Rafael Nadal Archives - NET and CLAY

April 15, 2019April 16, 2019

Ya Better Hurry Up, French Federation of Tennis

by Net and Clay in Paris, France

The French Open is from May 26 to June 9, 2019, but the French Federation of Tennis better pick up the pace of construction. On our trip to Paris, we attempted to tour Stade Roland Garros, but it is closed to the public outside of the French Open, and has been since 2015. We were like religious pilgrims during this week before Easter and Passover, deprived of seeing our clay court Mecca and relegated to scouring the perimeter to get a peek at something to report.

Stade Roland Garros is in the outskirts of Paris, easily accessible by the Metropolitan, next to the lovely Jardin de Serres d’Auteil. The stadium is named for Roland Garros, an aviation pioneer and decorated fighter pilot killed in combat during the Great War, who had been imprisoned with Charles de Gaulle. Other than his impressive military and aviation accomplishments, it’s unclear why the stadium is named for someone who had no connection to tennis.

With only a month away, the new Philippe-Chatrier central court looks skeletal from the outside. It is huge, though. Reports say between 800 and 900 workers have been working “day and night” on the site, and we can attest to seeing the housing for the workers in the residential containers or trailers, stacked two high. Were we viewing the underbelly of professional tennis, as we would by getting a glimpse of the lifestyle of the backstretch workers at a thoroughbred racecourse in the United States, where the workers are migrant, under-compensated and unseen in so many ways in the midst of such wealth and celebrity? We certainly hope not, since this year’s French Open purse increased 8% from last year’s, to a total of 42,661,000 Euros, with winners taking home the tidy sum of 2.3 Euros. The defending champions are Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep.

The current footprint of the stadium and the beginning of the modern French Open harks from 1927. After a hiatus during the second World War, the Australians, including Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Margaret Court (still holding the most titles – her name might have something to do with it), took the limelight, but when the sport became professional in 1968, Björn Borg and Chris Evert dominated the event. Even though Rafa’s name comes up in Google searches for French Open titles, his 11 titles are two shy of Margaret Court’s 13.

We got a glimpse of the delightful signs that point to Wimbledon at 365 kilometers away; Flushing Meadows, 839; and Melbourne Park 16,950 kilometers. We also saw the charming Tudor-style ticket booths, as well as the historical Orangery in the adjacent gardens, built in 1898 and recently restored according to archival architect drawings. And we also got a glimpse of the old arena, fashioned in the Brutalism style of architecture, where the names of the winners are recessed in the concrete frieze. True to the name of the architectural style, what I saw was: 1977, Borg above Ruzici and 1978, Borg above Lloyd. Man over woman. Maybe in the new Phillippe-Chartrier stadium, with the retractable roof coming in 2020, they’ll put the names of the women’s champion over the men’s. I’m not trying to be a detractor: I’m simply being contemporary. Truly, though, the burnt sienna colors of the signage gave me goosebumps, and I hope to be back for the French Open sometime very, very soon. And, as promised, I am bringing back some authentic French Open merchandise for this website’s friends and supporters.

P.S. Last evening we went to the Montparnasse Tower to have a counter-perspective of the sights we saw the day before from the Tour Eiffel, and were shocked to see Notre Dame burning. Our words cannot adequately express what we saw.

March 31, 2019April 6, 2019

The Underhanded Serve is the Trojan Horse

Nick Kyrgios received some negative social media attention when he sent two underhanded serves to Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic at the Miami Open. In February, the Australian Kyrgios used the same tactic, although unsuccessfully, on Rafa in Acapulco. In Mexico, Kyrgios said he was cramping and looking for an easy point. He chose to do it because Rafa had positioned himself so far behind the baseline. Rafa responded that it “lacked a little bit of respect.” Social media both booed and applauded, and sports writers debated whether such a tactic was “unsportsmanlike.” My view: thumbs up.

