Sporting Achievements!

[jo]

Jun 7, 2019 8:56:18 GMT -5 jo said:

She Won! Ms. Barty is the 2019 Women's Singles Champion for 2019 at the French Open at Roland Garros!

www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/world-reacts-to-ash-bartys-french-open-win/news-story/e06ba336e824294d67a02eda6b4d029e



Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!

Oi! Oi! Oi!

[jo]

Rafa Nadal wins his 12th Roland Garros ( French Open) title!!

sportstar.thehindu.com/tennis/french-open-rafael-nadal-defeats-dominic-thiem-claims-12th-roland-garros-title-surpasses-margaret-court/article27705514.ece



No one, man or woman, has ever won the same Grand Slam title 12 times!

And it has been said many times that "the most impossible feat in tennis, actually in any sports, is defeating Rafa Nadal at Roland Garros!" He has now won 93 matches to 2 losses at RG! Each tournament involves 7 matches to win the title. Each match involves the best of 5 sets!


Also, this brings up his Grand Slam Titles to 18!



CONGRATULATIONS!!

[jo]

Le Tour Eiffel also pays tribute --

[jo]

Roland Garros itself ( the Tennis Center of the French Open) pays tribute -- To a sporstman who has won 12 Roland Garros titles since he came into the scene in 2005!

Wittiest tweet --

[jo]

The first tennis player to be so honored while still competitively playing --

The French Open will build a statue in honor of Rafael Nadal at the Philippe Chatrier Court in Roland Garros!


www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Rafael_Nadal/72290/rafael-nadal-to-get-french-open-statue-in-2020/

[jo]

Roger and Rafa will be at it again -- at Wimbledon -- after 11 years! The last time they met was at the Finals for 2008 ( considered by many as the finest match ever in tennis history...and had the longest time involved for a finals match (close to 5 hours), so much so that the post-match ceremony was by candlelight( aka flashlights or whatever).

This is just a semifinal match but people are more excited about it than the finals because this legendary pair are sporting legends, tennis foes, and good friends as well ( they will play an exhibition match in South Africa in 2020, after years of persuading of Rafa by Roger to fit it in - Roger has SouthAfrican and Swiss ancestry). Roger is turning 38 soon while Rafa just celebrated his 33rd at Roland Garros ( where a statue honoring him will soon be built for having won 12 Grand Slams at the French Open). Roger is the top man at Wimbledon, having won 8 of those trophies.


And the match is setting a record for ticket prices at Wimbledon ( UK GBP 7000 or approx. US $10,000).

www.foxsportsasia.com/tennis/wimbledon/1137929/wimbledon-2019-ticket-prices-sky-rocket-for-roger-federer-vs-rafael-nadal-semifinal-starting-price-7000/

Jeff Dye
✔
@jeffdye
· 14h

Replying to @darrenrovell
Do they let you walk onto the court whenever you feel like it for that price?

Darren Rovell
✔
@darrenrovell

No Jeff, they let you have one of the WORST seats!

13
3:09 AM - Jul 11, 2019

Jo

[njr]

The pound is now $1.25, so £7000=$8759.17 😉

Still WAY too expensive!

Nancy

[jo]

If you are a great fan of the game and watch most of matches ( and all the Grand Slams) year round - it is a priceless experience that an 11-year wait for a FE-DAL rematch at Wimbledon is finally at hand! Their last meeting in 2008 is considered by most as the finest game ever played! They met in another semifinals recently -- but since Nadal is the King of Clay and Roland Garros is his personal territory, people ignored his straight 3-set win (of 5 sets) over Federer and considered it as matter-of-fact! Rafa is so dominant at the French Open that they are building a statue of him at Roland Garros (Tennis Grounds) to recognize his 12 GrandSlams there. He would be the only player who is still competing to be so honored... but Wimbledon is different because the surface changes to Roger's dominant surface - grass! So, we'll see who gets to compete in the finals eventually.

Plus there is this little matter of who will eventually emerge as the game's G.O.A.T which is also tickling the fans's minds. Roger has the highest total GS ( 20) as of now while Rafa has 18. Novak who is also fast catching up is now at 15. By comparison, the next one is retired Pete Sampras at 14 GS.


Jo

[jo]

Roger won the rematch!

Even Hugh watched it ( check his Instagram Stories) -- "What a game! Two great champions!"


In Zurich, Roger and Mirka came to watch Hugh's show!


Jo

[jo]

Bittersweet sporting achievements this weekend --

*At the racing circuit which drivers rate as their favorite ( aka very difficult and challenging), Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the current F-1 race saw the first Grand Prix win of Ferrari rookie Charles Leclerc (whom some call as a young Hugh Jackman lookalike). As he wound up the last circuit round, he pointed to the heavens -- he was dedicating his first win to a friend and Monaco co-resident Anthoine Hubert who was fatally injured in a F-2 crash the day before in the same track. It reminded people that while motor-racing sports is exciting, it is also a very dangerous sports!

