mercredi 11 décembre 2013

Ronaldo, l'idole de Nadal

Dans le cadre de la rencontre de poker organisée demain à Prague par l'European Poker Tour, Rafael Nadal a déclaré toute son admiration pour son futur adversaire, l'ancien footballeur Ronaldo. On peut voir que la compétition a déjà commencé dans la tête de Rafa !

"Ronaldo a toujours été un de mes héros, et je suis vraiment impatient de l'affronter à la table de poker. Ce qui est génial avec le poker c'est qu'il s'agit d'un terrain de jeu où nous pouvons tous concourir. Il y a aussi beaucoup de points communs entre la stratégie dans le sport et au poker. Aussi il sera intéressant de voir comment il traduit son jeu au football à la table de poker."

Source: http://wlt.welovetennis.fr/rafael-nadal/76773-ronaldo-l-idole-de-nadal

Rafael Nadal, "R comme Renaissance"

Voici un texte qu'un internaute nous a fait parvenir par mail. Cette personne, grande fan de Rafael Nadal, a voulu rendre hommage au Majorquin. Malheureusement, la date de notre concours "Que voudriez-vous dire à Rafael Nadal ?" avait été dépassée, mais cette production aurait eu toutes ses chances ! Bonne lecture...


R comme Renaissance.

Nadal est un phénix qui renait de ses cendres. Malgré ses blessures, au prix d'efforts surhumains, il arrive à revenir au premier plan. Il ne cesse de nous étonner par sa capacité de résilience.

Que voudrais je dire à Nadal ?

Que j'ai repris goût au Tennis grâce à lui. Depuis le départ du génial Big Mac, de Noah, et surtout d'Agassi, j'étais en quête d'une nouvelle idole. Jusqu'à ce que je découvre Nadal, en 2005, à Monte Carlo ou Rome, je ne m'en souviens plus. Electro-choc immédiat. J'ai toujours eu un faible pour les gauchers. Mais alors... Je découvre un guerrier.Quelqu'un qui n'abdique jamais. Que de retournements improbables ! Depuis le départ de Borg, je n'avais jamais vu un défenseur si doué. Depuis Connors, je n'avais pas vu un tel combattant. Un modèle. Un exemple de perfectionnisme, de maîtrise de soi.

Mes plus grandes désillusions :

Son match perdu contre Robin Soderling à Roland Garros et l'attitude du public. Une blessure à 2 titres : Bien que Soderling soit un joueur fantastique, je n'ai pas accepté que Rafa perde contre lui. Ce joueur est à l'opposé de ce que Rafa est : un joueur sympathique, généreux,intègre, honnête, humble. J'étais d'autant plus en colère qu'il est arrivé à RG en pénitence tennistique, du fait de son calendrier. Mais cette défaite a été salutaire et lui a permis de passer en mode super Rafa. Quant à l'attitude du public, c'est encore une vraie blessure. Je n'arrive toujours pas à en parler.
Son match contre Jo Wilfried Tsonga à l'open d'australie, ou Jo avait joué le tennis de sa vie. J'ai gardé un temps un gout amer de cette défaite, car Jo avait pris la grosse tête et en rajoutait vis à vis de Rafa. Depuis, les choses se sont équilibrées. Jo a évolué et il respecte Rafa.
Autre défaite plus marquante : celle contre Novak Djokovic à l'Open d'Australie. Match qui s'est joué à un cheveu. Match que Rafa pouvait gagner en étant légèrement plus offensif à mon avis en retour de service. Sans compter les 7 défaites d'affilées face à Djoko en 2010. Un vrai calvaire pour un fan de Rafa.

