Whine & Cheese

King Of Clay

Since the last one was in January, I am pretty overdue for a Rafael Nadal post.

Last week kicked off the European red clay court season in Monte Carlo... and as has largely been the case for the past few years... the top 2 clay court players in the world met in the final with the best clay court player taking the title... Rafael Nadal defeating Roger Federer.

Of course, I have some pictures to share...

The left pic had me amused me since, if the photographer is anything like me, he/she probably kept waving Rafa over until he head was under the Rolex "crown" on the backboard.... and the picture to the right, is Rafa doing his traditional "bite" on the trophy... and well umm, it just got my attention.

Orange You Glad

I could go ahead and do the classic "knock, knock" joke... but it's just more pix of Rafael Nadal from the Australian Open

There's no missing Rafa with his bright orange attire... and he's blinding his opponents with his tennis as well... advancing to the 4th Round with relative ease. 

I went against my heart (yeah, ummm... my heart!) and predicted that Andy Roddick would beat Rafa in the quarters (and ultimately advance onto the Oz Open final)... but the American lost a 5th set heartbreaker early this morning tonight in Melbourne... so while a lot can still happen, Rafa's path is looking considerably clearer.

Oh, alright.... orange you glad I didn't say banana?

A Call To Arms

We interrupt regular programming to bring you this special weather alert...

Melbourne, Australia:  Hot hot hot... with an 90% chance of sweat.

It's a new year and you know what that means... a trip Down Under for the start of the tennis season!

Now, it did take me one extra day this year to post the first pix of Rafael Nadal here on W&C. 

Such restraint!

The "rafael nadal shirtless" pix (here Google, Google... and for even more, scan through my other Rafa posts) are Rafa warming up for the Australian Open, which kicks off Monday (Sunday night, here in the States).

Rafa-psody In Blue

After the verbosity of my earlier post, I'll cleanse the palette with some pictures of Rafael Nadal at the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup currently underway in Shanghai.

Rafa split his two opening round-robin matches at the TMC, so we won't know until tomorrow whether or not he makes it into the semifinals.  So, just in case, I figured I'd better post some pix before the holiday break... and then it starts all over again as the tennis world heads back Down Under for some sizzling summer-time tennis come January.

The ATP Tour Wants You To... Feel It

The men's tennis tour announced it's new "Feel It" campaign today.

I sense my mind is making "it" into something much more literal than "it" is intended to be...

But they are certainly helping by going on about Nadal and Federer in "a one-on-one gladiatorial battle, full of intensity and passion" ... like I need that image dancing around in my head?!   

I bet it's hot and sweaty too?!?  And Rafa grunting and...

Oh, are you still here?  For more info about the campaign, go here.

Who Wears Short Shorts

Wimbledon starts Monday...

... and here's a pic of Rafael Nadal competing in a warm-up exhibition match today...

Is Rafa going to dare to show us (gasp!) some knee at the conservative All England Club?

... and fans of other Spanish male tennis players... you might want to head back to my Tommy Robredo post.  I just stumbled upon a larger version of the picture that ever so nicely shows off his backhand!

Stop, Drop, and...

... ROLL !?!!

At least we can take some comfort in knowing that the 3-time French Open champion, Rafael Nadal, would know what to do in case he caught on fire and...

Much like his fetish tradition of biting down on his trophy, this form of celebration seems to be part of his repertoire... over and over again!   No complaints here.

French Filler

Work is not cooperating today... so I'll just allow newly 21-year old Rafael Nadal provide some French Open eye-candy filler for me...

As the middle photo suggests, and to the surprise of no one, the Spaniard advanced to the quarterfinals... and hopes to bite down on a third straight Roland Garros trophy this coming Sunday.

Nadal Wins Dual Duel

Just a few more pictures from the half-grass, half-clay court match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal that took place earlier today on the Nadal's home island of Mallorca, Spain.

If I didn't know that this was really real, I would swear the below picture was just a cut-and-paste Photoshop job...  and a not very good one at that... haha.

The players did switch sides and surfaces as they would in a normal tennis match... but the changeovers also entailed a change of shoes... the pros have different footwear for grass and clay.

Nadal took the victory 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10-8)... so it was a thriller of a match... or cynically, the players were nice enough to justify the expense and their paychecks (as mentioned in yesterday's post, these matches don't count for or against them... so, often times, the scoreline is quite competitive looking).

Here's a full article about the match: Nadal beats Federer on half-clay, half-grass court

Grass or Clay?

I don't know if this is silly or cool... ok, it's both.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you... it's a tennis court that is half grass, half clay... and the site of a big exhibition match (translation: big paychecks and doesn't "count") tomorrow.

