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im a staunch fan of rafael nadal. don't get me wrong, i love me some federer but nadal just takes this sport to its true level: game. federer, for all his talent and skills, border on prissy for me. his outfits are impeccable and his stance so royal. perfect, i assume, for such a country club sport. after all, tennis is the gentleman's game. oh but nadal... for all his good looks and disarming aura, nadal never fails to entertain. his muscles bulge against the thin fabric of his clothes. his fashion may be considered boring -- what, with capri pants, sleeveless tee, bandana and the occassional jacket -- but it's completely different from the sea of loose shirts, shorts and cap in the circuit. the new yorker sums it up nicely: roger federer represents swiss precision but rafael nadal is pure majorcan passion.
the spaniard took many amzing highs this year: his win at the french open, his nailbiting win at wimbledon (where, i might add, i shed a few tears of joy), and his gold at the olympics. the boy's a star and im fairly certain he was exhausted by the time the US Open rolled around. he fought the good fight but even rafa admits that andy murray definitely outplayed him. too bad, though. everyone was hoping for a nadal-federer finale. everyone, perhaps except roger himself after losing the french open, the crushing defeat at wimbledon and to top it off, handing over the top spot in the atp. jokesters theorized that roger's win at the US Open was due to the unwavering support of roger's secret other half to his may-december affair... no, not Mirka, who he says is the love of is life... but Anna Wintour, perpetual fan, friend and fashion ally. I personally can't imagine Nadal in the arms of Wintour. His unkempt curly locks might actually put a look of disdain in her expressionless, over-botoxed face. I'd pay to get a photo of that.
I love Nadal. I love how his energy seems to come from a well within him that drives him to win. He does many things that show power. His strokes are precise, he moves and twists his body midair to hit the racquet, he grunts like a madman and very rarely smiles as he plays. in fact, the lack of expression in his face makes him very hard to read. when he seems to be struggling, you won't see a look of worry in his eyes. when he seems to be winning, he doesn't carry a smug look in his face. all there is is sheer intensity. for a guy with such a strong, hard physique, i love how he moves and maneuvers himself in positions ballet dancers should be doing. Nadal is primal power at its finest.
Which is why I love the US Open. In Wimbledon, the players all look so glamorous and even in the heat of the sun and the hard rain, even the audience are all poised and serious. I imagine they all speak with a pompous british accent, drinking tea while making stirring comments about a certain bloke's tennis prowess and preference for burberry accessories. The US Open audience are engaged. They are dressed down to jeans and shirts, with some fanatics even going shirtless donning body paint ( I saw this in the match between rafael nadal and mardy fish). They loudly cheer for their bet like in football. they are racuous at times. i love it. sports whould be enjoyed like that. As this is already an utterly gratuitous entry about my rafa-worship, i shall post one of my favorite nadal photos of recent times. Ladies (and a few gentlemen who might care), the world number one (in tennis and in my heart):
*sigh*
how about you, dear? who's your favorite athlete and why?
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