Rafa drops by the studio to give this lovely interview ... although he's still having to totally numb that foot ...
Thursday 30 June 2011
Rafa batters Fish ...
Excuse the pun ... and Rafa didn't quite batter him, did he?
He started off brilliantly as Mardy Fish was hopeless with nerves in the first set, improved a little in the second, but Rafa raced away with both by a 6-3, 6-3 scoreline in about an hour and a quarter ... unheard of. And seemingly when Rafa had a routine victory in the bag, what did he go and do? Only lose his serve when he was serving to take the third into a tie-breaker and so Fish was back in the match curtesy of a 7-5 scoreline.
But Rafa broke early in the fourth which he held on to and so ran out the winner by a 6-4 scoreline.
He's receiving numbing anaesthetic to that foot so he doesn't feel anything, so hopefully this drastic treatment will keep him going in the tournie. He will need it ... a tough prospect ahead in Andy Murray who I wager will be a bit better than he was last year. Its going to be hard, its going to be tense, but come on Rafa ... you can DO it!!
He started off brilliantly as Mardy Fish was hopeless with nerves in the first set, improved a little in the second, but Rafa raced away with both by a 6-3, 6-3 scoreline in about an hour and a quarter ... unheard of. And seemingly when Rafa had a routine victory in the bag, what did he go and do? Only lose his serve when he was serving to take the third into a tie-breaker and so Fish was back in the match curtesy of a 7-5 scoreline.
But Rafa broke early in the fourth which he held on to and so ran out the winner by a 6-4 scoreline.
He's receiving numbing anaesthetic to that foot so he doesn't feel anything, so hopefully this drastic treatment will keep him going in the tournie. He will need it ... a tough prospect ahead in Andy Murray who I wager will be a bit better than he was last year. Its going to be hard, its going to be tense, but come on Rafa ... you can DO it!!
Wednesday 29 June 2011
Phew ...
Rafa up-dated us on Facebook as to the results of his injury scare ...
Good morning everybody. Yesterday after the match I went to take an MRI at a London hospital. During the match I thought I had something serious but as the match went through the pain got better and thankfully the tests don’t show an injury. Today I will practice at 4.30 pm and I’ll play tomorrow. Thanks all for the support.
Good morning everybody. Yesterday after the match I went to take an MRI at a London hospital. During the match I thought I had something serious but as the match went through the pain got better and thankfully the tests don’t show an injury. Today I will practice at 4.30 pm and I’ll play tomorrow. Thanks all for the support.
Spanish vs. Argentinian Beef ...
All aboard the Rafarollercoaster!!
What a stomach churning, sick inducing match that turned out to be. To be honest, I didn't really fear for Rafa in this match. I'm not convinced of Delpo's fitness yet and as his record is poor on grass, I thought Rafa would be able to get this. Sure, I expected close sets, but I still thought it was his. But what I didn't bargain for was the drama at the end of the first set.
Such was my belief that he would be OK, I concentrated on Feli's 5 set thriller and only tuned in towards the end from about 4-4 but you could tell a great match was taking place. With Delpo serving at 5-6, Rafa hit a stunning forehand to get set point, but he immediately pulled up. Barely an attempt was made to go for the next point and he gave up on the following two, to which he then went to the chair and immediately asked for the trainer which the umpire allowed to happen straight away. Cue a lot of opposition from Delpo as it was immediately before the tie-breaker, but Rafa looked like he was in pain. The doctor also came on and we could hear Rafa saying something about the bone and then he was taken off court for a medical time out treatment and an injection. He also got his foot re-bandaged in such a way the pressure was taken off Rafa's sore point.
When play resumed, Delpo rushed to a 3-0 lead and I felt sick that the set was surely Delpo's and hoped that Rafa could recover enough to make a fist of it in the next. But slowly Rafa gained some more confidence in his foot placement, made his way back into the breaker, and when Delpo served at 6-7 points down and double-faulted, by some miracle, it was Rafa's set.
Rafa did lose his own serve in the second set, and it was enough to see Delpo through and win it, 6-3. However, Delpo then had his own fall, hurt his hip and mid-game, had his own medical time out.
So like two heavy weights, both men slugged it out to 6-6 in the third and another tie-break ensued. But this was where Rafa came into his own, and he majestically took it, 7-4. He then managed the only break of serve he had on Delpo in the fourth set which was enough to see him through and take the match.
Rafa went to hospital after the match to have an MRI scan on the injury, which showed the next day that there was no serious damage. Thank God. But the fact that Rafa called an MTO sent the tennis forum of 606v2 that I'm part of into meltdown with the usual accusations of cheating and faking. Stuff too awful to even begin to contemplate and the ridiculousness of it all beggars belief. I would like to add though, that whilst I've previously been promoting 606v2 on this blog, and whether any of you have taken a look because of it, I don't know, but what I wish to now point out is - don't bother. Its as much a rabid Rafa-haters' forum as any other you would find, again with no strong support by the people that run it, some of whom join in with it all. It is utterly dreadful, and avoid at all costs.
But that was a terrific match for Rafa to win, and here's hoping that he can learn to cope with what may be ailing him and that he batters Mardy Fish in the next round. Hehe.
What a stomach churning, sick inducing match that turned out to be. To be honest, I didn't really fear for Rafa in this match. I'm not convinced of Delpo's fitness yet and as his record is poor on grass, I thought Rafa would be able to get this. Sure, I expected close sets, but I still thought it was his. But what I didn't bargain for was the drama at the end of the first set.
Such was my belief that he would be OK, I concentrated on Feli's 5 set thriller and only tuned in towards the end from about 4-4 but you could tell a great match was taking place. With Delpo serving at 5-6, Rafa hit a stunning forehand to get set point, but he immediately pulled up. Barely an attempt was made to go for the next point and he gave up on the following two, to which he then went to the chair and immediately asked for the trainer which the umpire allowed to happen straight away. Cue a lot of opposition from Delpo as it was immediately before the tie-breaker, but Rafa looked like he was in pain. The doctor also came on and we could hear Rafa saying something about the bone and then he was taken off court for a medical time out treatment and an injection. He also got his foot re-bandaged in such a way the pressure was taken off Rafa's sore point.
When play resumed, Delpo rushed to a 3-0 lead and I felt sick that the set was surely Delpo's and hoped that Rafa could recover enough to make a fist of it in the next. But slowly Rafa gained some more confidence in his foot placement, made his way back into the breaker, and when Delpo served at 6-7 points down and double-faulted, by some miracle, it was Rafa's set.
Rafa did lose his own serve in the second set, and it was enough to see Delpo through and win it, 6-3. However, Delpo then had his own fall, hurt his hip and mid-game, had his own medical time out.
So like two heavy weights, both men slugged it out to 6-6 in the third and another tie-break ensued. But this was where Rafa came into his own, and he majestically took it, 7-4. He then managed the only break of serve he had on Delpo in the fourth set which was enough to see him through and take the match.
Rafa went to hospital after the match to have an MRI scan on the injury, which showed the next day that there was no serious damage. Thank God. But the fact that Rafa called an MTO sent the tennis forum of 606v2 that I'm part of into meltdown with the usual accusations of cheating and faking. Stuff too awful to even begin to contemplate and the ridiculousness of it all beggars belief. I would like to add though, that whilst I've previously been promoting 606v2 on this blog, and whether any of you have taken a look because of it, I don't know, but what I wish to now point out is - don't bother. Its as much a rabid Rafa-haters' forum as any other you would find, again with no strong support by the people that run it, some of whom join in with it all. It is utterly dreadful, and avoid at all costs.
But that was a terrific match for Rafa to win, and here's hoping that he can learn to cope with what may be ailing him and that he batters Mardy Fish in the next round. Hehe.
