Rafael Nadal Gave His Girlfriend A Wildcard Into The Australian Open [Video]

That was a lovely and funny moment. The reaction of his girlfriend was great. She is a natural beauty.

January 23rd, 2017 at 5:01 pm

That was a lovely and funny moment. The reaction of his girlfriend was great. She is a natural beauty.

January 23rd, 2017 at 5:01 pm

She handled it with grace and class!! Love how sweet both of them are….She is SO adorable and loved her reaction too!

January 23rd, 2017 at 5:13 pm

hahah! funny.

January 23rd, 2017 at 6:02 pm

I hope he goes all the way and achieve double career slam. The only one left in the draw that can stop him is Stan, but so far he wasn’t impressive, not at all, but then again, he tends to raise his form once he is in the final.

January 23rd, 2017 at 6:26 pm

@Wog Boy…..What a nice thing to say about Rafa. It would be so special if he could……with all he’s been through, throughout his career. You are right about Stan he can turn it on. Not sure if is ever in Stan’s mindset to beat his best Swiss bud……that is if Mirka ever lets them hang together occasionally. Lol Will it be a new champ or an old champ???? Also sorry about Novak…..he just didn’t have that winning look in his eyes like we’re used to…..I think something is amiss with him. If so hopefully he can get it straightened out soon! Okie

January 23rd, 2017 at 6:52 pm

ah, very cute. i think rafa has an excellent shot at the title.
good luck to him.

January 23rd, 2017 at 7:25 pm

No worries Okie. You don’t have to be sorry about Nole, I am not. I have never seen top athlete to self distract as Nole did, that was his choice, but his attitude, time and time again, was disrespectful towards army of his fans and that what hurts, not defeats, we were through thick and thin with Nole all those years, but he was fighting, he had “This is Sparta” attitude, not anymore and I don’t believe he will have his last hurrah, he is done tennis wise.
At the same time he was struggling and losing at AO, Jelena was having fun on tweeter and of course preparing for the life after tennis (which is just around corner) and shopping in NY Soho by buying two apartments in “Renzo Piano’s Soho tower”, each 5+ million dollars, of course, there is nothing wrong with that…just timing. Somehow I think they’ll end up living in America.
I was at his match, came back from Melbourne last night, from the very first point I knew he is going to lose, even when he was 2:1 up I knew it. His game is non existent, no pop in his shots, no fire in his eyes. He looks exactly like someone sentenced to do hard work, that is the vibe when you watch him playing, but then again he said he is happy and everything is perfectly fine in his game and life, so let him enjoy his life…

January 23rd, 2017 at 7:31 pm

Xisca is a doll. She also has way more hair than me. That’s a good thing, no?

January 23rd, 2017 at 9:30 pm

WB,

Welcome back.
Woke up earlier to watch Wawa vs Tsonga.

I havw a thought: if Fed gets the title, do you think, that would motivate Novak to “come back”?

January 23rd, 2017 at 11:18 pm

I woke up to watch Wawrinka when it went tie breaker.

1) This is my first time to watch him play during AO, why is his knee taped?

2) This is why I don’t watch him, he was rude to the ball kids just now, and got into it with Tsonga after first set….go watch!!!

WHAT A JERK _ GO TSONGA

January 24th, 2017 at 12:12 am

Hi VP, thank.
I highly doubt it, I don’t think he really cares anymore, I watched him carefully last couple of months and in Melbourne in person, he looks like someone hijacked his body or even worse, like those people who just came out of the rehab with jelly eyes.
He got rid of the man he needed and stayed surrounded by “yes” people who care only about money, you don’t improve by doing so.
Of course, that’s my opinion and I am often wrong…

January 24th, 2017 at 12:19 am

J.S. I don’t think the Wawrinka and Tsonga get along with each other. There seems to be a history of them getting into it. https://www.google.com/amp/ftw.usatoday.com/2014/11/stan-wawrinka-france-davis-cup-bathroom-tsonga-monfils-beef/amp

January 24th, 2017 at 1:02 am

RZ
Thank you for that article….Shocked!!