*Stan Wawrinka, after recovering from surgery 2 years ago, won an upset over first seed Nole Djokovic, who retired in the third set ( after losing the first 2 to Stan) because of a recurring shoulder injury. Some retire while others do hang on out of respect to the opponent. But it also underscores that while we enjoy the best athletics from these players, there is also a reminder of the physical difficulties that athletes undergo to be the best in their sports.


Jo

[jo]

Btw, this is Charles Leclerc -- does he look a little like a young Hugh Jackman, as some have noted




Found this photo of Hugh - circa 1998, when he was with the Royal National Theatre for OKLAHOMA!

[jo]

Remember the racing driver who is sometimes called a young Hugh Jackman ?


A week later, after Charles Leclerc won SPA ( Belgium GP - the favorite and most challenging circuit for drivers), he won again! At arguably the temple of racing ( the fastest circuit and the one which has held F-1 championships the longest - 67 years, IIRC) called MONZA ( Italy). What made it special was this was the first Ferrari win since 2010 in their home circuit. The Italian fans of Ferrari are legendary - they are called the "tifosi" and are the fabled most loyal and most vocal of all sports fans! LOL! The sight of the celebration ceremonies has to be seen to be believed.

Btw, excited as I was, as an overseas tifosa ( female fan), I was paying more attention after the race when you could see the drivers's faces to see if Charles does look like a young Hugh Jackman - LOL! He does a bit, esp in the eyes, especially when Hugh is looking pensive but with eyes smiling.

Jo

[jo]

There's nothing else to say --

An emotional Rafa reacts to this video clip of his 19 Slams presented by the US Tennis Open during the awarding ceremonies.

[jo]

Glorius win for SPAIN for the revised DAVIS CUP championships!

So much excitement and so much passion

[jo]

And what an extraordinary year for 33-year old Rafa Nadal!

Hope he wins the Laureus Award this season, not just for tennis but also overall Sportsman of the Year. Nearest competitor will likely be Lewis Hamilton for his 6th F-1 driver's championship!


PS: The year also marked when Rafa got married to his very longtime girl friend ( they were teenage sweethearts)

Jo

[jo]

Yet in all this, the most admired traits of Rafa is his humility, his sense of sportsmanship, and the heart of a champion!

Did you see him win the match with Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Finals, while being 1-5 down in the deciding set! Unbelievable!

Jo

[jo]

Dec 4, 2019 22:56:15 GMT -5 jo said:

Swiss tennis maestro Roger Federer and his wife Mirka came to see #tmtmts in Zurich --

Nov 21, 2019 6:04:23 GMT -5 jo said:

Check out Tour Dance Captain Mishay Petronelli's Instagram Posts for many tour sidelights. Interesting one - is the group having family dinner with Hugh and Roger Federer in Zurich! Roger Federer!!

http://instagr.am/p/B4dzgyknWAO

There has been a release of a commemorative Roger Federer coin in Switzerland...and the website crashed due to demand!

www.atptour.com/en/news/demand-for-roger-federer-coin-crashes-swissmint-website

Demand For Roger Federer Coin Crashes Swissmint Website
Dec03 2019
Paul Macpherson


Roger Federer has made a career of serving up more than his opponents can handle. Add the Swissmint to the list.
Explosive demand for a commemorative Federer coin released yesterday threw the Mint’s website into turmoil, leaving many fans unable to buy.

“We had 2.5 million clicks. It was too much for the shop to handle,” said Swissmint CEO Marius Haldimann.

“We expected and planned for high demand, but we never imagined it would be this big. When Roger posted a link on his social media channels the website immediately had problems due to all the traffic. Some fans could access the shop but could not finish the order. Others could not get onto the website.”


Of the 35,000 20-franc silver coins offered in the pre-sale window, 15,000 have been snapped up. The remaining 20,000 coins from the initial run are expected to sell quickly when the website returns to full functionality. An additional 40,000 will be released in May, when a 50-franc gold coin will also be released.

“We have had a lot of fans emailing us asking if they can buy the coin, but we can’t take credit card details via email,” said Mr. Haldimann. “We are just asking fans to be patient and keep trying the website. We are working hard to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.”

This is the first time in its history that Swissmint has created a commemorative coin to honour a living person.

Note: This story was updated Monday at 3.45pm ET to correct the number of coins offered - and purchased - in the pre-sale window.

[jo]

Some humorous relief from the Australian fire strategy - at the ATP Cup tournament among nations, simultaneously held in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.

This one from Perth --

[jo]

It was the first tennis Grand Slam to be played without an audience in the stands!

