Rafachat : If ...

First topic message reminder :

... you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Its the greatest of all tournaments, in the most classic of settings, and our boy is the defending Champion. All eyes will be on Rafa when he takes that walk of tradition and opens The Championships at Wimbledon, in this its 125th year. Along with him, it will be one of our proudest moments to see him take his place in the opening match to open the tournament proper, an honour that injury denied him of in 2009 (although will Wimbers evah be the same again after gold lamé bags and a white ice cream Thunderbird suit??).

Lets hope that Rafa's recent Slam triumph in Paris gives him back some of the confidence and equilibrium he needs. So its champagne and strawberries at the ready ... and "all aboard" the latest ride on the Rafarollercoaster!! Ooooo I say, Rafa! and VAMOS!!

You're not going to believe this but I was just thinking how smart Roger looked, when you posted the above

Speaking of kits (were we??), am I the only one that doesn't like Rafa's shirt. What's with the circled armpits? Me noh likey at all.

So it's Woofs and Cats on the gin disgraceful

Go on Denz, pour yourself one, you know you want to.

When does the OOP come out? Is it once play has ended for the day?

I so want Wooffs and Rafan to get to see our boy :everything crossed:

Screams! WE'VE GOT RAFA!!!

Just saw it on Eurosport and was hot footing it over here. I knew you would get him

That's great news. Really pleased for you.

So chuffed for you Woofs & Rafan! Feel free to scream/drool/whistle for us all when Rafa changes his shirt!

Oh thank you thank you thank you everyone!! You're so kind to wish us well.

Be sure for a MASSIVE report and loads of pictures.

Shame we'll miss Feli and my new <squeeze> ... :run2:

Good morning all my luvverly Rafateers

A special and for Woofs and Rafan....am just so thrilled for them both Not only is No 1 court a lovely place to watch Tennis....they also have RAFA

Well done my lovelies.....will look forward to any snippets of gossip

and once again

Morning

Hope it's a fine day in London today and we don't have any pesky rain delays.

Good luck to Rafa and hope the girls enjoy their day and of course see a Rafa win (and shirt change!).

Snippets would be most welcome ladies

Hoping you see "the boy" play his little socks off... and the weather stays good for you both Will look out for you ... do some Vamos Rafas for us...look for Ma and Pa... see what they are up to.. Pics., gossip.. look forward to hearing the news.... Haddie xx

good morning lovely Rafateers! Thank you for your good wishes. We are on the bus just off to the club. The sun is shining and we are really excited about the day. Will send updates as we go but please forgive the spelling mistakes. We're off to see RAFA!! Vamos!

Wooffie and Rafan, hope you have a lovely, lovely time. Give Rafa a cheer for me.

Great start to the day. Came in and there was Feli practising so we got really close. Loads of good pictures. Said Good Luck to him and he said Thank you. We are by court 3 as we have a tip off that Rafa is coming. Seen too many players already. Even new squeeze Roddick. Seen Gasquet, Venus, Marc! Was practising with Feli. Seen Ana, Stosur, Francesca. Will be back soon!

Marvelloso... Fantastico

Feliciano Legs !!!!!! Vamos Rafa

Rafa is here!

Not excited much then ? Please take lots of pictures.

That was FAB!

Wooffie, quote from the BBC:-

"Blind panic at the practice courts when smiling Rafa emerges to sign autographs."

He does get very bemused but was smiling and waving and laughing and saying Thank You. Andy took his practise court but we left. Now finally watching the tennis. We are towards the back but on the centre line. We still have a great they though. We are having the best of times! Time for a little glass of vino me thinks. Cheers girls!

cheers

It's too hot for vino here so will have a thanks. Cheers. Laura is holding her own at the moment. Is Sharapova as loud live as on tv?

on seeing Rafa

chin chin me darlings....here's hoping for the right results today....Vamos Rafa

At the moment, Feli is playing well against the Dame's latest <squeeze>...he's now 2 sets up and is playing with a great deal of colm and determination...Vamos Feli

And if he wins Rafa will make dinner ... seeing as Feli has relegated him to Court 1.

