Rafatennis - Rome Masters 1000 - 8-15 May 2011

First topic message reminder :

"Obviously I didn't play at my best. I didn't play badly, just normal. But that is not enough against Djokovic." That's the true Rafa! Well, one of them had to lose their streak and it wasn't third time lucky for Rafa against Djokovic.

With a quick turnaround, we are straight off to Rome, with Rafa in a battle to keep his No 1 ranking and take it into the French. The tournament has already started and the draw could prove tough for him, depending on whether potential opponents can take their good form from Madrid onto Rome.

Rafa's first match will be on Wednesday.

Good luck Rafa - dust yourself down and come roaring back. Vamos!

Now then, if anyone has a link where they don't edit out the shirt change at the end, please feel free to post it

Well done Cats!! I'd give you an <applause> ... but we don't have that one either.

And I can't watch YouTube at work, so I shall save it for my pleasure this evening, as Rafa isn't playing today.

Poor old Marc! lost in the doubles yesterday to that horrid man. Perhaps the boys will be having a day out today, after a little practice, of course.

Morning all lovely Rafateers!!

As you would have thought, Rafa and Rolf have the early evening slot in Miami, 7pm their time ... midnight ours, but ...

Sky Sport are transmitting from midnight!! Trouble is ... will I have the stamina to stay awake and watch? ... or at least it could be recorded.

Is anyone going to give the betwitching hour a go?? :sleep: :sleep:

Mornimg rafateers
I want to watch but have to be up at half six, so not too likely!
Will give the TW free rein with the tv and see how I feel nearer the time. (Btw using new phone to post - techie wizard or what!

Good morning lovely Angie

You can sneak a few posts on here during the day. Well done for the snazzy phone.

I think I might be able to manage 1 set tonight ... lets see how it goes.

Good morning Rafateers

Like Angie I have to get up early in the morning...but I'm pondering on whether to turn in at 9 pm tonight and get a few hours' kip, then get up at midnight for the match. Hopefully it wouldn't last any longer than 2 hours (though I know it quite possibly could), and then go back to bed for another few hours until 6. It is Friday tomorrow after all, so only one day to get through, and let's face it - who here is good for anything come Friday?

I hope Fish can give Nole a good run for his money in the semi-final. I have to say that I was pleased he got through against Daveed (deduct Armada Fangirl points), because he'll hopefully mix things up a bit for Nole rather than just rallying with him. And Fish will now be the new US No 1 following Roddick's early exit from this tournament. Good for him!

Hmmm... midnight UK time is 2 in the morning here, so think I'll be well and truly :sleep: by then.

Rafateers on Tour, I'm getting really excited on your behalf about Monte Carlo (plus I'll finally be able to watch some live tennis! Will you have a laptop/snazzy phone to keep us poor left at homes daily updates - pretty please

Hello lovely Cats

Rafateers on Tour ... yep, that should be a new fred and we'll put all our exploits on there, plus other tennis tournies we go to this year.

I'm taking my laptop and we're supposed to have WiFi in the apartment. Now then ... scuse my ignorance, but I don't know if that's free and if we'll just be able to "tune in", but I'm hoping so. Last year at Rome we provided daily updates and I'm hoping this year we can tell you all of our exploits and hopefully we'll be able to get some pictures up for you to have a look at too.

Which tennis player's coach will Denzy cop off with this time?? If it is Lendl ... she can have him .... :run2:

... will we find Rafan <lurking> around the toilets?? and I shall be an of course and maintain the kind of behaviour that is becoming of a Rafateer ...

Can't wait !!

I can't wait neither and I'm not even going! Love reading on tour reports, you get so much more gossip/feel for the tournament than boring news reports

Sure you will behave like a lady Wooffs

<cough> I may lose my 8) in the presence of FeliFer, Cats ... but I shall always be a laydeee.

Laydee.....laydee oh I don't think so

I'm dreading taking her anywhere within 6 ft of a player....or any other hot young bod

I will try to stop up for the witching hour.....

I know I'm the only one here.

And ooh ... SkyMarcus has now brought in the time issue. Umpire has called 1 minute and SM has said Rafa keeps taking longer and longer. And you know what ... SM has said lets keep a watch on Rafa. But ohh ... by the way, this is not a witch hunt on Rafa.

They haven't played a shot yet ... is this really necessary?

<blood boils>

Still on baseball - will be on tennis soon!