There's a new US Open Champion - Dominic Thiem of Austria. Runner-up was Alexander Zverev, both rising stars in the sport. The top 3 best players were not in the limelight ( Novak Djokovic was disqualified for unacceptable court behavior, Rafa Nadal was being prudent and not wanting to risk a Covid-19 infection especially so that his country, Spain, was one of the most ravaged by the disease, Roger Federer has had a recent knee surgery).

But the 2 winning players did play a hard-fought match -- it went 5 sets.

They particularly thanked their parents who could not be there for this important milestone in their careers! Again, a public moment that could not be shared with those who helped nurture their careers. 

Next up - the French Open at Roland Garros ( which will supposedly allow a certain % of the usual audience numbers) in Paris. Nadal is gunning for his 13th title!

Congratulations to the US Open winners!


Jo

[jo]

Rafa Nadal wins his 13th French Open title at Roland Garros, in the process equaling Roger Federer's record 20 Grand Slam wins! A remarkable win in 3 straight sets (6-0*6-2*7-5)over Novak Djokovic! It was Rafa's 100th win at Roland Garros( losing only 2 matches over the years).

While Nadal is the king of Court Philippe Chatrier, this year’s unprecedented conditions favored Djokovic: the new roof closed and otherwise cooler temperatures for the first French Open played in the autumn. It was postponed from its usual May-June dates due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course the circumstances brought on by the pandemic (only 10% of total capacity were allowed to attend) made the ceremonies and Rafa's speech quite poignant!

"After all the things I went through in my career in terms of injuries, without a great team and family around me everything would be impossible.

"So thank you very much. I want to send a message to everyone around the world.

"We are facing one of the worst moments that we remember facing in this world, fighting against this virus. Keep going, stay positive.

"We will get through this and we will beat the virus soon."

[jo]

[jo]

Le Tour Eiffel all lighted up in Spain's red and yellow colors in honor of Spaniard Rafael Nadal winning the French Open!

[jo]

This fan's tweet sums it all up --

[jo]

The reason why I admire Rafael Nadal as much as my high regard for Hugh Jackman -- there is much similarity in their sense of humanity! To me, it is not simply athletic excellence which dictates one's choice of sportsmen to admire but also how they conduct themselves in terms of sportsmanship as well as how they relate to the world around them.

From the New York Times after Nadal's record-breaking championship at the French Open --

TENNIS
|
At the French Open, Players Look to the Tao of Rafael Nadal


For many of the players, Nadal has given the most cleareyed view of a tournament held during a pandemic and a career chasing Grand Slam titles.

When Rafael Nadal speaks at the French Open, the players perk up more than they do for their other peers.

By Karen Crouse
Oct. 11, 2020
Updated 4:29 p.m. ET

PARIS — Playing to his Paris audience, Rafael Nadal usually speaks in French for his on-court interviews at Roland Garros, where his astounding success on the red clay has afforded him abundant practice at polishing his sentences. But on Sunday, after winning his 13th French Open singles championship, Nadal, usually so unrelenting in his routine, dispensed with this particular habit.

With a mask covering his face to protect himself and others from the coronavirus, Nadal had more on his mind than the straight-sets victory over Novak Djokovic that earned him his 20th Grand Slam title, tying him with Roger Federer for the men’s career lead.

Playing to a much greater audience than the corona-condensed crowd of roughly 1,000 people, he chose a more commonly spoken language, English.

“We are facing one of the worst moments ever,” Nadal said. “Keep fighting. We will get through this.

At that moment, the world saw Nadal as his fellow players do, as someone with more depth than his baseline groundstrokes. As his march to victory played out over two weeks, the weather was cold and gray, the grounds were ghostly quiet and the cafes, boutiques and monuments that normally charm the players were blurred images from their courtesy car windows.

So much of what distinguishes Paris from, say, the Indian Wells tournament in California, was closed to them, stuck as they were in the hotel habitat meant to cocoon them from the coronavirus that France has struggled to contain.


“I’m going to be honest here,” Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, the 35th-ranked woman in the world, said in the tournament’s early days. “I was like, ‘Why are we playing?’”

And then, like an oracle delivering a message from on high, a voice rang out on Philippe Chatrier Court.



“The feeling is more sad than usual,” Nadal said in English after his first-round victory against Egor Gerasimov. “Maybe that’s what it needs to feel like. It needs to be sad. Many people in the world are suffering.”


Rafael Nadal Routs Novak Djokovic at French Open to Catch Roger Federer Oct. 11, 2020


Every flock needs a cleareyed thinker, and tennis is blessed to have Nadal, whose plain talk throughout this year of the pandemic has been a model of humility, empathy and perspective. When Nadal talks — in his native Spanish, English or French — his fellow players listen.

