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Nadal fever has swept across the UK faster than a forest fire and shows no sign of abating. Following the young Majorcan’s triumph at Wimbledon, the British press just can’t get enough of him. Call it love at first sight, but not since Princess Diana, has there been such an outpouring of the pen. Unquestionably Rafael Nadal is king of the racket but he is also being hailed as the “champion of the people”, a genuine, unaffected good guy who despite his enormous wealth and fame, is just a simple man at heart.
Astonishing though it may seem, it’s all true but there’s more to it than that. Rafael Nadal is a true Majorcan and has Majorcan values. When I talk to locals about the charisma of “Rafa”, they shrug and smile and wonder what all the fuss is about. Of course he’s courteous, well mannered and sincere, they say. It is what they would expect of one of their countrymen and of a boy brought up in a hard working, honest Majorcan family. All the islanders are fiercely proud of their hero but in an understated and modest way. They have shared his victories and last year, his pain, but rather like the man himself they don’t like to crow.
Several of my Majorcan friends know Rafael Nadal and say that he and his family, based in the working town of Manacor, are close-knit and share simple pleasures. When off the court and back on the island his passions are golf, computer games, swimming and spending time with his girlfriend Xisca whom he’s known since childhood. His favourite pastime is fishing with his grandfather and he enjoys traditional Majorcan food. Occasionally he comes up to my neck of the woods and goes fishing with a local restaurateur near Soller Port. As a child he was so talented at sport that the family wasn’t sure where his real sporting prowess would lie. He could have been a champion footballer –his childhood dream-like his famous uncle Angel, a legendary footballer, but finally he settled on tennis. With the constant support of another uncle, Toni, who was also a professional tennis player, and the entire family, Rafael Nadal worked diligently, honing his considerable talent to become the world’s number one tennis player.
A young Majorcan friend sent to Paris on a conference, found to his amazement that Rafael Nadal and his uncle Toni were staying at the same hotel. He politely greeted them in the foyer and delighted to meet a fellow Majorcan, they instantly invited him to breakfast. On learning that he couldn’t afford a ticket for the French Open, they insisted that he and his friends join them in their private box throughout the tournament. My friend returned fromm Paris with photos and autographs and we hung on his every word, smitten and starry-eyed, lapping up yet another story of our hero’s largesse.
When other sports stars abuse their status and money, throw tantrums, sulk and complain about the spectators, Rafael Nadal’s humility and good sportsmanship are once again thrown into sharp relief. He is a true gentleman on and off the court but above all he is a happy, uncomplicated and dedicated Majorcan, grateful for the opportunities that his immense talent have brought him and appreciative of those of us who lend him our unwavering support.
With Rafa Nadal, what you see, really is what you get.
Source: http://my.telegraph.co.uk/expat/annanicholas/202/rafael-nadal-man-or-myth/
After a deserved holiday, Rafa Nadal will begin training on Thursday for the last part of the season in America. The year so far couldn’t have been better for the world No.1. He ended the clay-court season with an impeccable record and 4 titles, and if that wasn’t already a great feat, he completed (a very short) but perfect grass season with a second Wimbledon title.
Rafa will be looking at improving his game and probably chance his strategy to suit the famously fast American hard-courts. His aim is to continue to improve his performance and hopefully win the one Grand Slam Title missing in his trophy cabinet. Before travelling to New York though, he has two Masters Series events to play.
The first stop will be at the Rogers Cup tournament in Toronto, (where he won the title twice, in 2008 and in 2005) followed by Cincinnati. Two crucial events that will help him face the Grand Slam of the season.
Whatever happens from now on though, Rafa has secured a place in the 2010 Masters event in London which features the best eight players of the world.
¡Vamos Rafa!
Source: http://www.rafaelnadal.com/content/rafa-returns-thursday
How much does history motivate you? Do you know, for instance, whose record you tied today?