Dreadful opening game by Rolf and he's 15-40 down. Go Rafa!!

Pfft .. short return and he's passed.

MONSTER cross court forehand and Rafa breaks.

See you soon, Angie!!

Match face ON. <grrrr> <ok>

Rolf can't handle that forehand yet.

He can when Rafa hits it in the net! And another!

Rafadad wearing his sunglasses on his head.

Lovely little soft volley by Rafa. 40-30.

<fistpump>

Rafa missing first serves here.

Beautiful drop volley to win the game.

At last the TW has given up on the baseball & gone to bed.
Just in time to see Rafa hold serve. VAMOS

Quite like the blue that Berdy is wearing - he has the same birthday as me, you know - different year tho'!!!!

Oh my word. You should have seen that cross court passing shot.

In the net from Rolf. 0-30.

Rolf 15-40 after volley in the net.

ACE

Panther on the baseline ...

Forehand RIPPER and BREAK!!

Rafa 3-0 ...

Are you 16 going on 17, whilst Rolf is 17 going on 18 then Angie??

Har har! I wish I was 16 again - or maybe not - was fat & spotty with greasy hair . I'll stay at my (slightly) more mature age, thanks!!

Youngster ...

Grr ... some good play by both guys but Rafa does a lame one in the net.

Poo ... Rafa hits a shot out. 0-30. Come on Rafa!!

Rolf shot long.

And another.

WOW .. fabulous DTL forehand.

Rolf is now trying to step his game up to change things though.

Shot out.

GAME Rafa.

OH WOW ..... another fab shot from Rafa even though Rolf is trying to attack like mad.

30-15 down Rafa though.

Rolf trying to take control of net and Rafa misses a down the line pass.

ACE. Rolf gets a game. 4-1

Good serve Rafa. 15-0

<I'm getting a spot>

Ooh .. punchy forehand from Rolf. 15 all

Yesss .. another great serve from Rafi and he buries a follow up volley.

Ooooo ... Rolf trying really hard here. Good return, rushing the net, he gets the point. 30 all.

Another good serve and another buried volley. 40-30

Grrr ... DF for deuce.

Missed another 1st serve.

Rolf hits out going for a DTL. Ad Rafa.

Lovely serve, moved into the court and lovely volley which Rolf hits out.

GAME Rafa 5-1

Rafa pushing Rolf from side to side all over the court. Rolf hits out 0-15 for Rafa.

Tut ... soft b/h in net from Rafa.

Some good serving from Rolf and he wins the game. ACE ends it and Rafa didn't move for it.

Rafa to serve for the first set.

I am starving by the way ...

Rose bounces on me and Rafa punches a forehand in the net 0-15

Oh wow ... this point ... fab b/h to put Rolf out wide, then forehand then great volley to get him.

Oh and another punched volley down the line. 30-15 Rafa.

Poo .. an ACE called let. Lars Grrraaff whatever you call yourself.. grr.

Wow ... Rolf worked his way to the net and Rafa let a cross court pass aip, but Rolf stuck his racket out and point. 30 all

Rolf still trying to be aggressive again, but put a shot out at the net to give Rafa set point.

COME ON RAFAAAAA

and an ACE does it ...

I‘m a bit peckish myself. no crisps in!! Set to Rafa

Righto Rafateers and lovely Angie

I set myself a one set target and/or 1 am finish. Well, its both, so Im off

Rafa is playing really, really well. If I wake up tomorrow and he has lost this ... I will kick his famoos ass.

Night night all. :sleep: :sleep:

Oh ... and Sky Marcus is now talking about the water bottles having to be absolutely straight.

Clown.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! <wave>

Night wooffs. Sweet Rafa drims.

well made it to t end. Nerves shredded. rafa wins 62 36 63. Im knackered

Good morning - v early - Rafateers

I just couldn't make myself stay up for Rafa :yawn: BUT I did the usual thing of waking up early to check the score - first at 4 am, nothing on Teletext - then dreamt about it from 4 until 5, checked Teletext again and still nothing

But I knew where I'd find the answer - here! Well done Angie for staying up so late - you are going to be tired today . Sounds like it was a ride on the Rafacoaster - did you get to sleep ok after that?! And thanks Wooffs for your commentary in the first set

Must go and see what the reports say now :run2:

Well, no wonder your nerves were shredded Angie - trainer out, Rafa being cross with everyone and the second set dip. <yikes>

All that and Roger had an easy passage through to the semis - which are played today! I thought they would be on Saturday. It's another midnight start for the Rafa/Roger semi. I will definitely be staying up for that one. Vamos Rafa!

