Roma: Rafa vs. Gonzalez (Set 1)
Federer won his match, but Almagro gave him a huge test. I'm hoping that Gonzalez doesn't do the same with our boy, but I'm concerned about this match. When I first saw the draw, I was most worried about this potential quarter. Vamos, Rafa!!!
Rafa and Fernando Gonzalez (No. 10 seed) just entered the court. Rafa was jumping up and down before he came out. He's making them wait while he gets out that package of stuff that he eats.
Rafa is eating that stuff, while the umpire and Gonzo wait. He really should get up and do the toss. Got the bottles adjusted, and now he's ready. He's jumping. Nadal won toss and we think he chose to receive.
Rafa is wearing the same outfit. White piratas, lime green shirt and white bandana.
Carlos Moya is there supporting Rafa. Very cool. :D The match is about to start.
FG to serve. Fault. FH goes long. 15-0. Good serve. 30-0. Let. Good angle by Rafa. 30-15. UE by FG. 30-30. Vamos, Rafa!!! Fault. Long rally, and Rafa made the FH error into net. 40-30. FG was pleased to win that point. Taking their time to recover. Commentators are saying it was a battle of wills. Fault. FH miss. Deuce. Rafa is going to FG's one-handed backhand, forcing the error. BH UE that time. Ad Rafa. Come on, Rafa!!! One BP. Fault. Gets second serve. Beautiful FH winner. Game Rafa.
1-0, RN.
Rafa to serve. Commentators are noting the way Rafa celebrates big points. Not like Hewitt, who was more in your face. Missed return. 15-0. Rafa hasn't shaed during this tournament. Another BH miss. 30-0. Good serve. 40-0. Shoes say Vamos Rafa. Beautiful forehand draws weak reply. Game Rafa.
2-0, RN.
FG to serve. Fault. 15-0. Fault. FH volley winner. 15-15. Rafa is peppering FG's backhand. Fault. FG's serving is helping, too. BH goes long. 30-15. Fault. His first serve percentage has to be bad. Let. Rafa missed return, although he had it set up. 40-15. Fault. FG misses BH. 40-30. Rafa is still battling in this game. Fault. DF. I had a feeling that was coming, given all the missed serves. Deuce. Missed FH. Another BP for Rafa. Ad Rafa. Vamos, Rafa!!! He made a first serve there and won the point. Deuce. Called a fault, but it was an ace, and overruled. Ad FG. Misses BH volley. Bad miss by FG. Deuce. Ace. Ad, FG. His serve is improving a bit in this game. Fault. Another good serve, and FH. Game, FG.
2-1, RN.
Rafa to serve. Commentators are noting how charamatic Rafa is. Adjusts socks, spits into the clay (that's a new habit he has picked up). BH pass by FG, as Rafa went to the net. Rafa has to be careful about that. Rafa FH winner. 15-15. Fault. DF by Rafa. 15-30. First DF of match. Got lucky with that Gonzo return miss. 30-30. Vamos, Rafa!!! FH into net. 30-40. BP for Gonzo. Come on, Rafa!!! Keep fighting!!! Deuce. FH went just wide, although commentators thought FG has won game. Thankfully they aren't the chair umpire. Great point by Rafa. Ad Rafa. Fist pump. Game Rafa!!! Good hold!
3-1, RN.
FG to serve. He knows he let some chances slip in that last game. BH goes wide. 15-0. FG's serving is much better. Fault. Rafa's FH goes wide. 30-0. Good serve. 40-0. Wild FH. 40-15. Fault. FH goes long. Game FG.
3-2, RN.
Rafa to serve. Adjusts socks and spits again. Yuck!!! That's something that must help him in Rome. BH return goes wide. 15-0. Beautiful FH winner. 30-0. Rafa passed FG at the baseline. Great angle pass by FG. 30-15. FG's first fh winner. Fault. Keep fighting, Rafa!!! Great FH by Rafa, FG got it back, and they volley winner by Rafa. 40-15. Answering the question about whether Spaniards can vellye. FH goes wide. Game Rafa.
Would someone note on the MB that I'm doing the blog. Gracias!!!
4-2, RN.
FG to serve. Another FH error by FG. 0-15. Rafa misses BH, error forced by FG's forehand. 15-15. Fault. Let. Rafa misses overhead. 30-15. Missed BH down the line. 40-15. One thing is for sure, his BH is better than last year. Ace. Game FG.
