Here are some pictures of Rafael Nadal, the unofficial world no.1 player in the world for you. As you know, Nadal has already arrived in Beijing, chasing his first Olympic gold medal.
Rafael Nadal was spotted in Beijing Olympic village talking to other Spanish sportsmen. Here he posed with Spain's female hockey players. He is obviously in a good vibe with smile and confidence on his face. Also with him is fellow Spaniard tennis player, Tommy Robredo.
He was also seen practicing on the court, and showing off some ball balancing skill.
(Images via Great Tennis Photos and BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)
I've been pretty busy with shifting house for the past weekend and do not have time to really sit down and write something. But nevertheless, here's my updates in one post.
Boost for Murray's Olympic campaign
Novak Djokovic might have beaten soon-to-be world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinal at Cincinnati, but I'm not devastated watching the match on Sunday morning. After all, Nadal has achieved his ultimate goal, dethroning King Roger from the peak of the ATP rankings. It's best to remain at his top form and focus on Beijing Olympics instead. As you can see in this video, Nadal has arrived in Beijing International Airport to begin his quest for a gold medal.
I didn't think Nole played his best tennis at Cincy Masters. Not even during the semifinal against Nadal. Hence I'm not surprised that Andy Murray won his first Masters Series here by knocking off Nole 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5). If he maintains his consistency on hardcourts, perhaps he Murray might have a huge chance to clinch his first Grand Slam at the U.S. Open right after the Olympics. Jankovic to become new no. 1 but Safina wins the Rogers Cup
Jelena Jankovic is going to become the new world No. 1 in women’s tennis by the narrowest of margins. The WTA determined that as of the August 11 rankings, Jankovic will have 3,620 points - eight more than Ivanovic, who took the top spot on June 9.
“Since I was a young girl, it has been my dream to become No. 1 in the world,” Jankovic said. “When you get older, at least one day you can say you were No. 1 and no one can take that away from you. You are in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour history books, and it’s a great achievement.”
However, Jankovic lost in the quarterfinal at the Rogers Cup. I would say that the woman player we should focus on now is Dinara Safina, the no.1 player in the making. Safina has been playing remarkable tennis by reaching the final in five of her last six tournaments.
Dinara easily handled unseeded Dominika Cibulkova in a 6-2, 6-1 victory on Sunday to win the Rogers Cup. This the second win in a row for Safina, who beat Flavia Pannetta in the final in Los Angeles last week. With a win earlier this year in Berlin, it was the 22-year-old’s third victory of the year and the eighth of her career. So, Dinara should be the hot favourite to win a medal in the Beijing Olympics.
Look Who's in Beijing? And who's not?
Ana Ivanovic might be losing her no. 1 spot to Jankovic, but looks like it doesn't really affect her much. Perhaps the two top women players in the world are Serbia's best bet to win a medal or two in the Olympic Games.
Too bad we might not be seeing Sharapova the Fashionista in Beijing as well as the U.S. Open because of a torn rotator cuff tendon in her right shoulder.
Sharapova said in a posting on her official website that she probably won’t need surgery and could be ready to play in two to three months.
(Images by Ronald Martinez/Elsa/OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images)
“It’s emotional. I know I’m going to be No. 1. Getting No. 1 is a present for a lot of work in the past, so it’s satisfying.” ~ Rafael Nadal
Finally, after years of chasing, Nadal is guaranteed to claim the world No. 1 ranking this month after reaching the semifinals at the Cincinnati Masters with a 7-6(3), 6-1 victory over Nicolas Lapentti.
The timing of Nadal's rise to No. 1 replacing Roger Federer depends on his results in Cincinnati:
If Nadal wins the title, he will become No. 1 this Monday.
If Nadal loses in the final he will become No. 1 on August 11
If Nadal loses in the semifinals he will become No. 1 on August 18
Federer has held the top ranking for a record of 235 consecutive weeks (since Feb. 2, 2004) and Nadal has been No. 2 for a record 158 straight weeks (since July 25, 2005). The last player to rank No. 1 before Federer's reign was Andy Roddick the week of Jan. 26, 2004.
The Spaniard will become the 24th player in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings (since 1973) to hold the No. 1 position. He will join countrymen Carlos Moya (1999) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003) to rank No. 1.
"Well, there are so many different things, no, so difficult to compare," said Nadal, when asked about becoming No. 1."
"But when you win Roland Garros it's in the moment, no? It's, I don't know, very emotional. Right now I know I going to be No. 1 and I'm very, very happy to be No. 1. Be No. 1 always is, I think, is a present for a lot of work in the past, no? So that's satisfying me a lot. But for be No. 1 you only can be No. 1 winning Roland Garros, Wimbledon, so..."
"I am very happy but at the same time, my goal is continuing be there (at No. 1). So my goal is continuing be there Olympics and US Open, so no time for enjoy."
Nadal, who also won his career-best 32nd consecutive match on Friday, has reached the semifinals or better in all nine ATP Masters Series tournaments in his career. He will attempt to become the first player to reach the final in all nine when he plays World No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals on Saturday. Nadal leads the all-time series 9-3, winning the last three meetings this year.
(Image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) (Via Cincytennis.com)
Honestly I felt cheated by the announcement that Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer will be making way to Asia for exhibition matches in Macau and Kuala Lumpur, only to have Nadal unconfirmed and possibly replaced by James Blake three days later.
They should know that there is almost 0% chance for Nadal to play in the exho matches on Nov 18 and 20. Before I make my point, let's flash back why there's a sudden change in the line up for the exho match.
The reason why Nadal MIGHT NOT be able to make it is due to the clash with the Davis Cup final.
“The decision as to who will play in Malaysia will hinge on the outcome of the Davis Cup semi-final clash between Spain and the United States (US) in Madrid on Sept 21,” said Nick Freyer, senior vice-president and head of tennis of IMG Asia, the event organisers, at a news conference, here today.
Freyer said if Spain were to lose, Nadal will travel to Kuala Lumpur but if the US were to lose the clash, Blake, who is currently world no. 8, will make his way here.
Spain and the US team will be playing in Madrid, on CLAY COURTS in their semifinal ties. The Spaniards are well known for their exceptional skills on clay while the US team whose expertise on hardcourts has already earned them the Davis Cup last year, are never convincing enough on the slow surface.
With Nadal teaming up with Tommy Robredo, Feliciano Lopez, Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer (possible line up) representing Spain, any tennis fans would know there's no way for Andy Roddick and team mates to go through the semifinal.
Well, IMG, LTAM or the Ministry of Sports might have cheated on us with that cheap gimmick but it's still worth it to buy the tickets. There are still Federer, Borg, McEnroe and Blake LIVE in Malaysia. Just that, it wasn't the same excitement anymore.
Here are some pictures of Rafael Nadal, the unofficial world no.1 player in the world for you. As you know, Nadal has already arrived in Beijing, chasing his first Olympic gold medal.
Rafael Nadal was spotted in Beijing Olympic village talking to other Spanish sportsmen. Here he posed with Spain's female hockey players. He is obviously in a good vibe with smile and confidence on his face. Also with him is fellow Spaniard tennis player, Tommy Robredo.
He was also seen practicing on the court, and showing off some ball balancing skill.
