2006: Rafael on clay is a thing of beauty
by Critternurse
The first time I saw Rafael Nadal I didn't like him. Or rather I should say, I didn't want to like him. Here was this young upstart, a kid really, vamosing, fist pumping and leaping around on the stomping grounds of my favorite clay court player, who was out with a nagging injury. The French Open of 2005 held little interest for me without my guy, but still I was mildly curious to know who would hoist the trophy, and as I watched Rafael with all his fire and fight, I thought to myself 'who does this punk think he is?' I thought he was cocky, so sure of himself out there celebrating every point, thinking he was gonna win his first time playing the tournament. Oh brother!! He acted like he owned it, like he was home out there on the clay of Roland Garros. Turns out he was.
After an amazing 2005, the start of 2006 brought the Australian Open and I barely even noticed his absence. March came along and I left on a trip to Indian Wells, California to visit my aunt. It so happened she had secured grounds tickets to the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament there and as my parents and I wondered the grounds on our first day, I was drawn to the outside practice court by the sound of his grunts. Once beside his court I found myself completely mesmerized by the aggressive nature of his practice; he hit every shot with all his might as though he were playing a match. His form was picture perfect, at least to me, and he muttered to himself in Spanish and became more eager and determined each time he missed his shots. I had never seen anyone practice so hard and I could not tear myself away. Besides I really liked those threads he was wearing, they were different in a very good way and the shirt did little to obstruct my view of those magnificent muscles. I was impressed with the intensity of his concentration, he was completely focused on his strokes, never looking around at the crowd. Every time he struck the ball I held my breath.
Through the week I did whatever I had to do to get tickets to his matches, be there at the garden to see his practices, and even got out of several family engagements to stay late into the night. I'm sure my parents thought me completely insane. I would rush back to the house at night and let them view my pictures, remarking 'look how close I got to Nadal in this one!' I was smitten. Clearly I wasn't alone. His doubles match was so crowded people were sitting illegally in the fire lanes of the stadium, repeatedly refusing the guards' request to move. The woman in front of me turned and said 'of course, you know everyone's here to see Nadal'. I also found out that week how much kids love Rafa. Everywhere he went, kids young and old followed, wanting his autograph on their giant tennis balls or their t-shirts adorned with Rafa's face, which he would gladly oblige them with smiling eyes. One day as a group of us were watching him hit with his trainer, a mother was trying to contain her little boy who was anxiously awaiting Rafa's retreat from the court so he could try for an autograph. She told me her son had been given the choice of going to meet Roger Federer and having his picture with him, or watching Rafael practice. 'He didn't even blink' she said, he wanted to watch Rafa. I thought that was telling, and so sweet.
Back home I began visiting VR.com to find out all I could, and learned how much more there was to this man that I had been watching. All wonderful, all fascinating. He wasn't cocky in the least, just self-confident and secure in his skin. All that passion I saw on court was a result of his intense love for the game, and his dogged belief that he could win if he only fought hard enough. He made me love the game of tennis again by showing his own love for it. The dream that was 2006 claycourt season only strengthened my admiration for him. So many times, during the toughest, closest matches, I would sit on the edge of my seat, fists clenched willing him to win the next point. My boyfriend would come into the room and remark that he could tell from my posture exactly how Rafa was doing at the moment. A couple times he even got caught up in the action with me, god bless him. When the victories started rolling along, I would jump up and down and shout in my living room, and cry with Rafael when he finally won. The defense of his Roland Garros title was magic, proving once and for all his superiority on the dirt. He is the undisputed king of clay. No tennis player before has ever elicited as much emotion from me as Rafa does. He fights like no one else even if there's only a glimmer of hope left, and never gets down on himself, and while he expects nothing but 100% from himself he also forces his opponent to play at his best level, too, making for some of the best matches in history. Two that stand out are Monte Carlo and Rome, in which he defeated Federer with the most perfect display of clay court tennis one could hope to see. Rafael on clay is a thing of beauty; his slides, his touch bring something special to what I consider the purest form of the game. I love how you can see him thinking out there, taking his time to work the point like a puzzle. His patience is impressive, and the graceful speed with which he moves his bulky physique around the court is awesome. I was sorry to see the season end, but pleasantly surprised at what he had in store for us on grass.
With his success at Queens and Wimbledon I knew he had broken past the barrier at which many claycourt players had stumbled. It was exciting to know he was becoming an all court player. He made it all the way to the final match with Federer, and after losing the first two sets, rallied back to take the third. I truly believed at that moment that he would win the title. There had been so many times when he it would seem he used the initial sets of a match to work out the nerves and warm up, I thought he would roll through the last two. It wasn't to be and Federer raised the level of his game winning in the fourth. Rafael was a humble, gracious runner-up, and it showed that he was pleased with his play during the tournament. The rest of this year was good for Rafa, he took his team to playoff qualification in Davis Cup clearly demonstrating his joy in working as a team towards a single goal. Although he struggled at times on hardcourt in the last tournaments of the year, he made strides in improving and evolving his game, and seems every bit as determined as when I first saw him. He climbed deeper than ever before into the tournaments in Cincinnati and New York, reaching both quarterfinal matches. His semi-final match in Shanghai was a treat, as he seems to push Federer to dig deep and the dynamic between the two on court is always entertaining if not sometimes nerve-wracking.