Gilles beaten but not really Muller'ed ...
Well as you know, I had the excitement of watching Rafa at Wimbers, but to be honest, the set that I was able to watch was a bit yikesy. Muller was a serve monster and Rafa had no read on it whatsoever. However, he was staying comfortably in the match as his own was working well ... all until serving at 5-6 when he found himself 0-30 down. Rafa clawed his way through, and it went to a tie-breaker.
A bit even, steven's again in the breaker, but towards the end, Rafa had a slip and seemed a bit uncomfortable. Muller double-faulted though to give him set point which Rafa duly took. He'd spoken to the umpire before the end of the set, and after he'd won it, the trainer appeared. Rafa was shirtless at this point :swoon: and he seemed to be indicating to the groin area for treatment ... anyhow, it must have been a "shorts off" situation as he ran off the court to a cacophony of wolf whistles ... and then the rains came. And came, and came. At 7 pm, play was suspended for the day. Bye bye Rafi.
I was on my way home traveling back when Rafa's match resumed the next day and didn't see any of it, but reports are that it was "as you were" in the second set with another serve fest display on show, until Rafa took that tie-breaker as well. Cue then a total collapse by Muller and he lost the third and the match 6-0 or 6-1 (forget now). News was that injury wasn't really anything ... so Rafa had got through the first week and now laying in wait for him was ... Juan Martin Del Potro.
A bit even, steven's again in the breaker, but towards the end, Rafa had a slip and seemed a bit uncomfortable. Muller double-faulted though to give him set point which Rafa duly took. He'd spoken to the umpire before the end of the set, and after he'd won it, the trainer appeared. Rafa was shirtless at this point :swoon: and he seemed to be indicating to the groin area for treatment ... anyhow, it must have been a "shorts off" situation as he ran off the court to a cacophony of wolf whistles ... and then the rains came. And came, and came. At 7 pm, play was suspended for the day. Bye bye Rafi.
I was on my way home traveling back when Rafa's match resumed the next day and didn't see any of it, but reports are that it was "as you were" in the second set with another serve fest display on show, until Rafa took that tie-breaker as well. Cue then a total collapse by Muller and he lost the third and the match 6-0 or 6-1 (forget now). News was that injury wasn't really anything ... so Rafa had got through the first week and now laying in wait for him was ... Juan Martin Del Potro.
Monday 27 June 2011
My Wimbledon adventure ...
Well ... forgive my absence, but I was away in London town at the back end of last week as I had tickets for Wimbledon on Friday, and I'm still really behind on this blog, but I'll catch up. Anyhow, just to say what a fabulous day we day last Friday and below is the story of the day. Hope you enjoy the report ...
Prologue ...
I can barely believe it, but it has been 29 years since I last went to the All England Club to watch the matches at Wimbledon ... (I was, of course, only a child then :cough:), and I’d gone to watch John McEnroe who I was a massive fan of. So waking up on Friday morning with butterflies of excitement in my tummy was great, as all these years later I was going to watch only the second player that I’ve been a massive fan of ... Rafa. The similarity of events is strange ... I saw JMac on Number 1 court and that’s where Rafa was scheduled to play; the weather played its part back in 1982 as it did on Friday, in that rain meant that I was not able to see either match to completion. But just going to Wimbledon is a fantastic experience in itself, and with only having Court 1 tickets we were so lucky anyway to even be able to see Rafa play a competitive match on grass, regardless of whether it was just a set ... anyhow, so this is how mine and Rafan’s day panned out ...
Chapter 1 – Stranger on the Train ...
We headed off to Wimbledon station via the underground to Vauxhall and then caught the train down there. Not sure if you’re aware of The Metro, but its a free London newspaper that’s available at all Underground, Train and Bus stations, and knowing Rafan as we do ... she hastily gobbled up a copy just in case there were (a) any pictures of Rafa in it (there weren’t) or (b) any articles of Rafa in it (there weren’t). But it was only when I was on the train to Wimbers where I took the only carriage seat available (I played the age card ;) ) and Rafan chose to stand, that I noticed a couple of people reading The Metro, but their copy ... WAS ENCASED IN FULL BLACK AND WHITE EMPORIO ARMANI RAFA PUBLICITY PICTURES. So I tipped Rafan the wink, and immediately that look came across her that she just had to have it. So when we could finally sit together she said, “I’m going to ask that man for his copy and to swop it with mine”. So horrified, I said ... “If you dare, I am leaving you ...” To which she replied ... “I am”. So when the train stopped at Wimbledon Station, I got ready to alight and had that “I’m not with her” look about me as Rafan asked this complete stranger to swop his copy with hers. I think he took a bit of convincing that the papers inside were exactly the same, and I didn’t hang around long enough to hear whether or not she confessed to wanting that poster within an inch of her life ... but she went scurrying off the train with the paper in its Armani cover in her hot little hand. For us then to find the news-stands at Wimbledon Station being totally FULL of copies with their Armani cover ... so undeterred, Rafan picked up a further 173 copies ... ;)
Chapter 2 – Deliciano Feliciano ...
Thankfully I didn’t have to beg and plead with Rafan to think of my Old Lady tender calves and corns and insist upon taking the buses that are laid on to ferry spectators to the Club rather than walk up and down those interminable Wimbledon hills, as she suggested it herself. Perhaps she was getting wise and wished to avoid my incessant moan, moan, moaning ... Anyhow, whilst the bus driver didn’t know the way there (huh?), plenty on it did ... so she took their direction and eventually there we were ... heading through The All England Club’s pearly gates. “Yahoo”. We both looked at each other and decided that the first stop was ... yep, the toilet ... however, a quick (eyes left) gave us a breathtaking sight ... (OK, looking on to the Centre Court all painted in its Wimbledon green and encased in the infamous ivy with the eight grass courts resplendent before it was lovely to behold), but it wasn’t that sight that got us excited. Because there on Court 10 was none other than the gorgeous Feli practising before his 3rd round match with Andy Roddick. FELI !! so we walked as fast as our legs would take us to get a fantastic courtside view when we realised that even better ... he was practising with Marc!
Feli’s long, lithe legs took him faster up the path than the pathetic speed I could travel at, but he stopped again along the way for a photograph and I thought ... I’m going to do it, I’m going to ask him. However, I don’t move that quickly and dash, in an instant he was at a side door and gone. Sighs.
Chapter 3 – Hola! ... everybody!!
So we then made our way past Centre Court, and then past Heman Hill ... which looked pretty steep to me I have to say. I would need clamp ons to stop myself from rolling down it ... then past Number 1 Court and on our way to Aorangi Park which is where the bulk of the practice courts are, and Rafan deftly took us to Court 3. Although there is meshing to these practice courts and you don’t get the un-obscured view that we were lucky enough to have with Feli, its still just a sight to behold as there is a myriad of players there. So we took our positions courtside and it was just brilliant as because I’d missed Queens this year, I was still able to make the re-acquaintance with some lovely Rafa fans that we’d made friends with in Monte Carlo along with other fans and friends that Rafan knows, and so we had a good chatter about Rafa, tickets, their camping out experiences and the like. What a jolly lot of people we are. ;) Eventually though, little Rafa Maymo makes his way down the walkway that is above us, and as at Monte Carlo, he smiles and laughs as we all shout up and wave “Hola!” to him.
Then here he comes ... Rafa! All eyes forward and game face on as he marches off to the practice court. His practice partner on Friday was Rendy Lu, and when Rafa arrived on the court, Lu presented him with a caricature doll of himself which brought Rafa out in wide smiles and he shared the laughter with Uncle Toni who had followed behind him on to the court. And then the serious stuff started.
