Who has won on clay, grass and hard court and just became Number One?
Rafael Nadal
Most recently in 2008 Rafa won
Toronto, Wimbledon, Queens Club, French Open - Roland Garros,
Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Hamburg
Nicolas Lapentti lost the Quarter Final match to Rafael Nadal August 1, 2008
7-6 (3), 6-1
Lapentti played magnificently until Rafa won the tie break, then Rafa took on unbeatable proportions.
Congratulations to Rafa for becoming Number One tonight.
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Quarter Final Spainard Rafael Nadal defeats Ecuadorian Nicolas Lapentti 7-6(3), 6-1 August 1, 2008 in Cincinnati (Mason), Ohio
Rafa's next opponent in CincinnatiNovak Djokovic
August 2, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
VAMOS CAMPEON - RAFA!
except the one at the top, which is a Sports Illustrated photo
Rafael Nadal will replace Roger Federer at the top of the world rankings this month after the second-seeded Spaniard moved past Nicolas Lapentti 7-6 (7/3) 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters on Friday.
Nadal has won his last five tournaments and if the 22-year manages to claim the championship at this hardcourt event, he will overtake Roger Federer as the number one player in the world.
The top-ranked player for a record 235 weeks, Federer had the opportunity to keep Nadal at bay a bit longer had he reached the semi-finals here, but a third-round loss to Ivo Karlovic on Thursday ended that possibility. By reaching the semi-finals, Nadal will become number one on August 18 and he is guaranteed to move atop the rankings on August 11 by finishing as the runner-up.
Nadal, who is an ATP-best 64-7 this season and is riding a 32-match win streak, connected on 67 percent of his first serves and saved all three break points. He had two break opportunities and capitalised on both. Nadal will meet third-seeded Novak Djokovic in a semi-final clash. Djokovic downed Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 6-3 6-4, in the quarters.
"I thought that I was serving much better, and day after day I'm getting stronger in the segment of my game, which is really important coming up to the final stages of the tournament," said Djokovic, who improved to 43-10 on the season, 22-5 on hard courts.
Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title earlier this year at the Australian Open and appeared destined to challenge Federer and Nadal atop the rankings, but his season has taken a downturn after a disappointing second-round exit at Wimbledon and a quarter-final loss to Andy Murray in Toronto last week. The 21-year-old Serb is likely excited about facing Nadal on a hard court. A win would exact a small measure of revenge for Djokovic, who twice failed to beat Nadal on clay this spring with the number two ranking hanging in the balance.
On the opposite side of the draw, Karlovic built on his win over Federer when he upended unseeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (8/6) 7-6 (7/3) in a quarter-final. The hard-serving Croat - who leads the ATP with 657 aces this year - came into this tournament on a three-match losing streak, but has regained the form that led him to a title at Nottingham earlier this year.
Karlovic will face the eighth-seeded Andy Murray, who overcame a slow start to post a 2-6 6-2 6-1 win over veteran Spaniard Carlos Moya, the 2002 champion.
Murray looked uninspired in losing the first set to the 31-year-old and was broken in the first game of the second. From that point, however, he won 12 of the last 15 games and looked more like the player who recently reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon and Toronto.
"I mean, to go two breaks down, a set and two breaks down, would have been tough to come back from," Murray said. "But, you know, it happens sometimes in tennis when you're feeling confident and you know your opponent hasn't maybe played as well as he can throughout the year."
Nadal captures No 1 tennis ranking
I watched the match on ESPN2 and also on the ATP website when TV went to commercials or when I wanted to see something again. TV is always ahead of the ATP streaming by a couple points it seems.
Well, Rafa WON! He is number 1! What a night in Cincinnati for Rafa. It happened on hard court and it happened in the USA. How Special is that - that where before he has not found such Rafa-success, he showed the USA and the World that he has arrived! Nicolas Lapentti gave Rafa a great match to become number 1. Rafa had to earn it. The ESPN commentators thought Rafas nerves were affecting his play. I don't know. Lapentti was fantastic! Rafa did seem to bring more magic from Set 1's tie break on. Some of his points were so Rafa-like! But Lapentti had some magical points too.
So wonderful for us as his loyal and loving fans to be a part of This Special Moment.
So happy for Rafa and Uncle Tony. So special Rafa's dear people get to share it with Rafa.
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Uploaded by Juliette2007 September 16, 2007
"A New Day"
Seems such an appropriate song for today
I'm so happy for him! He deserves it...vamos!
ReplyDeleteYes, Rafa's number one status now matches his character and how he lives his life. A Champion All Around.
ReplyDelete