Monday, January 4, 2009 at 8:43 PM EST Andre Agassi, who wore wild colours (including fuchsia), jeans shorts and rakish bandanas in the early years of his career, finished it in the blandest white-and-black outfits imaginable.
Could a similar transition be happening with Rafael Nadal, 22, the swashbuckling Spaniard whose bronzed biceps in his sleeveless Nike tops have become his trademark?
The No. 1-ranked Nadal played the grandly named Capitala World Tennis Championship exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last week in a traditional white tennis shirt with short sleeves and gold and blue on the front. Also gone were his signature pirate pants, replaced by traditional white shorts.
After several years of distinctively exposing his bulging, sweaty muscularity, he looked as if he were in a straitjacket in conventional tennis garb.
In the six-man event, Nadal won his semi-final over Nikolay Davydenko, but was beaten 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 by Britain's Andy Murray in Saturday's final.
The day before, Murray had edged Roger Federer 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(6).
Murray, who spent most of December in the Miami area packing on six pounds of sinewy muscle while training with his fitness team, is clearly in the same conversation – until further notice – with Nadal, Federer and Novak Djokovic when potential winners of major tournaments are being discussed.
Ladbrokes, with an obvious bias because it is a British-based betting firm, has Murray behind only Federer in its odds for the Australian Open, which will begin Jan. 19. Federer is 5 to 2, Murray 11 to 4, Nadal 10 to 3 and Djokovic 5 to 1.
Murray has stirred huge interest in Britain, with many of his compatriots viewing him as a grittier, more salty-tongued (on-court) version of the retired Tim Henman.
A battle rages on European sports websites, exemplified by the following post after Murray won on Saturday: “Andy is a great player who deserves to be where he is. We are all the first to criticize the Brits with no killer instinct and yet the minute we have a great passionate player [okay with a few bad words] we jump on his back. I say ‘Go for it Andy … !!!'”
All the acclaim for the No. 4-ranked Murray, a rare talent and an entertaining player to watch, could be premature. He, as defending champion, Nadal and Federer are all playing the Qatar Open in Doha this week. With ranking points on the line, and a possible rematch with Federer in the semi-finals, Murray may have to beat No. 2 and No. 1 all over again Friday and Saturday.
While Murray, Nadal and Federer play in the Persian Gulf, Djokovic is top seed at the ATP event in Brisbane, Australia.
Ranked No. 3, Djokovic is a minuscule margin (5,305 to 5,295 points) behind Federer and could replace him at No. 2 if he outperforms the Swiss this week.
But being No. 2, and thus seeded No. 2 at the Australian Open, is not such a big deal because the top four are so evenly matched. If Federer slipped to No. 3, he would avoid facing the fourth-seeded Murray, who beat him in three of four matches last year, in the Melbourne Park semi-finals.
Canadian singles content this week is limited to Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., who is the fourth seed at the WTA Tour stop in Auckland, New Zealand. Fellow Quebecker Stéphanie Dubois was beaten in the Auckland qualifying while Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., and Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., were ousted in the first round of qualifying in Brisbane.
The top seed in Doha, Nadal, who missed the end of last season with a problem in his right knee, was not devastated after losing to Murray. “For me, it was a very good test,” he said. “Playing 2 hours and 45 minutes at the best level is good. I forgot about my knee injury. I am looking forward to the year.”
That's good news for Nadal's legion of fans, even if some will be disappointed his new fashion look is a little less rugged and carnal, a little more gentrified and discreet.
Could a similar transition be happening with Rafael Nadal, 22, the swashbuckling Spaniard whose bronzed biceps in his sleeveless Nike tops have become his trademark?
The No. 1-ranked Nadal played the grandly named Capitala World Tennis Championship exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last week in a traditional white tennis shirt with short sleeves and gold and blue on the front. Also gone were his signature pirate pants, replaced by traditional white shorts.
After several years of distinctively exposing his bulging, sweaty muscularity, he looked as if he were in a straitjacket in conventional tennis garb.
In the six-man event, Nadal won his semi-final over Nikolay Davydenko, but was beaten 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 by Britain's Andy Murray in Saturday's final.
The day before, Murray had edged Roger Federer 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(6).
Murray, who spent most of December in the Miami area packing on six pounds of sinewy muscle while training with his fitness team, is clearly in the same conversation – until further notice – with Nadal, Federer and Novak Djokovic when potential winners of major tournaments are being discussed.
Ladbrokes, with an obvious bias because it is a British-based betting firm, has Murray behind only Federer in its odds for the Australian Open, which will begin Jan. 19. Federer is 5 to 2, Murray 11 to 4, Nadal 10 to 3 and Djokovic 5 to 1.
Murray has stirred huge interest in Britain, with many of his compatriots viewing him as a grittier, more salty-tongued (on-court) version of the retired Tim Henman.
A battle rages on European sports websites, exemplified by the following post after Murray won on Saturday: “Andy is a great player who deserves to be where he is. We are all the first to criticize the Brits with no killer instinct and yet the minute we have a great passionate player [okay with a few bad words] we jump on his back. I say ‘Go for it Andy … !!!'”
All the acclaim for the No. 4-ranked Murray, a rare talent and an entertaining player to watch, could be premature. He, as defending champion, Nadal and Federer are all playing the Qatar Open in Doha this week. With ranking points on the line, and a possible rematch with Federer in the semi-finals, Murray may have to beat No. 2 and No. 1 all over again Friday and Saturday.
While Murray, Nadal and Federer play in the Persian Gulf, Djokovic is top seed at the ATP event in Brisbane, Australia.
Ranked No. 3, Djokovic is a minuscule margin (5,305 to 5,295 points) behind Federer and could replace him at No. 2 if he outperforms the Swiss this week.
But being No. 2, and thus seeded No. 2 at the Australian Open, is not such a big deal because the top four are so evenly matched. If Federer slipped to No. 3, he would avoid facing the fourth-seeded Murray, who beat him in three of four matches last year, in the Melbourne Park semi-finals.
Canadian singles content this week is limited to Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., who is the fourth seed at the WTA Tour stop in Auckland, New Zealand. Fellow Quebecker Stéphanie Dubois was beaten in the Auckland qualifying while Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., and Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., were ousted in the first round of qualifying in Brisbane.
The top seed in Doha, Nadal, who missed the end of last season with a problem in his right knee, was not devastated after losing to Murray. “For me, it was a very good test,” he said. “Playing 2 hours and 45 minutes at the best level is good. I forgot about my knee injury. I am looking forward to the year.”
That's good news for Nadal's legion of fans, even if some will be disappointed his new fashion look is a little less rugged and carnal, a little more gentrified and discreet.
- globesports.com -
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