Lu came to our end of the court first, and boy did he know he’d been in a work out. Rafa was hitting HARD, and poor old Lu was being moved from side to side across the court, blowing and huffing in his wake. Rafa then asked to swop sides and so hurrah! he came down to the end of the court where we were all congregating. There was quite a bit of chat going on between him and Toni – its great to hear Rafa’s voice first hand – and Rafa continued with the hard work out and some practice with his serve and work with his overheads, until Rafa said “two more” ... and then that was it.
During practice we had some good old fun with Tommy Robredo and David Ferrer. We were all there to support Rafa – obviously - and I’d dressed in red and Rafan was wearing her red “Vamos Rafa” t-shirt, and other girls had dressed in the red and gold of Spain and there were a few flags around. But when members of the Armada appeared – first Tommy – there was a chorus of “Hola! Tommy!” and he just looked down on us and laughed his head off and waved. When he came back from practice ... there he was again, waiting for our attention – which he duly got - so he rewarded the Holas! with more big smiles and waves. Then little Daveed came on by, so the cries were, “Daveed! Daveed!” and he looked down on us, smiled, seem to shake his head at us lot of nutters, waved and then went on.
But when Rafa left the court and came by the walkway above us, we were all standing there in reverent silence until one of us (me) started to clap, and then Rafa got the chorus of “Good Luck, Rafa”, “Buena Suerte” and he smiled and acknowledged us with a raise of his arm ... and then he was gone. :swoon: Have just remembered that Rafa’s little cousins came up to him when he left the court, and he gave them a playful pat on the head and ruffle of the hair. Cue masses of “aaaaaaahhs” from us dipsy middle-aged women. Then two little kids in school uniforms were brought to Rafa (for whatever reason), and he posed for a photograph with them, and gave them a pat and a ruffle too. We were all aaaaaaaaaaahed out by then. :child envy:
Chapter 4 – “Look! there’s so-and-so ... and there’s so-and-so ... “
Just going into Wimbledon and going to the practice courts is almost worth the money in itself because I just could not believe the number of players we saw. It started on our trek to Court 3 because making his way down was my new Andy Roddick ... this time sweaty from his practice, but he was signing as he went on his way, so good for him, and on the same walkway, I recognised Zimonic. Next to Rafa’s practice court was Francesca Schiavone, grunting away, and she was then replaced by another lady player (who I’ve forgotten, sorry, but it might have been Azarenka). Richard Gasquet walked right on by past me, as did Olivier Mahut and Sam Stosur. On the walkway above we saw Tommy and Daveed, as I’ve mentioned, along with another of my :squeezes: Mikhail Youzhny. Venus Williams diva’d her way past without a look or a glance, unlike Mr Williams who joined in with the fun of us and smiled and waved away. We also saw the fragrant Ana Ivanovic, and lovely, shy Juan Martin Del Potro went quietly past with no entourage, just himself, as he was to practice on the far court to Rafa’s. Rafa acknowledged him with a few words as he passed, and JMDP went quietly to his court and is in the background of a number of my Rafa pictures. We also saw Ivan Ljubicic, Gael Monfils, Tomas Berdych and Andy Murray came past and seemed rather bemused as a gaggle of women all dressed in Spain’s colours shouted out “Good Luck Andy!!”. Hehe, but that boy needs a shave. Not a bad haul, I think you will agree.
Chapter 5 – Wimmin’s tennis ... gah!!
So after practice, we made our way to Court 1 for an afternoon of actual tennis. First up was Maria Sharapova against the British girl, Laura Watson. Laura had already made a cracking start when we arrived, but Maria (screeching her head off, urgh!!) made the break back and took it to a tie-break. Unashamedly, Rafan was NOT cheering for our British girl, as she wanted blummin’ wimmin’s tennis OFF and Rafa ON. Tut. ;) So Sharapova took the first set and was racing away with the second (to the joy of Rafan), but then plucky little Laura had a break back and lost the match in the second by a respectable 6-3 scoreline.
Next up was Venus Williams against Maria Jose Martinez Sanches. Luckily for Venus, she’d read the script and to the delight of Rafan, she raced through the first set 6-0 and took the second and the match as easily. So this was it ... he was coming!!!!
Chapter 6 – Rafatime!!
By the time Rafa came on court, it is safe to say we were half frozen to death. We were towards the back of Number 1 court, which has some open vortex so that the wind that had got up was swirling round us at some pace. Rafan was sitting there in her hoodie with the hood firmly up and knotted into place under her chin ... she looked like ET. Below us, one woman had detached the hood from her coat and had that firmly placed on her head, also knotted under her chin, whilst her and her companion huddled under her coat. My pathetic rain coat was used to try and keep both Rafan and I warm, but the cold mustn’t affect the Bold and the Beautiful as this Hooray Henry sitting below us with his equally high maintenance girlfriend, stopped to beckon to her as he left his seat to obviously get something ... yep ... he’d forgotten to take his sunglasses. Jerk!!
But it was with a rousing cheer that we clapped Rafa on court, looking fabulous in his Wimbledon Whites as he started his usual pre-match routine. OK, we only got to see a set of tennis, but the match was very poised as Rafa couldn’t get a read on Gilles Muller’s serve and never even got to deuce. Thankfully for him, his own serve was working OK, until at 5-6 down, it became a bit yikesy as he was 0-30 down, but he managed to win the game and take it to a breaker. I can’t remember now when Rafa had had his fall, but he’d asked the umpire for the trainer at the end of the set.
So the tie-break took on pretty much the pattern of the whole match as it was really rather even, only Muller then delivered a double fault to give Rafa the set point which he took on his own serve. The trainer then came on court, which is always bad to see, but worse sometimes when you have no commentary to surmise what is going on. Rafa had already treated us by taking his top off, but when speaking to the trainer, its obvious he needed treatment on an area that might have called for shorts removal , as a bare-chested Rafa then jogged off court. (Bless you for that, Rafa.)
However, it turned out that that blessed sight was the last we were to have of Rafa, as the rains came heavily down and the cover placed across the court, and at 7 pm, the announcement came that rain had been suspended for the day. Boo!
So we left the court and of course, went in completely the wrong direction to catch the bus back into Wimbledon Village, which meant more aimless trekking and cue more from me, until we finally reached our designated bus stop. It was funny when we reached the Village, as we saw Lovely Mo, Lars Graf and the little umpire who had been doing Rafa’s match all walking along still dressed in their 1930’s Wimbledon outfits and looking quintessentially dapper.
So that was it ... our Wimbledon adventure.
Epilogue ...
I was introduced to watching tennis because of Wimbledon, because back in the day, it was the only tennis that ever got televised. So I’ve grown up with it, and love it ... and it has changed beyond all recognition from when I first went all those 29 years ago, but its still one of the best day’s out you could ever have. Sure, because of the ballot its hard even to get tickets, and you have no control over what day or what court you are eventually offered. So I just count myself very lucky to have been offered the first week, because there are still so many players there, and luckier even for it to be Friday, because chances were that as Champion, Rafa would be playing that day. But for him to then be scheduled off Centre Court and to Number 1 for which we had tickets was just a dream come true. It truly doesn’t matter that we were only able to see one set, because I’ve seen Rafa play at Wimbledon now, and being able to watch a full practice along with that of Feli’s plus all the other players we saw was more than enough to be grateful for. I know I am biased, but its the best tournament in the world, and again I’ve been lucky in that I have managed to get Olympic tickets for next year, but I do so hope that I can go to the tournament proper again with its old fashioned look and its old fashioned ways because is really is THE BEST!!
The End.
Prologue ...