Ma plus grosse joie :

Sa victoire face au Roi Roger en finale à wimbledon 2008. Il était passé si près l'année d'avant que j'avais trouvé cette défaite injuste. Que de progrès depuis ! Un match qui marquera à jamais l'histoire du tennis. Un match de titans. Deux personnages mythologiques : Un dieu et une créature mi-homme, mi-taureau : le Minotaure.
Autre évènement marquant : sa victoire à RG en 2013 face à Djoko qui l'avait laminé un mois plus tôt à Monte Carlo. Un happy end, un match au couteau que Djoko méritait de gagner tout autant que lui. Une revanche de l'open d'australie. Dernier point : sa victoire à l'us open 2013, tournoi si difficile pour lui, en raison de la qualité de ses adversaires, notamment de Djokovic qui peut le mettre en danger en 2 coups de raquette.

Ce que je souhaiterais lui dire :

Merci pour toute l'émotion qu'il m'apporte et pour l'exemple qu'il m'inspire à travers ce qu'il est.
J'aimerais qu'il soit plus offensif et qu'il colle davantage à sa ligne de fond, sur dur.
J'aimerais qu'il soit toujours plus percutant en revers slicé et à 2 mains.
J'aimerais aussi qu'il retrouve son service de l'us open 2010.

Ce dont je rêve :

Que Nalbandian le coache en duo avec Toni Nadal.
Je lui souhaite de prendre soin de ses genoux, pour durer le plus longtemps possible.
J'aimerais qu'il gagne encore l'australian open, wimbledon et roland garros, et les rares
Masters 1000 qui lui échappent encore.
J'aimerais qu'il tente plus souvent le service-volée.
J'aimerais lui dire tout simplement qu'il est un exemple pour chacun d'entre nous.
J'aimerais lui dire merci pour ce qu'il est.
J'aimerais lui dire que je vis chacun de ses matchs comme si ma vie en dépendait.
Quand il perd, le monde s'écroule pour moi. Ah qu'il est difficile d'être un joueur de tennis par procuration !

Le minotaure, fan inconditionnel de Rafa.

Source: http://www.welovetennis.fr/rafael-nadal/76753-rafael-nadal-r-comme-renaissance

Photos Facebook de Rafa/ Rafa's Facebook pictures

                                   First day of practice home. Getting ready for 2014.

               With the great jgomeznoya cycling in this wonderful area of Mallorca. I recommend it to you!
                           Good practice in the morning with my friend Tomeu. In the afternoon physical training.
 Playing heads up with Alfonso, getting ready to beat Ronaldo in the Prague Poker tournament. Anytime is good for practice.
                        Thanks a lot to Txema and thank all of you for attending this event for a good cause!
 Thanks for your participation! The answer to the question about my fishing picture is Tomeu Nadal! Yesterday I tried a bluff for #TGHP
 Thanks a lot to all readers of #Marca for this award, to be around so many Spanish sport legends is an honor!
 We start the Second challenge from #TGHP and I need to have more likes than my brother Tomeu Nadal and to make it possible I show you this picture that I wish you love it. Do you know who's that? Tomeu or me?

 We are now in Chile, with David and Nole to pay tribute to #NicolasMassu ! You are huge Nico!
                     I can now finally do it: I introduce you to my brother Tomeu Nadal

Rafael Nadal Training for 2014 + Interview

Rafael Nadal and Other Poker-Playing Sports Stars Auction Off Footwear for Charity