An underhanded serve is nothing more than an allowable stratagem of the game where, if done successfully, the opponent is stunned, unable to return the ball and wondering what just happened. How’s that any different than a body serve, where by aiming the ball at your opponent, you hamper their ability to move right or left to return the serve? Tennis is all about change of pace and tactical switches, and an underhanded serve – if you can manage it – fits right in. It also fits right in with Kyrgios’s unconventional personality. The 23-years old is a full circus spectacle. He acts as his own coach, and often treats the crowds to between leg shots and other unorthodox tennis antics. In Miami, in addition to the underhanded serve, those included saluting the ball before he smashed it and a volley where he looked away after his racquet made contact. Kyrgios is definitely worth watching!

February 23, 2019March 23, 2019

Tennis Watching Time.

Written by Guest Contributor and Tennis Player SHL

During the Australian Open, one could not help but be aware of the time. Not only was there the 16 hour time difference, but the Rolex clock, the official time keeper of the Aussie Open, was a constant reminder that day was night, night was in the morning, and the matches were on tape delay.

More interesting to the horologists, though, were the watches we were watching while watching tennis.

The grandest timepiece of the first Grand Slam of the year was worn by Rafael Nadal, the brand ambassador for Richard Mille since 2010. Rafa was wearing their latest and greatest, a RM 27-03, weighing in at 20 grams, or about the weight of 8 pennies. The watch can withstand shocks of 10,000g’s and is powered by tourbillion with 70 hours of power reserve. Designed in the colors of the flag of Spain, it retails for $725,000. Because it is made in a limited edition of 50 pieces, only Rafa, you, and 48 other people in the world would have one if you chose to splurge.

Alas, though, even with all that technology and tourbillion power on his wrist, Rafa was no match for Novak Djokovic, who wore the Seiko Astron GPS Solar watch, but only for the trophy presentation. Djokovic has been on team Seiko since 2014.

On the women’s side, the current number 1 player and Australian Open winner, Naomi Osaka, sported the new CITIZEN Eco-Drive Bluetooth BZ4004-06E featuring the brand’s proprietary Super Titanium 2 strong and lightweight case. The watch is priced at 75,000 ¥, which equates to about $680. The new style will be released on March 7, 2019 in a limited production of 1,000 units. Previously Osaka won the US Open wearing the CITIZEN Eco-Drive Bluetooth BZ4006-01E. I was momentarily distracted when I noticed this this watch during her match because of the distinctive orange strap. CITIZEN boasts that the vivid orange color motif is inspired by Osaka’s “striking, dynamic tennis performance style.” Osaka has been its brand ambassador since September of 2018.

In Melbourne, Osaka beat Petra Kvitova, who is a TAG Heuer brand ambassador. Osaka won in New York at the U.S. Open by defeating Serena Williams, who wore her Audemars Piguet Millenary.

Because time and tennis go hand-in-hand, keep watching!

February 10, 2019March 10, 2019

The Australian Open and Insomnia: Thoughts Deep in the Night or Deep Thoughts in the Night?

A benefit of the 16 hour time difference with Melbourne, Australia is that you can watch tennis when you wake up at 3:00 a.m. It was exquisite: turn the TV on, watch the match in the Rod Laver Arena and then be lulled back to sleep by the pop, whoo, pop, whoo, pop, whoo…. But my take away after the conclusion of this year’s first Grand Slam event is that professional tennis players are just like us.

We expect professionals to be perfect. But that’s simply not true. The Australian Open showed that the pros are just like us.

Pros whiff balls, as Rafa did in the finals; they crash and burn and then remerge like a phoenix, sometimes all in the same match, as darling Naomi Osaka did in the women’s finals; they crumble before our very eyes, as both GOATs did; and they make fashion statements that make us scratch our heads. Several hold a place in our hearts with their beaming smiles or their dimples (we love you, Sloane!). A few capture our hearts by their fierce appearance on the scene, such as Frances Tiafoe, whom we loved watching play with Serena at the Hopman Cup. Some delight us with the upset, such as Stefanos Tsitsipas, and others by their nearly flawless performance, such as Djokovic’s in the men’s finals. And some touch to our hearts with the obstacles they’ve overcome, like Petra Kvitova.

So if you are frustrated on the court, in the office or at home because things are not going your way, remember: the pros are like us and have bad days too.