The history is there for sure, being part of these players -- Connors, Agassi, Lendl -- it's amazing. Just an honor to be close to these players. But I am 24 years old and it's very difficult to talk about the history now, where I am. In my opinion the Grand Slams are not the only thing to value ... I don't have a lot of the information, but what Lendl did at the Masters was amazing. We have to see. We have to value different things, no? We have to see when I finish my career where I am. Right now I am very happy -- I never thought I can be here with 18 Masters 1000 and eight Grand Slams.
Does it mean anything to you that at the same age, you're ahead of where Roger Federer was with Grand Slams?
No, I think every career is different. For me, it's amazing winning here on grass, winning on hard court in Australia. I hope to do well at the U.S. Open for sure -- I've reached semifinals the last two years. For Roger, I think ... maybe it's easier than for me because I am especially [good] on clay and we have only one [clay-court Slam]. I can play very well on grass, too. But hard court players, they have more chances than the clay-court specialists. They have three. We have one. For sure I can play well on grass ... but the chances are less.
Do you still think of yourself as a clay-court specialist, even now that you've won two Wimbledon titles?
I don't feel like a clay-court specialist. Not now and not even when I didn't win [on other surfaces]. In 2005, I won in Montreal, very difficult. I won in Madrid [when it was an indoor event] on a very fast surface, too. I didn't play my best tennis at hardcourt or grass Grand Slams at that moment, but I was able to do it. I think I am a complete player. I can play well on all the surfaces. For me, the clay might be easiest but I am not a specialist on clay. I have five finals at Roland Garros. I have four here.
There are people who say Roger is over the hill, that he won't come to the top again. What's your opinion?
My opinion is that everyone said the same two years ago and after that he won in Australia, he won in Roland Garros, he won Wimbledon, he won the U.S. Open, so we will see what happens. Roger is good enough, he has enough experience. For sure it's difficult what he did the last seven, eight years, impossible to repeat for another player ... Roger is going to be there, I'm sure of it.
You talk about your difficulties, what is not easy for you. Is it more difficult to face problems on court or in your private life? Which, in your opinion, was the biggest problem you ever faced?
You're talking about the divorce of my parents?
No. Everything.
I think the tennis is only a game. You can lose. You can win. After that? In life, there are much more important things than tennis. I know that for sure ... I didn't have a lot of problems in my private life and I feel very lucky for that. But you always have things. For sure, the tennis right is an important pat of my life -- it's my work -- and I have a few health problems for the last few years, especially last year. But I feel lucky. Even then I felt, "You've won six Grand Slams, you've won a lot of titles. You're 23 years old. Be calm and be happy. What you have already is a lot."
Q: Do you believe in God? We see football players crossing themselves. You don't do that. Do you do praying?
A: It's hard to say, "I don't believe in God." I would love to know if God exists. But it's a very difficult thing for me to believe. I don't know. It's private and I don't want to speak about it, but I say, "If God exists, you don't need [to cross yourself] or pray." If God exists, he's intelligent enough to [do] the important things, the right things.
Can you describe glory?
The glory is being happy. The glory is not winning here or winning there. The glory is enjoying practicing, enjoy every day, enjoying to work hard, trying to be a better player than before.
Rafa Nadal confessed on Sunday that he "cried like a little boy" watching Spain defeat Netherlands in the World Cup 2010 final. The eight-time Grand Slam winner and current Wimbledon champion is an avid football fan but after following most of the World Cup on TV in London and Mallorca, he flew all the way to South Africa for the final where he had the chance to take his trademark bite of the coveted golden trophy while celebrating with the football heroes in the locker room.
The 24-year-old not only witnessed at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg la Furia Roja claim their first ever World Cup triumph thanks to Andres Iniesta's extra-time winner, but also had the chance to join the team on the pitch, in the locker room and later again at a private party.
Speaking afterwards, Rafa said that the Iberian nation should celebrate the win for at least a full twelve months given the scale of the accomplishment.