Any guesses who's playing?

Who better than the man who is currently on a 48-match, 4 year win streak on grass vs. the man who is currently on a 72-match, 2+ year win streak on clay?!

Yes, it's Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal.

The court took 19 days to create at a cost of [cough, cough] $1.63 million... yikes!

So it should be interesting and fun... Nadal will certainly have the crowd advantage since the match is taking place on his home turf/dirt of Mallorca, Spain.

Roger gets to play on some cool and extreme tennis courts, that's for sure!

UPDATE: Here are some pre-match promo pics... the guys are looking good

Ah... only to have a nice head of hair... and a tan... and be 20-something... and be rich... and...

The Heat is (Back) On

Good news... the heat is back on in the house!

Now, I have to admit I felt pretty stupid about yesterday's post after watching the national news last night.  They had reports all about the big Midwestern winter storms... with tons of people losing power, deaths, injuries, people going to shelters, etc... and here I was merely sitting in somewhat chilly house drinking a vanilla-caramel Keurig coffee and watching the Golden Globe Awards.  Whoops!

Just keep in mind this blog is Whine & Cheese, so I do have a free pass for a "woe is me" post every so often!

So, one half of the house did not have any problem at all!   Silly me!  Apparently when it gets really cold outside, your heat doesn't work as well.  I know, common sense... right?!?

On the side of the house, where we really did not have anything happening... the culprit was a busted capacitator that was preventing the blower/fan from starting inside the house.

Total cost... $174.   Unbelievable. I figured the labor alone would be more than that!

However, the technician said that we should probably think about replacing our two heating/AC units.  I asked them what their typical life span was and he said 10-12 years.  The age of our units: apparently 12 years.  And how much do those run?   Umm.... around $4,000 each!    Yikes, but we'll just think about that another day (and hope that this one doesn't bit us on the butt).

Anyhow, speaking of heat (translation: any excuse to post the picture below).... it is mighty hot down in Australia.  The first Grand Slam of the tennis season, the Australian Open, started on Monday and temperatures in Melbourne are over 100 degrees... as you can see, my own personal space heater, Rafa Nadal, got a bit schweaty:

And speaking of Aussies and weather, another segue to one of my new blog finds (something that has been sorely lacking of late!)... Craig at Outside the Box.  Craig recently stumbled on this blog and quite nicely left a few comments.  I have since been checking out his blog (the have yet to break my commenter shyness).  An Aussie transplant now living in the Pacific Northwest, Craig is discovering all fun things about life in the U.S. and the joys of a Northern hemisphere winter and new stuff like snow!   

Tennis: Balls & Groin Pulls

To counteract my book-related post from earlier today, thought I'd share a couple of borrowed photos.

Over the holidays, this Wimbledon streaker suddenly showed up.  A bit strange since Wimbledon is in the middle of the summer... but I am guessing it was thought to be one of the "pictures of the year" (not a good thing for tennis, when there's not a tennis player in the frame!).  I generally don't post nudity here on W&C, but while this is a bit balls-y... no kibbles & bit is showing, so I figured what the heck!   If a co-worker is looking over your shoulder right now... my sincere apologies!

I think it's a pretty cool and fun picture, and actually pretty artistic... the "pose" and the timing of the photographer to catch it while it was PG-13.  If my memory serves me correctly, this "show" was during the Maria Sharapova and Amelie Mauresmo semifinal.  Usually these streakers are not the most attractive gents out there, but this guy looks to be in fairly decent shape.

And, in case you haven't noticed, the 2007 tennis season is already underway Down Under. 

Here is a little montage of what W&C mascot, Rafael Nadal, is looking like these days...

Yep, it looks like he totally slacked off on the workouts over the holidays!  Not. 

Anyhow, not good news today for Rafa.  After reaching the semifinals of his first tournament of the year, he had to pull out of his first round match in Sydney with a groin pull.  Hopefully, a few days rest will be good enough to get him in gear for the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open starting on Monday.

Now... to enjoy avoid a groin pull of my own.

Hot Davis Cup Action

Davis Cup is underway this weekend... this is the team country-vs.-country men's tennis competition.

This pic caught my eye... act of terrorism?  Nope.  The real reason was just so mind-boggling I included the caption since I doubt you would have believed me if I told you!

But they guys were heating up the court as well...

From left to right...

Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka demonstrates my personally preferred method of wiping sweat from one's brow ...

Novak Djokovic gets some ... ahem... some pretty personal treatment from the trainer...

And, as usual, Rafael Nadal maintains his cool and calm on-court demeanor.

