Rafa's Fight for 5: First Round - Pretty in Pink

This week starts the French Open. Yesterday I watched a lot of great tennis. I was hoping to watch Nadal today, but of course the Tennis Channel had to be a dick and not share their coverage with regular television stations, so I didn't get to see him play. LAME. If you're not gonna be a part of regular TV, Tennis Channel, maybe you shouldn't monopolize coverage of one of the Majors? Just a thought.



Anyway, of course Rafa shows up wearing pink and yellow, because he's fucking awesome. The background of his website had gone pink last week, so I figured perhaps his new shirt color would follow. I'm sure people will ask him about it, and we'll see what he says, but you know he can kick your ass off the court wearing any color, so I guess he figured he'd just brighten it up this tournament. Maybe he thought if he wore a crazy shirt, people would ask him more about the shirt than how he feels about the possibility of winning five French Opens in a row. It's a pretty good strategy if he doesn't want to be too much in his head about getting the title.

Rafa's through round 1 with a nice 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 win over Marcos Daniel of Brazil for his 29th straight win on the Roland Garros red clay. This equals the record set by Chris Evert between 1974 and 1981.. Can he take it all the way to a 5th straight French Open Victory? Stay tuned!



UPDATE: Of course, someone in the press room asked him as soon as possible about the pink shirt. His response on why he's wearing pink: "Because it's better than dress the same color every week, no?" Yes, Rafa. It is.

Final Fantasy XII: Complete!

FINALLY. I started playing Finally Fantasy XII... i don't even know. YEARS ago. '07? '08? Jesus Christo. I don't even think PS3's existed at the time I started playing this game. I am a huge Final Fantasy fan, starting back in elementary school with the original game occupying an amazing amount of my time on the NES. XII was a great addition to the franchise. The storyline was majorly complex and often felt like a Shakespearean History play only with magic spells and monsters. Political intrigue was rampant and I'm not gonna lie and say I wasn't confused about the different warring factions and who the hell the Dynast-King was and who that weird rogue Shadow God was who seemed to be causing problems for everybody. What was manufacted nethicite? Gabranth killed the King of Dalmasca just to fill Lady Ashe with rage? WUH? It all made even less sense having been away from the story for so long. Everything else about the game was great though. I loved the setting and the characters, I grew to really enjoy the gameplay which was a big departure from previous FF battle systems. I loved it so much which was why when I became aware that I was getting close to the end months and months ago, I stopped playing. I didn't want it to end. For awhile, I ran around doing the side quests and levelling up my characters, but then I just put the game away. I wanted there to be more Final Fantasy out there in the world left for me to play. I figured I'd wait until I knew a firm release date for the inevitable Final Fantasy XIII, but... no release date was announced. it's just TBA 2009. I do not think the game will be released in 2009. I mean, we're already on June's doorstep and we don't have an '09 release date? That's not promising.

I decided since this was a holiday weekend and I didn't have travel plans, that I would take some time and finally finish the game. I am glad I did. I was closer to the end than i thought and after just a few hours of gameplay, I beat the final bosses and got the pay-off of watching the final movie sequences. I thought the end was a good resolution, and didn't have too much heartbreak - a traditional part of a Final Fantasy ending. It's much preferred if you're playing a game for 60-somewhat hours to not have the main love story end in death , or with one of the lovers trapped in some horrible ghost dimension. This was more upbeat. Thank goodness.

Now, please, Square Enix - if that is even still the company name after so many mergers - give me my Final Fantasy XIII that I've been waiting for. At least give me a release date. Is that really asking so much?

If it's Sunday, It's... a Win for Rafa!

Woohoo! This is the third Sunday in a row where Rafa has been playing for an ATP Tournament Championship, and it's also his third win. This week it was the Rome Master Series Event, following victories at the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open. Nadal broke an Open Era tie with Thomas Muster, who won Rome titles in 1990, 1995 and 1996. Jaroslav Drobny and Martin Mulligan also each won three titles before the Open Era. But Now Rafa's got four! It was his 15th Masters Series title, one more than Federer and two shy of Andre Agassi’s record of 17. Rafa also improved his tour-best record to 38-3 this year, winning five of the eight tournaments he’s entered.



