Daily Dose ...

Saying "bye bye" to Kim ...

Kim Clijsters ended her singles tennis career yesterday at the US Open after she was beaten by Britain's Laura Robson.

Babolat have produced a video of its team players saying a little farewell to her.

Get your hankies out for Rafa's offering.

He loves Kim, and she loves him back. Who can forget how they laughed and messed about with each other at those exhos? *sniff*

Good luck Kim with all your future life brings you. And keep #vamossing for Rafa!!

source : via @RafaelNadalFC

Daily Dose ...

Rafa happy ...

Hehe ... our boy enjoyed himself tonight. Rafasmile ... loving it!

Rafa on TVE tonight ...

At half time in the match, Rafa gave a short interview. Have to say that he's looking great (ignoring the hair gel *roll* ) and although I've obviously no idea what he's saying, the clue is in the video title that he'll only be back when he's ready to play.

Quite right, Rafa. Good for you.

Rafa's at El Clasico ...

Rafa's at the Bernabeu Stadium tonight to watch his beloved Real Madrid in another El Clasico against Barcelona in the SuperCopa or some such competition.

Shame his hair gel has made the trip with him ... :-/

source : @JuLiTo99

Still carrying the Rafa-flame ...

Rafa may be missing from this year's US Open, but this fan still wishes to show her support.

VAMOS!!

FeliWatch ...

Feli posted this picture of himself having breakfast yesterday in Central Park ... wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt. Hehe ...

And he won his first round match against Robin Haase!! In three sets!! Indeed a *thumbsup* is probably in order, Feli (considering that he finds it so hard to get through the first round of tournaments these days ... *run*).

At this juncture I'm tempted to raise the subject of possible strike action by the players at the Australian Open in protest at the fact that the Slams (in particular) don't flow down enough of the cash to the "Little Guys" who go out super early in a draw. Nice to know that Feli will be supported [personally] by He-who-smells-of-Roses. ;)

Daily Dose ...

Curls ... cheekbones ... stare ... *thud*

FeliWatch ...

Feliripples ... *thud*  Oi!!  I said Feli-R-ipples!!

Thanks to @nycsandygirl who is carrying out this inspirational photography for us. Its a tough job, but someone has to do it. ;)

Daily Dose ...

Rafa's daily dose ...

Awwww ... Rafa's daily dose offering today is particularly sweet. He poses with his ladies - Mum, sister Maribel and lovely Xisca. He also left a lovely message and remembered to thank every for sending him messages of support and he also wished everyone luck in the US Open which (I believe ...) starts today.  ;)

Here's what he had to say ...

"Right now It's nice to see all your supporting messages! they help me to keep fighting every day. I will miss the atmosphere of New York and sharing it with my Spanish colleagues. Good luck to everyone in the tournament!"

Keep working Rafa, you'll get there.

Daily Dose ...

Rafa is one of my best friends from tennis ...

"I was feeling bad," remembers Monaco. "I had lost a lot of time due to injuries. Then I lost first round at Roland Garros, first round in Cincinnati, qualies of New Haven, first round in the US Open and then I lost my match in the Davis Cup quarter-finals to France. I was struggling. Rafa called and invited me to go to Thailand with him. We trained so hard every day and then enjoyed the beach and Playstation in the afternoons. It turned out to be great for me. Rafa is one of my best friends from tennis."

Hot on the heels from the genuine statements made by Andy Murray, Juan "Pico" Monaco has been speaking to Deuce magazine about his friend, Rafa. Here's a link to the full article.

Who will forget those Thailand boys holiday pictures, the matching pinks shirts, the tree planting ceremony ... it was fab.

And I'll tell you what though, readers. Its really nice to read proper, genuine statements from those who are Rafa's real friends, and who genuinely do care about him. Those are the kind of platitudes I want to read.

Rafa's daily dose ...

Awwwwww ... cuteness personified as Rafa in his Love Me 2 Times t-shirt poses with his two cheeky, little cousins.

Enjoying Sunday with the family was his Facebook message today. Hope you've had a lovely day, Rafa.

Daily Dose ...

Rafa's daily dose ...

Now this could also be a candidate for Maymo's School of Photography :D, but Rafa has continued to update us via Facebook on his rehabilitation. He's continuing with his fitness work and gave us this message ...