Right I best start getting ready for work now - as always there's so much to read, so many different opinions about what might or might have happened. I'm going to be recording the highlights of last night's match and perhaps won't be so fickle this time - I may watch the whole thing

Speaks laters :run1:

morning Rafateers. Well I did actually stay up. Couldnt tear myself away. Still in my jammies and Rose has just been sick so I need to get moving. All I can say is yikes. Ill do a report when I get to work.

Morning all my luvverly Rafateers

Ooh it all seemed very scary but he's through

So what was the trainer on for????...hopefully as Rafa won the match, nothing too serious. But I must admit that I'm getting very worried for him where hard courts are concerned. We know his body is fragile and he takes so many risks...god knows what he goes through behind the scenes to patch his body up. As he gets older and his body takes more punishment, these darn H/C are not going to do him any favours

Hello Rafateers. I didn't stay up and watch it, but probably should have because I couldn't sleep anyway and was up checking the score at 3am.

Denzy, it seems as though it was the right side of the neck/shoulder that was the problem so at least not knees. (What have Rafa and Simon been up to ? Strange sort of coincidence). The sooner he's back on the European clay, the better, though.

Morning again lovely Rafateers

Well ... thank God for YSL Touch Eclat ... a little bit of magic ladies that I heartily recommend.

So ... where to start? I've not read anyone else's reports cos I just thought I'd do my thoughts from memory and how I saw it. Well ... the first set as you read was outstanding from Rafa. Some of the best tennis he's played on hardcourts and if it were Feds, "sublime", "imperious", "scary good", "awwhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" etc. would have been the name of the game. As I said though, Rolf was being outplayed, however, he didn't stop thinking and he didn't stop trying things so from his perspective, it was like if he had to go out then at least he went out trying for his shots and mixing it up to try and play his best tennis. So, with a fair bit of confidence I shut down my laptop and was going to start getting ready for bed, but ... Rolf won his first service game, then Rafa from nowhere lost his. Then Rolf won again, so after the fantastic first set, here was Rafa 0-3 down and then the trainer was coming on , so of course I had to stay around to see the outcome.

And - of course - <clunk><click> myself into that rollercoaster. Rafa's problem was with his neck and his right shoulder, so not his serving one. And the trainer was giving him some rigorous massage ... but ladies, we've all been watching Rafa for so long now that we can easily spot through his body language and then his tennis when something is just not going right. Now the thing is, fab first set by Rafa or not, Rolf was not playing badly at all, and he really stepped it up in the second. It was as if all the colour had drained from Rafa's face, he punched his thigh, he punched his racquet ... and you could tell he was getting really angry because his body wasn't operating the way it should. Also ... it's been a while since I saw Toni so agitated and the whole of Rafa's camp looked worried. Rafa had the trainer on for a second time, same thing ... neck and shoulder. Now the thing is, sure, it wasn't affecting his serve as such, but it was affecting his movement for when he has to rotate himself round for his backhand, if that makes sense. So whilst he wasn't necessarily camping out at the back of the court, his general play become much more defensive.

You know what a bad loser I am, but I suddenly became with colm because I thought that Rafa wasn't going to get through this match because unless he is in top tip condition, only on a few occasions can you say fair play to the other guy for the victory. But ... Rafa won a service game, and then another for 4-2, and it was if some magic switch had gone back on for him again. His play got much better and he did start to press. I thought, he's coming back here ... but it was just a bit too late in the set to make a difference.

So I'm sitting with colm again at the start of the third because it was getting positive from Rafa and I thought, game on here ... they're both at the same level, Rafa is serving first so he has the advantage. When <yikes> ... there's Rafa down 0-40 on his serve!! And then Saints preserve us!! Rafa did something that I've never seen before and will probably never see again. ACE ... ACE ... ACE ... ACE for break point and then Rafa wins the game. it then was tight, 1-1, 2-2, but at 3-2 with Rolf serving I thought Rafa's going to make his move here. It didn't work then, but Rafa was doing some great serving in this set in spite of me watching from behind Rose's ears and feeling <sick> on the Rafaserve. At 4-3, you just knew that Rafa was going to try really hard on Rolf's serve ...and he did. Upped his game, he'd been playing offensive tennis for the past few games and he got his break points which he took. Vamos!!

