In behalf of Rafa Nadal and the entire RN.com, wed like to wish you all a very safe and happy Christmas. May your homes be full of blessings and bring your loved ones closer together.
Thank you for your continued support throughout Rafas career, and we look forward to seeing you all during the 2010 season.
With everyone doing top 10 lists of the decade or the year, I decided to take a slightly different approach. I still made a top 10 list but not of any matches or any particular stats. This is the list of the best single strokes in the last 10 years.
This list was harder to make than I thought. I brainstormed with a lot of different players and looked at all of their strokes. The way I determined the list was based on how incredible, effective, and absolutely lethal these shots were. The way I ranked the strokes was based on how far the stroke was able to carry the player:
10. Ivo Karlovics serve: 78 aces in a single match on clay and this guy is nearing 30. His motion is a little unorthodox but how much does one really need to do when they serve out of a tree? The Karlovic serve falls at number 10 only because Karlovic is not that accomplished of a player. He was never able to translate the greatness of his serve into the rest of his game the way the players on the rest of this list do. Those 78 aces still werent enough for the win.
9. David Nalbandians backhand: How often do you hear the number one player in the world say they fear a shot? What about two number ones? Both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have expressed fear of David Nalbandian at some point in their respective careers. Nadal even specified it was Nalbandians backhand he was afraid of. This stroke was as smooth as silk and was a big factor in helping Nalbandian make several slam semifinals and win two MS titles and the TMC.
8. Patrick Rafters volleys: Its pretty incredible to be on this list for volleying during the decade of baseline domination. But Rafter made two Wimbledon finals and played great in both despite coming up short. He was genuine serve and volleyer with incredible hands and he made the most of them. His two slam wins came in the last decade but he still showed off his skills against the baseline bashers of today.
7. Juan Martin del Potros forehand: If youve never seen this guy play, you are missing out. No matter what you think the reason is for Federers loss in this years US Open final, del Potros forehand was the deciding factor. He arguably hits the hardest forehand in history and hes only 20 years old. The great thing about del Potro is that his serve and backhand are great, too, and they will all help him win several slams in the future. But the forehand is his money shot.
6. Marat Safins backhand: I almost put this at number four but I had to be fair to Roddick and Sampras. Its no secret I love Safin and I may have put this shot a little too high on the list, but then again he did win more slams this decade than anyone Ive already mentioned. And thats why his backhand is on here. Despite his inconsistency throughout the years, the way he could fire this shot during his two slam victories (2000 US Open and 2005 Australian Open) was absolutely incredible. He was smacking winners down the line, cross court, in the middle, in the air, you name it. Not convincing enough? Safins backhand brought the great Roger Federer to his knees.
5. Pete Samprass serve: Thats right, Pistol Pete is on the list for this decade. Despite playing his best stuff in the 90s, he managed to win two slams in 2000 and 2002, both of his record breaking slams. And while he was slower and not as fit as he was during the 90s, his serve was always the greatest shot in the game. The reason this shot isnt higher is because it did not help him much beyond those two slams and a couple of other finals.
4. Andy Roddicks serve: Seven straight years finishing in the top 10 is why Roddick is above Sampras. Its also why hes above Safin despite my obvious favoritism. Roddick has tinkered with his style for years now. Hes played super aggressive, super defensive, a bit of both, a bit of nothing, but hes always had that serve. An anomaly of epic proportions but quite a sight to behold. A lot of players say they want Karlovics serve, but Roddick has backed his serve up a lot better. Five slam finals with a win, not the greatest outside his serving but still pretty darn great.
3. Andre Agassis return of serve: This is more or less two strokes but it still fits on this list. Agassi had one of the greatest returns of all time because he was always aggressive and was able to make the greatest servers get nervous. He won three slams this decade and made a few other finals and was also the oldest number one in history. Its all thanks to his incredible returns. A 34 year old limping Agassi withstood 51 aces from Joachim Johansson. Most players are always fairly in control when theyre serving, but Agassi was in control when he was serving and returning.
2. Rafael Nadals forehand: I love this shot. When Nadal is playing his best, his forehand cannot be described with the words of the mortals. Six grand slams, two other finals, 15 MS titles, and a world number one ranking. And did I mention he did all of this during Federers reign? A lot of players attack Federer backhand but only Nadal can do it so relentlessly and effectively to hold a significant edge in their head to head. For those writing Nadal off, as long as he can hit a forehand, he is never done. While del Potro has the hardest forehand, Nadal has the heaviest. His forehand has more rpm (rotations per minute) than Samprass second serve. That is just insane.
