but now he's beating me. There are always ups and downs in a career."

http://tennistalk.com/en/news/20110516/ … -_sometime

The evolution of Rafael Nadal: Part 2



Phase 2: The Quest for Wimbledon (2005-2008)

Having won his first Roland Garros at 19 years of age, the young Rafa craved new achievements. His next ambition was Wimbledon - the tournament no one thought he could win. There were two main obstacles: the technical aspects of his clay game were not suited to grass, and the domination of Roger Federer on this surface, a man with all the technical and tactical weapons needed to master it.

Nadal took three years to win Wimbledon in 2008, during which time he hugely changed his technique to become more efficient. His No.1 rival Federer - who won the tournament every year between 2003 and 2007 - was playing fast, taking the ball early and used a choppy backhand a lot. This gave the Spaniard completely different angles to deal with, compared to clay.

Forehand:
Rafa struggled when attacked on his forehand. The big loop his arm took often made him late to the ball, so he had to play shorter and with more fragility. In order to improve his counter-attacking game, he shortened his preparation, keeping his elbow lower and speeding up the work of the racquet head - a technique often used to return an opponent's first serves. With this change he generated less speed, but better use of the speed of the ball made up for this.

Serve:
He had to find more power, knowing that aces and winners are mandatory if you are to succeed on grass. Plus, if he could convince his opponents that he was unreachable on his first serve, he could place more pressure on their returns. He had to find a way to gain speed, so he increased the falling distance of the racquet - however this solution did not work. Instead of giving more freedom to his wrist in order to send the head of the racquet higher, he raised his hand and also lifted his elbow far higher than the shoulder line. Technically this motion lacks accuracy, but it did give him more speed: a 184km/h average speed compared to 158km/h in 2003 testifies to this. Even if he remains some way off the efficiency he seeks, he reached his goal of winning Wimbledon.

Bonus:
Besides this technical work, Nadal tried to improve all areas of his game - and especially his backhand, adding the slice. This shot improved a lot but was still not crushing enough, sometimes putting him on the defensive afterwards. Playing doubles on a regular basis also helped him work on the shots he needs: the serve, the return and the net game. As years passed, he began to play more and more offensively.

Phase 3:  Success on All Surfaces (2008-)

Far from being satisfied with his Wimbledon triumph, Nadal set new goals for himself. He had never won the US Open, but knew he would shine on all surfaces if he could find a more universal technique. The serve was still his biggest consideration as he had to bring it up to the level of the rest of his game; at Flushing Meadows, with faster, lesser rebounding courts than those in Australia, the serve can be decisive. On the forehand, he was now taking advantage of his shortened motion but also knew he had lost his ability to find angles such as the inside-out short ones.

Forehand:
In 2005, his preparation was higher and his loop bigger. His hand was level with his pectorals, whereas in 2011 it is lower, near the abdominal region. His elbow was also much higher in 2005, ending the head of the racquet a good 50cm higher. Also in 2005 the elbow was placed further from the body - in 2011 its position prevents the big loop.           

Serve:
Comparison between 2008 and 2011 clearly shows that Rafa is back to using his 2005 motion. His elbow is lower than in 2008 when his hand was high above his head. He no longer trespasses over the shoulder line. His wrist is still 'broken' when he raises the arm, but he now succeeds in better raising the head of the racquet in order to gain speed. His toss is now higher and he strikes the ball when it hits its highest point, whereas before he was hitting it on the way down. And he is finally dealing better with the bodyweight transfer forward so he gains more power. The numbers speak for themselves: he increased his average speed on first serves from 184 to 190 between 2008 and 2010, while the number of aces follows a similar path, increasing from 210 to 310.

Bonus:
During all the work on his forehand, he lost some speed because it was generated by the loop. Therefore he sought another way of gaining it, improving the work of the wrist to whip the ball. Rafa's forearm now travels ahead of his hand, which is in turn ahead of the head of the racquet, perpendicular to his arm. With a whip-like action it makes up for the lost time, arriving with a lot of speed. This is what gives the shot its striking quality. A lab based in San Francisco measured that Nadal's topspin reaches a rotation of 3,200 turns per minute, compared with the 1,900 turns per minute of Agassi and the 2,700 turns per minute of Federer.

http://eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/patri … icle/1726/

French Open - Nadal to count on history in Paris

Rafael Nadal will rely on the Paris fear factor to overcome the scorching form of Novak Djokovic in his bid for a sixth French Open title.