LOL Hads...Yes, it's nice for Feli to have top billing for once He's a break up now and I jsu so hope he can get over the finishing line

Woo hoo Feli well done lovely man ...and a nice interview with him afterwards

Right Rafa...your turn now

Isnt he Luvverly... Isnt he wonderful
Feliciano Longlegs

Yoo Hoo! Battery low but now its Rafa time.

Rafa time! Enjoy ladies.

here we go...come on Rafa...remember it's not 2005 now

Have fun girls

Gutted for the girls Any chance of play resuming today?

I hope Rafa´s leg is ok... cant seem to find any news

Hi Cats just heard from Woofs...play abandoned for today but they've had such a good day and did see Rafa play a set so they're not too downhearted.

If Rafa has tweaked something, maybe it's a good thing he's not coming back tonight...don't think it was serious they way he was running around but it won't hurt him to have an extra rest

Fingers crossed it's not too serious Hads why is it Rafa can never play without some sort of drama

I know he just loves worrying us doesnt he But maybe your right an extra night´s rest and rehab will do him good.
Rafa

you think Rafa can't ever okay without some sort of drama denz? YOu should try supporting Murray for a match just to see what drama really means

I know MFC...saw the match last night, he did put everyone through the wringer didn't he

Hi everyone Been out all day so missed the match but did keep checking the live scores much to Mr C's annoyance

But where is everyone? Hope everything is ok and everyone just taking a break Can't wait to read the report from our roving Rafateers

He played a blinder in that last set crc he demoralised the poor bloke-
After two nailbiting tie breakers he did what Rafa does best... he hung in there and just ground him down..... on to Delpo

Hello lovely Rafateers!!

Just recovering from my latest trip and sorting through photos and stuff. Don't worry, you know me ... I won't be able to wait long to write my latest Jackanory story, but Wimbers was such a good day out I hope its worth waiting for.

How great was Baggy today, Cats?? I really wanted him to at least go to a 5th, but there you go. Rafan will also be able to bring all her other adventures on Thursday too, and she watched Baggy's match and is rather fond of him now

Hope you're all enjoying your weekends and the players get a good rest. I know Xisca has turned up now, Rafa ... but you rest up, you hear!!

Baggy was brilliant ... he had Djoko on the ropes there for a while... he battled to stay in that last game and he played so well the crrowd was cheering him on to win.. what a lovable character he is.. always smiling.

Good evening all my luvverly Rafateers

Have been out and about all day in wet and windy Blackpool so haven't seen any tennis, but got Mr Denz to keep checking the tennis app on his phone, so I could keep up with Rafa's progress, and by the sounds of it, the boy done well

Will watch the highlights programme in bed...if I can stay awake <yawn>

Look forward to hearing Woofs and Rafan's latest tales

Good evening Rafateers

Feeling tired after two lovely days at Wimbledon, tales to follow. Pity about the weather yesterday but I should be grateful for one set, which was nerve-wracking to say the least. Really pleased with Rafa's performance today - how he didn't get completely frustrated with not being able to get a racquet on Muller's serve I don't know. But he was great on his own serve and once he took that second set Muller caved and Rafa gave him a lesson

I've spent the evening putting together a new photobook, and I've also put some photos on Flickr for your delectation

Marcos was fabulous today! I saw him play against Seppi on Thursday, and it was fantastic being down at court level. He is a great player - and I've only just realised that Thought he was absolutely lovely on court today, and loved how the crowd got behind him, such lovely smiles and positive attitude. Shame he couldn't get the win!

Morning

Was happy to see everyone turned up last night. Was getting worried.

I saw the last set of Baggy. I was really hoping he would break in the last game, he was so close, but not to be. When he is playing well, he's a joy to watch. I love his smiles on court as well, not often he gets annoyed and when he does it's usually followed by a smile.

Happy that Rafa got through a tricky match. Little nervous about the rest of the draw but one match at a time.

Rafan, thanks for the pics, they are fab.

