Rafa is World's Numero Uno Once More!

Rafael Nadal during his pre-tournament conference at Wimbledon 2010.

Been seriously following the ATP Tour lately ( from Miami Open to Queen's )...Rafa dropped to as low as # 4 in the world rankings, trailing Murray, Djokovic and the greatest of all time (GOAT) Roger Federer since his last year's slump due to injuries and domestic problem.

Boy do I love an underdog and a comeback story! When Rafa ceded the # 1 ranking to Roger in July last year, everyone dismissed the Spaniard's reign as done. It's over.

Not so fast, amigo! After a commendable showing in earlier tournaments this year following his recovery from injuries, Nadal started the clay court season like an insatiable beast. He won his 6th Monte Carlo title, then his 5th Rome Masters and bludgeoned Federer in the finals to claim his 5th Madrid Masters - not wincing a bit in reasserting his newfound dominance.

And, in what awestricken people would later claim a "Clay Slam", he reaffirmed his back-to-form performance by winning the last and the most important title to end the terre rouge season - the French Open 2010. His fifth Roland Garros in 6 years. ( Insert a fist pump here! :) )

With that win, he reclaims the # 1 ranking from his archrival Federer and has subsequently made tennis a lot more interesting again.

Here's hoping to a Career Slam! Vamos Rafa! :))

US Open 2008 - The Semifinals

My sixth sense failed me...huhuhuhuhu.

There would be no Nadal-Roddick in this year's US Open men's singles finals! Heck!

Men's singles - Semis:

1. Rafael Nadal v. Andy Murray

2.Roger Federer v. Novak Djokovic

The American is just no match for the more consistent and hard-hitting Serbian who takes the ticket to face Federer in the semis with a 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 victory. Nadal is set to face Murray today at the other semifinal match. It's quite rare to have the top 4 players still standing in the last 4 of the tournament. This pretty much adds up to my excitement!

Women's singles - Semis:

1. Serena Williams v. Dinara Safina

2. Elena Dementieva v. Jelena Jankovic

In the women's draw, Serena Williams will meet Dinara Safina to decide who will appear in the finals with the winner of the other women's semis - Elena Dementieva taking Jelena Jankovic.

Hmmm, the semis seems promising enough to keep me hooked so far. Can't wait for the finals!

The US Open 2008

The current US Open is keeping me on my toes right now! I'm nothing short of excited as I see the possible semi-final line up in the men's draw. Whoah!

On one half of the draw, World No. 2 Roger Federer is due to face either of the two equally deserving netters - No. 3 Novak Djokovic and No. 8 Andy Roddick. The Djokovic-Roddick match is already causing a lot of uproar from tennis fans all over as their meeting promises to be one of the Open's highlights.

Djokovic was runner up to Federer here last year and had won his first grandslam this year at the Australian Open. He was one of the top favorites during this year's French and Wimbledon Open before losing to eventual winner Rafael Nadal and Marat Safin, respectively. Roddick, the former World No. 1, on the other hand, has an impressive resume - winning the US Open in 2003 and beating Djokovic at the Dubai Tennis Championship this year. Both Djokovic and Roddick are strong servers - winning many free points from their tricky and well-maneouvred serves.

Meanwhile, on the other half of the draw, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is set to face the rising British sensation Andy Murray at the semifinals.

Murray, currently World No. 6, is to reach a career high ranking of No.4 after the US Open. He has been on a roll lately, claiming 3 ATP titles this year - one of them is from his fresh win in Cincinnati against Djokovic in the finals. Nadal, on the other hand, is appearing in his first US Open semifinal - his best showing in the tournament so far. Coming from his French, Wimbledon and Olympics triumph, this is the first time Nadal is seeded No. 1 at a Grandslam tournament.

So, who would not be overwhelmed with this line up? I am just soooo rooting for Nadal right now. Andy Roddick has also been my favorite player ever since while Murray and Djokovic are really exciting and versatile enough to catch my attention. But, expect Federer, the former World No. 1, to spice things up as I always see him as a silent killer on court - winning tournaments with his very, very relaxed and composed playing style.