For once, Nadal will not be the overwhelming favourite to win the season's second major, despite his terrifying presence on the Paris clay.

Nadal, whose brutal shot-making and experience at Roland Garros may still carry him through, has been beaten by Serb Djokovic in four successive finals this year.

"The big champions are not just those that are able to win every week but those that are able to wait until the right moment," the world number one said.

Nadal was speaking after losing again to Djokovic in last weekend's Rome final, stretching the Serb's 2011 record to 37-0 and leaving Nadal's grip on the top ranking in danger.

"I have to wait for my moment to win and I know that," said Nadal ahead of one of the most mouth-watering French Opens for years.

Djokovic's purple patch threatens to halt Nadal's charge to equal Bjorn Borg's six French Open crowns.

"I don't know how much good it brings to tennis, but it's good that someone else is able to win other than just (Roger) Federer and Nadal," said Djokovic. "It makes it more interesting."

Nadal has rarely been troubled on a Roland Garros court, losing only one match, in the fourth round in 2009 against Swede Robin Soderling.

"My first final in 2005, against (Argentine Mariano) Puerta, when he had a set point in the fourth. The 2006 final against Federer that comes down to a tiebreak," said the Spaniard, attempting to recall the odd scare.

"Also in 2006, against (Frenchman) Paul-Henri Mathieu, I had a very, very tough match. I don't remember another during which I felt I was in danger."

Nadal's top spin forehand and dogged tenacity on the demanding red clay could be key against Djokovic, who has had a tendancy to wear down, especially in five-setters.

However, that assumes Nadal will arrive in Paris in good physical shape, having almost been forced to pull out of the Rome Masters because of a virus.

"The most important thing is to arrive in the right conditions for the next tournament," the Spaniard acknowledged.

Nadal could feel the heat again if he is to meet Djokovic, who beat him in the Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome finals, on Centre Court on June 5.

Djokovic, justifiably for a man in the form of his life, remains quietly confident.

"I think Rafa is still right up there before anybody. I've never won Roland Garros, I've played a couple of times in semi-finals," said the Serb.

"Probably because I'm in the shape of my lifetime and playing the best tennis of my career I am one of the favourites, but Rafa has only lost one match there in his career."

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/19052011/ … paris.html

RG 2011 - konferencja po zwycięstwie w 1 rundzie.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/multi … 000dc.html

RG 2011 - konferencja po zwycięstwie w 2 rundzie.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/multi … 0013d.html

Nie mam linka do tego artykułu, dlatego wklejam treść. Smutną treść, szczególnie dla fanów Rafy, nigdy się tak nie uzewnętrzniał.



Nadal feels like he's been 'playing for 100 years'

Rafael Nadal says the tour's non-stop schedule is exhausting him and there are days when he sees playing tennis as a job, rather than a sport. The Spaniard added that all his playing years have taken a toll on him and that even with the shortening of the calendar this year, the season will still be too long.

"It's my ninth year on the tour, and its completely the same feeling every year," Nadal told reporters. "You don't have the chance to stop, never. I think for that situation we have a shorter career. So having a different model of ranking, of competition, I think we can have longer career, no?  I [am] almost 25, but seems like I am playing for 100 years here on the tour. I didn't spend a weekend at home since the week of Davis Cup before Indian Wells. That's too much. Tennis is a very demanding sport mentally and physically. I won Roland Garros five times, but next Monday I am practicing on Queen's. So that's makes the career shorter for everybody.

"We have four Grand Slams, we have nine Masters 1000, and the year is 12 months. I know that they're gonna reduce two week but, seriously, is not enough. [We are not ] gonna have these changes for my generation, but hopefully for the next generations to have a better sports life. Because I think you need two months, two months and a half of rest at the end of the season. You have to practice. I never able to practice and to try to improve the things during the off-season, and that's something I think terrible....Sometimes it's like work. And, in my opinion, tennis is not work. It's passion."

Ostatnio edytowany przez Barty (30-05-2011 18:29:27)

W sumie nie powiedział nic nowego. Że jest ogólnie wymęczony, widać niemal na każdym kroku, natomiast co do tez ogólnych, ma oczywiście rację. To co się dzieje w tenisie zawodowym jest chore i w efekcie mamy armię niespełna 30 letnich kalek i pół-emerytów.