HERE COMES RAFAEL NADAL - BEING CROWNED NUMBER ONE OCTOBER 12, 2008 in MADRID

COME AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR RAFA NADAL ON HIS BIG DAY

- The tennis player will receive the number one trophy in the Pista Central (central court) of the Mutua Madrileña Masters Madrid on Sunday 12th October, which will be broadcasted by TVE. - The ceremony will be accompanied by the acrobatic show of "Dream Source: www.mutuamad-mastersmadrid.com news I am hoping that this is streamed on ATP site that I purchased early this year. Also, check out www.justin.tv

Nadal will be crowned on the 12th of October

Rafel Nadal, together with Rudy, in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics
Foto: Efe

The Mallorquin will receive the trophy of the Number One of the World in the Madrid Masters

EFE. MADRID. Rafel Nadal will receive in Madrid the trophy that accredits him as No. 1 of the world on Sunday 12th October at 13:30 hrs from the hands of Etienne de Villiers, President of the Association of Tennis Professions (ATP), an event that will crown him as the third Spanish tennis player to head the ranking since it started in 1973.

The ATP elected the centre court of the Mutua Madrileña Masters of Madrid to present the trophy to the Mallorquin who reached first place of the ranking on the 18th August.

"Rafa's conquest of No. 1 in the ATP ranking is the recompense to a fantastic race in a difficult year. His run on clay where he came through unbeaten(*), and his good results on grass this year have ratified him as a great player on all surfaces" stated Ettiene de Villiers.
"It was some achievement ending Federer's reign, one of the best tennis players in history. But now the best player in the world and all tennis fans hope that both players continue with one of the strongest rivalries in the world of sport" commented Etienne de Villiers about what he hopes of the spectacular rivalry between the Mallorquin and the Swiss.

It will be televised

The Master Series of Madrid will be the first tournament of the circuit that Rafel Nadal will dispute as number one of the world(*) and coincides with the main tournament that is held in Spain. "We are delighted that the ATP has elected our court to hand over the trophy. Rafa is loved in every country, but here especially. The Madrid public has always supported him" says Manolo Santana, director of the Madrid tournament.

The presentation of the trophy will be seen along with an acrobatic show presented by the actors of "Dreams 2" and will be transmitted live by one of the two open television channels of Televisión Española (TVE), according to comments made by the organisation of the Madrid Masters yesterday. The 7th edition of the tournament takes place from 11th to 19th October on the courts of the Recinto de la Casa de Campo.

On Sunday 12th October the first matches of the Madrid draw will take place. According to the draw it is possible that the Mallorquin will play his first match in the singles draw on Tuesday 14th October at 20:00 hrs. In this event Nadal will also play in the doubles draw, forming a partnership with his friend and training companion Carlos Moyá.

Source: www.diariodemallorca.es

Next Saturday, October 11th, Mutua Madrileña Masters Madrid starts

Madrid, October 3rd, 2008. In little more than a week the best tennis players of the world begin to play on the tracks in the Mutua Madrileña Masters Madrid. Yes, in just seven days, pull out the best tennis tournament, which takes place today, in Spain. For the seventh consecutive year the tennis players will seek to deploy their best game, round after round, to get a place in the grand final. All of them would like to see their names appear in the on the list of winners of the tournament, but that challenge is not easy because none player has managed to repeat victory. Seven years, seven winners.

Last September 22nd was the real start. Hundreds of people and trucks have begun their work so that the October 11th at 12:00 noon everything is ready for the general public can enjoy the best tennis and the best atmosphere in Madrid during that week. The countdown has already begun, is moving so fast that their numbers are all zeros. The Recinto Ferial Casa de Campo decks with their best clothes to receive the best in the ATP circuit. This starts. Do not have true desire?

Mutuamad Masters Madrid

The Final Draw will be published Sunday October 14th Noon Madrid Time

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Mana sings Bendita Tu Luz
Uploaded by slimshady0123
Mana is one of Rafael Nadal's favorite bands

Link to the lyrics
On Beauty
by Kahlil Gibran

Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide?
And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech?

The aggrieved and the injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle.
Like a young mother half-shy of her own glory she walks among us."
And the passionate say, "Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread.
Like the tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us."