"I cried like a little boy," he said to Marca. "We have to celebrate for a whole year, because this is unbelievable. It is very difficult to repeat this.
"It will be crazy at home. Imagine, I was watching the semi-finals in Mallorca and I felt amazing.
"The whole country must be very proud of the team."
The World Cup triumph came exactly seven days after Rafa claimed his second Wimbledon title with victory over Tomas Berdych in the final, an achievement that earned the praise of Spain's manager Vicente del Bosque
Source: http://www.rafaelnadal.com/content/whole-country-must-be-very-proud
L'absence de Rafael Nadal a fait mal à l'Espagne en quarts de finale de la Coupe Davis.
Privée du numéro un mondial qui veut reposer ses genoux après sa victoire à Wimbledon, l'Espagne, championne au cours des deux dernières années, a perdu ses deux premières rencontres contre la France vendredi à Clermont-Ferrand.
D'abord, Gaël Monfils a donné les devants à l'Hexagone en prenant la mesure de David Ferrer au terme d'un long marathon de cinq manches remporté 7-6 (7/3), 6-2, 4-6, 5-7 et 6-4.
En soirée, Michaël Llodra, 35e mondial, a causé toute une surprise en s'imposant contre Fernando Verdasco, 10e au classement masculin, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-3 et 7-6 (7/2).
Samedi, Verdasco et Feliciano Lopez tenteront d'éviter l'élimination dans leur duel contre Julien Benneteau et Llodra. En plus d'un siècle de Coupe Davis, la France n'a perdu qu'à deux reprises après avoir mené 2 à 0. La dernière fois, c'était en 1956!
À Split, en Croatie, les Serbes et les Croates sont à égalité. Novak Djokovic a procuré l'avance à la Serbie grâce à un gain de 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 et 6-1 contre Ivan Ljubicic.
Mais Marin Cilic a ramené tout le monde à la case départ en défaisant Viktor Troicki 6-4, 7-5 et 6-2.
À Moscou, Russes et Argentins sont aussi nez à nez. La victoire de 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (8/6) de David Nalbandian contre Nikolay Davydenko a donné les commandes à l'Argentine.
Mikhail Youzhny a cependant créé l'égalité en triomphant de Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 6-1 et 6-4.
Puis, à Coquimbo, les Tchèques ont surpris les Chiliens 2-0. Le pire choc pour le Chili est survenu avec la défaite de 0-6, 2-6 et 3-6 de Nicolas Massu face à Ivo Minar, 247e raquette du monde. Massu, 101e mondial, n'avait pas encaissé la défaite en Coupe Davis depuis 2007 contre la Russie.
Jan Hajek a complété le balayage tchèque du jour en battant Paul Capdeville 6-0, 6-2 et 6-1.
Agence France-Presse |
Rafael Nadal, N.1 mondial de tennis, a affirmé jeudi que ce serait pour lui «un honneur» d'aider le club de football Majorque, en difficultés financières et qui a demandé fin mai à être déclaré en cessation de paiements devant un tribunal de Palma, à aller mieux.
«Si ma contribution et mon image peuvent aider le club à aller un peu mieux, alors, ce sera un honneur pour moi», a déclaré à la presse Nadal, vainqueur du dernier Wimbledon dans la foulée de son succès à Roland-Garros.
Fin mai, la dette du club, 5e du dernier Championnat d'Espagne, était estimée par la presse espagnole à 50 à 60 millions d'euros. En juin, Majorque a été racheté par un consortium conduit par l'ancien entraîneur et natif de Majorque Lorenzo Serra Ferrer.
Le 2 juillet, le Danois Michael Laudrup, 46 ans, a été nommé au poste d'entraîneur.
Hello everyone and BIG THANKS to you all.
You can imagine two things of me today: 1) I am over the moon and 2) I am very tired and need holidays!