Rafa: Sex Sells

A shoutout to Towleroad for the tip-off to these pix (he has a few more shots, so click on over when you're done here) from Rafael Nadal's latest Nike campaign....

Ummm... talk about your morning wake-up call!  This certainly worked a whole better than my first cup of coffee!

Rafael is back in action this week playing at the Rogers Cup up at Toronto.  Nadal is the defending champ... and all eyes are already on yet another meeting with #1 Roger Federer in the finals... but there are a few more matches to go (both players have their 1st round matches today)... neither man has played since Wimbledon. 

To see a video ad of Rafa from this shoot... head on over to Nike Pro... the highlight being a artsy kind of shot of the Spaniard putting on one his trademark (and very tight) sleeveless shirt.

For more Rafa... just click my Rafael Nadal Category listing.

Tags:nike, rafa, rafael nadal

Rafael Nadal Shirtless

Bad News
Rafael Nadal had to retire with a shoulder ailment in his quarterfinal grass-court match (vs. Lleyton Hewitt) at the Stella Artois Championships at Queen's Club today.

Good News
We finally get some quality shots for the long overdue and eagerly anticipated...
Rafael Nadal Shirtless post!

Now... ahem... you'll have to excuse me... Enjoy!

Roger & Rafa: French Open '06

No matter who won the French Open men's final yesterday ... there was some history.  Roger Federer was going for a non-calendar year Slam... something that has not been achieved in men's tennis in over 30 years... while Rafael Nadal was looking to win back-to-back French titles and extend his win-streak on clay to 60 matches.

Though you can't tell by their facial expressions, it was Rafa who took home the title (clue #1: a cup is always better than a plate).  Roger pretty much would have cemented his place in tennis history with a win... but boy, the press can be rough.   CNN/SI's Jon Wertheim usually gets it right, but I thought this was a bit harsh:

"Through the quirks of the rankings, Roger Federer actually increased his points lead by reaching the final of the French. Still -- his protestations to the contrary -- it's hard to imagine him leaving Paris a contented man. His oddly neutered play in the final provoked a vexing question: How do we anoint a guy the best ever when it's no longer clear he's even the best in his era?"

C'mon Jon, you know how the tennis rankings work?!?  It is all based on defending points.  Last year, Roger lost in the semifinals (to Nadal)... while Nadal won the tournament.  So, Roger improved on his result from last year, while it was a "wash" for Nadal.   So what quirks do you speak of?

And now with a loss in a Grand Slam final (something 97% of tennis players can only dream of), he is now no longer in the "best ever" race... but now, he's not even the best player out there today?!?  HUH?!!   

In the latest rankings, Federer has 7035 points to Nadal's 4545 (#3 Nalbandian is at 3360)... and Nadal has two more tournaments in his point total than Federer. 

Now, I will certainly agree that Federer has a real problem with Nadal.  If someone watched these two for the first time on Sunday, I fully admit one would wonder what all the fuss is about Federer.  Nadal has won 6 of their 7 meetings... and probably should have won the one match that Roger (though on the other hand, there are a couple of matches in their that should have been won by Federer).  So with that kind of record, it is hard to speak of this as a rivalry.   But just because, Player B beats Player A doesn't make Player B the better (or best) player (this is the same faulty logic that was attempting to be used above re: the rankings).

But outside of Nadal, over the past two years Federer has an outrageous 95%+ win against all other players.. and he has not lost a match this year... again, outside of Nadal.  While Nadal's dominance over Federer is wildly impressive, I still do not think it diminishes any of Roger's accomplishments.  Heck, Federer's nearest "best ever" contemporary, Pete Sampras, never even made it to French final!

So, yes, the pause button was hit for "best ever" status for Federer on Sunday, but I certainly believe there is not an iota of doubt that he is the best player out there today.

And speaking of Nadal, is he tennis' version of Clark Kent/Superman, or what?

Check out this little photo montage:

Put him in street clothes and he's a long-lost member of the pre-pubescent boy-band Menudo... but get him in his Nike tennis attire and the 20-year old turns into a super-hero!!

Rafa Roma '06

Rafael Nadal has returned to the men's tennis tour with a vengeance!

After missing the first Grand Slam of the season due to an ankle injury, Nadal has won 3 titles and posted a 25-3 win/loss record... more impressively he has handed the virtually undefeatable and #1 player in the world, Roger Federer, his only 2 losses thus far this season (against 36 match victories). 

With his quarterfinal victory today at the Tennis Master Series Rome, Nadal also extended his win streak on clay... which now stands at 51 matches (and dates back to April 2005). If he wins Rome, the Spaniard will tie the nearly 20-year old all-time record of consecutive wins on clay set by Guillermo Vilas.

