First thing you see on ATPTennis.com? This:
Yep, today’s the day, the first time in 237 weeks someone besides Roger Federer has held the ATP number one ranking. Inside the official ATP website: A handful of stories on the move, a video tribute, a video cast about the change, a number of ads for Rafa, etc.
Too much? Maybe.
You wonder if the sport, desperate for more post-Wimbledon buzz, is happy seeing the classy but low-profile Federer trade spots with the flashier, more star-worthy Spaniard. And with perfect timing comes this interview in New York Magazine titled “The Beefcake in the Backcourt”… and the photo on the front doesn’t leave much to the imagination.
Anyhow, our friends at Forty Deuce found this video from 1998, when he was all of 12. Have no clue what he’s saying at the end, but he looks composed. Check it after the jump.
Vamos Rafa!… Let’s see a finish better than the quarters at the Open now. I hope that his intensity can bring tennis into a greater spotlight. For the US Open, don’t look past the likes of Federer, Djokovic or Murray. Also, two potential sleepers (kind of): Ernests Gulbis and Gael Monfils. Two soon to be hard court stars.
Gulbis was my pick to win the Olympics; was more than a bit disappointed he lost badly to Davydenko. Kid looked great in Cincinnati. Anxious to see where his first big grand slam run comes.