Poker is consistently lauded as a game that appeals to a wide variety of folks, from weekend grinders to international sports stars. Recently, more and more of these sports heroes have taken to the felt in major tournaments to showcase their skills. Among the athletes who have made their presence known in the poker world include former Manchester United, Tottenham, and England striker Teddy Sheringham; Spanish football sensation Gerard Pique; golfer Sergio Garcia; and tennis superstar Rafael Nadal.
All of those well-known athletes have all recently pitched in with a charity group called the Small Steps Project in an attempt to raise funds to help impoverished children around the world. Each athlete has donated signed footwear to the charity, which is currently being auctioned off online.
The footwear currently up for auction is as follows:
While each of these athletes are famous for excelling in their respective sports, each has produced results within the poker world as well. In 2012, Garcia made a deep run in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event where he ultimately finished in 51st place for $35,000. Sheringham has also found success on the European Poker Tour, as back in 2010 he managed to find a seat at the final table of the EPT Vilamoura Main Event. He was unable to score the title, but his impressive fifth-place finish scored him €93,121 ($118,347) in prize money.
Pique made a splash recently in Barcelona. The footballer participated in the first stop of the EPT's 10th season and walked away with a notable cash. Pique rose above a good chunk of poker's elite in the €10,000 High Roller event where he scored a 19th place finish worth €21,150 ($28,292) in prize money.
Meanwhile, Nadal will make his live tournament debut in just a few days when he vies for poker glory at EPT Prague.
The auctions for these esteemed players' footwear are currently running on eBay. The auctions will close Dec. 15, so if you wish to own the memorabilia from these athlete's careers, acting fast would be a wise option. The auctions are not just limited to sports stars who play poker, either, as the auction's main page will tell you. Kate Moss, Kelly Osbourne, Emma Watson, Natalie Portman, Ben Stiller, and Taylor Swift are just a few of the celebrities whose footwear is also up for grabs.
The Small Steps Celebrity Shoe Auction is the biggest celebrity shoe auction in the world. Through this project, the most famous stars in the world are helping to raise funds to help impoverished children in areas of need. Bidding on these shoes can make you a part of this process as well. An astounding 100% of the funds raised will go directly to the charity thanks to eBay Giving Works.

Source: http://www.pokernews.com/muck/rafael-nadal-and-other-poker-playing-sports-stars-auction.htm

The 50 Coolest Guys Of 2013

If you think you've seen group warfare when huddled around your consoles, talking football in the pub or arguing about why so and so is much better than whatisname, then you should have joined us when it came to collating this list.

It would be easy to just pick 50 cool blokes based on status, irrespective of whether they've been on the slide for years (Snoop Dogg, Johnny Depp, we're looking at you) but what we sought to find out was who are the 50 coolest blokes of this year.

Nostrils were flared, pencils thrown, hissy fits became the new black and we almost had to have an arm wrestling competition to decide the top 5. Alongside their fashion chops, we've taken in success, cultural impact, not giving a damn about what people think, wingman factor and more. Hope you like it...

And Rafa made the list of course at number...
31. Rafael Nadal, Tennis Player


Following an injury hit 2012, Rafael Nadal started the year by pulling out of the Australian Open and dropped out of the World Top Four for the first time since 2005. With knees made of glass, the swashbuckling left-hander looked to be done as a tennis player. No more exhaustive rallies, no more fist pumps, no more grinding opponents to dust. Luckily, he didn’t believe it, and has gone onto have one of the most successful seasons in men’s tennis history, winning 10 titles, two Grand Slams and finishing the season as World Number One. Bravo...

2013 By The Numbers: Titles By Rank, Age, And Other Statistics

Nadal© AFP/Getty ImagesRafael Nadal leads the ATP World Tour with in singles titles won this season.
ATPWorldTour.com takes a look at the 2013 season by the numbers.

In part one we look at the leaders in singles titles on the ATP World Tour - overall, by age, nationality, and other categories.


SINGLES TITLE LEADERS

Rafael Nadal made a successful return to the ATP World Tour after an eight-month layoff due to knee injury. In the 10 months since the Spaniard's comeback, he has erased any doubt about his place at the top of the game.
Singles Title Leaders By Surface
Player Total Clay Grass Hard
Rafael Nadal 10 6
4
Novak Djokovic 7 1
6
Juan Martin del Potro 4

4
Andy Murray 4
2 2
Richard Gasquet 3

3
David Ferrer 2 1
1
Fabio Fognini 2 2

Ernests Gulbis 2

2
Tommy Haas 2 1
1
John Isner 2 1
1
Nicolas Mahut 2
2
Milos Raonic 2

2
Tommy Robredo 2 2

Mikhail Youzhny 2 1
1


WINNERS BY AGE

Though slightly less than in 2012, the 30-and-over set continued to hold their ground this year, winning 16 titles. Tommy Haas (35) and Bernard Tomic (20) bookend the winners list.

