Rafa's Happy daily dose ...

"Back to my practice sessions and back to the clay, in a cloudy day in Mallorca."

It  may be cloudy where you are Rafa, but you're still our little ray of sunshine ...

Seeing him at the Manacor tennis club took me back to 2012 when my friend Rafan and I took a short break to Mallorca in February, a little time after the Australian Open. But back then the tournaments for Rafa continued on the hardcourts and we didn't know the location of where he did his hardcourt training, so we took a [ever hopeful] trip to the clay court tennis club instead (photos here ) -  only to be told that Rafa had been there the day before but wasn't expected in that day. Shame. But we went to the restaurant in the main square which houses the Nadal family apartments above it. And saw Rafael - Uncle Rafael that is - exit the building from the door by the restaurant. LoL.

Happy days ...

And talking of happy, ie. the Happy Slam, well I've documented it a few times that it hasn't exactly been the happiest of places for Rafa over the years. Indeed he's not actually even played there in 2006 and 2013. In 2007 he left defeated with pain all over - hhere, hhere and hhere, even in his famoos ass. 2010 saw him retire due to his knees, 2011 saw him play on whilst injured before losing to Daveed. He could barely walk after the marathon in 2012 - and we don't need to be reminded what happened later in the year. His back went last year; so to see him leave Australia just because he simply lost a match and without being debilitated by any sort of injury ... well that's good new, isn't it? And to have him posting pictures of himself straight back out there practising, well, it's even better.    

There wasn't too many happy reactions following yesterday's final, sadly won by Beaverhead, but to be honest, I wanted the pair of them to lose. And I didn't find #Kimgate at all amusing - nor her t-shirt - because if she or any girlfriend ever directed 4-letter expletives towards Rafa's box, I wouldn't find it funny at all. But then the Murrays have been doing a lot of whinging at the Happy Slam, haven't they? Whinging tweets because Rafa evoked sympathy after his match with Smyczek whilst all Murray is ever called is a Drama Queen. Haha .. they're not wrong, are they? Whinging at the press over questions about his past and present coaches. And then there was his on-court screeching at the PoD's possom playing antics - falling over dying one minute then running about like a gazelle the next. Well, haven't we seen all that several times before? It never mattered previously though - so long as he was beating Rafa that is.  But the thing is Andy, grabbing your own body parts and pulling terrifying grimaces only to then engage in 57 shot making rallies makes for a slight case of "Hello Kettle, Pot calling", doesn't it? And you still allowed yourself to fall for it, didn't you? Urgh ... I came here to do this post with the intention of it being "happy", but a match played between two of the most uninspiring and churlish players going doesn't rock my boat. And as my friend Angie said yesterday, and I quote ...  

"What I can't be arsed with the most is the double standards of the commies in relation to the swearing, part grabbing, drama-queening. Basically, if it's anyone else, it's bad, but if it's Murray, it's ok, and to be understood cos of the tension, stress whatever.

And while I'm on the subject of behaviour, why is it that loud swearing, racquet smashing, and general obnoxiousness is seen as having a character, and entertainment, but being slow between points is a capital crime. Unless, of course, it's Murray who gets a time violation warning."

Quite. And yes - for any passing lurker - Rafa IS perfect.  LoL

So after seeing how the Happy Slam ended, we should be in a good place, and happy that Rafa - for once - left Australia un-injured, and happy that he's straight back practising on the courts, happy to be working hard, happy to be back on the clay, and happy to hopefully be getting those match wins and match practice that will take him back to a happy place some time later in the season.

Vamos Rafa! Clapping along cos I feel like a room without a roof ... :)