It was a night to remember especially for tennis fans in Malaysia. Having two top 10 tennis players in the world in this country is something that is far from my imagination. Thanks to the Ministry of Youths and Sports, we are able to see Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet live in Malaysia for the very first time in an exhibition match called Clash of the Titans. The MC for the night is Mahadzir Lokman which I think is appropriate since he knows how to speak Spanish and French. The Deputy Prime Minister and wife as well as the Minister of Youths and Sports were present that night.
The match started off with a performance by a local boy band, Ruffedge. To be honest, I wish the performance is by Sheila Majid, Ning Baizura or even Siti Nurhaliza who has more class and suitable for a high profile tennis event like this.
Then the event was followed by cultural dance. It was a very Malaysian-style event. I only hope that they are able to make it more grand for such a huge event like this (the MC said the event were broadcasted to over 50 countries) and not just a few people wearing different costumes doing some simple dance moves. It's just too old school for me. Well, most of us were already anxious for Nadal and Gasquet to emerge. And so by 8.30 p.m. the players came out and I'm so relieved that the stadium was already more than 3/4 occupied. I managed to get a good sight of the players as I managed to move from my RM83 seat to a RM388 seat!
The MC asked some questions before we were introduced to the umpire who is a former national tennis player. The players warm up for few minutes and fans were already cheering seeing some great sharp returns made by the players. The show haven't started and you can see how good these guys are.
To cut the story short, the score for the night is 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 with Nadal winning the exhibition match. Through out the match, I managed to get to see Nadal's butt picking habit (!), fist pumping but there's no adjusting socks, placement of water bottles or any other rituals he normally do. Perhaps, it's just only an exhibition match. But Nadal seemed to be having a lot of fun and showing some tricks compares to Gasquet. By the third set, Gasquet was already tired and gave up although I wish this set could end up with a tie break.
The night would have been a perfect if the linesmen do their jobs well. Even the umpire made a few wrong calls that night. Speaking about professionalism in tennis, we are still very far behind. Even the Stadium Melawati needs some face lifting job done. I can't believe these world top players are playing in such a poor venue like this. Don't they have a better tennis court in Bukit Jalil?
Now, Roger Federer will be arriving Malaysia today with Pete Sampras. According to the organizer, they will be flying in through private jet and will land in Subang Airport instead of KLIA. I'm not sure if there's any changes in their flight schedule but you can check with the organizer by calling them up.
For Nadal's fans, I'll put up more pictures as soon as I've uploaded more pictures from the camera.
For most people, I'm a crazy 30-year-old who chases her idol. And in this particular case, I wanted to meet my tennis idol, Rafael Nadal.
However, to me, it's not just about meeting Nadal. I admire his fighting spirit in the court but that's not the main reason why I started a campaign to meet him.
To meet the world no. 2 tennis player in the world who hasn't come to Southeast Asia before is hard. And to get to take picture with him is even harder. But now I have to say that anything is possible.
When you are driven by a goal, work your way (legally) towards that goal and you'll eventually get what you want. And perhaps visualization is important too in making yourself believe that you are able to accomplish what you have started.
I was at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at about 5.30 p.m. waiting for my tennis idol, Rafael Nadal to show up. Earlier on, I was in KL to pick up my TGI Friday's winning voucher before proceed to Ritz Carlton Hotel. To my disappointment, a friend from Astro who apparently preparing for the brief appearance told me that event at the hotel has been cancelled.
I called up Anna, the organizer, and she has been very helpful by letting me know that Nadal's flight has been delayed and I would be in time to catch him at KLIA. Hence I drove all the way to KLIA and waited for hours at the arrival hall. Nadal and Gasquet did not appear at the arrival hall but instead proceed to the VIP lounge where all the reporters and TV stations are there for a press conference.
I managed to get to know the location of the lounge and waited outside. I did get some footage where Nadal and Gasquet walked out from the press conference.
I also managed to get a photo with Nadal but the one with Gasquet didn't work out. And I got Nadal's signature on my ticket too!
What a day! And my dream and campaign finally realized. Thank you guys for your support. Now I don't need to put a fake picture with Nadal anymore. As for the number of comments 'Vamos VMY2007', I've received 22 of them (out of the targetted 200 comments) which means worth only RM22 for charity. Anyway, I will still donate RM200 for charity, which I will keep you guys updated in this blog very soon.
By the way, I was too busy chasing for Nadal, I've forgotten about Richard Gasquet.
Rafael Nadal has proven a lot of critics wrong by continuing his quest to win the privileged Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.
Send Djokovic packing will definitely give Nadal psychological boost as Djokovic has been such a stiff competitor to all the top players this year.
Now that there are two Spanish players in the semifinals (Nadal and Ferrer), I am confident that Nadal might be able to win this high profile tournament before he comes to Malaysia next week.
And speaking about Nadal's visit to Malaysia, he will be arriving with Richard Gasquet. However, flight schedule has yet to be confirmed until Monday. I predict that Nadal and Gasquet will arrive in the evening and will proceed straight to the Ritz Carlton Hotel for brief appearance. There will be no tennis clinic or whatsoever activities, according to the organizer.
Will Uncle Tony, Nadal's uncle and coach, coming to Malaysia too? Let's just wait and see.
It was a night to remember especially for tennis fans in Malaysia. Having two top 10 tennis players in the world in this country is something that is far from my imagination. Thanks to the Ministry of Youths and Sports, we are able to see Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet live in Malaysia for the very first time in an exhibition match called Clash of the Titans.
Then the event was followed by cultural dance. It was a very Malaysian-style event. I only hope that they are able to make it more grand for such a huge event like this (the MC said the event were broadcasted to over 50 countries) and not just a few people wearing different costumes doing some simple dance moves. It's just too old school for me.
To cut the story short, the score for the night is 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 with Nadal winning the exhibition match. Through out the match, I managed to get to see Nadal's butt picking habit (!), fist pumping but there's no adjusting socks, placement of water bottles or any other rituals he normally do. Perhaps, it's just only an exhibition match. But Nadal seemed to be having a lot of fun and showing some tricks compares to Gasquet. By the third set, Gasquet was already tired and gave up although I wish this set could end up with a tie break.