4-3, RN.
Rafa to serve. He needs to keep focused on his serve, now that FG's serve is working better. They are talking about Rafa's bottle placement. Okay, picking two balls, adjusting socks and spitting. Adjusts pants for good measure. New balls. FG misses FH. 15-0. I have to say FG is hitting some pretty looping high backhands. It seems like it's 5 minutes before they bounce on the other side of the net. Fault. Now that was an amazing FH return. 15-15. Rafa will want a first serve here. Volley put away by Rafa. 30-15. FH down the line winner. Yells Vamos!!! 40-15. 6 winners on FH side, and 1 by FG. Misses the FH that time, though. 40-30. Come on, Rafa!!! Toni looks relatively comfortable. Misses another FH. Commentators are saying he is showing he is human. Deuce. I want him to become super-human again. Lucky let cord by FG. Great point, but unfortunately not for Rafa. BP. Vamos, Rafa!!! Rafa misses FH. And he is broken. Darn. He really did give FG a couple gifts in that game. We have a real dog fight here.
4-4, RN.
0-15. Keep fighting, Rafa!!! Fault. Exchange at the net, FG wins. 15-15. FG changes racquets. Fault. BH goes long. FG is definitely playing better now. 30-15. Stay focused!!! FG hits out, the umpire verifies it. 30-30. Adjusts pants, maybe that will help. Fault. Rafa earns BP. He jumps and yells Vamos!!! 30-40. This is becoming a thriller. Rafa breaks, after FG error. He runs to chair.
5-4, RN.
Rafa did will to break back. Now Rafa needs to consolidate for the set. Keep fighting!!! Adjusting socks and spitting again. Hope he doesn't continue to do that on hardcourts. Fault. Return into net. 15-0. FG has no idea why he missed it. BH wide. 30-0. FG misses dropshot. 40-0. Three set points!!! FG saves one with a volley pass. FH winner. Yells Vamos!!! Wins set. In 55 minutes.
6-4
Rafa and Fernando Gonzalez (No. 10 seed) just entered the court. Rafa was jumping up and down before he came out. He's making them wait while he gets out that package of stuff that he eats.
Rafa is eating that stuff, while the umpire and Gonzo wait. He really should get up and do the toss. Got the bottles adjusted, and now he's ready. He's jumping. Nadal won toss and we think he chose to receive.
Rafa is wearing the same outfit. White piratas, lime green shirt and white bandana.
Carlos Moya is there supporting Rafa. Very cool. :D The match is about to start.
FG to serve. Fault. FH goes long. 15-0. Good serve. 30-0. Let. Good angle by Rafa. 30-15. UE by FG. 30-30. Vamos, Rafa!!! Fault. Long rally, and Rafa made the FH error into net. 40-30. FG was pleased to win that point. Taking their time to recover. Commentators are saying it was a battle of wills. Fault. FH miss. Deuce. Rafa is going to FG's one-handed backhand, forcing the error. BH UE that time. Ad Rafa. Come on, Rafa!!! One BP. Fault. Gets second serve. Beautiful FH winner. Game Rafa.
1-0, RN.
Rafa to serve. Commentators are noting the way Rafa celebrates big points. Not like Hewitt, who was more in your face. Missed return. 15-0. Rafa hasn't shaed during this tournament. Another BH miss. 30-0. Good serve. 40-0. Shoes say Vamos Rafa. Beautiful forehand draws weak reply. Game Rafa.
2-0, RN.
FG to serve. Fault. 15-0. Fault. FH volley winner. 15-15. Rafa is peppering FG's backhand. Fault. FG's serving is helping, too. BH goes long. 30-15. Fault. His first serve percentage has to be bad. Let. Rafa missed return, although he had it set up. 40-15. Fault. FG misses BH. 40-30. Rafa is still battling in this game. Fault. DF. I had a feeling that was coming, given all the missed serves. Deuce. Missed FH. Another BP for Rafa. Ad Rafa. Vamos, Rafa!!! He made a first serve there and won the point. Deuce. Called a fault, but it was an ace, and overruled. Ad FG. Misses BH volley. Bad miss by FG. Deuce. Ace. Ad, FG. His serve is improving a bit in this game. Fault. Another good serve, and FH. Game, FG.
2-1, RN.
