the modesty of rafa amazes me..the way the champ behaves off the court is awesome..and he still says he is nowhere near roger..infact he says he is always no.2...no wonder he is liked by everyone..a great champion a great role model
Congrats to Rafa.Hope he does well at Wimbledon. I hope Roger and Rafa are not overlooking novak's threat at Wimbledon.Novak would i'm sure consider himself a good favorite for Wimbledon.
RE:Safina - Sania
by SK on Jun 10, 2008 09:59 AM
If Sania wants to half as well as Safina, she has to bring a load of consistency into her game. She is too flashy and needs to play smart and not try going for winners all the time. Constructing a point is very crucial in tennis and Sania somehow keeps ignoring that aspect of the game,
RE:Safina - Sania
by Murali Krishna on Jun 10, 2008 09:25 AM
no way..... she should practice a lot and have an enthusiasm to play like toppers. I think sanias game is over. she is having long gap now a days...
Rafa deserved the win. but his modesty and respect for Roger is amazing. During a recent meet with him in Chennai I asked him would he ever beat Roger in grass and hard courts to become number one and he replied very modestly " not in my life time". His attitude towards his opponent is amazing and he is true sportsman .Hats of to him
RE:I am not surprised
by PUNEESH on Jun 09, 2008 10:16 PM
absolutely.....he is a very modest person...someone else instead of him wud have been jumping around celebrating the win but rafa, 'as modest as he is', knows that now the champion(fedex) will be playing in his own den(wimbledon) and it will take a herculean effort to beat him there.
I think Roger, Nadal and Djokovic has brought in a tremendous transformation and facelift to the game not only through their superior skill levels but more so by their attitude, respect for other players and professionalism.
The Men's tennis had lost it's sheen a bit once the likes of Lendl, Becker, Edberg, Rafter etc retired. Though we had some greats like Pete, Agassi etc the games were not that engrossing and competetive.
Roger took the world by storm through his genius abilities and through his humility. And now we have the likes of Nadal and Djokovic following him and keeping the flags high with their true professionalism and sportsmanship.
So heartening to see the kind of respect and trust they have on each other. They take the word of the other literally on contentious line calls even during the most crucial stages of the match.
Cannot help avoiding a comparison with our so called cricket heroes (or zeroes?) Bhajji, Sreesanth, Yuvi. So arrogant, over confident and zero humility. Even the new bachas like Dinda, Ishant and under 19 cricketers are emulating their seniors and are taking a wrond route.
They should learn that aggression need not necessarily mean showing intimidating gestures rather it has a lot to do with mental resolve and composure. The whole sport world has got a lot to learn from the likes of Roger, Nadal etc.
RE:Tennis on all time high - Not necessarily because of the skills
by PUNEESH on Jun 09, 2008 10:19 PM
thank you harish for writing a wonderful post and revealing the truths about our stupid cricketers who act more and perform less.
I was rooting for Federer as it would have proved him to be the best to ever play the game. However, the humility that Rafa showed after the match has really won me over. It is truly remarkable. In any field, pride due to success is the cause of downfall. Rafa has been able to improve because he is not getting swayed by his achievements. A good role model to emulate.
RE:Rafa won more than the title
by indianfart on Jun 09, 2008 02:09 PM
Sania needs to learn a lot from this ...... Probably a "Niqah" with Nadal will favour her. AAmeen .... ;-)
Rafa is the first person to win four French titles in a row in 27 years, he is the first person since Borg to win a Grand Slam tournament in straight sets (Borg did it twice, in his first Wimbledon title in 1976 and in his last French title in 1981), Rafa sends the great and fantastic Federer packing inside two hours for the loss of a mere four games, with the final set at 6 - 0, and yet, there is no jumping, fisting or cranky antics like what you see from a Harbhajan Singh or a Sreesanth. Rafa played great tennis yesterday, he reduced Federer to nothing and if he carries this form and if one looks at what a close encounter Wimbledon 2007 was for him when he may have won it with a few more crucial points, it is certain that Nadal is a serious contender for Wimbledon this year. Could well be a Nadal - Roger showdown this year also but then, who knows, only Rafa may appear on one side of the net in the final with some lesser known or unknown name and face on the side of the net. Best wishes to Rafa for Wimbledon 2008.
RE:Rafal is a serious Wimbledon Contender
by LAKSHMINARAYAN SRINIVAS on Jun 09, 2008 09:35 PM
Before giving any facts check out for the correctness. You may be a die hard fan of Nadal. But check up with the scorers about 2007 Australian Open and you will see that ROGER THE KING FEDERER did not lose a single set in the entire tournament. So correct the statement that Nadal is the first person to win a grandslam without losing a set after Borg is wrong.
RE:Rafal is a serious Wimbledon Contender
by PUNEESH on Jun 09, 2008 10:23 PM
rafa played really well and will be a serious contender for wimbledon..but dont cant out fed....remember...he has only lost to rafa in the french and not anyone else...but that was clay....now he will be playing in his own den....
RE:Rafal is a serious Wimbledon Contender
by vamsi prasad on Jun 09, 2008 10:19 PM
u can think he said that keeping french open in mind and i know u support federer... chill dude dont be angry...
The respect shown by them to each other is really fantastic. They are such down to earth personalities...ultimately Tennis won yesterday. Our great Cricketers have to learn alot from them.Great Rafa..Great Roger....