Catch you all later

Good morning all my luvverly Rafateers

Great effort by Baggy yesterday, and his attitude is really lovely. I saw him play Nalby in MC last year, and he was the same there...all smiley and he interacted with the crowd. Sadly he lost but got a huge cheer when he left the court

Rafa's posted a pic on FB with him, Feli and Pat Rafter, and Feli looks fab in a Wimby Tshirt ....Does anyone else get the impression that Rafa is really enjoying himself? He looks so relaxed and just seems to really embrace the whole situation.....but who wouldn't, Wimbledon is just such a wonderful place

Off to Flickr :run2:

I agree Denz he seems to have a bounce in his step like he knows something that we dont Maybe its Mama and Papa and he has already said how much he loves London.. so I think you are right he is having a wonderful time at the moment. Seems to have got very close to Feli over the last few months... Nando is not on the scene anymore I see..

I am off to ASDA Please don't tell my husband

Good afternoon all lovely Rafateers!!

Phew ... its HOT today. Hoping all is well with our lovely Rafa and wishing him the best of luck for this afternoon. Come on Rafa ... you can DO it!!

Has anyone else been following Delicianogate?? I have been <hooting> here reading up on it ... but I know that I could take Judy Murray out in a straight fight.

Feli is also playing mixed doubles to day with Andrea Petkovic ... this is what she has to think about it all ...

Andrea Petkovic
Quick news on doubles in Wimbi: I am playing doubles with beautiful Ana Ivanovic and mixed doubles with beautiful Feliciano Lopez

Andrea Petkovic
For anybody who asks: Yes, looks do play a role in my choice of partners ))

Judy Murray
u mean Deliciano....?

Andrea Petkovic
I was just waiting for you to answer! I tried anything fir get you to watch me playing- hahha. Indeed Deliciano! Coming to watch?

Judy Murray
coming to watch??????? Do birds sing???? I have put my tent up outside Wimbledon already....

Andrea Petkovic
Haha,knew it! So easy to see through you;) I'm counting on your presence and tips for keeping nervousness down in front of Deliciano!

Judy Murray
I will pack my tranquiliser darts. If u start giggling or shaking uncontrollably, I will fire one at u + then replace u

Andrea Petkovic
How will I possibly put one serve in while Deliciano is standing at the net in front of me? Tell me!

Having witnessed his own FA for myself on Friday ... I have no idea love ...

Then <respect> to Jude ... she tweets Feli directly ...

‘Oooooooh Deliciano . . . looking good out there. As always.

‘Its a Felifest at Wimbledon tmrw. Twice in one day. Too much. Way too much.’

Lopez replied: ‘I guess its “delifest” instead hahahha.”

And she responded ‘Whatever it is, I’m going to need valium.’

<racy minx>

And what does our Feli think of it all ...

This week I have earned a new nickname and a lot of people have been asking me about it. My new nickname is ‘Deliciano’, but I don’t understand why I have it.

It was not my idea. Apparently it came from Andy Murray’s mother, Judy. At first I think it was a private thing amongst the Murray team, but now everybody knows it because it has been posted on Twitter.

It's kind of funny and I guess I have to like it.

I was asked today during my press conference if I get attention from the female spectators. I guess it is part of being a professional athlete that people will or won't like you, but my whenever I get this questions, my answer is always the same - not as much as Rafa.

My new nickname is "Deliciano" ... but I don't know why I have it?? Aye, pull the other one, Feli, its got bells on it ...

And as for Andy ...

‘Makes me want to throw up! It’s disgusting. Yeah, it’s disgusting.’

He revealed how he had tried to embarrass his mother about her crush on Lopez before the start of Wimbledon.

‘I was practising with him before the tournament,’ said Andy. ‘She’d been writing about him on Twitter all the time.

‘My mum was on the side. When we were warming up, I shouted across the net, “Feli, if we sit down for a drink you could have a picture taken with my mum because she thinks you are beautiful.”

‘She went bright red and said, “I’m not doing it, I’m not doing it.” ’

These middle aged women and their passion for Spanish tennis players are the scourge ... I tell you ...

I love all that Wooffs, it's Felifabulous!