"Again at the gym this afternoon. My team is really helping me in the recovery. Thanks !!!
Good night."

Good night to you too, Rafa.

I've been reading comments on Twitter that Rafa is actually going to try some practice again on the court tomorrow.

Let see what develops ... VAMOS!

The energy he brings to the court is incredible ...

“Tennis will definitely miss Rafa while he’s not playing. Tournaments definitely miss him because he brings something different to a lot of the players on tour in terms of his character and his personality and the way he is on the court. The energy he brings to the match court is incredible.”

- Andy Murray

After frankly the complete ignorant nonsense coming out of Federer's mouth since Rafa's Olympic withdrawal, where he admitted he hadn't called him, yet considered it was more his "lack of preparation" which culminated in his Olympics withdrawal ... which of course fanned the flames of "even Federer questions the nature of this "injury" ..."; to the beginning of Cincinnati where he stated that "I was going to write him and check on him because I can't believe he's been out that long", thinking that passing up on the Olympics was some kind of "personal choice". I mean, lack of preparation for the Olympics ... are you kidding me? An event that is so close to Rafa's heart as it means representing his beloved Spain and what was more of an amazing, significant honour to him - being his country's flag bearer - to then pull out cos of a "personal choice" due to a sissy "lack of preparation" ... give me strength.

But then after Federer's first interview in Cincy, three days later the news broke that Rafa had also pulled out of the US Open, and we then had something moving from, "I was going to write (?) him ..." to the sombre ... 

"Well, its not a surprise, because I wrote him and he told me like it wasn't looking good at all. I kind of knew. Saw it coming. But obviously when it's official it's disappointing for tennis, there's no doubt about it.  I would love to have him in the draw. In particular, sort of the 12 days before the Open you figure he might still have time to fix what he has to fix to get ready. If he pulls out that early before the Open, it must be something serious."

So now its serious ... "scary" even. And as the world's media at large printed their reactions from the players as they asked them what they thought about Rafa's withdrawal, Roger's response led the way. And he received the usual plaudits about the "classy" way he reacted, the things he said, what a guy, pat Roger on the back for the sincere way he's feeling about all of this. Forget the "lack of preparation" quotes, or that  Rafa played the clay court season so well, or that he seemed fine at Wimbledon, and in fact, losing at Wimbledon meant that he had more time fix what it was to fix in order to get ready. No, Roger had "wrote him" so now he saw it all coming.

Course you did.

I can't be bothered now searching for the actual words that Milos Raonic said for himself after the US Open withdrawal was announced, but it was along the lines of, "Shit happens. Its a shame. But we move on and carry on with the draw anyway." Now in some quarters, he was slated for that, but personally, I didn't have a problem with it at all. It was honest, and the truth really ... and its my opinion that it's how most of the field do react to news such as that.

Because the thing is, whilst we were treated to the players' reactions with Rog leading the way, it kind of mussed up on the full extent of the press conference which - quelle surprise - didn't get reported in its full capacity. You see, one journalist pressed Roger on the Rafa withdrawal as follows ...

"Q. You just mentioned that Rafa had responded to you. Are you able to reveal what he actually said or what the issue is? 

ROGER FEDERER: No, I mean, look, I mean, it's a message. It doesn't reveal that much. He did mention that the US Open wasn't looking very good. It's a couple days ago."

Aah. So there was no letter then. So "writing him" was just an unfortunate phrase. You sent him a text message, didn't you Roger, and Rafa didn't say much other than to explain that it wasn't looking good for his participation in the US Open. So you didn't really see it coming, did you? Because after saying you were going to "write him" you sent a text message and you got a non message back. So after thinking it was a lack of preparation, a choice, and expressing surprise about Rafa's withdrawal from Toronto and Cincy, 2 days after finding out the US Open wasn't looking good, it became a stark reality. But you didn't really see it coming, you didn't really believe it, you knew nothing ... so why intimate you did.

But the point of this post is what Andy Murray said, and with Benito's radio interview and the quote I've opened the post with, you can tell that there is - actually - a genuine warmth between the two camps. I must admit that as a fellow Brit, I have actually found it very, very hard to warm to Andy. His tennis never did it for me, neither did his personality. However, I can whole-heartedly say that I shall be cheering this fellow on in the up-coming US Open - all.the.way.

