Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia
6-4 6-4 6-1
in Benidorm
Davis Cup
March 8, 2009
Source
Greatness in sport is often hard to spot when it’s happening. It often takes a while for someone’s – or some team’s – achievement to be fully appreciated, but there’s no question that tennis is currently enjoying the peak years of one of the greatest clay court players ever, if not the greatest: Rafael Nadal.
That’s why this otherwise evenly balanced tie between two quality teams was always going to require Serbia to win the three rubbers that Nadal was not involved in. And so it was effectively decided the moment David Ferrer beat Novak Djokovic in the opening rubber. No-one quite wants to believe the tie is over after one match, but the reality was that, after that result, someone from the Serbian team had to beat Nadal on clay in Spain, and that’s currently the toughest ask in tennis.
Djokovic could pose a threat to Nadal at Roland Garros
Nadal still needed to deliver the goods, and in Djokovic he faced the player who pushed him further at Roland Garros last year than anyone else. Djokovic put in a much better performance than he had done against Ferrer, and there was enough in it to suggest that, if he can get enough dust on his socks during the European clay season, he might pose Nadal’s toughest challenge at the French Open this year.
But if Djokovic needed a couple of matches to get comfortable on the red stuff, Nadal showed that he is not just a great clay court player but can also switch to clay at the drop of a hat. Never mind that his last tournament was on indoor hard court in Rotterdam and his next is on the outdoor hard courts of Indian Wells in the California desert – he can play on clay at any time.
Nadal’s adaptability will be Germany’s problem
And that will be Germany’s problem in July when it travels to Spain for the quarterfinal. Nadal may well play the Wimbledon final five days before the tie, but it will still take something of a miracle – short of illness or injury – for him to lose a match. The Germans hosted Spain in Bremen last year and couldn’t make home advantage count. They now face the Spaniards on Spanish soil (almost certainly clay) with a team that must hope, like Serbia did, that it can make an impact on the other three rubbers.
Spain’s win over Serbia in glorious sunshine, and with tennis of a quality that increased as the weekend went on, will largely erase from the memory the damage to the 14,000-seater stadium on Thursday night that caused the whole of Friday’s play to be lost. Some will say the tie was lucky to have all its live matches decided in straight sets, but it was also very unlucky to catch winds of a record speed for this part of the Spanish coastline on the eve of the tie. It is the third time the Spanish Federation RFET has used this model of temporary stadium, and in a country passionate about its tennis and enjoying a golden era, it would be a shame if it feels it can’t use it again – after all, it allows top-class tennis to reach the parts of Spain that tour tennis just can’t reach.
All photo credits: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his victory over Novak Djokovic of Serbia during day two of the Davis Cup World Group first round tie between Spain and Serbia at the Parque Tematico Terra Mitica on March 8, 2009 in Benidorm, Spain. Nadal defeated Djokovic in three straight sets 6-4, 6-4 and 6-1 sending Spain into the Davis Cup quarterfinals with a 3-1 lead over Serbia.
PARIS (AFP) — Novak Djokovic is just two places behind Rafael Nadal in the world rankings, but on Sunday it felt like a chasm.
World number three Djokovic slumped to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 defeat to Nadal as defending champions Spain romped into the Davis Cup quarter-finals with a 4-1 first round win over Serbia.
Djokovic admitted he was in awe of the Spaniard who showed no ill-effects from the knee injury which had kept him off the circuit for a month before the Benidorm claycourt tie.
Read the full article
Team: Feliciano Lopez, Nicolas Almagro, David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Rafael Nadal and Coach Albert Costa
All photo credits: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
Indian Wells Website:
www.bnpparibasopen.org
Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open Tournament TV
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www.onthebaseline.com
The tournament will be aired for more than 40 hours on FSN’s 15 owned-and-operated regional networks that reach more than 70 million homes across the United States.
Former ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players Justin Gimelstob and Chandra Rubin will be part of the commentary team, in addition to award-winning announcer Barry Tompkins.
Coverage of the Pacific Life Open on FSN will begin live on Saturday, March 15 at 11:00 AM PST and continue throughout the following week. The women’s and men’s finals will be live on Sunday, March 23 at 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm PST.