I can barely believe it, but it has been 29 years since I last went to the All England Club to watch the matches at Wimbledon ... (I was, of course, only a child then :cough:), and I’d gone to watch John McEnroe who I was a massive fan of. So waking up on Friday morning with butterflies of excitement in my tummy was great, as all these years later I was going to watch only the second player that I’ve been a massive fan of ... Rafa. The similarity of events is strange ... I saw JMac on Number 1 court and that’s where Rafa was scheduled to play; the weather played its part back in 1982 as it did on Friday, in that rain meant that I was not able to see either match to completion. But just going to Wimbledon is a fantastic experience in itself, and with only having Court 1 tickets we were so lucky anyway to even be able to see Rafa play a competitive match on grass, regardless of whether it was just a set ... anyhow, so this is how mine and Rafan’s day panned out ...
Chapter 1 – Stranger on the Train ...
We headed off to Wimbledon station via the underground to Vauxhall and then caught the train down there. Not sure if you’re aware of The Metro, but its a free London newspaper that’s available at all Underground, Train and Bus stations, and knowing Rafan as we do ... she hastily gobbled up a copy just in case there were (a) any pictures of Rafa in it (there weren’t) or (b) any articles of Rafa in it (there weren’t). But it was only when I was on the train to Wimbers where I took the only carriage seat available (I played the age card ;) ) and Rafan chose to stand, that I noticed a couple of people reading The Metro, but their copy ... WAS ENCASED IN FULL BLACK AND WHITE EMPORIO ARMANI RAFA PUBLICITY PICTURES. So I tipped Rafan the wink, and immediately that look came across her that she just had to have it. So when we could finally sit together she said, “I’m going to ask that man for his copy and to swop it with mine”. So horrified, I said ... “If you dare, I am leaving you ...” To which she replied ... “I am”. So when the train stopped at Wimbledon Station, I got ready to alight and had that “I’m not with her” look about me as Rafan asked this complete stranger to swop his copy with hers. I think he took a bit of convincing that the papers inside were exactly the same, and I didn’t hang around long enough to hear whether or not she confessed to wanting that poster within an inch of her life ... but she went scurrying off the train with the paper in its Armani cover in her hot little hand. For us then to find the news-stands at Wimbledon Station being totally FULL of copies with their Armani cover ... so undeterred, Rafan picked up a further 173 copies ... ;)
Chapter 2 – Deliciano Feliciano ...
Thankfully I didn’t have to beg and plead with Rafan to think of my Old Lady tender calves and corns and insist upon taking the buses that are laid on to ferry spectators to the Club rather than walk up and down those interminable Wimbledon hills, as she suggested it herself. Perhaps she was getting wise and wished to avoid my incessant moan, moan, moaning ... Anyhow, whilst the bus driver didn’t know the way there (huh?), plenty on it did ... so she took their direction and eventually there we were ... heading through The All England Club’s pearly gates. “Yahoo”. We both looked at each other and decided that the first stop was ... yep, the toilet ... however, a quick (eyes left) gave us a breathtaking sight ... (OK, looking on to the Centre Court all painted in its Wimbledon green and encased in the infamous ivy with the eight grass courts resplendent before it was lovely to behold), but it wasn’t that sight that got us excited. Because there on Court 10 was none other than the gorgeous Feli practising before his 3rd round match with Andy Roddick. FELI !! so we walked as fast as our legs would take us to get a fantastic courtside view when we realised that even better ... he was practising with Marc!
Feli’s long, lithe legs took him faster up the path than the pathetic speed I could travel at, but he stopped again along the way for a photograph and I thought ... I’m going to do it, I’m going to ask him. However, I don’t move that quickly and dash, in an instant he was at a side door and gone. Sighs.
Chapter 3 – Hola! ... everybody!!
So we then made our way past Centre Court, and then past Heman Hill ... which looked pretty steep to me I have to say. I would need clamp ons to stop myself from rolling down it ... then past Number 1 Court and on our way to Aorangi Park which is where the bulk of the practice courts are, and Rafan deftly took us to Court 3. Although there is meshing to these practice courts and you don’t get the un-obscured view that we were lucky enough to have with Feli, its still just a sight to behold as there is a myriad of players there. So we took our positions courtside and it was just brilliant as because I’d missed Queens this year, I was still able to make the re-acquaintance with some lovely Rafa fans that we’d made friends with in Monte Carlo along with other fans and friends that Rafan knows, and so we had a good chatter about Rafa, tickets, their camping out experiences and the like. What a jolly lot of people we are. ;) Eventually though, little Rafa Maymo makes his way down the walkway that is above us, and as at Monte Carlo, he smiles and laughs as we all shout up and wave “Hola!” to him.
Then here he comes ... Rafa! All eyes forward and game face on as he marches off to the practice court. His practice partner on Friday was Rendy Lu, and when Rafa arrived on the court, Lu presented him with a caricature doll of himself which brought Rafa out in wide smiles and he shared the laughter with Uncle Toni who had followed behind him on to the court. And then the serious stuff started.
Lu came to our end of the court first, and boy did he know he’d been in a work out. Rafa was hitting HARD, and poor old Lu was being moved from side to side across the court, blowing and huffing in his wake. Rafa then asked to swop sides and so hurrah! he came down to the end of the court where we were all congregating. There was quite a bit of chat going on between him and Toni – its great to hear Rafa’s voice first hand – and Rafa continued with the hard work out and some practice with his serve and work with his overheads, until Rafa said “two more” ... and then that was it.
During practice we had some good old fun with Tommy Robredo and David Ferrer. We were all there to support Rafa – obviously - and I’d dressed in red and Rafan was wearing her red “Vamos Rafa” t-shirt, and other girls had dressed in the red and gold of Spain and there were a few flags around. But when members of the Armada appeared – first Tommy – there was a chorus of “Hola! Tommy!” and he just looked down on us and laughed his head off and waved. When he came back from practice ... there he was again, waiting for our attention – which he duly got - so he rewarded the Holas! with more big smiles and waves. Then little Daveed came on by, so the cries were, “Daveed! Daveed!” and he looked down on us, smiled, seem to shake his head at us lot of nutters, waved and then went on.
But when Rafa left the court and came by the walkway above us, we were all standing there in reverent silence until one of us (me) started to clap, and then Rafa got the chorus of “Good Luck, Rafa”, “Buena Suerte” and he smiled and acknowledged us with a raise of his arm ... and then he was gone. :swoon: Have just remembered that Rafa’s little cousins came up to him when he left the court, and he gave them a playful pat on the head and ruffle of the hair. Cue masses of “aaaaaaahhs” from us dipsy middle-aged women. Then two little kids in school uniforms were brought to Rafa (for whatever reason), and he posed for a photograph with them, and gave them a pat and a ruffle too. We were all aaaaaaaaaaahed out by then. :child envy:
Chapter 4 – “Look! there’s so-and-so ... and there’s so-and-so ... “
Just going into Wimbledon and going to the practice courts is almost worth the money in itself because I just could not believe the number of players we saw. It started on our trek to Court 3 because making his way down was my new
The End.
(Go the Links part of the blog to the left to see my Rafa and Feli pics ...)
Wednesday 22 June 2011
Uh ohh ...
The security seems to have stepped up around Rafa.
Does someone know Rafan and I are coming???
Rafa disposes of Sweeting ...
Sorry ... but I didn't see any of the match, although word is that he breezed through the first two sets, but lost a bit of concentration in the third. Notwithstanding that, another nice work out for Rafa and he continues to be happy here. The scoreline was 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
His potential next match could have been a more tricky one against Milos Raonic ... but Milos had to withdraw as he injured himself during his own match today. So its Gilles Muller next ... who?? Seeing as I am going to Wimbledon on Friday - but on Court 1 - however, could my dream come true ... could I possibly see Rafa on Court 1 on Friday.
*prays*
His potential next match could have been a more tricky one against Milos Raonic ... but Milos had to withdraw as he injured himself during his own match today. So its Gilles Muller next ... who?? Seeing as I am going to Wimbledon on Friday - but on Court 1 - however, could my dream come true ... could I possibly see Rafa on Court 1 on Friday.