Come w'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!

source : @RafaelNadalFC

Lego Rafa ...

I want this piece of Lego magic ...

FeliWatch ...

And finally in today's hommage to Feli ... a lovely little clip of him where family and friends make an appearance - including Fer. And he speaks Spanish very quickly in that deep, masculine voice of his.  And sings ... *cough*

I need a cold shower after this afternoon's offerings ...

FeliWatch ...

How about some moving pictures of Deli-Feli??

Once again we have the wonderful Jen to thank because at huge sacrifice to herself, she stood in blazing heat to bring them to us and suffered for her art. In the interests of editorial content, I've had to watch her whole range of videos again, just in order to choose which ones I might bring you here. It was a massive, personal sacrifice.

Jen's cinematography has Hollywood snapping at her heels, and the offering I bring above is cleverly entitled "Shirtless Feli Practice". It contains the immortal line of "Ooooopps" and is especially noted for the zooming in qualities to feature a closer view of the torso of Mr Lopez.

The next video featured above is entitled ... "Shirtless Feli Shows Off". Points of note in this offering are the stunning back views, fan shots (and I really mean fan shots, not shots of tennis fans ...) the pushing up of the right shorts leg, the on-screen captured curvature of the derriere whilst waiting to receive serve, and the unforgettable whispered line of "Ooooo Marc! get out of the way!!!". "He's showing off now ... " seems to have inspired the title of this stellar Lopez footage.

Finally I bring you, "A Little Wet Feli". Sadly - and this is YOUR fault Sakita - our intrepid camera-gal was not able to bring you Feli's re-enactment of the "bucket scene" from "Australia" - where Hugh Jackman poured water all over himself to the delight of the female masses - as she didn't get the nudge in the ribs quickly enough from Sakita once she recognised what Feli was about to do as he started to pour water all over himself. Not to worry, the cinematography of the water droplets racing each other down the flesh and the sheer delight of the glistening, tanned skin are masterfully captured in this clip.  Bravo ...

If Jen doesn't receive a nomination for "Best Short Feature" at next year's Oscars, then there really is no justice in this world. Stand up and take a bow anyway my love, for the fabulous work you brought us. This middle aged fangirl salutes you.

Check out more of Jen's videos on her YouTube account here.

FeliWatch ...

I'm not sure that he wore a shirt at any of his practice sessions ...

#bothered

source : @sw828 (Sakita) and @creamola_foam (Jen)

FeliWatch ...

These posts have been a long time in coming, but prepare yourselves people ... I'm about to indulge in a bit of Deli-Feli Fantasy ... my own personal rabbit. :D :D

A minor tournament took place last week which was, of course, rendered even more of a non event seeing as Rafa wasn't there. But sadly for them, many of his fans were. Desperate measures arise in desperate times, and The Fabettes were born - yes Jen and Sakita ... I'm talking about you. ;)

I'd rather gloss over this new found fanaticism over a vertically challenged Italian ;) but we cannot begrudge the girls for making their own entertainment, because like the sterling fangirls they are, they also took some time to bring us this sheer and unadulterated hotness.  I thank you from the bottom of my Rafa grieving heart.

Best of all ... the Feli Shower Scene ... as these pictures ably demonstrate.

One word ... *thud*

credit : @sw828 (Sakita) and @creamola_foam (Jen)

Baby Rafa ...

Awwwww the cuteness!!

Sure, we've seen most of these pictures before, but the one I love is of Rafa having an early encounter with Goofy!!  Oh how I have laughed and have done many posts on how Dorky always seems to manage to seek Goofy out, and it seems like their relationship had an early start.

Adorable ...

Born to Run ...

A montage of clips to remind us - as if we forget - of what an amazing, exciting, raw, passionate, skillful and outstanding tennis player Rafael Nadal is.

I get enthralled every time I see him play. There is nothing that has ignited tennis like he has in all the decades that I have been watching the game. I have never seen the like of him before ... and I'll never see it again.

I miss him.

Come back blasting Rafa ... we cannot wait!!

source : via @scorpio1641

Benito's BBC Radio 5 Live chat ...

In happy place in an unhappy situation ... that's how Benito described where Rafa is at just now.