This is a MESSY match, I feel bad for the crowd, yikes!

January 24th, 2017 at 1:11 am

watch out everyone! stanimal is coming

January 24th, 2017 at 1:37 am

RZ: I read that and it seems a bit of a storm in a tea cup to me. The French were a bit unnecessary. Losing hurts.
Meanwhile Stan is looking stronger and stronger. Just wiped the floor with JW.

January 24th, 2017 at 1:48 am

WB,

We will see, time will tell what is wrong with Novak. Do not expect great performance from him in the next months.

January 24th, 2017 at 1:55 am

Berghain,

Sorry for you, Stan won in 3 ;)

January 24th, 2017 at 1:56 am

Perhaps Wawa wants to prove, that he deserved that AO from 2014. To many implied, he won it, because Rafa was injured…partly he won that title because of that.

January 24th, 2017 at 1:57 am

VP: Always being in Fed’s shadow must be a bit irritating, to say the least!

January 24th, 2017 at 2:33 am

Yep, Wawa did not handle very good that “beeing in Fed’s shadow”.
Always admired Noles ability to make history in the last years, where everything was meant to be only about Fed and Rafa. Djoko really “beat the system”.

January 24th, 2017 at 2:40 am

VP: That is exactly why I admire Nole so much. He took it to Fedal whereas Andy couldn’t…..:(
Interesting in UK, every possible “new” star is greated with shouts of joy and quite a lot of media interest. I wonder if Stan was ever celebrated in Switzerland?
Apparently Dani and Dimi have stayed with Andy in Miami and practised with him there. And that’s one of the things I love about Andy, his generosity and his interest/support for younger players.

January 24th, 2017 at 2:48 am

Margot,

I was glad about Mischa’s win…but I will be honest now. Andy pissed me off. He should have used the opportunity to win this AO. It’s his time now….and he missed such an occasion…

About Stan, I doubt he is celebrated the way Fed was.

January 24th, 2017 at 2:52 am

VP: Hoping Mischa follows it up….;) But very, very unlikely I’d say.
Do hope someone gets a first slam here, but again, very, very unlikely.

January 24th, 2017 at 3:07 am

Margot, if he pushes this match to a 5 setter, he will do enough for me.

P.S. Am surprised, that this is a night match. Wawa vs Tsonga had the higher ranked players.

January 24th, 2017 at 3:11 am

Fed already showing Andy what he should’ve been doing…:( Leads 3-0
Oh VP…..those schedules…;)

January 24th, 2017 at 3:34 am

and now 4-0.lol
Zverev is hopeless out there. Guess his brother would had done better.

January 24th, 2017 at 3:36 am

Mischa like a sitting duck at the net :/

January 24th, 2017 at 3:36 am

Probably 6-0 in a mo.!

January 24th, 2017 at 3:38 am

IMO This match will be over very quickly, would like Mishca to make it competitive but its looking unlikely, Fed in god mode again, anybody from the other half of the draw other than Rafa, would be easy fodder for Fed or Stan ….

January 24th, 2017 at 3:39 am

Willow…
I think Fed moves to finals playing like this, Feeling bad for Mishca but I guess thats part of it!
If Stan plays like he did today and Fed like this….Stan won’t have a chance either!

January 24th, 2017 at 3:48 am

6-1 first set! this is ending quickly folks!

January 24th, 2017 at 3:48 am

Mishca is playing better now..Maybe settled in a little bit now?
NERVES FOR Mishca, glad he is playing now, at least making Fed work now.

January 24th, 2017 at 3:55 am

3 BP’s Mischa!!! Wow :)

January 24th, 2017 at 3:55 am

He broke!!! Yaaay!

January 24th, 2017 at 3:55 am

I think and hope Mischa starts to play now. He was overwhelmed by the occasion and probably too nervous at the start, but now is the time.