*prays*
Rafa answered my question !!!
Hehe ... when I saw a documentary with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber as he showed us around his palacial "finca" in Mallorca, I knew I had to mention him to Rafa - seeing as he loves Phantom so much.
Here it is ... :yahoo:
"You've often mentioned that you enjoy the musical The Phantom of The Opera (great choice by the way) but did you know that Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has a house in Mallorca and spends a good deal of time there? Perhaps you should make contact and he can give you a personal rendition? Wooffs
Rafa: I didn't know. As you say perhaps after Wimbledon we could meet. That would be very nice. Thanks for the tip!"
Tuesday 21 June 2011
More smiley, happy Wimbers photos ...
Rafa in practise once again looking so relaxed and happy ... what a great sight to behold. I am so glad that Wimbledon seems so right for him.
But I am LOVING that t-shirt. Ten bob says that it only comes in men's sizes and you can't find one for love nor money. Tuts!! Do your job!! Never mind clothing Rafa ... clothe us!!
But I am LOVING that t-shirt. Ten bob says that it only comes in men's sizes and you can't find one for love nor money. Tuts!! Do your job!! Never mind clothing Rafa ... clothe us!!
And so to the opening match ...
Rafa's first round opponent was the American, Michael Russell. A veteran even ... but it was Rafa who was the one that made a nervy start and fell behind to 2-4 in the opening set, until the colm set in.
From that point, it became a pretty routine 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory and some of Rafa's play was absolutely lovely ... the shot of the day being his cross court forehand ... absolutely beautiful.
I think he loved being the first one on the fresh court, a proud day for him and the family ... but sentiment put aside, he had a very nice opening match - unlike the French - so more of that, please Rafa. ;)
From that point, it became a pretty routine 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory and some of Rafa's play was absolutely lovely ... the shot of the day being his cross court forehand ... absolutely beautiful.
I think he loved being the first one on the fresh court, a proud day for him and the family ... but sentiment put aside, he had a very nice opening match - unlike the French - so more of that, please Rafa. ;)
Monday 20 June 2011
One of the proudest moments of Rafa's career ...
I applauded him onto court in my own living room, as this picture is one of the best sights I've ever seen in tennis.
Rafa taking the walk of the Champion onto Centre Court to open the Wimbledon tournament proper ... well done Rafa. We are proud of you.
It was also a proud moment for Rafa's parents as they were invited into the Royal Box to witness their son open the tournament. What a lovely day for all the family.
(photo courtesy of AlegriaH of VamosBrigade}
More RafaFeli ab action ...
I am LOVING what is going on between these two this year!! Here's the boys at practice yesterday. Now why didn't I see THAT on Saturday?? *wails*
Sunday 19 June 2011
I cook ... I don't clean ...
Aye ... like most blokes, Rafa.
Nice to see him here though, looking relaxed and smiley as he does the rounds of press and gives a pre-Wimbledon interview to the BBC.
Censored !!!
Rafa's taken it down from his Facebook page (:doh: why, Rafa??? ) ... but thank God there are some sensible people out there that download it ... ;) because this has got to be THE sexiest round of crazy ab golf I have ever seen.
Locker room gold ...
And my latest piece of pawn ... :thud:
Locker room gold ...
And my latest piece of pawn ... :thud:
The RafaFeli Wimbers bromance ...
They're practising together ... they're eating together ... they're playing Locker Room golf together (more of that later ...) but ...
... are they living together at this year's Wimbers?? Who knows?? And tell !!!
... are they living together at this year's Wimbers?? Who knows?? And tell !!!
Rafa on Facebook ...
That arse ... that cheeky look. Rafa's been posting loads of pics on Facebook ... and I love it.
Although wouldn't you think that the owners of Rafa's rented house would have tidied up a bit more???
Although wouldn't you think that the owners of Rafa's rented house would have tidied up a bit more???
Weekend report ...
Well, as you know we had a little Rafateer gathering this weekend. Rafan and I pitched up in London town first on Friday, and she arrived before me to take our room at the hotel. I knew something was up as she text to me say that I would need oxygen to get to our room, and was she ever right. Whereas last year we were on the ground floor, this year we had been put into the attic room along with the scullery maids and a vacuum cleaner called “Henry”, and after taking the EIGHTY steps over FIVE floors, I finally collapsed on my bed and nearly sliced myself in pieces in my hurry to turn the fan on as a means to recover.
Within 10 minutes of meeting each other, Rafan and I were already :boxing: however, she did come to my rescue when I visited our bathroom which wasn’t big enough to swing the proverbial =cat in. As I didn’t feel there was room for the door to open inwards, my addled brain told me that it must slide somehow, so I tried to slide and then to pull and push ... but to no avail ... and then my mild claustrophobia kicked in as I screamed “I CAN’T OPEN THE DOOR!! ” so she came running to let me out. But with this panic, the journey, the beastly Southern precipitation (that we never see sight of in Manchester) and the sweat pouring off me as I made that hideous climb, my hair resembled that of a poodle, so I thought I’d better bring out the old hairdryer in an attempt to straighten it ... only to find there was no mirror ... anywhere. So Rafan told me to blow dry my hair “... from memory”. :erm:
We then headed off into town for the first of the afternoon’s activities ... a trip to the Tate Modern. We had hoped that the lovely Princess Catherine’s wedding dress might be on show somewhere, but as that is not until July, I cunningly found out that a stunning retrospective exhibition was on display at the TM of my favourite artist’s work – the Catalan painter Joan (as in Juan) Miro (as in Mee-ro) ... not Joan (as in Joan) Miro (as in Myrow) ... as Rafan said. :doh: So the poor lamb had to cough up £15.00 for the privilege as I ooh’ed and aah’ed my way round it ... and she later admitted that she couldn’t even understand the explanations to the paintings, never mind the paintings themselves. :laughing: She did, however, like “Dog Barking at the Moon” ... because it actually looked like ... a dog barking at the moon. (Note to self ... any future bossy itineraries that include trips to art galleries need to be labelled [optional] for the other philistine Rafateers ... :run: )
As we were going to the theatre that evening, we left the gallery to schlep it over to Theatreland and to find somewhere near The Garrick to have some tea. By this time, it was chucking it down – hard - but Rafan somehow managed to safely route march us completely round several blocks in the pouring rain when a simple direct route was to be had. :doh: As I have a total aversion to restaurant chains (unless they are Carluccio’s, cos I like them) ... we had dinner in a little Italian restaurant, where Rafan ordered the best meal and promptly scoffed it in one, and I had food :envy:
We then crossed the road to be massively entertained by “Pygmalion” ... a fantastic production featuring Rupert Everett as Henry Higgins, Kara Tointon as Eliza and there was also fellow Dame :courtesy: Diane Rigg as Mrs Higgins, and Irene from Eastenders was the Housekeeper. It was fab-u-lous and I would heartily recommend it to anyone. After scoffing ice cream back in the restaurant, we made our journey home and off into our pit.
I was then up on Saturday morning with the Larks, as Larky Lark Rafan and I were heading off to Wimbers for [hopefully] a bit of Rafa-action. It was a hellish over-land, under-land, oversea journey as engineering works were taking place on the underground to Wimbledon the weekend before the Championships. Go figure. We arrived just before 9 am (although we had taken no breakfast at the hotel – too early – Rafan had said that we could have something in the Village when we got there, but then deduced it would be 8.30 am therefore “no time” ... so we ate doughy croissants and drank coffee on the train.)