1. Roger Federers forehand: We all know about the world number one streaks and the slam record and the whole dominating the tour like no one ever has thing, but Federers forehand is probably the greatest AND most beautiful shot in the history of the sport. At his best, there is nothing Federer cant do with his forehand. More spin? No problem. More power? No problem. More angle? No problem. Federer even has one of the greatest forehand drop shots Ive ever seen. Federer also plays his best tennis when his forehand is clicking. And weve all seen Federer at his best, unbeatable. Even when hes not at his best, it was an inside-out forehand that saved him against Haas at the French Open. Federers forehand has it all and its greatness translates into the rest of his game better than any of these other players.
Honorable Mentions: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Richard Gasquet backhands, Tim Henman slice, Taylor Dent and Radek Stepanek volleys, Guillermo Coria and Fabrice Santoro drop shot, Lleyton Hewitt return, Fernando Gonzalez and Robin Soderling forehand.
รูปราฟาไปเที่ยวผับ Bauxa เมื่อวันที่ 18-19 Dec ที่ผ่านมาค่ะ
Rafael Nadal: "I haven't stopped training" ... " already for a long time I have been training, we can say that really I have not stopped training because this year there has not been a possibility to stop"
"since the following day (after DC) I began to work and I am happy with the work that we are doing for the new season"
"between the players and the ATP, counts on a new direction since last year, is working a lot to try to establish some more marked guidelines so that the players have slightly more flexibility and and rest, especially end of the year so that no matter what has happened to those who have played the Davis Cup final, and just do not have time to rest...in future we will succeed and if it is not for our generation, it is for the following, which at least can encourage those who come after us."
"we have a calendar that obliges us to play from the first week of January and even December, for which turns out to be very difficult to set guidelines, but within that calendar must find appropriate times to rest,", to what he added that personally has made a "large effort since my return of the injury to play now in Australia, later in Rotterdam and then to have three weeks off, so I have to take those few weeks and use it to rest and prepare at the same time"
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year แฟน ๆ ราฟาทุกท่านนะคะ มีความสุขมาก ๆ ค่ะ
พึ่งจะสอบเสร็จค่ะ ไม่ได้เข้าบล๊อกมาหลายวันเลย บล๊อกเงียบมากกกกกกกกกกกกกก สงสัยคงไปเที่ยวปีใหม่กันหมดแล้ว Have a nice&safe trip นะคะ แล้วกลับมาเชียร์ราฟากันค่ะ
RAFA PREPARES FOR ABU DHABI Mallorca, 29 of December, 2009
Rafa Nadal has completed his last training session for the year in Mallorca before flying to Abu Dhabi this afternoon. The World No.2 trained for nearly 2 hours on Monday with one of his best friends, Carlos Moya and even played a set, which he won 7-5.
After the training session, Rafa said he was very happy with the work hes done during December despite not having any time to rest after Spain won the Davis Cup title a few weeks ago. Before travelling at the beginning [of the season] you always feel a bit lazy, especially when I havent had much time for myself as Ive been training all the time.
I did get the chance to be with my friends for a couple of days and Ive spent some time with my family, so Im really looking forward to the beginning of the season where I hope to regain mi level of competition bit by bit,said Rafa to a Mallorcan TV Channel yesterday.
You always have to take one day at a time and I really hope that both the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi and the tournament in Doha will give me the practice and confidence I need to play the Australian Open at the highest level.
EXHIBITION TOURNAMENT
The Capitala World Tennis Championships, begins on the 31st of December and goes till the 2nd of January. Rafa will begin his 2010 campaign on Thursday, 1st of January against the winner of the match between Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Nicolay Davydenko.
In the other side of the draw, Roger Federer, Robin Soderling or Stanislas Wawrinka could play him in the final.
Soderling gained the crucial break in the third game of the decider and then saved four break points in the next game before breaking again to seal a 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 victory.
The 25-year-old said: "I always said the more times I play him, the closer I'll get, and here I am today.
"So far so good, but it's going to be a long season for sure, hopefully I'll get to play against Roger a few more times."
Federer reflected on a tough opening to his 2010 season, saying: "Obviously it's hard to start playing against him but I had fun."
ส่วนราฟาชนะเฟอร์เร มา 2 เซ็ตรวด แต่เซ็ตแรกมีเสียว
Soderling will face Rafael Nadal in the final after the world No 2 defeated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Nadal had cut a frustrated figure at the O2 Arena as he failed to win a match and he had warned not to expect too much at the start of 2010.
But he looked in pretty good form as he ground out a straight-sets triumph over his Davis Cup team-mate.
Ferrer had his chances in the opening set, Nadal saving two break points in the fourth game and then a couple of set points at 4-5.
The underdog, who beat World Tour Finals champion Nikolay Davydenko on Thursday, could not keep his momentum going in the tie-break, though, and an early break in the second set put Nadal on his way to victory.
Ferrer said: "I had my chances in the first set but Rafa served very well on important points. But I'm happy with my tennis."
Nadal, who lost to Andy Murray in last year's final, added: "This is the perfect preparation for Doha and then the Australian Open."
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