The tired and the weary say, "Beauty is of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit.
Her voice yields to our silences like a faint light that quivers in fear of the shadow."
But the restless say, "We have heard her shouting among the mountains,
And with her cries came the sound of hoofs, and the beating of wings and the roaring of lions."

At night the watchmen of the city say, "Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east."
And at noontide the toilers and the wayfarers say,
"We have seen her leaning over the earth from the windows of the sunset."

In winter say the snow-bound, "She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hills."
And in the summer heat the reapers say,
"We have seen her dancing with the autumn leaves,
and we saw a drift of snow in her hair."
All these things have you said of beauty,
Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied,
And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.
It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth,
But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.

It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,
But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears.
It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw,
But rather a garden for ever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.

People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.
But you are life and you are the veil.
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are eternity and you are the mirror.

Source: On Beauty

DEAR RAFA, PLEASE TAKE A REST AND COME BACK STRONG

I simply adore Rafa Nadal. His tennis abilities and the way he moves that fabulous body. The passion he displays on the court. The spirit that drives him. His willingness to be “out there”. Check out his blog
http://timesonline.typepad.com/rafael_nadal/

Rafael Nadal appears genuine and unpretentious and I always adore that in any human being.

Hewitt and Nadal as doubles partners

Rafa

I’m still feeling perturbed by Wimbledon’s scheduling decisions that forced him to play without time for his body to fairly recuperate this year. His physical injuries can be traced back to Wimbledon. He won’t say it, but I will.

He lost in the tennis match at the US Open that went into the wee hours of the morning last night. I wish he had never played in the US Open ,in order to allow his body to mend without doing it more harm and requiring even more time to mend itself. But I’m not him. So I just watch and feel for him.

Dear Rafa,

Why are you my favorite tennis player? It is "the heart" that you have and your willingness to let us see it. When I see those wonderful displays of fist pumps when you, 100%, are feeling your healthy self are missing, I know you are playing with physical pain.

I know I am not the only one who loves you and almost feels like you are family. But because of this special affection for you and your presence on the tennis court, it hurts to see you hurting. In a, perhaps, corny sort of way, I say "I carry your heart in my heart". From a distance, I do love and care for you and your happiness in your chosen tennis career.

Now, puhleez give your body a well-deserved rest.

Like family, your special fans will be here waiting for your healthy, mended body to return in our sights on the tennis court. We will miss you until then.

Take very good care of yourself. And love to your family...

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR_NoszHMAs

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT74CQqRi7Y

One of his fans wrote on his blog:

Maná is one of your favorite bands, what's your favorite song by them and why? - Yasna, Belgrade

Rafael Nadal: ...I love Mana. I think they are the best. But they have so many songs I like that I could not tell you just one. The US Open asked me for my favourite songs to play them during my matches and I asked for Mana.

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Honoring Rafa, here is Carlos Santana & Mana singing Corazon Espinado at Latin Grammy Award Los Angeles September 13, 2000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unn_WH8oqHE
Ojala pudiera borrarte by Mana

http://www.protennisfan.com/2005/10/rafael_nadal_in.html

Interview posted after Rafa's loss to David Ferrer above link

Ferrer upsets Nadal in U.S. Open marathon match

from

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/09/nadal_upset_by_ferrer_at_us_op.html

by David Waldstein

Wednesday September 05, 2007, 2:33 AM

The article begins this way:

Imagine the surprise awaiting the citizens of Spain who awoke at the reasonable hour of 7:00 a.m. and happened to switch on the TV looking for the morning news.

When images of their two native sons slugging it out blinked on, they must have first assumed it was highlights from the previous evening's event.

Who would have guessed that it was in fact live, that Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer were still in the third set of their grueling match, and that there was plenty of tense moments still to come, even as those back home prepared for school and work back in Spain……

Between my eyes and heart a pact is made,
And they each now do good things for the other:
When my eyes are starved for a look (at you),
Or my heart smothers itself with sighs,
On my love's picture my eyes do feast
And my eyes call my heart to this beautiful picture;
Another time my eyes are my heart's guests
And in its thoughts of love do share a part:
So, either by your picture of my love,
You are still with me when you are away;
For you are not farther than my thoughts can move,
And I am always with them [my thoughts] as they are with you.
Or, if they are asleep, your picture before my eyes
Awakens my heart to the pleasures of both the heart and eye.

