RAFAEL NADAL HAD A HERCULEAN 2008 YEAR IN TENNIS

TIME'S TOP TEN OF EVERYTHING 2008

2. Centre Court Classic - Rafael Nadal

Feel free to call it the greatest tennis match of all-time. At the Wimbledon final this July (2008), Spain's Rafael Nadal upset his archrival, five-time defending tournament champ Roger Federer, in a five-set epic, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7. The match, which took 4 hours and 48 minutes to complete, featured three rain delays, a Federer comeback from two sets down, and an awe-inspiring fifth set that ended with two exhausted champions dueling in the dark (it ended at 9:16 p.m; fittingly this was the last year there were no lights on Centre Court). It was simultaneously grueling, nerve-wracking and beautiful tennis, as Federer struck a 127 mph service winner to save the match in the fourth set tiebreaker, and Nadal chased down shot after impossible shot. When Federer hit his last shot into the net, a victorious Nadal fell flat on his back, as cameras flashed all around to get a snapshot of history. A few weeks later, Nadal replaced Federer as the top-ranked player in the world.

Source: www.time.com

1. Tiger's One-Legged Roar

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Mercedes Play of the Year: Rafael Nadal (vs Davydenko)
Uploaded by MacHoodio

Many youtube videos recently have been buffering a lot for me. If you go to the following link, you can see The Play of the Year ('08) without the buffering:

www.atptennis.com/1/en/home
Look over to the right once there, you can enlarge the screen by clicking on the little square under the video with the four directional arrows.

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Wimbledon 2008 Final - Part 17
Yes, that is right - carhi1814 has posted the Wimbledon 08 Final in parts
See it while it is still there.
Uploaded December 14, 2008 by carhi1814

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Euro News Interviews Rafael Nadal
Uploaded by Euronews

www.tennis.com/magazine
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............................................................. McEnroe on Nadal in the Tennis Magazine - Video

ATP Tennis Show - Nadal's Phenomenal Year

The ATP Tennis Show looks back on Rafael Nadal's 2008 season, as peers pay tribute to the new year-end World No. 1. See it at this link:
www.atptennis.com

Rafa speaks of his body's condition at Australia Open 08 Press Conference

IKER & RAFA READY TO PLAY THE MATCH AGAINST MALARIA
Madrid, Spain

December 12, 2008

The day has come. This Tuesday 16th of December (2008) at 8pm, Ikers friends and Rafas friends will be sharing a unique moment in their lives, when they unite to play in benefit of the Red Cross a Match to Help Free People from Malaria.Sadly for some, their chance to see some of the biggest starts in sport together for a special cause won't be possible as the entries to the event have sold out.

However, that is great news for Rafa and Iker because they have successfully achieve a larger amount of donations compared to last years contribution. A Karts race, a Tennis and indoor Football match as well as two concerts by: La Oreja de Van Gogh and Andy y Lucas have been scheduled for the special evening.All of those people who will be attending the Palace of Sports will be part of an incredible humanitarian cause that started up as an idea from the 2 main stars of the event, Rafa and Iker.

Source:

www.rafaelnadal.com/nadal/en/news

and also from Rafa's website:

DECEMBER 11 | 2008

THESE DAYS AND INJURY UPDATE

Just wanted to let all my English speaking fans that I have resumed practice a couple of weeks ago and things are going well.

On Friday Dec. 12th I am having the year end dinner, Christmas dinner, with my team. They will all come to Manacor and we will celebrate a great 08 season.

On Monday morning I will practice and then fly late in the afternoon to Madrid since there is a dinner offered by MARCA with the King of Spain and some other sportsmen. This is to close the festivities of the newspaper's 70th anniversary.

On Tuesday we are doing the match against Malaria and hopefully the stadium will be full. We are very excited about this again.

Thanks to all.

Rafa

From Rafael Nadal's website: www.rafaelnadal.com

Wimbledon '08 Final photo credits: Daylife, and I think Getty