Rafa makes cheering for him super-easy during the clay court season. But please, Rafa. I am BEGGING you to take a week off now! You've been playing great. You've been beating up on everybody. No one can touch you. Don't you now want to take a nap, or just spend some time at home? Like for instance, today it was rainy and cold and I've been sitting around my house cleaning my apartment and watching movies. It feels great! You need this kind of day every once in a while.



I couldn't watch your match since I don't (yet) get the Tennis Channel. I did keep track of the live score online. I'm very very happy for you that you've been on sure a roll lately, but if you play again this week, I'm gonna be upset. You've earned a break. We've all earned a break. Stay home and eat some junk food and watch a dvd. You'll be glad that you did.

Five Timer's Club!

Guess what? Rafa won another tournament this weekend! I know what you're thinking. ANOTHER Tournament? So SOON??? Didn't he JUST win one last week? He did! Last week he won his 5th straight title in Monte-Carlo, and yesterday he won his 5th straight title in Barcelona. Back-to-back tournaments 5 years in a row! That's INSANE! Could a fifth consecutive French Open Title be in Nadal's not-too-distant future? It's a distinct possibility.



But where is Rafa this week? Relaxing on a beach somewhere surrounded by cookies and trophies and women? NOOO! He's playing ANOTHER effing tournament! This time in Rome! Rafa, come on now. Give yourself a break. This pace is crazy. Everyone knows you are King of The Clay Courts. What do you have left to prove? You've created a comfortable lead for 1st place atop the ATP Tour Leader Board. You've won four titles so far this year. Now's the time to just relax (and come over to my place to hang out and) eat some of favored chocolate-chip cookies, that you love so much. Don't go exhausting yourself with these lesser tournaments. Save your strength for the big ticket events!

That being said, Nadal's record on clay for the past 5 years has been unbelievable. Go here to check out his stats. The dominance is unprecedented. The fact that it can even be suggested that he could win the French Open for a 5th consecutive year and then return to Wimbledon and defend his title there only a few weeks later? It seems unthinkable. But look at these stats. They are no joke. Best of luck in Rome, Rafa! Please take next week off. Trust me, you've earned it!

C is for Cookie. That's good enough for Rafa.

Rafa Wins Again!

Congrats to Rafa for winning another tournament this weekend! This time it's deja vu all over again, as Rafa takes home his 5th consecutive Monte-Carlo Masters Series 1000 Event. 5 years in a row! Very impressive, Rafa!




He's only 22, but Rafa has now equalled Federer's mark of 14 tournament wins in the Masters 1000 Series. Only my beloved Andre Agassi has won more, with 17 Masters titles. Rafa's cleaning up!!

He had a bit of a challenge from Jokovic in the Final, but as usual, Novak couldn't keep up the intensity long enough and Rafa charged to a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory.

"I lost again! Boo hoo hoo!" - Novak Jokovic

Keep up the good work, Rafa! The French Open is on the horizon! Vamos!

Owen and Rafa Both Love Chocolate Chip Cookies

On Sunday, my Rafa won another tournament. This one was in Indian Wells. The name of this tournament is something else, but it's always referred to as Indian Wells. It's out in the desert somewhere. The point is, Rafa won. Hooray! That's two big hardcourt titles to start the season. It's too early to start hoping for the US Open, but Rafa knows he has it in him to win on the hardcourts against all the big boys.

Watching the Finals on Sunday, I could not believe how in the tank the commentators were for Rafa's opponent, Andy Murray. It was crazy! Rafa's No. 1 in the world and Murray's No. 4. They were falling all over themselves to praise Murray. They would say totally ridiculous things like "Murray is going to be the next #1 player in the world!... who isn't Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer." So i guess they have given up on Jokovic. But then Rafa wins the first set 6-1, and they say "it's really only a few points that separate the two. Murray can quickly change the momentum right here!" And of course Murray then loses the second set 6-2. I didn't really watch the second set because I knew the outcome already (thanks for the ridiculous time delay, FSN!) and i couldn't take the commentary. I bet they praised Murray right up until the last point. It's not like I hate Murray. I think he's a good player and one of the few on the tour right now that has a legitimate shot day in-day out to beat Nadal. But to favor him OVER Nadal is too much at this point in their careers.