Sadly, a very weak sounding Womble called me whilst we were waiting to say that she had been persistently ill for 12 hours and just couldn’t make it. Get well soon, Womble, such a shame, and we really missed you. We then spotted this figure coming down the hill ... Toni!! ... in his dark shades and looking mighty fine (down, Wooffs). We both said “morning Toni!” as he went past and he smiled and acknowledged us, and then I said “Good luck”, and he turned to say “thank you”. :swoon:
There were some blokes waiting outside the gate when we arrived ... and sometimes you just KNOW that someone is just not right, that something is just ... wrong ... and they stood out like a sore thumb. And this is a difficult thing. We went up to the club obviously to see if we could meet Rafa for an autograph and a photo before he enters the gate to the ground, just as we did last year. However, we do try to do this either in or outside the public arena where as a tennis player, he’s off to ply his trade. Last year, Toni and Rafa came down a different hill and from where we saw Toni this year, we knew that they must have moved back to the old house that they’ve rented before. Now we know exactly where that house is, (as its in the public domain), but we try to leave private Rafa alone, stay where we are, and only ask him for his autograph and stuff when he’s about to enter the Club. It is each to their own, but it wasn’t really very nice seeing him hassled by these men asking him to sign one thing after the other as he left his house and all way down the hill to the gate, and we know full well its only to flog it for a few quid on Ebay afterwards. They are NOT real fans, and I am GLAD one got arrested (which we found out later that one did). None of the players deserve being treated like that.
But by the time Rafa came to Rafan though, I could see his mood change because a simple “Good morning, Rafa” to him makes all the difference, and I said the same and minded my manners and I’m very pleased to say that he signed my USO picture so I now have the trio of pics of last year’s Slams signed. There was absolutely no chance of a photo this year, but it was lovely that he still stopped for us. Thank you Rafa. Poor old Denz who came down on Saturday morning just missed him though.
But you forget readers, just how tall he is, so slim, but those men excepted, he looked relaxed and tanned, even if he was probably a bit fed up to have to get up so early in the morning :whistle: Other people we saw were Dimples in a car as he was taken to the car park ... but they must have just dumped him there to practise as we didn’t see him come out. :D We also saw Tomas Berdych ... so that was Rafan’s quota of squeezes sorted out. Which reminds me ... She was gutted that she didn’t have anything that she could ask Sod to sign ... and then she started to get uppity with me because I said that I REFUSED to take a picture of her with him. Good job then that he was left in the car park ...
The surprise of the day was one Andy Roddick. I’ve seen him play before, but then again up close ... he’s so very tall and without the sweat rolling off him and his cap, his oversized shirt and the constant twiddle and tweaking that goes on in his man area ... he is actually verrrry handsome (in that American, preppy kind of way). So we wished him “Good Luck” and he was so polite and well mannered, looking back at us to thank us and stuff.
He is my new *squeeze* :D
Anyhow ... it was then time to hot foot it (via the bus, cos Denz and I are sensible), into the Village where we eventually went to the one restaurant chain (Carluccio’s) that I like, and we met up with Pearl and Mrs L. Of course there was plenty of chat about Rafa and his chances for Wimbers and we were obviously, thoughtful, meaningful and well balanced as we also discussed his potential opponents and their chances. :cough:
After a much needed rest, we then got changed although unlike our Nice apartment, privacy went out of the window and I had to change my pants behind a wardrobe door amongst cries from Rafan to Denz when she entered the room of, “Don’t look! The Dame is changing her pants” ... so Denz politely covered her eyes, only Rafan said that she swore she had just seen a possum. :erm:
And then we ended the day in El Cambio de Tercio ... never expecting Rafa of course, because he doesn’t seem to go there during Wimbledon – unless Shakira is in town, of course, and [sadly] the only eye candy in there was Nicoooooo ... who still looks age 15 when he’s away from the court. No Feli this year :wails: I must say though that the food there is absolutely fabulous ... Rafan and I had some steak thing on fig mash with purple sauce ... Denz had the Devil’s food that is fish ... and then Denz continued with the Devil’s food theme and had some hideous desert with WHITE CHOCOLATE :vomit: that she also coerced Rafan into eating.
I had another glass of wine. “Quelle surprise” was all that cheeky pair could say.
And so we then made our way back to the hotel, and back up the E.I.G.H.T.Y. bl**dy stairs again when Denz then promptly fell over the vacuum cleaner called “Henry” ... (OK, I made that last bit up. ;). And after yet another early start ... here we are all back home and ready for the start of Wimbers tomorrow.
Its exhausting being a Rafateer :laughing: ... but VAMOS RAFA!!!! and thanks to all the Rafateers for making our fun so special, whether it be at our gatherings or those that gather on our thread on 606v2 ... or you guys that read this blog here. I am having some experiences that until all of this is all over, I probably won’t appreciate it as much as I think I do. Its fabulous.
And tomorrow, our lovely Rafa takes to the Centre Court – as Champion – to open the 2011 Championships. And I cannot wait ...
Rafan and I will be there at the Championships on Friday ... so stay tuned here for my reports. VAMOS RAFA !!!
Within 10 minutes of meeting each other, Rafan and I were already :boxing: however, she did come to my rescue when I visited our bathroom which wasn’t big enough to swing the proverbial =cat in. As I didn’t feel there was room for the door to open inwards, my addled brain told me that it must slide somehow, so I tried to slide and then to pull and push ... but to no avail ... and then my mild claustrophobia kicked in as I screamed “I CAN’T OPEN THE DOOR!! ” so she came running to let me out. But with this panic, the journey, the beastly Southern precipitation (that we never see sight of in Manchester) and the sweat pouring off me as I made that hideous climb, my hair resembled that of a poodle, so I thought I’d better bring out the old hairdryer in an attempt to straighten it ... only to find there was no mirror ... anywhere. So Rafan told me to blow dry my hair “... from memory”. :erm:
We then headed off into town for the first of the afternoon’s activities ... a trip to the Tate Modern. We had hoped that the lovely Princess Catherine’s wedding dress might be on show somewhere, but as that is not until July, I cunningly found out that a stunning retrospective exhibition was on display at the TM of my favourite artist’s work – the Catalan painter Joan (as in Juan) Miro (as in Mee-ro) ... not Joan (as in Joan) Miro (as in Myrow) ... as Rafan said. :doh: So the poor lamb had to cough up £15.00 for the privilege as I ooh’ed and aah’ed my way round it ... and she later admitted that she couldn’t even understand the explanations to the paintings, never mind the paintings themselves. :laughing: She did, however, like “Dog Barking at the Moon” ... because it actually looked like ... a dog barking at the moon. (Note to self ... any future bossy itineraries that include trips to art galleries need to be labelled [optional] for the other philistine Rafateers ... :run: )
As we were going to the theatre that evening, we left the gallery to schlep it over to Theatreland and to find somewhere near The Garrick to have some tea. By this time, it was chucking it down – hard - but Rafan somehow managed to safely route march us completely round several blocks in the pouring rain when a simple direct route was to be had. :doh: As I have a total aversion to restaurant chains (unless they are Carluccio’s, cos I like them) ... we had dinner in a little Italian restaurant, where Rafan ordered the best meal and promptly scoffed it in one, and I had food :envy:
We then crossed the road to be massively entertained by “Pygmalion” ... a fantastic production featuring Rupert Everett as Henry Higgins, Kara Tointon as Eliza and there was also fellow Dame :courtesy: Diane Rigg as Mrs Higgins, and Irene from Eastenders was the Housekeeper. It was fab-u-lous and I would heartily recommend it to anyone. After scoffing ice cream back in the restaurant, we made our journey home and off into our pit.
I was then up on Saturday morning with the Larks, as Larky Lark Rafan and I were heading off to Wimbers for [hopefully] a bit of Rafa-action. It was a hellish over-land, under-land, oversea journey as engineering works were taking place on the underground to Wimbledon the weekend before the Championships. Go figure. We arrived just before 9 am (although we had taken no breakfast at the hotel – too early – Rafan had said that we could have something in the Village when we got there, but then deduced it would be 8.30 am therefore “no time” ... so we ate doughy croissants and drank coffee on the train.)