Age Titles
20 1
21
22 3
23 1
24 5
25 8
26 17
27 10
28 3
29 1
30 4
31 7
32 2
33
34 1
35 2


YOUNGEST FINALS:

Brisbane - Andy Murray (25) d. Grigor Dimitrov (21)
Sydney - Bernard Tomic (20) d. Kevin Anderson (26)

OLDEST FINALS:

Munich - Tommy Haas (35) d. Philipp Kohlschreiber (29)
Bogota - Ivo Karlovic (34) d. Alejandro Falla (29)

30-OVER FINALS:

Valencia - Mikhail Youzhny (31) d. David Ferrer (31)
Newport - Nicolas Mahut (31) d. Lleyton Hewitt (32)
Halle - Roger Federer (31) d. Mikhail Youzhny (30)

WINNERS/FINALISTS BY SEED

Seed W-L
No. 1 18-12
No. 2 13-9
No. 3 6-9
No. 4 2-6
No. 5 7-2
No. 6 2-2
No. 7 1-1
No. 8 1-3
Nos. 9-16 2-3
Nos. 17-32 0-0
Unseeded 13-18
No. 1 vs. No. 2 3-6

ALL-TOP-10 FINALS

Australian Open - Novak Djokovic (1) d. Andy Murray (3)
Marseille - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (8) d. Tomas Berdych (6)
Duba - Novak Djokovic (1) d. Tomas Berdych (6)
Acapulco Rafael Nadal (5) d. David Ferrer (4)
Indian Wells - Rafael Nadal (5) d. Juan Martin del Potro (7)
Miami - Andy Murray (3) d. David Ferrer (5)
Monte Carlo - Novak Djokovic (1) d. Rafael Nadal (5)
Rome - Rafael Nadal (5) d. Roger Federer (3)
Roland Garros - Rafael Nadal (4) d. David Ferrer (5)
Wimbledon - Andy Murray (2) d. Novak Djokovic (1)
US Open - Rafael Nadal (2) d. Novak Djokovic (1)
Beijing - Novak Djokovic (1) d. Rafael Nadal (2)
Shanghai - Novak Djokovic (2) d. Juan Martin del Potro (5)
Basel - Juan Martin del Potro (5) d. Roger Federer (6)
Paris - Novak Djokovic (2) d. David Ferrer (3)
London - Novak Djokovic (2) d. Rafael Nadal (1)

SINGLES TITLES (19)/FINALS (24) BY COUNTRY

Country W-L Winners
Spain 17-18 Nadal-10, Ferrer-2, Robredo-2, Granollers, Lopez, Montanes
Serbia 8-2 Djokovic-7, Tipsarevic
France 7-8 Gasquet-3, Mahut-2, Simon, Tsonga
Argentina 7-5 del Potro-4, Berlocq, Monaco, Zeballos
Great Britain 4-1 Murray-4
Switzerland 2-5 Federer, Wawrinka
Germany 2-4 Haas-2
Canada 2-2 Raonic-2
Russia 2-2 Youzhny-2
United States 2-2 Isner-2
Croatia 2-1 Cilic, Karlovic
Italy 2-1 Fognini-2
Latvia 2-0 Gulbis-2


ALL-COUNTRYMEN FINALS

Montpellier - Richard Gasquet d. Benoit Paire (FRA)
Acapulco - Rafael Nadal d. David Ferrer (ESP)
Barcelona - Rafael Nadal d. Nicolas Almagro (ESP)
Munich - Tommy Haas d. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
Roland Garros - Rafael Nadal d. David Ferrer (ESP)
Metz - Gilles Simon d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)

DOUBLE BAGELS

There was one double bagel in 2012 and none in 2011 and 2010.

Roger Federer d. Mischa Zverev in Halle QF
Jarkko Nieminen d. David Goffin in 1R Rotterdam
Mohammed Safwat d. Jabor Mohammed Ali Mutawawa in 1R Doha

30-OVER WINNERS

2013 marks the most number of 30-over winners (16) since 1975, which saw 19 titles won by players over 30 years of age.