And, here’s the break for Zverev!

January 24th, 2017 at 3:56 am

Fed broke back. D*mn!!

January 24th, 2017 at 3:58 am

J.S I See what your saying, but sometimes you dont need to play well, sometimes its just about getting through, and Stan is an unpredictable player that can catch fire out of nowhere ….

January 24th, 2017 at 4:15 am

Sad when the crowd cheers an error from an opponent ….

January 24th, 2017 at 4:17 am

J.S Also you have to bear in mind Stan is a 3 time GS champion, and a completely different player to Mischa ….

January 24th, 2017 at 4:19 am

Mischa is making some great shots! Much better 2nd set….he is a fighter! Terrible crowd Willow, never would I do that even against Wawrinka haha!

January 24th, 2017 at 4:23 am

2nd set Fed 7-5. At least it’s not a route.
VP: I think junior Zverev would/will do better. More to his game and he has no fear.

January 24th, 2017 at 4:23 am

Agree Margot,

Plus I think Zverev Jr. plays better against Fed than against Rafa.
Hope that Mischa is able to take at least 1 set.

January 24th, 2017 at 4:27 am

Yep hope it goes to 4….
Zverev Jr. has no fear because he is young. Zverev family has a lot to be proud of after this tourney!! :)

January 24th, 2017 at 4:34 am

Nice interview between Jim and Rafa, Xisca is a gorgeous looking girl, they are a cute looking couple ….

January 24th, 2017 at 4:35 am

“Yep hope it goes to 4….”

J.S., For the beauty of tennis, 5 would be much better,hehe :)

January 24th, 2017 at 4:36 am

I Very much doubt we will get 4 sets never mind 5, Mischa has no answer to Feds awesome play im afraid ladies ….

January 24th, 2017 at 4:39 am

Fed broke. Guess it’s over!
Wawa-Fed should be a good match.

January 24th, 2017 at 4:40 am

And Fed wins in 3. My word he looked sharp out and so blooming fast. Mind you, I think Mischa played into his hands, if you’ll pardon the pun….
Stan v Fed gonna be very interesting. Not sure I can place a bet.

January 24th, 2017 at 5:00 am

Congrats to Fed and fans, the man looks very good ;-) ….

January 24th, 2017 at 5:00 am

Willow. You really keep me in stitches. You are so busy sucking up to fed and fans. Do you congratulate Rafa when he wins a match? No you don’t!! Sheeesh!

January 24th, 2017 at 6:08 am

Stan’s never beaten Fed on a hard-court.

January 24th, 2017 at 6:41 am

13 semis finals or better at AO and 85 match win here! Impressive.

Fed knows how to play wawa in a HC, slice bothers him more and he will keep changing the rhytm and deny Wawa tine to unleash his strokes. But can’t see a sttaight set ein for neither, should be 4 or 5.

January 24th, 2017 at 6:53 am

will raonic beat nadal?

January 24th, 2017 at 7:32 am

I Havent watched Raonic to know how well hes playing, but personally i have no problem with him if he does Fedexpress ….

January 24th, 2017 at 7:40 am

Would love to see maybe one more Fedal final for old times sake ;-) ….

January 24th, 2017 at 7:41 am

willow, i couldnt take another fedal gs final for various reasons in case nadal wibs

1) nadal inching closer to 17
2) nadal winning a gs where fed lost 3 gs finals in the span in which nadal did nothing in grand slams
3) 4th conesecutive gs final loss and his gs win loss ration taking a hit

above all, fed hasnt beaten nadal in their 3 AO meetings. choked two of them.

January 24th, 2017 at 7:54 am

Fedexpress tennis is always the winner no matter who wins between these two, all depends though if your a fan of Federer the player or his legacy, Federer has looked very good in this slam, Nadal is still a bit hit and miss, so there could be a surprise if the two do meet in the final, besides Federers records i doubt will ever be broken, but his 17 GS are not his personal property or something he or any other player have some god given right to keep ….

