Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Rafa At 12

Maybe you've already seen it but it's nice to look at him and see he's the same person he was then.
Thanks to "Veyonce" who always make sure Rafa fans have something to smile about.

I don't speak a word of Spanish so if anyone can translate that would be nice too!

5 comments:

oddman said...

Awwwwwwww! He's such a little cutie-pie! My maternal hormones are spiking off the charts - eek!

(gotta go hug something and pinch its cheeks...)

tristann said...

Announcer: "Does he look familiar? Yes, it is Rafa Nadal at age 12 and he is competing in Spain's Junior Championships. His rival is J.A. Sanchez. The Mallorcan was the big surprise and he reached the final. On this occasion, believe it or not, he had to settle for second place. Nadal already had style and now few will dispute it about the world's #2. He cannot deny that he has always preferred swinging a racket than doing interviews"

Nadal: "I believe that he played quite much better than I did..pffft...I wasn't able to do anything. I didn't play as well as these past days, like I wanted to play, but oh well..."

(he then speaks about school and training schedule but hard to make out exactly what he says)

Nadal: "yes, I play football, but more for fun and all"

Announcer: "In spite of his age and overcoming his shyness, this was his first interview for Spanish national television."

...awww, and he had just lost. Like Oddman, gotta go hug my thirteen year old (who will hate it).

Savannah said...

I think it's good he's flying under the radar because when they look he's still there.

They like to ignore his hard court wins and that he has made the Wimby finals two times in a row despite their saying that his game would not translate to grass. Now they're saying he plays well there because it's a natural surface.

Tristann thanks for the translation! What ever happened to J.A. Sanchez I wonder?

tristann said...

Savannah,
How right you are. His hard court wins are treated as an aberration. To hear them talk, the man is finished. And this talk does not have a tone of regret, but rather an undertone of glee.

I hope that he will be feeling better soon and throw up some more aberrant results before the end of the year.

As for Sanchez, at least he can tell his grandkids that he beat Nadal in a final!

Savannah said...

You are so on point about the undertone of glee Tristann.

They're trying to break his spirit. Somehow I don't think that's going to work. He drew the most crowds in Cincy and I know when he was practicing in NYC the crowds were there. He's not fitting their stereo type of what a Spanish speaking player should be.
If you get a chance I posted an article a month or so ago on why the US chose hardcourts over clay or grass. Turns out it was specifically to stop the Spaniards from winning so much. He's their worst nightmare.