The Tao of Rafa resonated with Jabeur, who said, “If he’s a champion and he doesn’t complain, I mean, who am I to complain about it right now?”

Set straight by Nadal’s straight talk, Jabeur proceeded to become the first Arab woman at Roland Garros to advance to the round of 16.

Nadal’s 13 French Open titles are a reality-defying accomplishment, or as Federer himself proclaimed on social media within minutes of Nadal’s ace on match point, “one of the greatest achievements in sport.”

Nadal, 34, was touched by the praise from Federer. “I think he’s happy when I’m winning and I’m happy when he’s doing the things well,” he said.

Federer, sidelined this year after undergoing two knee surgeries, is not done competing, so there is a sense that Nadal is chasing a moving target. That partly explains why he is asked far less about his pursuit of the record than is Serena Williams, who is one major title short of catching the women’s leader, Margaret Court, at 24 major singles titles.


But Nadal also maneuvers around the line of questioning as deftly as he does a ball to his backhand so he can hit a forehand winner.

In his virtual postmatch news conference on Sunday, Nadal said: “You can’t be always unhappy because your neighbors have a bigger house than you or a bigger boat or have a better phone. You have to live your personal life, no? Personally that’s the things that I did during all my career. Just try to follow my road, try my best every single day.

“In terms of these records, of course I care. I am a big fan of the history of sport in general. I respect a lot that. For me it means a lot to share this number with Roger, no? But let’s see what’s going on when we finish our careers.”

In an interview in May with the Spanish daily La Voz de Galicia, Nadal was more expansive, as he tends to be in his native tongue. “Even if Federer or Djokovic finishes with more Grand Slams than me, it won’t affect my happiness 10 years from now,” he said.

How’s that for perspective? Makes you wonder: Does Nadal’s waterfront home overlook the Balearic Sea or Walden Pond?


“What you need is the right energy to accept every single thing, no?” Nadal said of the unusual circumstances around this French Open. “That’s what I am doing. Just staying positive, knowing that the conditions are not perfect for me, maybe not for others, either.”

“What you need is the right energy to accept every single thing, no?” Nadal said of the unusual circumstances around this French Open. “That’s what I am doing. Just staying positive, knowing that the conditions are not perfect for me, maybe not for others, either.”

Nadal’s approach to his career, as a personal journey to be shared with those around him rather than an all-out crusade for total domination, belies the all-too-common belief in the modern world that he or she who dies with the most titles, toys or treasure wins.



Nadal’s path this year was supposed to be fraught with obstacles, including the weather, the ball and a long pandemic layoff.

Yet the Tao of Rafa is not just talk, as Nadal demonstrated by not losing a set in seven matches on his way to the title.

Was it easy? Nadal only made it look that way. Did he harbor doubts? Of course.

“For me, doubts are good because it means that you don’t consider yourself too good,” Nadal said on Sunday night.

His apprehension was on high alert in the third set of his semifinal on Friday when Diego Schwartzman forced a tiebreaker. Nadal responded by reeling off seven straight points. His angst was real when he was separated from his wife, his parents and his sister — and had to miss his father’s birthday celebration during the tournament — because they were outside the coronavirus-controlled environment.

“You have to suffer,” Nadal said with a shrug. “You can’t pretend to be in a final of Roland Garros without suffering. That’s what happened there. But I found a way, no?”

Elina Svitolina, who bowed out in the quarterfinals, said Nadal’s wisdom is seeing the big picture and not just the 78-foot-by-27-foot rectangle that is a singles tennis court. Iga Swiatek, who won the women’s final on Saturday, is such an enthusiastic student of Nadal’s that she watched him practice earlier in the tournament and on Sunday returned to Philippe Chatrier to watch him play.

His words also show his journey with English, which he didn’t speak 20 years ago. Though fluent now, he prefers to conduct interviews in Spanish. Like a wily returner, Nadal will occasionally change direction, taking a question lobbed to him in English and returning it in rapid-fire Spanish. He regards his English the same way he does his serve. A work in progress.




On Friday, Nadal said it was frustrating when he joined the tour in 2001 and couldn’t express himself thoroughly to English-speaking reporters. “I was not able to understand and to answer the questions the right way,” Nadal said. “Happy that today the situation is a little bit different. That’s it. Here we are. Keep trying our best.”

Yet the Tao of Rafa is often more poignant in English. Nadal’s self-conscious self-editing strips all the verbiage until all that remains are the kernels of wisdom.

“Of course it is an important day for me, but I’m not stupid, no?” Nadal said on Sunday. “Is still a very sad situation worldwide. If you ask me what’s my feeling, of course I am superhappy. On the other hand, I am not that happy as usual because the situation is tough for most of the people around the world.”

[hughmanity]

Happy for your excitement, Jo!