China Open 2005
by MAC
with thanks to dani for the idea
with thanks to dani for the idea
It's been four years since Rafa last competed in the China Open in Beijing. It was his first appearance there. He arrived on the back of an astonishing season that had seen him climb from a ranking of 56 at the end of January to number 2 in the world. It was to be his 10th title of the year.
Here's a few facts, pictures and anecdotes to bring back the memories.
This was his route to the title -
R32 ~ def ~ Yeu-Tzuoo Wang (TPE) ~ 6-2 6-4
R16 ~ def ~ Justin Gimelstob (USA) ~ 5-7 6-4 6-4
QF ~ def ~ Peter Wessels (NED) ~ 7-6(3) 6-2
SF ~ def ~ Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) ~ 6-4 6-4
W ~ def ~ Guillermo Coria (ARG) ~ 5-7 6-1 6-2
From sina.com.cn on 19 September 2005 (translated by veyonce)
First time in Beijing and he advanced to the Men's Singles Finals, Nadal with his French Open title gave us a lot of surprises when he came to China -- While conquering his opponents at the time, he also conquered a lot of Chinese fans. Regardless of whether it's the ball kids, journalists or normal fans, you can see a different side of Nadal from different people's point of view.
Nadal In The Eyes Of A Ball Boy: Gentle Nadal
"Want Nadal's ball boy? Me, me! He was topless and took a photo with me!" Yu Yang, currently a student, immediately set aside his lunch when he heard the journalist mention Nadal and ran over. "That was on his 2nd day when he just arrived in Beijing, he was not fully dressed and came out from the restroom after his shower and I managed to stop him, 'Excuse me.' At first he didn't understand what I wanted, then I showed him the camera, he put his arms around my shoulder and took a photo with me, he's so nice."
"Nadal's very different from the other players, e.g. before he starts a match, he will eat a jello-like stuff, in orange flavour." As the ball boy for centre court, Yu Yang knows what the players like, so to talk about Nadal, he's like a philosopher, "I know he has a lot of habits. E.g. He has a high percentage of toweling off; he likes mineral water, doesn't like soft drinks; he would tighten the cap whenever he finished his drink, then he would carefully place the bottle with the logo facing the court; His English's not very good, right? So when he asked for balls, he would say 'du' instead of 'two', however we are already used to it."
"What's the difference between him and other players? Ferrero would always throw the towel at the ball boy while Nadal would be very gentle whenever he handed over the towel. As I said, he's really very nice, I hope he will be the winner." Tonight, Yu Yang will be Nadal's ball boy again, in his heart he has already crowned Nadal as the winner.
From sina.com.cn on 19 September 2005 (translated by veyonce)
From Headband To Socks Everyone Wants Playful Nadal. A Treasure From Head to Toe
The Men's Singles Final has ended and Nadal, the Champion, revealed his playful side again. After the competition, he happily threw the tennis ball in his hand to the spectators, which the public fought over. Well, this is just the beginning.
After Nadal gave away the tennis balls he had, he went back to his seat and hit every ball he had in his bag to the stands and the spectators couldn't concentrate on the on-going men's doubles prize ceremony.
Nadal then sat down and changed into a new shirt, his actions attracted the fans' attention and a lot of screams and shouts could be heard from the stands and of course most of them are female fans. After changing into a new shirt, Nadal then went to the court side and threw his headband into the stands which caused a commotion among the spectators. There's nothing left on him to give away. Nadal then after changing his shoes, threw a pair of white socks to the spectators. Nadal's too charming that even though this pair of socks reeks of perspiration it still has people fighting for it. This shows how popular he is.
Nadal Overslept Only Had Bread For Breakfast
19 year old spaniard Rafa often displays child-like habits which his fans just love. After all the players left the Shangri-La Hotel for the tennis court at 1pm, a visibly just woken up Nadal wearing a baseball cap, lugging his big Babolat bag had just stepped in the hotel lobby with Uncle Toni. Nadal had missed the hotel's daily breakfast and of course he wouldn't want to train on an empty stomach. After some communication between Uncle Toni and the staff, he rushed to grab bread from the restaurant. Rafa then stuffed the bread beside his cd collection into his unzipped Babolat bag.
From sina.com.cn 17 September 2005 Journalist: Sun Hai Guang (translated by veyonce)
Nadal Loves To Use Public Shower Room
The committee have given a few big-shot players their personal changing room as VIP treatment. The staff mentioned that Nadal has yet to use his personal changing room. After every training session or match, he would make his way to the normal rest room and would chat to whoever he bumped into.
Found on a Chinese forum - source unknown (translated by veyonce)
Rafa in love with shrimp chips
The head chef of Shangri-la says that his deepest impression of Rafa is that he loves to eat.
Rafa has fallen in love with shrimp chips, a snack from South East Asia (they are called prawn crackers in the UK). After tasting it once, he calls the chef at 4 every afternoon to ask for a big plate of chips to be delivered to his room.
Rafa is very interested in the many different varieties of food served in the restaurant and likes to try almost everything that he has not eaten before. He likes pasta, Chinese-style crab noodles and mushroom noodles. Rafa has a big appetite. He must eat five to six chocolate-filled bread rolls for breakfast every day. And even after dinner, he wants to eat thin cakes.
But there is something that Rafa is afraid to eat -- frogs’ legs. One afternoon, Rafa and a few other Spanish players stood talking for a long time around a plate of frogs’ legs, but they couldn’t figure out what it was. The head chef told them that those were frogs’ legs [in Chinese], but they were afraid to try the dish. So, the chef took a toy frog from a dinner package for children and showed it to them. Only then did Rafa nod his head to show that he understood. But however much the chef tried to persuade him, he just did not dare to try one of those frogs’ legs. In the end, Rafa got a little toy frog and left happily.
From sina.com.cn on 19 September 2005 (translated by veyonce)
Nadal In The Eyes Of The Press: Always Aiming For The Best
"I'm still young, so I will have an opportunity to be World No. 1." This was what Nadal said during his 1st press conference when everybody mentioned Federer.
Always unsatisfied, always aiming for the best -- this is the impression Nadal left on the press. "His English is quite poor but he will insist on replying in English, although it is more difficult for the translator, but his willingness to challenge himself is admirable. He would also jump onto the court, unlike Moya and Ferrero. Each time when you see him compete, you feel as energetic as him, just like when you are 19 years old." The press must be thinking, "It's so nice to be young".