But who am I kidding with all these stats... I just wanted to leave you with some eye candy for the weekend!

Big thanks to an AP photographer for making the wise decision to not take a cigarette break during a changeover... we finally have the ever elusive photo of Nadal changing his shirt.  Not ideal shirtlessness, but I'll take it!

March Madness

No, no, no, no.... this has nothing to do with college athletes, office pools, or Gonzaga.

My March Madness is all about tennis and the two biggest US tennis tournaments outside of the US Open, The Pacific Life Open & Nasdaq-100 Open, which are contested back-to-back this month.

The Pacific Life is currently underway in Indian Wells, CA... having been obsessed with other things that past couple of weeks, today I want to give a much delayed "welcome back to the tour" post to one of my almost jailbait fixation favorite players... Rafael Nadal.

I haven't mentioned Nadal since October... why?  Well, he missed most of the end of last year and the start of this year (including the first Slam of the season, The Australian Open) with an ankle injury... which, given this recent pic, apparently did not impede working out his upper body.

The Pacific Life is only his 3rd tournament this year.  His comeback has been quite remarkable... thus far Nadal has posted an 8-1 record, including a win over the pretty much undefeatable Roger Federer in the Dubai final.

Recently, I had this search hit:

As one who always tries to be helpful... this shot, seered into my memory, immediately came to mind I searched the W&C archives to see if there was something (anything!) that fit the bill and I just happened to stumble across this one.  Hopefully, this Yahoo-er will like it.

Remember Rafa?

Well, it has been almost two months since I posted some new pics of Rafael Nadal... sigh

Is there any way we can age-advance this kid like they do on soap operas (you know one day the character is a toddler and the next week they are going to high school)?

I'd feel much better about my 'lil 'ole obsession if he was just a bit older than 19 years old.

Have a great weekend... pardon me, I have a cradle to rock!

Lycra'd Nadal

While Serena Williams sporting a pair of $40,000 diamond and platinum earrings during her first match (well, only for the first couple of games... one of them fell off!  Eek!) may have been the top fashion story on the opening day of the US Open.. is it any surprise that I am giving the nod to Rafael Nadal?!

Just a few years ago... it was a huge controversy that one of the male players walked onto the court at the US Open  wearing a sleeveless shirt (mind you, this was the also the year of Serena's skin-tight "cat suit")... he was forced to change... but fortunately those days are gone and we have dozens of ATP players showing off their arms.

But in personal "who needs coffee?" moment this morning... Nadal came out not only wearing his trademark sleeveless tee... but one difference... now it is form-fitting lycra... in the immortal words of Dick Enberg... "Oh My!"

Now if we could just do something about those "shorts"!

Fine Wine #21a: Rafa Returns

It has been about a 2-month drought on the Fine Wine list... and alas it is not entirely over, I am delving back into the FW archives and re-instating one of our more recent entries.

Welcome back...tennis player Rafael Nadal!

When we first introduced you to "Rafa" back in April, the Spaniard had 3 tournament victories for the season and was the prohibitive favorite going into the French Open.  Well, he win his first ever Grand Slam title at Roland Garros and this past weekend he won his 9th, and first hard-court, title at the Rogers Masters in Montreal.  With that victory, he joins an exclusive group (Borg, Wilander, Becker, and Agassi) with at least 10 tournament wins as a teenager.  Oh yes, he also had a birthday... turning all of 19 years old in June!

He has a 65-8 win/loss record for the year (most wins for any male tennis player this year) and is currently riding a 16-match win streak.  Now a solid #2 in the rankings, Nadal is poised to challenge the seeming invincible Roger Federer for the top ranking this year... but much will depend on how these two players fare at the US Open at the end of the month.

Okay... onto what you really care about when it comes to Fine Wine... pictures!

Here you get a good look at what everyone seems to talk about when the see the young Nadal... his very impressive biceps. 

I heard rumors from folks who have seen him play in person that his left arm is larger than his right arm (he is a lefty)... and from the pic below... there certainly does seem to be a difference (keep looking... keep looking... keep looking... haha!   To add to the confusion, just keep in mind that his left arm is the right-most arm in this photo!  Got that?!). 

To the right, I don't know quite why Rafael is biting his trophy... the usual tradition is to kiss it, but it is still a neat photo, I like how the crowd is reflected in the globe portion of the trophy.

