Sunday: Rafa vs. Robredo (Set 1)

I will have live coverage on The Tennis channel for Rafa's match against Tommy Robredo at the Open Seat Godo in Barcelona.

Rafa is the defending champion, and if he wins, he will surpass Bjorn Borg's record of 46 consecutive clay court victories.

So join us back here at 6:30 a.m. PDT, and we'll give you play-by-play coverage.

Vamos, Rafa!!!

Good morning. I'm awake, and TTC coverage has started. They are doing a preview now, saying that Rafa has the edge in all categories except serve and volley.

This match is best of 5. Noting this is Rafa's sixth event in 2006.

Rafa is wearing blue piratas, and a white shirt, with a green stripe on the shoulder. White bandana.

BTW, I forgot to mention I heard the fall line of Nike will not have piratas at all, and Rafa will be back in shorts this summer.

Just showed Toni and Carlos Costa.

First Game. TR to serve. He wins his first service game, at love. Forehand winner on last poiont.

0-1, TR.

Rafa to serve. He adjusts his socks and things. Tommy misses FH. 15-0. Rafa had set up the point perfectly, but missed the volley. Commentators said he didn't change his grip in time. Rafa hits FH out. Tommy is attacking Rafa's BH. 15-30. Fault. Mishit by TR. 30-30. Another mishit, thankfully, after long rally. 40-30. Tommy is hitting the ball well, and going for his forehands. Fault. DF. Deuce. Commentatots saying he is a bit shaky at the moment, maybe nerves. Come on, Rafa!!! Vamos!!! Good serve. Ad RN. He has his Vamos Rafa shoes on. So he knows we are there supporting him. Rafa into net. Deuce. BH error by TR. Ad Rafa. FH error. He holds.

1-1

TR to serve. Great rally, And Rafa hits FH angle winner. 0-15. Mishit by Rafa. He yells at himself 15-15. Fault. Commentators saying Rafa is aware of the record he is going for. 15-30, as Rafa attacks TR backhand. Beautiful FH winner by Rafa. 15-40. Two breakpoints! Vamos!!! Another FH. He breaks, and is in full flight at the moment.

2-1, RN

Rafa to serve. Adjusts his socks. All is right in Rafa world. Fault. Well that was a double fault. So maybe he needs to adjust his socks better. 0-15. Vamos!!! Rafa killed him with his FH on that point. 15-15. TR misses the BH pass. 30-15. TR hits long. Commentators saying that Nadal is all over the Robredo backhand (like a cheap suit -- I added that last part). Fault. Misses dropshot. Game RN.

3-1, RN.

TR to serve. Commentators think TR is pressing a bit. Fault. BH into net. 15-0. TR misses FH. 15-15 Hits BH long. 15-30. The commentators think he's losing his confidence. Fault. Rafa misses BH. 30-30. Ace. 40-30. Great get by Nadal but couldn't win the point. TR wins game.

3-2, RN

Rafa to serve. They are talking about Rafa's physique. See, Lovely isn't the only one. Fault. Great second kick serve. 15-0. BH goes long. Rafa is peppering the TR backhand. Fault. They are saying Rafa is now playing the game his own way. But he just hit another DF. That's three in this match. 15-15. Showing Toni. His son must be with him. Beautiful angle FH by Rafa. 30-15. BH mishit. 40-15. Looks like a beautiful sunny day in Barca. Wait, I missed a point somewhere that Rafa won. Game Nadal.

4-2, RN

TR comes to net. 15-0. Fault. Rafa misses BH down the line. 30-0. Rafa is making Tommy hit tons of backhands, though. BH into net. 30-15. Rafa is putting on as much pressure as he can. Fault. Rafa misses BH, but he is making Tommy work. 40-15. Fault. Rafa just misses FH. Game TR.

4-3, RN

Rafa to serve. They are saying that TR has never won more than 6 games against Rafa in a match, but those were best of 3 matches. FH winner by TR. 0-15. Rafa checks the mark and asks chair umpire to check it. It looks out to me. Confirms that Rafa was right. He overturns call, Tommy not happy. 15-0. BH into net by Rafa. Tommy worked hard for that point. 15-15. Fault. Great point by TR. 15-30. Keep fighting, Rafa!!! Fault. TR took advantage of a short ball. 15-40. Two BP's by TR. Tommy is pumped. Vamos, Rafa!!! BH goes long. Saves one BP. Vamos, Rafa!!! BH goes wide. Deuce. Vamos, Rafa!!! Adjusts pants, so he's a bit nervous there. Great FH by Rafa. Ad Rafa. Fist pump by Rafa. Tommy misses BH. Great game by Rafa.

5-3, RN.

Robredo to serve. Sorry I'm getting more scores wrong here. It's so much to be able to watch his match instead of just following scores. 30-0. Rare UE by Rafa. Fault. Tommy pulls the BH trigger; it goes out. 30-15. He's making a lot of errors of that side. Fault. Overruled, Rafa agrees. First serve. FH goes wide. 30-30. Rafa hits BH long. 40-30. Rafa is fighting for every point, though. TR misses FH. Deuce. TR is pressing, according to commentators. Fault. BH into net. Ad TR. TR holds.

5-4, RN

Rafa to serve for set. Rafa adjusts socks, and his pants. Commentators talking about his idiosyncracies. Fault. We must getting the Spanish feed for this match. Because the graphic just said Rafa is serving for the set, but said it in Spanish. 15-0. FH goes long. 15-15. He needs to shave. I don't think he shaves at all during events. TR passes. 15-30. Rafa got to the drop shot, but couldn't do much win it. This is an important point. Vamos, Rafa!!! Fault. FH goes wide. Rafa yells something. 30-30. Rafa pounds forehands to TR's backhand. 40-30. Punto de Set. According to the Spanish graphic. My Spanish has improved in the three years I've been doing this site. Winner by TR, FH going behind Rafa. Deuce. Beautiful serve, and Rafa serves and volleys. Another set point. Vamos, Rafa!!! Punto de set 2. Fh winner by Rafa. Fist pump. Rafa takes first set, 6-4.