Pacific Life Open Television Listings
All times are Pacific. Please verify with your cable provider the schedule for the Fox Sports Network station in your area.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Early Round Coverage - FSN - 11:00 am - 3:00 pm (LIVE)
Early Round Coverage - FSN West - 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm (LIVE)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Early Round Coverage - FSN - 11:00 am - 1:00 pm (LIVE)
Early Round Coverage - FSN West - 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm (LIVE)
Monday, March 17, 2008
Early Round Coverage - FSN West - 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (LIVE)
Early Round Coverage - FSN - 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (LIVE)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Early Round Coverage - FSN - 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (LIVE)
Early Round Coverage - FSN West - 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm (LIVE)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Men’s Round of 16/Women’s Quarterfinal - FSN West - 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (LIVE)
Men’s Round of 16/Women’s Quarterfinal - FSN - 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (LIVE)
Women’s Quarterfinal - FSN - 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm (LIVE)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Women’s Quarterfinal - FSN - 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (LIVE)
Men’s Quarterfinal - FSN - 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm (LIVE)
Women’s Quarterfinal - FSN - 12:00 am - 2:00 am (EST & PST) (Delay)
Friday, March 21, 2008
Men’s Quarterfinal - FSN - 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (LIVE)
Women’s Semifinal - FSN - 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm (LIVE)
Women’s Semifinal - FSN - 12:00 am - 2:00 am (EST & PST) (Delay)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Men’s Semifinal - FSN - 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (LIVE)
Men’s Semifinal - FSN - 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm (LIVE)
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Women’s Final - FSN - 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm (LIVE)
Men’s Final - FSN - 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm (LIVE)
Rafa Fan Site:
vamosbrigade.com
The Original Forum at Rafa's Website
before Nike took over and made a different form:
www.activeboard.com
Rafa's Website:
www.rafaelnadal.com
News at Rafa's Website:
www.rafaelnadal.com/nadal/en/news
March 10, 2009
Rafa Nadal will arrive in California tonight (local time) after a successful weekend in Benidorm, where he played the first round of the Davis Cup against Serbia and won 2 out of the 3 points needed to qualify for the quarterfinals of the event.
DRAW CEREMONY
After the conclusion of the draw ceremony for the first Masters Series event of the year in Indian Wells, we have a better picture of what it is to come for Rafa in this tournament. The best tennis player in the world has a relatively comfortable draw (for the first couple of rounds):
He has a bye in the first round and will have to face the winner of the match between Russian, Kevin Anderson (a wild-card) and a qualifier, in the second.
In the third round things could get a lot tougher for Rafa when he faces the likes of Tomas Berdych or Mikhail Youzhny. Two very, VERY dangerous players.
In the quarters, he could play against Argentinean, David Nalbandian and in a hypothetical semi-final, it is very likely he could face defending champion Novak Djokovic. However, Rafa also comes into this tournament with a lot of confidence and one hard court Grand Slam title under his belt.
On the other side of the draw, Roger Federer will have an easy debut against the winner of the match between French Marc Guiquel and Italian, Simone Bolleli. Also on his way are: Jo-Wifred Tsonga, Andy Murray, Fernando Verdasco, and James Blake.
Rafa has a bye in the first round, which means he does not play until round two.
Seeded players in his quarter are Del Potro(6), Monfils(9), Nalbandian(14), Berdych(21), Safin(24), Tursunov(26) and Melzer(30).
The other top seeds in his half are Novak Djokovic(3) and Andy Roddick(7).
Below is from the Enough Project website:
http://www.enoughproject.org/blog
The 5 Best Stories You May Have Missed This Week
Posted by Enough Team on Mar 11, 2009Here at Enough, we often swap emails with interesting articles and feature stories that we come across in our favorite publications and on our favorite websites. We wanted to share some of these stories with you as part of our effort to keep you up to date on what you need to know in the world of anti-genocide and crimes against humanity work.
A couple of good slide shows this week help illustrate the unfolding drama in Sudan following the indictment of President Bashir. The Guardian compiled a series of photos spanning from 2004 to last week’s announcement by the ICC. The New Republic captures images of the reaction among Sudanese around the world to the ICC’s decision.
Ofebia Quist-Arcton’s piece this morning on NPR described the mood in Zimbabwe following the traffic accident in which Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was injured and his wife Susan died.
CFR’s analysis on the warrant for President Bashir provides a useful synopsis of the political and humanitarian developments in Sudan and the events leading up to the ICC’s decision. CFR calls the warrant “the most dramatic development in the global move toward increased transnational justice since the end of the Cold War.”
UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women Yakin Erturk has often been in the media recently, speaking in honor of International Women’s Day. We were especially interested in Al Jazeera’s take on her comments, which focused on the increasing risk of violence against women and girls amid the deepening economic crisis. Al Jazeera also highlighted U.N. Secretary General Ban ki-Moon’s recent visit to eastern Congo, after which he expressed ‘shock’ and ‘sadness almost beyond expression’ after meeting women who were victims of sexual violence.
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