January 24th, 2017 at 8:07 am

thats right willow, but he had so many near misses the last years so he deserves one more GS imo.

January 24th, 2017 at 8:14 am

Alot of players have near misses, doesnt mean they deserve anything anymore than any other player, you dont get what you deserve, you get what you earn, what about Andy losing 5 finals ? ….

January 24th, 2017 at 8:16 am

Grumpy Stan is one of my favourites but I think he’ll need to up his game for his next match – wonder if Mrs. Roger will be in the front row for the match….

Rafa vs. Milos – it will be very competitive….but I think Rafa will win in 5 sets.

January 24th, 2017 at 8:17 am

Giles im delighted for Rafa, it goes without saying, believe me ive had my fair share of arguments with the different fan bases in case you hadnt noticed, no sucking up merely objective i wouldve thought, just want a bit of peace and quiet to enjoy the tennis now, love Rafa cant express that nearly enough, and i would be delighted to see him lift GS trophy number 15 on Sunday ;-) ….

January 24th, 2017 at 9:17 am

in AO site Roddick gave a statement and he is absolutely right: if Fedal final happens it will be the most important Grand Slam match of our time. 17-14 at stake, either ends as 15-17 with RG just around the corner and a fully back and confident Nadal. suddenly he is back in GOAT contention, whereas Djoko was highlighted the one to potentially challenge Fed a year ago, but big question mark now; or Fed ends up 18-14, beating his nemesis again i a Slam in over a decade and basically ending the GOAT debate for good. Even if Nadal builds on thsi and wins La Decima in RG, 18-15 won’t change much. 18 would be an impossible number to get at this point.

If that match happens it will be HUGE. Of course, 3 more matches before we can start dreaming about it: Nadal-Raonic, Fed-Wawa and Nadal-Dimi/Goffin

January 24th, 2017 at 9:33 am

Old man will crush cry baby! Lol

January 24th, 2017 at 9:34 am

Daniel, or Raonic-Dimi/Goffin ;)

January 24th, 2017 at 9:47 am

best would be raonic withdraws tomorrow cause of flu lol

January 24th, 2017 at 9:50 am

Daniel,

Nr 18 would not be very safe. Just remember how many slams Serena won after 2012, she was over 30. Many were sure, Steffi’s record would be safe. Until Rafa and Nole won’t retire, don’t count them out.

January 24th, 2017 at 10:36 am

@Margot – yes, it does seem like a petty squabble after the Davis Cup, and I didn’t see anything wrong with Stan’s statement that he wasn’t the #4 ranked guy for no reason (i.e., based on his ranking he was supposed to be favored to win that match). But I’m guessing that there’s a deeper history here, perhaps even going back to their junior days. Jo-Wili doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy to get ruffled easily but clearly has issues with Stan, and at least in the public view of whatever is going on, seems to have started it with his comment about not trading careers. These statements could be viewed as harmless but if there’s a history there they could mean more.

January 24th, 2017 at 10:54 am

Regarding Fedal final, Fed would prefer to play Dim, Goffin, Raonic but not Rafa. Rafa would rather like to play Fed and not Wawa. Imo

January 24th, 2017 at 11:15 am

VP,

Yes, possible, but if Fed is indeed to acomplish it, he will be rasin the bar once more, winning a Slam at 35. The others will be there to prove themselves, and not everybody is Federer, have his game or can have his longevity. At best, will be an inspiration for Djokal.

Contenders are only Djoko and Nadal to reach 18.
Nadal would be slamless since RG 2014, that is 11 straight Slams with no title (if he doesn´t make finals this AO, not even a final in that spam) and he doesn´t win a HC title since Doha 2014. How will he win 4 more Slams as he is now a no show in Wimbledon? and going 3 RG with no title. Can´t see it happening.

Djoko is 3 straight Slams without a title and looking away and disinterested in tennis, just going thorugh the motions. He may turn it around or may not. Huge question mark and he will have to acomplish 6 Slams after 30, not seeing it happening at all.