It was still <yikesy> on his service game, but he played it really well ... and he DID it, Rafateers! He's in the semi-final.

How this niggle is going to affect him, I don't know, nor can you say how serious it is. But the first game aside in the 3rd set, Rafa was playing very aggressive. I would just say it is affecting his movement and his backhand play, but worse than that ... it was affecting his mind and he wasn't just going for his shots like he was in the first. He was playing defensive, but not that horrid defensive if you know what I mean.

So its Feds next who had no match to speak off. Its going to be another late one tonight Rafateers as Rafa is up second at midnight our time.

Matchsticks at the ready ... I have never shouted like that for Rafa in a match as I did last night for a while now. He took the fight, and at least its not the dreaded knees, Denz. Feds has been bigging this up as a "slow clay court battle" all week and yesterday I heard Cowan and Shiras <vomit> say the court was slower than Madrid and even slower than Rome!!

Catch you all in bit, Rafateers ... <wave>

"there's Rafa down 0-40 on his serve!! And then Saints preserve us!! Rafa did something that I've never seen before and will probably never see again. ACE ... ACE ... ACE ... ACE for break point and then Rafa wins the game."

That was quite astonishing. He should be able to put that in his memory bank for the next time he plays Novak. Hopefully his muscular strains won't put an end to his challenge for the title. He might be undone by the fact that this is his second masters tournaments in a row after his break for injury. He has certainly bounced back impressively which sets him up nicely for the clay season and the two Slam tournaments in May/June.

Hi Nore,

I went a bit overboard with the first one as it was returned, but out ... still, not what we're used to with Rafa. Yes, you are correct, its only his second tournie back since injury and even if it doesn't go his way tonight, a final and a semi on US hardcourts (however slow ) is great for Rafa and will hopefully leave him feeling good for the clay.

Good evening lovely Rafateers!!

Well ... it doesn't happen much where we see Rafa serve aces in a set, never mind a game ... so let's post this for prosperity ...

Ace, Ace baby ...

Good evening Rafateers

Thanks for posting that clip Wooffs. After my early start this morning I forgot to set the Sky+ box to record the highlights and though I did remote record it didn't work . I was hoping that was what was going to see me through until midnight.

Wooffs and Angie, you must be very tired after your late night/early mornings!

Did anyone watch the first semi-final? It was very disappointing. I saw it from after the rain break and it seemed quite one-sided once Nole got the break. How he got some of those balls back though I'll never know!

One and a half hours to go - matchsticks at the ready!

Evening lovely Rafan!!

:sleep: Yep ... I'm tired. But I was tired last night and still saw it out to watch our Rafi. Maybe if its a <yikesy> match it will keep me looking like this ...

There's other vid clips of the match out there Rafan and I've posted some on my project.

<handsup> who can't wait for the tour to come back to Europe!!

I too, watched the Nole match after the rain break, Rafan, and was a bit disappointed by Fish's effort. Yet another final for Nole ... who would have thought it but he's just so much the in form player.

Vamos Rafa! :run1:

Hello lovely Rafan I must admit not to have watched all of Rafa's match, but I did love that game Woofs posted earlier....oh if only he could do that a little more than he does

Didn't see Nole at all....am desperately trying to keep awake for Rafa as well

:yawn:

Eveming Rafateers

Back home from visiting the Dad; managed to see the last game of the other semi - no surprise, except that I thought Fish might put up a bit of fight.

All ready to watch the big game - pretty tired, but a large glass of wine should help! (Was worse than useless at work today - I'm sure the boss was glad when I sloped off early!)

My hands are up for tour being back in Europe!!! I'm too old for these late nights on school nights!!

VAMOS, RAFA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Angie

Check your PM.

First set to Rafa 6-3 and he has a break in the second which he leads 3-0.

Rafa is doing OK Nore. But after last night ... anything can happen!!

Rafa beats the hard court specialist Roger Federer comfortably 6-3 6-2. The gap between the two seems to be widening. It is amusing to hear Roger giving up on the clay season by claiming his poor performances are due to the clay like nature of the hard court surfaces. That's a negative viewpoint - something that doesn't seem to be in Rafa's vocabulary.

So another Rafa - Novak final!! But this time I think Rafa will remain solid on serve (so just a question of fitness). Night Night