Benito gave a telephone interview to BBC's Radio 5 Live, and once again, its not particularly revealing or giving us any more current updates than what we already know. The injury here is to the left knee, he's seen his doctor, he's also been to Vittorio about his tendons, but that's not the issue.

I've no idea who the American asking dumb-ass questions is, but it was nice to hear how Team Nadal were so happy for Andy Murray in his big Olympic win.

Again, there's no target date for Rafa to come back, although Benito said that he'd obviously love to play in the Davis Cup, but they have to wait and see ... they just don't know.

Its as you were, readers ... but still a good listen.

Daily Dose ...

Daily Dose ...

Rafa's daily dose ...

I think Rafa and I are starting to get a bit predictable with our respective daily doses.  :D :D

This is from Rafa's Facebook today as he tells us that he's at the gym ... with good vibrations.

Saying nowt ...

By the way, the hard drive on my laptop is knackered :( but I pick up a shiny, new one tonight. :) Last night when I was looking at new models, the sales people asked what I used my laptop for.

Umm ... how do you describe all that I do on here?? (Lurking hatahs are not allowed to answer that one. :D :D )

Daily Dose ...

Daily Dose ...

Nominated by @athena1949 :)

Rafa's daily dose ...

It seems that Rafa is also keen to give us all our daily dose! :D

Yesterday he offered some thigh action as shared with us the wonderful time he had with Xisca and friends on a boat in the fabulous Mediterranean Sea in blazing sunshine. Not all bad, is it?

And today he's shared breakfast with us from his Porto Cristo patio ...

By the way ... my laptop has bitten the dust, so posts here might be a bit sporadic over the next fews days till I sort it out. Blummin' useless thing!!  Doesn't it realise the important work I have to do!! 

Daily Dose ...

Never stop climbing those stands, Rafa ...

It's my lunch break, so I'm just reading through Twitter and enjoying the exchange of pictures between the girls that are on Pinterest.

I've signed up ;) and I can't believe the loveliness that is on there, and these pictures are just an example.

And maybe its because we've subsequently found out more information of what Rafa was going through during the French Open ... and maybe its because he won in spite of the pain and what he was enduring ... and maybe its because yesterday we were looking at a picture of one of the world's finest athletes on a doctor's couch whilst he undergoes treatment to hopefully get him recovered and fit again ... I feel like my heart is in a vice.

And maybe its because a certain individual expressed that he would never, ever climb the stands to celebrate with his nearest and dearest upon victory - like its almost disrespectful to the opponent. Well each to their own, you do it your way. You might like to put on jackets with the fresh, new number of Slams you've just won in the face of your opponent. I prefer this.

Never, ever change Rafa. Stay the way you are. This is what I love about him ... regardless of the result, Rafa Nadal never leaves a court without a piece of himself still being on it. He'll fight till he can't fight any more, and the raw passion and emotion he showed on that Monday afternoon has left me tearful over my cheese and onion crisps. :'(

We miss you Rafa. I hope with all my heart that we'll see you express yourself like this many times in the future. Vamos!!

Rafa at the doctor's ...

Rafa shared with us this picture of him at the doctor's today as it looks like he's having a spot of ultra-sound.

I have to say, I'm quite impressed with the level of information that's coming out. Its just feeding us the basics as Rafa moves along with his rehabilitation, just enough to keep us informed and that's all we can ask.

But poor lamb ... was he travelling all on his own, as he appears to be when he was captured here in the airport lounge. Awwwww ...

source : @RachySnowy

Daily Dose ...

Rafa's on his way to Barcelona ...

As was revealed last week, Rafa today headed out to Barcelona to meet Dr Angel Cotorro who is to assess the treatment they've been carrying out on him for Hoffa's syndrome.

As Feds doesn't seem to have bothered to "write him" to advise that he can borrow Fed Force One, Rafa seems to be content with cattle class and is tucked away somewhere in the back. ;)

Good luck today with the diagnosis, Rafa!!

source : via @doblege7

Daily Dose ...

Dr Cotorro speaks of Rafa's injury ...

This article has appeared in MundoDeportivo.com where Rafa's long-term doctor - Angel Cotorro - speaks about Rafa's injury.

@genny_ss has continued to do her wonderful translating work and she has provided a translation on NadalNews Facebook and is happy for me to link it here.

Keep working, Team Nadal!!