EVEN ROCK STARS DON’T START CONCERTS AFTER MIDNIGHT / BUT RAFA STARTS MATCH IN RIO @ 1 AM?

Written by: Staff on 21st February 2015

EVEN ROCK STARS DON'T START CONCERTS AFTER MIDNIGHT / BUT RAFA STARTS MATCH IN RIO @ 1 AM?

epa04631516 Spanish Rafael Nadal in action against Italian Fabio Fognini during their semifinal match at the Rio Open Tennis 2015 tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 21 February 2015. EPA/ANTONIO LACERDA |

10sballs.com Editors Note :

RAFA actually played A Game With His Shorts On Backwards … Jammie’s Anyone ? At That hour isn’t that what everyone’s supposed to be wearing ? Aren’t there child labour laws for the ball kids ? How are you supposed to shower. Recover in an ice bath. Maybe get an iV or massage. Eat , sleep and be ready to play again in a few hours ? What other physically challenging sport does this ? Crazy tennis. Night time tennis is hard enough. It should end at MIDNIGHT and NEVER start After It ? (LJ)

Rafael Nadal came up the winner but was far from pleased with scheduling procedures at the joint ATP-WTA Rio Open after completing a quarter-final win in the wee small hours of 3:21 a.m.

The Spanish defending champion beat on-form Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas, winner of 31 of his last 32 clay matches including last week’s Sao Paulo tournament, The Nadal contest started after 1 a.m. following a programme of four previous matches, which all exceeded the two-hour mark.

The first evening session contest was the longest of all, with Italy’s Fabio Fognini requiring three and a quarter hours to beat Federico Delbonis. Nadal’s marathon only added time to the longest day as it went for 2:05 with Cuevas mailing it in during the 6-0 final set.

Nadal later chided the organisation and said he was not proud to have competed in a match which finished second-latest in the record books for a non-grand slam. The contest ended just seven minutes shy of the record set in Tokyo in 2006 by Novak Djokovic and Benjamin Becker under the roof of the Ariake Colosseum on a day of rain which forced the entire programme indoors onto one covered court.

Nadal took his Brazilian career record to a perfect 18-0 with the win. He also provided a moment of levity when he had to change his white Nike shorts under a towel after playing most of the match while wearing them back-to-front.

“Rafa damaged his shorts somehow and played a game with the new ones on backwards! then he had to fix them…” – Photo by @happyslamtennis via Instagram.

“It was a complicated match,” said the Spaniard, now 321-24 on clay. “I knew I was going to play against a player who won Sao Paulo, who’s playing well, who came here with confidence and that’s how it was. I’m happy because this was an important victory for me.”

Content via bob Larson’s tennis news service.

Topics: Atp, Rafa, Rio De Janeiro, Rio Open, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

February 21, 2015 at 7:06 pm

EVEN ROCK STARS DON’T START CONCERTS AFTER MIDNIGHT / BUT @RafaelNadal STARTS MATCH IN #RioOpen @ 1 AM? http://t.co/BID3P3fsQH #tennis #Rafa
cheeers1 says:

February 22, 2015 at 4:27 am

RT @10sBalls_com: EVEN ROCK STARS DON’T START CONCERTS AFTER MIDNIGHT / BUT @RafaelNadal STARTS MATCH IN #RioOpen @ 1 AM? http://t.co/BID3P…
TChui29 says:

February 22, 2015 at 5:29 am

RT @10sBalls_com: EVEN ROCK STARS DON’T START CONCERTS AFTER MIDNIGHT / BUT @RafaelNadal STARTS MATCH IN #RioOpen @ 1 AM? http://t.co/BID3P…
Rafafan2401 says:

February 22, 2015 at 5:37 am

RT @10sBalls_com: EVEN ROCK STARS DON’T START CONCERTS AFTER MIDNIGHT / BUT @RafaelNadal STARTS MATCH IN #RioOpen @ 1 AM? http://t.co/BID3P…
Vamosgirl1 says:

February 22, 2015 at 6:10 am

RT @10sBalls_com: EVEN ROCK STARS DON’T START CONCERTS AFTER MIDNIGHT / BUT @RafaelNadal STARTS MATCH IN #RioOpen @ 1 AM? http://t.co/BID3P…