The first one is difficult to explain further. The sensation to win the tournament of my dreams for the second consecutive time (I didn’t play here last year) and doing it after winning Roland Garros too is something it was difficult to imagine just one year ago. I was suffering, watching the final on TV at home on my sofa, and wondering how things were going to unfold in my career. But today I am again with this special feeling of winning the biggest and most important tennis tournament in the world.
The second one is long to explain. I am not that tired from the match itself. To be honest all the media work I did after the match was longer than the match itself. I got to the house at 9.30pm and only had 5 minutes to get changed. I was then back in the car talking to Spanish radio stations and only finished when I got to the hotel for the Ball. But also tired for these past 16 weeks where I only had a few days at home.
Now it is time to get treatment and rest for 2 weeks, a full 2 weeks of not playing tennis and simply enjoying my holidays!
To end this blog and to end this 2 weeks of being with you, I want to really thank you for your support. I truly mean when I say that I feel at home here in Wimbledon. I feel the warmth of the fans here like at home and I feel the respect for the game, for our sport. For me it is really an honor to play here and a dream to have done what I managed to do on Sunday.
Many thanks also to The Times for giving me this opportunity and I hope we continue with this tradition now that is also lucky for me!
Your Rafa
En 2010, Babolat a franchi la barre symbolique des 100 millions d'euros de chiffre d'affaires, à 117 millions (+ 22 %) pour l'exercice 2009-2010 clos au 30 juin. Sa marge nette devrait être comprise, comme chaque année, entre 5 et 10 %. En dix ans, son chiffre d'affaires (30,9 millions d'euros en 2001) aura presque été multiplié par quatre... « Tout le développement de l'entreprise, depuis sa création, s'est bâti sur l'innovation, une priorité », explique Éric Babolat, PDG (cinquième génération) de cette PME familiale créée il y a 135 ans et toujours installée dans le quartier de Gerland à Lyon.
Souvent pionnier
Éric Babolat aime rappeler que son aïeul a inventé les cordages de tennis en boyaux naturels, à la demande d'un fabricant de raquettes anglais, un an après la naissance du tennis en 1874. Chacun des descendants a ensuite apporté son lot d'innovations avec le cordage VS au début du xxe siècle, les cordages synthétiques (nylon, polyester, polyuréthane) dans les années 1950, la fabrication de raquettes en 1994. L'actuel PDG n'est pas en reste : il a lancé une première chaussure de tennis Babolat en 2003, conçue en collaboration avec... Michelin. « L'alliance de deux spécialistes du tennis et de l'adhérence au sol », résume-t-il. Elle a ouvert la voie à une gamme complète et à des produits textiles pour les sports de raquettes. En 2010, la PME a aussi lancé le RPM Blast, un cordage synthétique monofil utilisé par son « team » de joueurs, Nadal, Tsonga et Stosur. La PME consacre 10 % de son chiffre d'affaires à la R&D.
Babolat mène une politique de partenariat et de marketing très active avec les joueurs du top mondial. Là encore, le budget en communication, marketing et joueurs représente 10 % de son chiffre d'affaires. Associer les champions aux produits pour populariser la marque auprès des licenciés et amateurs, la recette est vieille comme le tennis chez Babolat. Déjà « les Mousquetaires » jouaient avec ses cordages, puis Arthur Ashe, Borg, Wilander, Noah, Sampras, etc. Avec Moya, Roddick et Nadal utilisant à la fois ses cordages et ses raquettes, Babolat est devenu l'un des leaders mondiaux. Numéro un historique pour les cordages, l'entreprise est première ou troisième, selon les pays, pour les raquettes. Son département compétition se charge de détecter très tôt les futurs champions puis de les accompagner pendant leur carrière, tel Nadal, repéré à l'âge de 13 ans.