My fearless forecast? Well, my sixth sense' telling me that Andy Roddick will win over Novak Djokovic in the quarters and will triumph over Roger Federer in the semis - with both matches to be hailed as two of US Open's best played. The Nadal-Murray starrer will be in favor of Nadal, of course and we will see Roddick and Nadal play one of this year's best Grandslam finals - possibly next to the Nadal-Federer showdown in Wimbledon last July. Ahahahaha!

Vamos Rafa!

Vamos Rafa!

Almost finish na ang monthend closing namin...tapos na ang preliminaries...finalization na lang tomorrow! Nice!

Anyway, happy nena ako today kase nakapasok ng 4th round si Rafael Nadal. Sana, sya ang magwagi sa US Open. In fairness, mahal ko 'tong Spaniard na 'to. Mukha kaseng maangas eh tsaka sobrang galing! Hindi ako na-bobore sa laro nya. Nung nanalo sya ng French Open 2008, expected ko na yon. King of Clay nga eh! Pero nung natalo nya si Roger Federer sa Wimbledon, hay naku! Sobra na itu! Pinanood talaga namin nila Jong at Kuya Ses yun! Mga past midnight na natapos yung laro na yun kase nagkaroon ng rain delays at nahinto talaga yung laro ng makailang beses din. Pero, tinutukan talaga naming tatlo yun! Inaasar pa nga nila ako kase si Federer gusto nilang manalo samantalang ako eh super cheer talaga kay Nadal. Super sad na nga ako nung nananalo na talaga si Federer. Feeling ko, malo-loss na naman si Nadal sa kanya sa Wimbledon. Eh syempre, fighting spirit na naman ang labanan kaya sobrang pray talaga ako na magwagi ang papa Rafa noh! And in the end, win talaga sya!

Hayyyyy...Currently, na-replace nya na si Federer as No.1 sa ranking. Grabe! First time nya itu! Tapos, wagi pa sya sa katatapos lang na Beijing Olympics! Dapat talaga magpa-burger na sya! Ahihihihihi...

Well, huli akong nagka-interest sa tennis eh nung naglalaro pa si Boris Becker tsaka si Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Sobrang paborito ko talaga 'tong dalawa na 'to noon! Updated ako palagi sa tennis nang mga panahon na iyon. Kapag sila nga ang magkalaban, affected ako eh. Di ko kase alam kung sino ang pipiliin sa kanila. Ahihihihi...Tapos nung hindi na sila active sa circuit, tinamad na akong manood. Naging favorite ko rin noon si Goran Ivanesevic. Wafu kase! Ahihihihi...

Una akong nakapanood ng tennis nung Grade 6 ako. Hay naku! In fairness sa akin, alam na alam ko ang mga rules sa tennis. Yung mga terms tulad ng deuce, advantage, lob at love...pati yang mga Grandslam tournaments tsaka yung ATP tour na yan, genius-geniusan ako jan! Ang pinakapaborito kong tennis player ever eh si Steffi Graf. Sobrang galing ng German na gerlat na itu. At pag sya talaga ang naglalaro noon, wala akong pakialam sa mundo. Di ko alintana kung may gusto silang ibang panoorin sa bahay. Basta, ipaglalaban ko talaga pag si Graf na ang naglalaro. Gustong gusto ko na kalaban nya ang Spaniard na si Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Feeling ko, she brings out the best in Graf. Kase, napaka-versatile na kalaban ni Arantxa. Pinapatakbo talaga nya ng husto si Graf! Sa ngayon, retired na si Graf at asawa lang naman nya ngayon ang isa pang tennis legend na si Andre Agassi. Taruzh talaga ni Steffi! Waging-wagi! Ahihihihi...

Basta, iwi-wish ko na sana manalo si Nadal sa US Open para todo na ang pagiging number 1 nya! Ahihihihihi. Love u Rafa! :-)