Davis Cup Tennis, and Rafael Nadal

[marc anthony]

OK... I use to think that Andy Roddick was the hottest tennis player on the tour. And then I tuned in to watch him play Rafael Nadal. Things aren't going well for the USA in this one right now... but wow, what a FUN match to watch!

 

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[Doug69]

>OK... I use to think that Andy Roddick was the hottest tennis

>player on the tour. And then I tuned in to watch him play

>Rafael Nadal. Things aren't going well for the USA in this

>one right now... but wow, what a FUN match to watch!

 

That is what's so great about the world . . . .there's always a younger, fresher, more nubile one being groomed, coming up, on the barely-post-pubescent horizon - right, Marc?

 

Roddick is 22 already - time to retire that old pig out to pasture. But Rafael . . . he's 18! Just turned 18, too! So last month, he was 17. Mmmmmm. A middle aged "twink," but still hot!

 

I know EXACTLY what you're saying, Marc!

[marc anthony]

And when it was all over....

 

The hottie 18 yo left handed player from Spain got the better of the talented (and very hot) Roddick.

 

Is it my imagination, or are there some seriously hot tennis players these days???

 

Here he is with another tennis hottie (Gasquet).

 

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[marc anthony]

Hey welcome back Doug! Missed you so much!

 

And glad to hear that your time off has made you come to appreciate twinks like the rest of us enlightened ones.

[Guest skrubber]

A definate cutie.

[Funseeker 22]

It`s very rare to see an ugly male tennis player.

Must be the ball handling gene. :-)

[catnip]

I was at the US Open last year and was watching a great doubles match on an outer court between Feliciano Lopez (total hottie)/Fernando Verdasco (more in the Marcelo Rios mode) versus the Frenchmen Michel Llodra and Fabrice Santoro. It was an extremely entertaining match, and the Spaniards ousted the 2004 French Open champs in straight sets.

 

Anyway, there was a whole group of Spanish players right behing me on the bleachers cheering on their compatriots, and Nadal was one of them. He seemed very sweet, and it was great to see their team spirit. Rafael's too young for me, though. He almost seemed like a young girl to me, strange.

[skins1]

I think andy roddick is the hottest tennis player ever! i sure wouldn't say no. kick ass body for sure.

[Guest rohale]

Earlier today Andy Roddick was beaten in four sets by the unknown Rafael Nadal. It's got to be a fantastic moment for this young Spaniard to go out on center court and beat the No. 2 ranked tennis player in the world.

 

Only one week ago who would ever have thought that the Former No. 1 ranked Juan Carlos Ferrero would be dropped because of constant injuries thoughout this past season, only to be replaced by an unknown who was ranked No. 51 In the current standings Ferrero is currently ranked No. 31. Ferrero is still hoping to play in Sunday's single matches. Rafael Nadal is the youngest Spaniard to be playing in top event in Men's tennis and had expected to be only playing in Saturday's doubles match. Now that's all changed and the world of tennis will be watching very closely to how well Nadal does in the next round.

 

I think back to a time when tennis players like Ivan Lendl, Stephan Edberg, Patrick Cash, Borris Becker and offcourse Pete Samprass were definitely worth watching and were equally impressive as the game each individual played on the court.

 

In recent times, besides Agassi and Roddick, I think Tim Henman is quite a hottie to say the least. Still let's hope that tennis continues to be more of a young man's game than it was twenty or thirty years ago.

 

As for Rafael Nadal, I hope he continues to be successful not only for his own career and country, but also for the sake of tennis in general with an ever so diminishing audience out there in TV land. With only a handful of tennis players garnering media attention, the sport in general has suffered and eventually that will translate sooner or later into a loss of sponsorship and eventually a TV Network to carry all the Major Opens, from the US Open all the way thru Wimbledon. Tennis really needs new players out there who can inject that level of excitement that John MacEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Conners brought to the game over twenty years ago. I'm hoping that the best is yet to come.

 

Rohale

[HotdadENYC]

>OK... I use to think that Andy Roddick was the hottest tennis

>player on the tour. And then I tuned in to watch him play

>Rafael Nadal. Things aren't going well for the USA in this

>one right now... but wow, what a FUN match to watch!

>

 

I obviously need to begin looking at more sports matches. The chance to watch some of these guys "dance around" on the court is inviting, to say the least.

 

Out of curiousity, why is the guy in the 2nd pic using crutches? (AND, for you tops out there, PLEASE don't tell me its because he just left YOUR hotel room).

 

hd NYC

[Guest ReturnOfS]

This kid is adorable. I especially love those young, little hairy legs. :9

[+ deej]

>I think back to a time when tennis players like Ivan Lendl,

>Stephan Edberg, Patrick Cash, Borris Becker and offcourse Pete

>Samprass were definitely worth watching and were equally

>impressive as the game each individual played on the court.

 

It's the success of those older players that got more and more younger players involved. (Stefan Edberg got me interested. I had a HUGE crush on him!)

 

>In recent times, besides Agassi and Roddick, I think Tim

>Henman is quite a hottie to say the least. Still let's hope

>that tennis continues to be more of a young man's game than it

>was twenty or thirty years ago.

 

Tennis used to be a game mostly about finesse. It has gradually become more and more focused on athletic prowess, at the competitive level at least, and that all came about with the advent of a health club/gym on every corner. We're seeing the first generation that grew up with "going to the gym" as a part of everyday life rather than something only athletes in training did.

 

And they grew up nice, indeed. ;-)

[+ Charlie]

Nadal really is cute, but no cuter than other teenage tennis phenoms, like Richard Gasquet or Mario Ancic (who was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon)--let's face it: it's hard to find a teenage athlete who is truly unattractive. Whether his tennis prowess will live up to his media image remains to be seen, since except for the match against Roddick, he has generally failed to meet the expectations of the hype about him, which has gone on in the tennis press for a couple of years already.

 

It's interesting that the best tennis player in the world these days is Roger Federer, who as a teenager was a rather homely, skinny kid with no sense of style. Recently, however, he seems to have had a makeover, with a more flattering hairstyle, more muscle bulk, and his face even looks better--I wondered if his girlfriend/manager brought in a Queer Eye.