Sadly, a very weak sounding Womble called me whilst we were waiting to say that she had been persistently ill for 12 hours and just couldn’t make it. Get well soon, Womble, such a shame, and we really missed you. We then spotted this figure coming down the hill ... Toni!! ... in his dark shades and looking mighty fine (down, Wooffs). We both said “morning Toni!” as he went past and he smiled and acknowledged us, and then I said “Good luck”, and he turned to say “thank you”. :swoon:
There were some blokes waiting outside the gate when we arrived ... and sometimes you just KNOW that someone is just not right, that something is just ... wrong ... and they stood out like a sore thumb. And this is a difficult thing. We went up to the club obviously to see if we could meet Rafa for an autograph and a photo before he enters the gate to the ground, just as we did last year. However, we do try to do this either in or outside the public arena where as a tennis player, he’s off to ply his trade. Last year, Toni and Rafa came down a different hill and from where we saw Toni this year, we knew that they must have moved back to the old house that they’ve rented before. Now we know exactly where that house is, (as its in the public domain), but we try to leave private Rafa alone, stay where we are, and only ask him for his autograph and stuff when he’s about to enter the Club. It is each to their own, but it wasn’t really very nice seeing him hassled by these men asking him to sign one thing after the other as he left his house and all way down the hill to the gate, and we know full well its only to flog it for a few quid on Ebay afterwards. They are NOT real fans, and I am GLAD one got arrested (which we found out later that one did). None of the players deserve being treated like that.
But by the time Rafa came to Rafan though, I could see his mood change because a simple “Good morning, Rafa” to him makes all the difference, and I said the same and minded my manners and I’m very pleased to say that he signed my USO picture so I now have the trio of pics of last year’s Slams signed. There was absolutely no chance of a photo this year, but it was lovely that he still stopped for us. Thank you Rafa. Poor old Denz who came down on Saturday morning just missed him though.
But you forget readers, just how tall he is, so slim, but those men excepted, he looked relaxed and tanned, even if he was probably a bit fed up to have to get up so early in the morning :whistle: Other people we saw were Dimples in a car as he was taken to the car park ... but they must have just dumped him there to practise as we didn’t see him come out. :D We also saw Tomas Berdych ... so that was Rafan’s quota of squeezes sorted out. Which reminds me ... She was gutted that she didn’t have anything that she could ask Sod to sign ... and then she started to get uppity with me because I said that I REFUSED to take a picture of her with him. Good job then that he was left in the car park ...
The surprise of the day was one Andy Roddick. I’ve seen him play before, but then again up close ... he’s so very tall and without the sweat rolling off him and his cap, his oversized shirt and the constant twiddle and tweaking that goes on in his man area ... he is actually verrrry handsome (in that American, preppy kind of way). So we wished him “Good Luck” and he was so polite and well mannered, looking back at us to thank us and stuff.
He is my new *squeeze*
And so we then made our way back to the hotel, and back up the E.I.G.H.T.Y. bl**dy stairs again when Denz then promptly fell over the vacuum cleaner called “Henry” ... (OK, I made that last bit up. ;). And after yet another early start ... here we are all back home and ready for the start of Wimbers tomorrow.
Thursday 16 June 2011
Rafateers' Weekend ...
If you all take "eyes right" ... you can see me with Rafa, which was a photo taken this weekend last year as I met him when he was going to practice at the All England Club. Well ... my Rafateer pals and I are all converging again this weekend in London, for culture (I'm dragging Rafan round a Miro exhibition), the theatre (off to see Pygmalion) and on Saturday, we will be joined by Womble and Denzy as we are going to chance our luck at the All England Club before descending into Wimbledon Village to catch up and talk more Rafa with Pearl and Mrs L. Fabulous. And on Saturday evening ... we're off to the infamous El Cambio de Tercio that Rafa and the Armada often frequent when in London.
Stay tuned ... you never know what I may have to tell you. ;)
Stay tuned ... you never know what I may have to tell you. ;)
Hot off the plane ... and Rafa goes to Asda!!
Oh the irony. For those of you who are non-UK visitors, on his way to his Wimbledon house, Rafa went to stock up at one of our larger supermarkets yesterday ... Asda. Whose log is "Asda price", followed by a pat on the on the pocket of your bottom ...
Great if you've got a Famoos Ass ... hehe.
Great if you've got a Famoos Ass ... hehe.
Rafa returns to London ...
Yey!! Airport footage, cos Rafa returns to London to prepare to defend his Wimbers title. YAHOO!!
Tuesday 14 June 2011
Saturday 11 June 2011
Gone fishing ...
Well ... Rafa finally succumbed to tiredness, unable to lift himself to 100% and lost to Jo-Wilfrid Tsonga, 7-6, 4-6, 1-6. At least the stupid buffoon got to do his dance ...
Who cares? I hope you're having a great time Rafa, surrounded by your loved ones and having a well deserved rest. Thank you for the past couple of weeks. VAMOS!!
Who cares? I hope you're having a great time Rafa, surrounded by your loved ones and having a well deserved rest. Thank you for the past couple of weeks. VAMOS!!
Rafan at Queens ...
Rafan went to Queens on Thursday ... and boy, did she have the best of times. So here's her report for us all to enjoy. All the photos in this post were also taken by her, and I've linked her Queens 2011 pictures on the Links section to the right ...
Good morning lovely Rafateers and friendly visitors from a very pink faced Rafan! Here's my report of yesterday. Be warned…it is long
Well, yesterday was a mixed bag! I left home at 7.15 am and was so concerned about the cold at Queens and making sure that I had enough warm stuff with me that I completely forgot all those other essentials – sunglasses, sunhat and suntan lotion, so had to make a rapid purchase at Victoria. I met my friends at Barons Court tube station at 10 and we went straight to Queens to see the players arrive. Amongst those we saw – Kevin Anderson (humungous!), Ivo Karlovic (ditto), Leander Paes (arrogant), blah blah blah…THEN Feli. Yahoo. I got all quivery (when don't I?!) and we ran across and I asked Feli if I could have my picture with him. He said yes. I thought that our Royal Rafateers would be spitting feathers. Then Fer! So back across and another photo, he was very nice and said "de nada" when we thanked him. I remember his hand touching my back. I don't think I was Feli's type.
And then finally Rafaaaaaa! Only this time my friends (who had seen him mobbed when he left last night) got all moral on my ass and wouldn't take my picture with him because they didn't want to bother him. So I had to settle for just looking at him and wishing him good luck.
After that it was straight to the practice courts. We had to queue to get in as Muzz was practising. We squeezed in, and then hallelujah the heavens opened and the lightweights filtered away (as did Murray), so it was down to mainly Rafa fans – lots of VBers were there too so it was nice to catch up with them again after seeing them in Monte Carlo. Luckily the rain didn't last too long and Rafa came on court with Marc! for practice. Sadly, unlike last year, he wasn't on the court right in front of us, he was on the court next to that. So my zoom got a bit of a workout…but it's not as good as when he's right there. Practice seemed quite good spirited, Rafa in a bright orange shirt so we could pick him out of the very blue background. At the end Delpo came on for his practice and they all stood around chatting for a while.
Then Rafa disappeared and I thought I should go and make use of my £92 ticket…after a quick wander round the shops. Nike had a good display of items, but once again, nothing really for the ladies. I did like a blue polo shirt that they had for this tournament, which had the number "11" (for 2011) on the front…and I thought wouldn't it be lovely to buy that and wear it when Rafa wins his 11th slam at Wimbledon in three week's time. But I didn't. Lots of nice posters everywhere from the current Nike Rafa/Tennis campaign. I tell you though…they do miss a trick. They should have been selling the Wimbledon outfit. They'd sold out of the blue jacket which Rafa is currently wearing. They weren't selling posters. Honestly, you'd think somebody in the Nike marketing department would have it figured out by now that a lot of Rafa's fans are FEMALES! I give up.