Thanks to

Dra House on www.rafaelnadal.com Fan Page

Shakespeare Soneto 47

Tennis-Open-Nadal stunned by Ferrer at U.S. Open

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Spain's David Ferrer put in an inspired performance to upset second-seeded compatriot Rafael Nadal 6-7 6-4 7-6 6-2 in a U.S. Open fourth-round encounter that finished well into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Ferrer's stunning victory over the French Open champion earned him a quarter-final showdown against 20th seed Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina.

Relying on a devastating forehand that produced 22 winners, Ferrer won the third-set tiebreaker 7-4 and roared to victory in the final set to end the three-hour, 28-minute slugfest at 1:50 a.m. local time on Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

The 25-year-old Ferrer, who had lost his last four matches against Nadal, clinched victory on his second match point when the world number two's backhand lob sailed past the baseline.

Nadal, who has been hampered by a knee injury and was treated on court for a finger problem, battled gamely, but the 21-year-old had no answer for Ferrer's heavy forehand and crisp all-round play in the tension-packed match.

"Tomorrow, I don't want to run more," Ferrer said in an on-court interview.

"Now I am very tired. To beat Rafa, I have to run a lot. I'm sorry for that, for my friend, for my partner, Rafa."

Ferrer, who beat Argentine David Nalbandian in five sets in the third round, blasted 48 winners in all as he matched his best previous grand slam result -- a quarter-finals appearance at the 2005 French Open.

EARLIEST EXIT

"He's a very good player," Nadal told reporters after making his earliest exit from a grand slam this year.

"He's having an unbelievable season. He's one of the best players in the world right now."

The three-times French Open champion preferred to credit Ferrer, who won in Auckland and Bastad this year, rather than detail how his physical condition might have affected him.

"I don't want to speak about my body right now. It's an excuse. I don't want any excuse. He played well and he beat me."

Nadal hit 33 winners himself in the pulsating match but found Ferrer able to retrieve his fierce groundstrokes.

"He's very fast," Nadal said.

"For me it's not a surprise. Sure it's disappointing for me but that's tennis. That's the sport. I'm having a very good season," added the Spaniard, who reached the quarters at the Australian Open, the Wimbledon final and has won six singles titles.

"It's disappointing for me because I can't play 100 percent because of the problem with the knees.

"But I do the best that I can."

from
http://uk.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUKSP9836520070905?pageNumber=1

David Ferrer played fabulously against Rafa Nadal and deserves his due. David's interview after defeating his friend Rafa:
http://www.tennis-x.com/story/2007-09-05/l.php

“He’s too good of a player not to do good here,” James Courier recommending Rafa rethink his scheduling of tournaments. Personally, I have found Courier abrasive, annoying and repulsive... in the kindest tone of voice I can attempt through the written word. But I thought in this comment, he succinctly addressed Rafa's situation. I agree Rafa now has to stop and rethink his schedule just because his body is “talking” to him.

I adore Rafa and "tennis" wins if he can have a long and successful tennis carreer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj5xAkT03p4 Rafa and Xisca. I admit I hesitated including this link of Rafa and his girlfriend. Seems too personal to display here. So if you want to see it link to it at Youtube.

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We Are Simply Wrong to Allow Genocide to Go On
In Darfur. 

Silence kills.
Complicity encourages and emboldens.
Apathy disgraces us individually and collectively. 

We are, each one, responsible for our personal silence.

Genocide flourishes
when you and I don’t care enough to do something.

The Beijing, China 2008 Olympics has chosen this theme

ONE WORLD, ONE DREAM

an admirable theme choice

And yet, China has been instrumental in the continuation
of the Darfur genocide - since its conception.

Websites with actions you can take to help end Genocide :

www.savedarfur.org

www.dreamfordarfur.org

www.standnow.org

Call to talk to your U.S. Senators and Representatives 1-800-GENOCIDE

George Bush’s Comment Line

202-456-1111

Call and tell him to live up to his word

and not to allow genocide to go on

On His Watch

Thanks!