Rafa to serve. Commentators are noting how charamatic Rafa is. Adjusts socks, spits into the clay (that's a new habit he has picked up). BH pass by FG, as Rafa went to the net. Rafa has to be careful about that. Rafa FH winner. 15-15. Fault. DF by Rafa. 15-30. First DF of match. Got lucky with that Gonzo return miss. 30-30. Vamos, Rafa!!! FH into net. 30-40. BP for Gonzo. Come on, Rafa!!! Keep fighting!!! Deuce. FH went just wide, although commentators thought FG has won game. Thankfully they aren't the chair umpire. Great point by Rafa. Ad Rafa. Fist pump. Game Rafa!!! Good hold!
3-1, RN.
FG to serve. He knows he let some chances slip in that last game. BH goes wide. 15-0. FG's serving is much better. Fault. Rafa's FH goes wide. 30-0. Good serve. 40-0. Wild FH. 40-15. Fault. FH goes long. Game FG.
3-2, RN.
Rafa to serve. Adjusts socks and spits again. Yuck!!! That's something that must help him in Rome. BH return goes wide. 15-0. Beautiful FH winner. 30-0. Rafa passed FG at the baseline. Great angle pass by FG. 30-15. FG's first fh winner. Fault. Keep fighting, Rafa!!! Great FH by Rafa, FG got it back, and they volley winner by Rafa. 40-15. Answering the question about whether Spaniards can vellye. FH goes wide. Game Rafa.
Would someone note on the MB that I'm doing the blog. Gracias!!!
4-2, RN.
FG to serve. Another FH error by FG. 0-15. Rafa misses BH, error forced by FG's forehand. 15-15. Fault. Let. Rafa misses overhead. 30-15. Missed BH down the line. 40-15. One thing is for sure, his BH is better than last year. Ace. Game FG.
4-3, RN.
Rafa to serve. He needs to keep focused on his serve, now that FG's serve is working better. They are talking about Rafa's bottle placement. Okay, picking two balls, adjusting socks and spitting. Adjusts pants for good measure. New balls. FG misses FH. 15-0. I have to say FG is hitting some pretty looping high backhands. It seems like it's 5 minutes before they bounce on the other side of the net. Fault. Now that was an amazing FH return. 15-15. Rafa will want a first serve here. Volley put away by Rafa. 30-15. FH down the line winner. Yells Vamos!!! 40-15. 6 winners on FH side, and 1 by FG. Misses the FH that time, though. 40-30. Come on, Rafa!!! Toni looks relatively comfortable. Misses another FH. Commentators are saying he is showing he is human. Deuce. I want him to become super-human again. Lucky let cord by FG. Great point, but unfortunately not for Rafa. BP. Vamos, Rafa!!! Rafa misses FH. And he is broken. Darn. He really did give FG a couple gifts in that game. We have a real dog fight here.
4-4, RN.
0-15. Keep fighting, Rafa!!! Fault. Exchange at the net, FG wins. 15-15. FG changes racquets. Fault. BH goes long. FG is definitely playing better now. 30-15. Stay focused!!! FG hits out, the umpire verifies it. 30-30. Adjusts pants, maybe that will help. Fault. Rafa earns BP. He jumps and yells Vamos!!! 30-40. This is becoming a thriller. Rafa breaks, after FG error. He runs to chair.
5-4, RN.
Rafa did will to break back. Now Rafa needs to consolidate for the set. Keep fighting!!! Adjusting socks and spitting again. Hope he doesn't continue to do that on hardcourts. Fault. Return into net. 15-0. FG has no idea why he missed it. BH wide. 30-0. FG misses dropshot. 40-0. Three set points!!! FG saves one with a volley pass. FH winner. Yells Vamos!!! Wins set. In 55 minutes.
6-4
posted by Susan at 8:30 AM
5 Comments:
Gonzalez does not really worry me as much as Nalbandian in the final, and that is who it will be.
I am surprised that Roger beat Nicolas Almagro. Almagro would have beaten the Argentine wannabe Nº2 but Federer will not, not the way he is playing this week.
Bang goes my $10 wager for an Almagro-Nadal final, though!
Good morning Susan,
VAMOS RAFA
I see Carlos Moya is there to cheer Rafa on along with us
thanks again for the blog susan! ur the best
~monica
I think he's spitting because dirt gets into his mouth :)
vAMOS rAFA
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