So, on to the tennis. I got into the court for the start of Murray's match. Tipsarevic played well, but Murray was at a better level. It was a good match, but of course we had the rain delay again. I stayed put as I could see the blue sky in the distance and luckily it didn't seem to last too long and they were back on again. I was very glad when Murray wrapped it up in 2 sets…and then it was Rafa time! And it was at this point I realised that despite charging both my camera batteries last night one of them was still at home in my charger!!!
Rafa came on to a big cheer from the crowd. There was a Rafa fanboy amongst the corporates behind me, who was explaining to his party that although Federer is widely mentioned as the GOAT, he actually may not even end up the Greatest of The Era, because of Rafa's superior H2H and the fact that he already has 10 slams at the age of 25. The people with him (male and female) were too busy admiring Rafa's "guns" and his bum to pay much attention. Though they mentioned they weren't too keen on the "scratching" of the FA.
To the match. Rafa was playing beautifully, the sun was shining and it was all very enjoyable. Right up to the point where he was 40-15 with two match points. Suddenly he went down the pan, the sun went in, and yes Wooffs, I did go blue for Rafa. It was so cold, I had on my fleece and raincoat, at one point with both hoods up! I couldn't believe the blip after he'd been playing so well. There were nice moments in the match though – Stepanek was quite entertaining and unusual to watch. I got the impression that Rafa was just so keen to finish the match he hurried it a bit and got broken, couldn't quite believe it, and everything started going Steps' way. But Rafa regrouped, fist pumping and "Si!" and played much better in the third set again. Obviously there was the break of serve but that was minor and he closed it out in style. Phew.
By which point I was soooooo cold, sooooo desperate for the loo and in need of a coffee. I went to the Club Reception and asked about the doubles. They said it was unlikely that the match would be played tonight. I then bumped into a couple of VBers who were also pondering. We all had a feeling that Rafa might just go straight into the doubles as he was already warmed up. We hung around Court 9 and then one of the VBers (Jan) lip read a steward saying "doubles". So we rushed up to him and he confirmed that Rafa would be playing on that court. Quickly we took up a position in the front row. And I cried even more about my battery which had run out and the spare one languishing at home. To make up for it though, the seats next to me were "reserved for players' guests" which meant that Maymo was sitting next to me, albeit separated by about eight seats.
What that did mean though was that I actually watched Rafa instead of just looking through my camera lens. It was the first time I'd seem him play doubles, and him and Marc! have such a good time together, they were laughing and talking, and at one point Rafa could barely serve for laughing. Now, I don't know what the other team make of it, but it's a joy to watch as a Rafa fan! Rafa still scowls when he misses a point though, he doesn't lose the perfectionist. The other team (Lindstedt and Tecau) won the first set on a tie-breaker and then they ended play for the day as it was getting dark and the court was slippery. Another VBer (Jen) got some lovely video footage of Rafa and Marc! at a change of ends, which she'll probably post on their board at some point.
One of the VBers (Loobyloo) had a flag which she wanted signed. Luckily I had my *pen* *pen* with me, so when Rafa had packed up we called to him and he did some signing for us, using it. When he took it I said, "Please can I have it back when you've finished" and he signed a few things (including my programme!!) and then threw(!) then pen up at me. I grasped at thin air and he caught it again, and I said "Just pass it to me, don't throw it!" laughing. And then … I was so busy looking at his hand heart and making sure I got the that apparently I missed a lovely smile – because Loobyloo said, "what a lovely moment for you with Rafa smiling up at you like that". Doh Doh Doh But at least she'd seen it…which meant it happened.
In the meantime he was being asked for various things ... his hat, his racket - so I took it upon myself to tell those children that were asking that that was a bit "greedy" and then promptly asked Rafa for his hand in marriage LOL. To the children he said "noh", to me there was a resounding silence. Maybe he didn't hear me...
So we filtered out of the ground, and as we left, Rafa's car drove out so we waved and he waved back. And that was the end of the day. I got the train home with two VBers who live nearby (which I hadn't realised until yesterday), so we exchanged lots of Rafa stories all the way home, and I climbed wearily into bed at midnight … therefore I haven't done my pictures yet but I will do them at the weekend and add a few.
The End.
Roll on Wimbledon
Fabulous report! Isn't it??
Good morning lovely Rafateers and friendly visitors from a very pink faced Rafan! Here's my report of yesterday. Be warned…it is long
And then finally Rafaaaaaa! Only this time my friends (who had seen him mobbed when he left last night) got all moral on my ass and wouldn't take my picture with him because they didn't want to bother him. So I had to settle for just looking at him and wishing him good luck.
Then Rafa disappeared and I thought I should go and make use of my £92 ticket…after a quick wander round the shops. Nike had a good display of items, but once again, nothing really for the ladies. I did like a blue polo shirt that they had for this tournament, which had the number "11" (for 2011) on the front…and I thought wouldn't it be lovely to buy that and wear it when Rafa wins his 11th slam at Wimbledon in three week's time.
Rafa came on to a big cheer from the crowd. There was a Rafa fanboy amongst the corporates behind me, who was explaining to his party that although Federer is widely mentioned as the GOAT, he actually may not even end up the Greatest of The Era, because of Rafa's superior H2H and the fact that he already has 10 slams at the age of 25. The people with him (male and female) were too busy admiring Rafa's "guns" and his bum to pay much attention. Though they mentioned they weren't too keen on the "scratching" of the FA.
By which point I was soooooo cold, sooooo desperate for the loo and in need of a coffee. I went to the Club Reception and asked about the doubles. They said it was unlikely that the match would be played tonight. I then bumped into a couple of VBers who were also pondering. We all had a feeling that Rafa might just go straight into the doubles as he was already warmed up. We hung around Court 9 and then one of the VBers (Jan) lip read a steward saying "doubles". So we rushed up to him and he confirmed that Rafa would be playing on that court. Quickly we took up a position in the front row. And I cried even more about my battery which had run out and the spare one languishing at home. To make up for it though, the seats next to me were "reserved for players' guests" which meant that Maymo was sitting next to me, albeit separated by about eight seats.
What that did mean though was that I actually watched Rafa instead of just looking through my camera lens. It was the first time I'd seem him play doubles, and him and Marc! have such a good time together, they were laughing and talking, and at one point Rafa could barely serve for laughing. Now, I don't know what the other team make of it, but it's a joy to watch as a Rafa fan! Rafa still scowls when he misses a point though, he doesn't lose the perfectionist. The other team (Lindstedt and Tecau) won the first set on a tie-breaker and then they ended play for the day as it was getting dark and the court was slippery. Another VBer (Jen) got some lovely video footage of Rafa and Marc! at a change of ends, which she'll probably post on their board at some point.
In the meantime he was being asked for various things ... his hat, his racket - so I took it upon myself to tell those children that were asking that that was a bit "greedy" and then promptly asked Rafa for his hand in marriage LOL. To the children he said "noh", to me there was a resounding silence. Maybe he didn't hear me...
So we filtered out of the ground, and as we left, Rafa's car drove out so we waved and he waved back. And that was the end of the day. I got the train home with two VBers who live nearby (which I hadn't realised until yesterday), so we exchanged lots of Rafa stories all the way home, and I climbed wearily into bed at midnight … therefore I haven't done my pictures yet but I will do them at the weekend and add a few.
The End.
Roll on Wimbledon
Fabulous report! Isn't it??
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