My picks for Roland Garros

May 25th, 2013 • Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Monaco, Kei Nishikori, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Roland Garros, Tommy Haas

Men’s title: Juan Monaco. He’s just won a title. On clay. I think that seals the business. And look at his damn beautiful smile. You can almost see the Coupe des Mousquetaires in his strong, but tender, hands. If Pico surprisingly doesn’t win, I’ll go for the upset: Novak Djokovic. Rafa‘s mental block versus Novak never goes away and I can’t see a semifinal in Paris going the Spaniard‘s way. Even if Novak is indeed missing a foot.

I think the greatest question here is: if Federer pulls a Federer and loses to a Nishikori, what random player will we have playing the final? Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are both on his side of the draw. Make your bets.

Women’s title: Pack your things, we all might head to South West London already. Serena‘s got this faster than you can say “I’ll have a double whopper with fries” in French.

P.S. I know you didn’t ask, but I had a stellar time during that manip.

Is Rafa the tennis player with the most ridiculous commercials?

May 23rd, 2013 • Rafael Nadal

Everyone talks about how Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova are linked with multiple sponsors, how important Na Li’s home market is for brands and what a great marketing personality Novak Djokovic has. But you know what is hardly mentioned? Rafael Nadal‘s ridiculous advertisements.

Let’s even ignore the fact he wears a half a million dollar watch (like, one watch costs what I’ll make in a lifetime). Let’s also ignore the fact that Rafa – the guy who always picks on his underwear before a point – models for, yes, an underwear brand.

Yesterday, we got an ad of Rafa eating biscuits. And with the amazing tagline: number one eating!

There’s also anti-drandruff shampoo for L’Oreal.

Before he could afford fancy watches, he had to work as a bartender on the beach.

The balearic islands! This is the most Rafa-esque of all Rafa commercials. It includes him sailing looking like Antonio Banderas.

The great PokerStars commercial saga. Shame he can’t play poker? (This one is funny though.)

And because you deserve it, Armani Underwear:

Golden Letters

September 14th, 2010 • 1 comment Rafael Nadal

If someone had told me an exact year ago that Rafael Nadal would be winning three slams in a row and completing the Golden Slam at fantastic fashion just about now, my reaction would be something along the lines of ‘Mate, get the fuck off’. From his loss to Soderling in Roland Garros up until the end of the season–not including Davis Cup–, Rafa had gathered 25 wins and 10 losses. That’s a 60% winning percentage. The scary thing was how absolutely devastating some of those losses were. It doesn’t take much to find a Rafa fan that relates last year’s World Tour Finals to nightmares. He lost all three matches without even snagging a set. The knee was looking better but you could see the Spaniard that had always been associated with a bull had no confidence left. Read more »

Let’s talk about what really matters in tennis: Rafa’s outfits

August 12th, 2010 • 2 comments Fashion, Rafael Nadal

The most discussed topic today in tennis blogs seems to be our two most popular ballers wearing pink. One is looking gorgeous, the other looks like the last ice cream on earth you’d like to lick. What? Partiality? I don’t know what you’re talking about.

I decided to comply a list of my Top 5 Outfits Wore By Rafa Nadal. Because 1) I like clothes, 2) I like Rafa, and 3) I like lists.

HONOURABLE MENTION:

Day Matches Bubblegum Rafa, Australian Open 2009

5.

White Wings, U.S. Open 2008

4.

Blue/Yellow Combo, U.S. Open Series 2009

3.

Green and Blue Mosaic, Roland Garros 2010

2.

Pink Polo of Doom, Roland Garros 2009

1.

I’m sorry, was I talking about something?

Moral of the story: the brighter my lil’ own personal version of Sunshine shines, the happier I get. */creep*

Not a bad way to start the week

July 5th, 2010 • Rafael Nadal

I’ve seen worst Mondays.

(First picture via vamosrafa)