Nadal Frequent Customer In Melbourne

Nadal Frequent Customer In Melbourne

© Benito Perez-Barbadillo

Australian Open champion and World No. 1 Rafael Nadal was a frequent customer at a Japanese restaurant in Melbourne during his title run.

The Spaniard and his traveling party, which included father, Sebastian, uncle Toni, fitness trainer Rafael Maymo, PR manager Benito Perez-Barbadillo, Jordi Robert from NIKE and manager Carlos Costa, made at least 10 visits in the fortnight.

Nadal's last meal in Melbourne came at the Japanese eatery on Monday afternoon after he wrapped up more than two hours of media activities earlier in the day.

Nadal invited chef Kevin and his brother Jimmy to sit in his box for the quarterfinals against Frenchman Gilles Simon.

Nadal's regular specialty included tooth fish, sushi, fried rice with seafood rice and noodles served with teriakyi sauce.

The meal of a champion!

atptennis.com

Nadal wins Australian Open epic

Rafael Nadal captured the Australian Open title with an enthralling 7-5 3-6 7-6 3-6 6-2 win over Roger Federer, denying the Swiss a chance to win a record-equalling 14th Grand Slam title.

More Stories

• Match Gallery
• The life and times of Rafa Nadal
• Video: Highlights
• The Nadal-Federer rivalry
• Video: Nadal press conference (1)
• Video: Nadal press conference (2)
• Video: Federer press conference (1)
• Video: Federer press conference (2)
• Eurosport Player: See the match in full
• Roll of Honour
• Match Stats

The world number one became the first Spaniard to win the Open and chalked up his fifth straight win over Federer, including last year's French Open and Wimbledon finals.

The victory took his Grand Slam tally to six and left him needing only to win the US Open to complete the full set while reducing Federer to tears.

"God, it's killing me," Federer sobbed during the presentation ceremony.

"Rafa congrats, you played incredible, you deserve it man. (You) played another fantastic final."

Nadal offered a consoling word to his great rival after receiving the winner's trophy and a cheque for A$2 million from the only person to have twice completed the Grand Slam.

"For me to receive this trophy from Rod Laver is a dream for me," Nadal said. "It was an amazing two weeks for me."

"Roger, sorry for today. I really know how you feel right now.

"It's really tough (but) remember you are a great champion, one of the best in history and you have proved that."

The final at Melbourne Park lived up to all expectations as the two best players of their generation slugged it out for almost 4-1/2 hours in a classic match packed with magical shotmaking and intense drama.

The momentum swung back and forth throughout before Nadal struck the killer blow when he broke in the fourth game of the deciding set when Federer slapped a backhand into the net then again in the eighth game to seal a famous victory.

Nadal, showing no signs of fatigue despite his five hour, 14 minute victory over compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the semi-finals, started the match full of energy and was still running as strongly as ever at the end.

He broke Federer in the opening game and despite twice losing his own serve, he wrapped up the first set in 58 minutes after the Swiss master overcooked two backhands.

Nadal was again the first to break in the second set when Federer mistimed a forehand over the baseline but the three-times Australian Open champion won the next four games to level the match.

The pair maintained their extraordinary standard of play in a third set that was even more enthralling than the first two.

There were no service breaks in the set but Nadal saved three break points in the ninth and 11th games while world number two Federer survived a set point to force the tie-breaker.

While Nadal lost the first point on his serve, he regained his composure to win four on the trot after they were level at 3-3 to grab a two sets to one lead.

The pair traded breaks early in the fourth set before Federer, a 13-times Grand Slam winner, saved five break points in the fifth game then broke Nadal in the next to seize the initiative.

Federer safely held his two games to force the match into a deciding fifth, the first time an Australian Open final had gone the distance since Mats Wilander beat Pat Cash in 1988, the same year the tournament switched from Kooyong to the current site at Melbourne Park.

Semifinal Preview : Nadal vs Verdasco

AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Melbourne, Australia

January 28, 2009

(source : atptennis.com)

Australian Open Semi-Final Preview

© AFP/Getty Images

ATP World No. 1 Rafael Nadal meets Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the Australian Open semi-finals on Friday. ATP stats and information guru Greg Sharko previews the match-up.

SEMI-FINALS PREVIEW – This is the seventh time the two Spaniards are meeting in a Tour level tournament and Nadal has won 13 of the past 14 sets. Nadal, who has yet to drop a set in Melbourne (15-0), is appearing in the Australian Open semi-finals for the second straight year and fifth consecutive time in a Grand Slam tournament. Nadal is attempting to reach his eighth career Grand Slam final (5-2), the first on hard courts. Verdasco is making his first Grand Slam semi-final showing in his 23rd career Slam tournament. This is the fourth all-Spanish semi-final in a Grand Slam in the Open Era and the winner will become the third Spaniard to reach the Australian Open final, joining Carlos Moya in 1997 (l. to Sampras) and Andres Gimeno in 1969 (l. to Laver). Both players have broken their opponents 32 times while Nadal has lost serve six times and Verdasco nine times. Here is a look at their career meetings and how they have performed at the Australian Open going into the semi-finals:

Rafael Nadal
Aces 26
Sets W-L 15-0
Break Points Saved 15 of 21
Break Points Converted 32 of 61
Winners 186
Unforced Errors 78

Fernando Verdasco
Aces 32
Sets W-L 15-3
Break Points Saved 32 of 41
Break Points Converted 32 of 66
Winners 173
Unforced Errors 124

Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Nadal Leads 6-0
05 Doha (Qatar) Hard R16 Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4
05 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-2
05 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay R16 Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2
06 London / Queen's Club (England) Grass R16 Rafael Nadal 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(3)
07 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells (U.S.A.)Hard R32 Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4
08 Roland Garros (France) Clay R16 Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-0, 6-2
Other Meetings:
03 Hamburg CH (Germany) Carpet QF Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-5

Rafael Nadal | Fernando Verdasco
Sets Won: 13 | 1
Tiebreak Sets Won: 2 | 0
Match Wins By Surface:
Clay: 2 0
Hard: 3 0
Grass: 1 0

Nadal:
- The Mallorca native is attempting to become the sixth player at age 22 in the Open Era to reach three different Grand Slam finals…The others were Andre Agassi, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier and Pete Sampras…Connors and Sampras won three
- Nadal is 36-3 lifetime against left-handers and last year he went 13-0 against lefties…His last loss came to Chris Guccione in ’07 Sydney in the 1st RD when he retired (also lost to Gilles Muller in ’05 Wimbledon 2nd RD and to Feliciano Lopez in ’03 Basel 1st RD)
- Has a 47-6 record against Spaniards since 2004, losing to David Ferrer three times, Juan Carlos Ferrero twice and Carlos Moya once

Verdasco:
- The Madrid native will break into the Top 10 South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings for the first time next Monday, climbing from No. 15 to No. 9 (will jump to No. 6 IF he wins the title AND Roddick loses in the semi-finals)
- Came into Melbourne with a 7-31 career record (1-5 in Grand Slams) against Top 10 opponents before defeating No. 4 Murray (4th RD) and No. 7 Tsonga (QF)…This is the first time in his career he’s beaten two Top 10 players in the same tournament
- He enters the semi-finals with a 9-1 record on the season after opening with a runner-up in Brisbane (l. to Stepanek) in his first ATP World Tour hard court final…Has a 2-5 career mark in ATP World Tour finals, winning on clay in 2004 (d. Montanes) and Umag last year (d. Andreev)

POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS –

Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs Roger Federer (SUI) Nadal Leads 12-6
04 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-3
05 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard F Roger Federer 2-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-1
05 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Rafael Nadal 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
06 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard F Rafael Nadal 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
06 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(5)
06 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay F R. Nadal 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5)
06 Roland Garros (France) Clay F Rafael Nadal 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4)
06 Wimbledon (England) Grass F Roger Federer 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-3
06 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard SF Roger Federer 6-4, 7-5
07 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo (Monaco) Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4
07 ATP Masters Series Hamburg (Germany)Clay F Roger Federer 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
07 Roland Garros (France) Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
07 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass F R. Federer 7-6,(7), 4-6, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-2
07 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard SF Roger Federer 6-4, 6-1
08 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Clay F Rafael Nadal 7-5, 7-5
08 ATP Masters Series Hamburg Clay F Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3
08 Roland Garros (France) Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-3, 6-0
08 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass F Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7

Rafael Nadal | Roger Federer
Sets Won: 37 | 25
Tiebreak Sets Won: 6 | 9
Match Wins By Surface:
Clay: 9 | 1
Hard: 2 | 3
Carpet: 0 | 0
Grass: 1 | 2
Synthetic Turf: 0 | 0

Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs Roger Federer (SUI) Federer Leads 2-0
05 ATP Masters Series Hamburg (Germany)Clay R64 Roger Federer 6-4, 6-3
08 ATP Masters Series Hamburg (Germany)Clay QF Roger Federer 6-3, 6-3

Vamos! Rafael Nadal beats Gilles Simon in three sets

World number one Rafael Nadal set up a semi-final showdown with fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco after subduing France's Gilles Simon 6-2 7-5 7-5 at the Australian Open.

Nadal has not dropped a set so far in the tournament, though the sixth-seeded Simon came the closest when he held a set point in the 10th game of the second set while Nadal was serving.

However, the 22-year-old from Mallorca held and then broke Simon in the next game before serving out for the second set. Nadal broke Simon twice in the third set to win the match in two hours 27 minutes.

Nadal's meeting with Verdasco on Friday will be the first time two Spanish men have met in the semi-finals at the Australian Open since the tournament opened its doors to professionals in 1969. (source : eurosport.co.uk)

Nadal easy pass Gonzalez

Vamos Rafa!

Top seed Rafael Nadal has eased into the quarterfinals of Australian Open 2009, brushing aside a flat Fernando Gonzalez 6-3 6-2 6-4 late on Monday afternoon.

Quick facts

Nadal had just 11 unforced errors in three sets; Gonzalez had 35

Nadal won 10 of 14 points at the net (71 per cent) compared to Gonzalez’s eight of 18 (44 per cent)

Gonzalez converted on two of seven break point opportunities (29 per cent), while Nadal was 6-for-13 (46 per cent)

Gonzalez served six aces and two double faults, while Nadal had four aces and no double faults.

Next Match : vs Gilles Simon.

Vamos!

Rafa prepares for today's match against Fernando Gonzalez. It's seems to be that Rafa is in a good shape, he droped 0 sets from the beggining of 2009 Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal (1)		6	6	6
Tommy Haas		4	2	2

Rafael Nadal (1)		6	6	6
Tommy Haas		2	3	2

Rafael Nadal (1)		6	6	6
C. Rochus		0	2	2