Mais la plus grande innovation d'Éric Babolat est d'avoir déployé la marque à l'international (80 % du chiffre d'affaires) à travers 20.000 magasins et 30.000 clubs de tennis. Pour la PME qui emploie 300 personnes dans le monde, dont la moitié à Lyon, les raquettes (50 %) tirent désormais le chiffre d'affaires de la PME, devant le cordage (20 %), les chaussures/textile (15 %), les balles et accessoires (10 %) et le badminton/padel (5 %).
Source: http://www.latribune.fr/entreprises/tpe-pme/441824/babolat-signe-le-double-wimbledon-roland-garros.htmlWIMBLEDON - FINALES MESSIEURS
Rafael Nadal (ESP, 2) bat Tomas Berdych (RTC, 12) 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 en 2h12
Que vous inspire le fait de réussir pour la deuxième fois à enchaîner victoire à Roland-Garros et à Wimbledon?
RAFAEL NADAL : "Lorsque je l'ai fait il y a deux ans, ce n'était plus arrivé depuis Borg, c'est ça? Et voilà que je le fais pour la deuxième fois, ça montre juste à quel point c'est fou la vie."
Revenir ici et gagner a-t-il une saveur particulière?
RAFAEL NADAL : "Chaque victoire est spéciale, c'est difficile de dire que celle-ci l'est plus qu'une autre. En 2008, j'avais réalisé le rêve de ma vie en gagnant ici. Les circonstances du match aussi ont fait que l'émotion était incomparable. Mais c'est sûr que revenir après une année délicate et finir avec le trophée dans mon tournoi préféré, c'est fantastique."
A 24 ans, c'est déjà votre huitième titre du Grand Chelem...
RAFAEL NADAL : "C'est plus que j'imaginais dans mes plus beaux rêves. Ce qui m'est arrivé est incroyable. Je peux dire merci à la vie parce que je suis un chanceux. Huit de plus, je ne l'imagine pas. Si je termine avec huit, ce sera déjà une immense carrière, bien meilleur que tout ce que j'aurais pu espérer."
Comment va votre genou?
RAFAEL NADAL : "Je n'ai connu aucun souci aujourd'hui, comme c'était déjà le cas lors des derniers matches. Je vais maintenant suivre un traitement et me préparer pour la tournée américaine."
Vous attendiez vous à une plus grande résistance de la part de Berdych?
RAFAEL NADAL : "Je ne m'attendais à rien du tout. Avant chaque match, je me prépare seulement à me battre sur chaque point. J'étais plus nerveux que d'habitude. J'ai été un peu chanceux sur certaines balles de break. Mais j'ai tout donné sur chaque point. C'est important de montrer qu'on est là, tout le temps."
Vous avez encore été beaucoup encouragé...
RAFAEL NADAL : "Le public de Wimbledon est probablement le meilleur du monde. Il montre beaucoup de respect pour chaque joueur. Avec moi, les gens ont toujours été formidables ici, surtout il y a deux jours contre Murray. C'est un des leurs et ils l'ont bien sûr encouragé, mais moi aussi."
Et maintenant l'US Open?
RAFAEL NADAL : "Je suis déjà très heureux de gagner Wimbledon. L'US Open, je vais y penser dans un mois. Je vais essayer de gagner bien sûr. Mais je vais d'abord savourer ce titre, aller à la pêche, jouer au golf, à la plage et faire la fête avec mes amis à Majorque."
Que vous inspirent les succès à répétition des sportifs espagnols?
RAFAEL NADAL : "Depuis cinq ans, on a des résultats fantastiques dans des sports importants: Pau Gasol et l'équipe de basket, Alonso, Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Contador, avec les clubs en foot et maintenant on est en demi-finale de la Coupe du monde. C'est le meilleur moment de notre histoire. Il faut le savourer car on ne doit jamais oublier à quel point c'est difficile d'y arriver et parce que ce sera difficile de retrouver une génération aussi talentueuse."
Source: http://www.eurosport.fr/tennis/wimbledon/2010/nadal-c%27est-fou-la-vie_sto2386705/story.shtml