To me, if Fed wins 18 this AO and Nadal doesn´t win RG 2017 (at 31) nor Djoko (4 Slams in a row with no title), pretty much game over for GOAT debate. Of course, possiblities will always remains as long as they are active, but realistic, not gonna happen.

January 24th, 2017 at 11:24 am

Daniel,

Thanks for the feedback. Always like to read your arguments. As much as I hate to say this, Djoko has something from Serenas personality. Both of them have many other passions, besides tennis. Serena also had moments, where she wanted to quit tennis, she had slamless years during her career and came back. Time will tell with Novak.

If Fed achieves the 18, yep, the bar is higher but not unreacheable.

January 24th, 2017 at 11:31 am

What’s the point in discussing his recent matches now?
Nole isn’t even in tennis. It’s not that he is great in many other areas.
He is just mentally diminished.

He’s here just for the money, and shits and giggles with the guru.
He certainly didn’t ask to return the the runner up and 2nd round money.

Since when was Roddick an outspoken wise expert?
He only opens his mouth about his daddy Fed when Novak has injuries and mental problems.

January 24th, 2017 at 12:04 pm

I will only believe Djoko is “gone” if he doesn´t win RG.clay susits his game the most and he can grind almost everybody (bar Wawa, if he is in 7th heaven again).

To me he is hugelly favored for RG again, with only Murray and Stan in his way. Unless Nadal proves himself again.

Maybe there, after he won it and start “losing” his passion is where he will find it again. To be seen.

January 24th, 2017 at 12:16 pm

Agree Daniel, until Novak wins (if) the next slam, he’s out of this discussion. I will givw him more time though, until the end of this season.

January 24th, 2017 at 12:42 pm

P.S. for Daniel,

Ken Rosewall is the oldest slam winner. Was 37 years old when he won the AO in 1972. Did not know that.

Am off now

January 24th, 2017 at 1:17 pm

@RZ, this Stan/Jo things has simmered for a while. I was watching Eurosport and Wilander was talking about them being friends, and I thought that is so off the mark. Tsonga said he wouldn’t want Stan’s career after he won the AO b/c he thought he deserved a slam as well (probably didn’t think Wawrinka would win 2 more). Stan took that really personally, b/c I think they were friends, and it blew up at the Davis Cup final. I didn’t have an issue with him saying he was #4 in the world, but it meant he became the bad guy in that final. Apparently, JMac was talking about Tsonga not liking that Stan had 3 slams, but that just comes from a tweet I saw.

January 24th, 2017 at 1:42 pm

@Wog Boy……I will agree with one of your points regarding Novak…….I too am not seeing the fire in his eye. Still thinking it’s just a hiccup in the wonderful career he has……..he will bounce back if his love of the sport burns deep inside him. We will see…..he is still an awesome player……maybe just the pressures of life bringing him down a bit. It happens to a lot of sport figures……..they have lots resting on their shoulders ……

January 24th, 2017 at 2:55 pm

Stan is no dear friend to Fed either.
Stan is no dummy. He’s similar to Novak in that when Fed lost more often than Stan did, and Fed lacked respect for him during Davis Cup, Stan stopped being his special friend.
When Novak saw the disrespect from Fed and Roddick, Novak stayed away from them most of the time.

January 24th, 2017 at 8:02 pm

Truth knows the personal feelings of all on tour. Please follow him and his posts, he spends time with all the families(apparently).

January 24th, 2017 at 9:08 pm

Lol skeeze, “alternative fact” isn’t at it again is he?

January 25th, 2017 at 1:29 am

Truth seems to have a morbid obsession with Roddick, a player that retired from tennis years ago ….

January 25th, 2017 at 2:47 am

Here is some stats for the Raonic/Nadal game – Should be an interesting match!
Anyone who likes stats might enjoy this article.

http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2017-01-25/ao_expert_nadals_three_serves.html

January 25th, 2017 at 3:15 am