He has heartwarming devotion to his fans and a sincere reverence for people in general, making him a shining ambassador to the sport. I hope he never loses his passion for the game because I don't see this guy doing anything half-heartedly. Hopefully he will remain inspired and hungry for a very long time to come. Without him, I fear my interest in the game of tennis will be that of just a casual observer with no real reason to cheer.
Thank you Rafael for an incredible and thrilling year of tennis, and for being the amazing and charming person that I've come to adore. Now do it again in 2007, please.
After an amazing 2005, the start of 2006 brought the Australian Open and I barely even noticed his absence. March came along and I left on a trip to Indian Wells, California to visit my aunt. It so happened she had secured grounds tickets to the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament there and as my parents and I wondered the grounds on our first day, I was drawn to the outside practice court by the sound of his grunts. Once beside his court I found myself completely mesmerized by the aggressive nature of his practice; he hit every shot with all his might as though he were playing a match. His form was picture perfect, at least to me, and he muttered to himself in Spanish and became more eager and determined each time he missed his shots. I had never seen anyone practice so hard and I could not tear myself away. Besides I really liked those threads he was wearing, they were different in a very good way and the shirt did little to obstruct my view of those magnificent muscles. I was impressed with the intensity of his concentration, he was completely focused on his strokes, never looking around at the crowd. Every time he struck the ball I held my breath.
Through the week I did whatever I had to do to get tickets to his matches, be there at the garden to see his practices, and even got out of several family engagements to stay late into the night. I'm sure my parents thought me completely insane. I would rush back to the house at night and let them view my pictures, remarking 'look how close I got to Nadal in this one!' I was smitten. Clearly I wasn't alone. His doubles match was so crowded people were sitting illegally in the fire lanes of the stadium, repeatedly refusing the guards' request to move. The woman in front of me turned and said 'of course, you know everyone's here to see Nadal'. I also found out that week how much kids love Rafa. Everywhere he went, kids young and old followed, wanting his autograph on their giant tennis balls or their t-shirts adorned with Rafa's face, which he would gladly oblige them with smiling eyes. One day as a group of us were watching him hit with his trainer, a mother was trying to contain her little boy who was anxiously awaiting Rafa's retreat from the court so he could try for an autograph. She told me her son had been given the choice of going to meet Roger Federer and having his picture with him, or watching Rafael practice. 'He didn't even blink' she said, he wanted to watch Rafa. I thought that was telling, and so sweet.
Back home I began visiting VR.com to find out all I could, and learned how much more there was to this man that I had been watching. All wonderful, all fascinating. He wasn't cocky in the least, just self-confident and secure in his skin. All that passion I saw on court was a result of his intense love for the game, and his dogged belief that he could win if he only fought hard enough. He made me love the game of tennis again by showing his own love for it. The dream that was 2006 claycourt season only strengthened my admiration for him. So many times, during the toughest, closest matches, I would sit on the edge of my seat, fists clenched willing him to win the next point. My boyfriend would come into the room and remark that he could tell from my posture exactly how Rafa was doing at the moment. A couple times he even got caught up in the action with me, god bless him. When the victories started rolling along, I would jump up and down and shout in my living room, and cry with Rafael when he finally won. The defense of his Roland Garros title was magic, proving once and for all his superiority on the dirt. He is the undisputed king of clay. No tennis player before has ever elicited as much emotion from me as Rafa does. He fights like no one else even if there's only a glimmer of hope left, and never gets down on himself, and while he expects nothing but 100% from himself he also forces his opponent to play at his best level, too, making for some of the best matches in history. Two that stand out are Monte Carlo and Rome, in which he defeated Federer with the most perfect display of clay court tennis one could hope to see. Rafael on clay is a thing of beauty; his slides, his touch bring something special to what I consider the purest form of the game. I love how you can see him thinking out there, taking his time to work the point like a puzzle. His patience is impressive, and the graceful speed with which he moves his bulky physique around the court is awesome. I was sorry to see the season end, but pleasantly surprised at what he had in store for us on grass.
With his success at Queens and Wimbledon I knew he had broken past the barrier at which many claycourt players had stumbled. It was exciting to know he was becoming an all court player. He made it all the way to the final match with Federer, and after losing the first two sets, rallied back to take the third. I truly believed at that moment that he would win the title. There had been so many times when he it would seem he used the initial sets of a match to work out the nerves and warm up, I thought he would roll through the last two. It wasn't to be and Federer raised the level of his game winning in the fourth. Rafael was a humble, gracious runner-up, and it showed that he was pleased with his play during the tournament. The rest of this year was good for Rafa, he took his team to playoff qualification in Davis Cup clearly demonstrating his joy in working as a team towards a single goal. Although he struggled at times on hardcourt in the last tournaments of the year, he made strides in improving and evolving his game, and seems every bit as determined as when I first saw him. He climbed deeper than ever before into the tournaments in Cincinnati and New York, reaching both quarterfinal matches. His semi-final match in Shanghai was a treat, as he seems to push Federer to dig deep and the dynamic between the two on court is always entertaining if not sometimes nerve-wracking.
He has heartwarming devotion to his fans and a sincere reverence for people in general, making him a shining ambassador to the sport. I hope he never loses his passion for the game because I don't see this guy doing anything half-heartedly. Hopefully he will remain inspired and hungry for a very long time to come. Without him, I fear my interest in the game of tennis will be that of just a casual observer with no real reason to cheer.
Thank you Rafael for an incredible and thrilling year of tennis, and for being the amazing and charming person that I've come to adore. Now do it again in 2007, please.