Player Tournament Age
David Ferrer Auckland 30 yrs., 9 months
David Ferrer Buenos Aires 30 yrs., 10 months
Tommy Robredo Casablanca 30 yrs., 11 months
Tommy Haas Munich 35 yrs., 1 month
Albert Montanes Nice 32 yrs., 6 months
Roger Federer Halle 31 yrs., 10 months
Feliciano Lopez Eastbourne 31 yrs., 9 months
Nicolas Mahut 's-Hertogenbosch 31 yrs., 5 months
Nicolas Mahut Newport 31 yrs., 5 months
Carlos Berlocq Bastad 30 yrs., 5 months
Ivo Karlovic Bogota 34 yrs., 4 months
Mikhail Youzhny Gstaad 31 yrs., 1 month
Tommy Robredo Umag 31 yrs., 2 months
Jurgen Melzer Winston-Salem 32 yrs., 3 months
Tommy Haas Vienna 35 yrs., 6 months
Mikhail Youzhny Valencia 31 yrs., 4 months


21-UNDER WINNERS

Player Tournament Age
Bernard Tomic Sydney 20 yrs., 2 months


WINNERS OUTSIDE THE TOP 100

Ernests Gulbis (Q), Delray Beach - No. 109
Nicolas Mahut (Q), ‘s-Hertogenbosch - No. 240
Nicolas Mahut (WC), Newport - No. 127
Ivo Karlovic, Bogota - No. 155

REPEAT WINNERS (12)

Andy Murray - Brisbane
David Ferrer - Auckland (three-peat)
Novak Djokovic - Australian Open (three-peat)
Milos Raonic - San Jose (three-peat)
David Ferrer - Buenos Aires
Rafael Nadal - Barcelona (three-peat) Rafael Nadal - Rome
Rafael Nadal - Roland Garros (four-peat)
Novak Djokovic - Beijing
Novak Djokovic - Shanghai
Juan Martin del Potro - Basel
Novak Djokovic - London Finale

WINNERS AFTER SAVING MATCH POINTS

Player Tournament/Round/Opponent M.P. Saved
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Marseille QF - d. Tomic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(10) 5
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Marseille F - d. Berdych 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 1
Andy Murray Miami F - d. Ferrer 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(1) 1
Fabio Fognini Hamburg F - d. Delbonis 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-2 3
Mikhail Youzhny Gstaad QF - d. Monaco 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(7) 3
John Isner Atlanta F - d. Anderson 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 7-6(2) 2
Joao Sousa Kuala Lumpur F - d. Benneteau 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 1


THE LAST TIME IN 2013 THAT...

... No. 1 and No. 2 seeds reached a final: No. 2 Novak Djokovic d. No. 1 Rafael Nadal - London-Finals (nine times in 2013, 12 times total in 2012, 11 in 2011) ... the top four seeds reached the semi-finals: Bangkok: 1. Tomas Berdych, 2. Richard Gasquet, 3. Milos Raonic, 4. Gilles Simon (also Australian Open, San Jose, Dubai)

... a player won the title without dropping serve: Ivo Karlovic (61 games) - Bogota; also Milos Raonic (39 games) - San Jose

... two left-handed players contested a final: Horacio Zeballos d. Rafael Nadal - Vina del Mar

... two unseeded players contested a final: Ivo Karlovic d. Alejandro Falla - Bogota (also Nice, Bucharest, Delray Beach, Sydney)

... two players outside the Top 100 contested a final: Ivo Karlovic (155) d. Alejandro Falla (122) - Bogota (also Delray Beach)

... a player outside Top 100 won a title: Ivo Karlovic (No. 155) - Bogota (four times overall in 2013)

... an unseeded player won a title: Mikhail Youzhny - Valencia (13 times overall in 2013)

... a wild card won a title: Juan Martin del Potro (d. Raonic) - Tokyo (six wild card winners in 2013)

Source: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2013/12/50/ATP-By-The-Numbers-2013-Part-1.aspx