The next day, I happened across this article on tennis.com. It's a really good read about how awesome Rafa is in every single way, but my FAVORITE part is pasted below:

—At his press conference after his quarterfinal win over Juan-Martin del Potro, Nadal shows up with two chocolate chip cookies and starts to eat them as he talks.

Q. I'm surprised to see you eating cookies. Are they chocolate chip cookies?


RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah.
Nadal says "Yeah," but his smile says, "So? What about it?"

Q. I was wondering if you have things like that quite a bit? I always think athletes have a very regimented diet and don't indulge. 


RAFAEL NADAL: Not me. (Laughter.) 

Long pause, Nadal flashes what you might call a s--- eating grin.

"My opinion, you can eat everything. Well, before the match maybe don't have five cookies or one steak, but my opinion, you can eat everything in the right time. If I eat right now, 20 cookies, maybe I gonna have indigestion tonight. If I eat two, three cookies, maybe it's OK.
Maybe not for the stomach, no, but for the head it's better. (Laughter.) In the end, the important thing is to be mentally okay.

Q. Better mental preparation? 


RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah

---

Rafa! I love chocolate chip cookies too! This would be my "in" if we were ever so fortunate to meet and have a conversation. It's not even just that he likes cookies. But that he would consider eating 20 of them as an acceptable choice. I didn't know my love for him could deepen, but it did when i read that. Oh, Rafa. Someday. Somehow. Somewhere...

Kick some ass in Key Biscayne, this week Rafa. The tournament is not called Key Biscayne. I actually know this one is now called the Ericsson Open, but everyone still calls it Key Biscayne.

Aussie Open: You've Got Me Feelin' Emotions

Today (which I guess is technically tomorrow for the Aussies) Rafa Nadal won his first Australian Open Title over Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2. Vamos Rafa!!



The match was over 4 hours long and very intense. I saw about the final two hours of it live. Luckily I was able to see match point around 8am EST before I had to run off to my race in Central Park. It was a great match... until the 5th set, where for no real reason, Fed kinda gave up. I mean, "gave up" is too harsh. He certainly didn't want to lose, but after 4 hours of playing, it seemed like Fed suddenly didn't believe he would win. It's often said that the 5th set comes down to heart, and Rafa is all heart. For some reason Rafa has Federer's number. Evidence? Fed's record against non-Rafa opponents in Grand Slam Finals? 11-0. His record against Rafa in Slam Finals? 2-5. Rafa is 3-0 in the last three slam final meetings and has a13-6 edge on Federer in career meetings. It was clearly on Fed's mind as he lost serve twice in the final set.



So I went off to the race content in the knowledge that Rafa had won and that I could watch the speeches on DVR when I got back. What I was not expecting, upon return to my apartment was that Federer was totally distraught during the Trophy Presentation. He was crying! He couldn't address the crowd. The crowd went crazy for him, trying to will him into composure by showering him with cheers of love. He couldn't do it. He went back to compose himself while Rafa got his trophy which led to this awkward moment.



I felt so bad for him! Federer is a classy guy and I DO believe when all is said and done that he will get the 15 championships he wants so much. He'll have many more chances. Rafa can't win every major for the next 5 years! And Fed can beat anyone else on the planet. So it will happen. Don't worry too much, Fed!



A lovely moment at the end was when Rafa, seeing how broken up Fed was, reached around and hugged him around the neck. It seemed to snap Fed out of his emotional state and gave him the opportunity to step back up and say some gracious closing remarks. Best of luck for the season, Roger!

I love my Rafa. Champion on Clay, Grass and now Hardcourt. And on the tennis court of my heart. Rest well, young man. You've got a long season ahead of you. I'll be watching!