And then we have more pictures of Nadal's homoerotic celebration... this kid seems to have a penchant for hitting the ground and lifting his legs up (he has done it before!), and when he is not doing that he is doing silly things like eating a banana on the changeovers...  ok, no need to call me a dirty 'ole man... I already know it!

Andre Agassi (who Nadal defeated in the Montreal final) once again noted that from the neck down he has the body of a 28-year old ... the broadcasters added that he also plays like a 28-year old... with an aggressive and thoughtful game well beyond his years... now we just have to get past the fact that his face looks like he should be in the boy-band Menudo!

Finally, we say goodbye to our QAF Fine-Winers... Gale Harold and Robert Gant... let's hope we'll see these actors somewhere again now that their days on Liberty Avenue and at Club Babylon are over.

Rafael Nadal Eats A Banana

No comment.
(I am going to burn in hell)

Swooping In

Think Nike is liking Rafael Nadal's chances at the French Open this year?

Look at the corporate makeover they gave Nadal this week in Rome.  The pictures on the left were taken just a couple of weeks ago, the updated shirt is on the right.

I think it is major overkill.  We already see the Nike swoop on his headband... and anyone could pretty much already guess that it's Nike attire just by looking at it... but Nadal has to feel good... you must really be good if Nike feels compelled to splash a HUUUGE logo across your shirt.

Another Nadal Victory

Another tournament victory for my latest FW-er, Rafael Nadal.   His latest win, fourth of the season, comes on the clay courts of Barcelona where he defeated countryman, Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Obviously, tournaments like to give out big trophies... but isn't this a bit ridiculous?!!  And the least they could have done is biggie-sized Juan Carlos' runner-up plate!

Fine Wine #21: Rafael Nadal

As promised over the weekend, we have another addition to the Fine Wine list... tennis player Rafael Nadal.  I hesitated adding Nadal to the list since he is only 18 years old (turns 19 in June!)... but just a reminder, the FW list is not all about lust... after all, the honorees have to be accomplishing something in order to get on the list in the first place!  And 18 is considered legal most everywhere, right?!

Hyped for the last couple of years, Nadal is having his breakthrough season this year.  He has won 3 tournaments already in 2005 (including a major title in Monte Carlo last week)... his 30-6 record is second only to #1 Roger Federer, and he has earned $1 million+ in four months' time -- not bad huh?!   Currently the #11 ranked player in the world (up 40 spots since December!), he should have no problems breaking into the Top 10 in the next couple of weeks (in fact, I suspect he will be around/in the Top 5 after the French Open).

Nadal was born June 3rd, 1986 (yikes!) in Manacor, Mallorca, Spain (which he still calls home).  His full name is Rafael Nadal Parera.  He turned pro in 2002, winning his first professional match at 15 years, 10 months (only the 9th player to do so under the age of 16).  He plays left handed (a big advantage in tennis) and has a two-handed backhand.

His favorite playing surface is clay (no surprise for a Spaniard) -- all 3 of his titles this year came on the dirt (although he did make the finals of the big hardcourt tournament in Miami as well).  He is the prohibitive favorite to win the French Open -- a tournament he has never played!  Freaky injuries have caused him to miss Roland Garros in Paris for the past two years.

Nadal's physical transformation over the past year has been stunning.  Even a year back, he looked more like a potential candidate for Menudo than a professional athlete. The 2005 media guide lists him at 6'0 165 lbs -- but the ATP website (which I assume is more current) has him at 6'1" 188 lbs ... and given what I have seen on TV and photos it looks to be that the latter is true (As usual, click on the pic for a slightly larger pop-up view). Andre Agassi recently said comparing his body at age 18 to Nadal's would be like a 12 year old vs. a 26 year old.

So if you are flipping thru the dial and see some tennis and Nadal is playing... stay tuned... he is a fun player to watch and certainly is going to be around for a long time!

Alas we do bid goodbye to Nick Lachey -- perhaps long overdue, but Nick can thank our procrastination... as we just finished up watching the last two TiVo'd episodes of Newlyweds this past weekend.  But I am sure we will re-visit Nick when we get around to honoring the top of the FW Spring 2005 crop.... and who knows with another MTV reality series in the works (tentatively titled The Nick Lachey Project - following Nick as he records a new album) we may even see in back on the list!

Nadal Celebration

I told you to keep any eye on this tennis player... Spaniard Rafael Nadal wins Monte Carlo this week... one of the biggest men's tournaments outside of the Slams.  The victory certainly solidifies his spot as one of favorites at the French Open at the end of May.

Any complaints on how Rafael celebrates?!

Despite being a tad young (turning all of 19 this June...eeek!)... we might just see Nadal break onto the Fine Wine list very soon...  stay tuned!