TENNIS: AO Men's Final and beyond

[JaneJeffer]

Jane . I was never a Roger fan, but the 2009 final was the thing that really put me off him.

The French Open did a similar, video version on their facebook page. The fact Rafa was the same age in 2005 (just) when he won, as Ds is now, made me feel strange .

And I've just read that Domi has withdrawn from the Cordoba open- this was his 'comeback' but he has a hand injury. He really hasn't had much luck over the last year.

Oh poor Domi. I saw some photos of him and Diego and he looked so happy Hopefully it's nothing major.

I know- only earlier today, I was thinking how nice it would be to see him back. I was thinking about him, because there have been so many comments about Rafa's win not 'counting' in the absense of Djok. I'm sure there are many who think that Dom's US Open win doesn't 'count' either.

*absence

Del Potro is going to play in the Argentina Open. Will be nice to see him play again ( or at least follow his progress, not sure it will be televised anywhere).

Who had the foresight, or wanted to dare jinx him with this t-shirt design??

He does look happy now that he's had a sleep :)

That T-shirt is gorgeous @TottiePlantagenet I want one! Roger probably arranged it. He likes to plan ahead

I love Rafa’s t-shirt too. But the 21 is in orange. Do you think it was designed with clay in mind? As if it was designed with the AO in mind it should be blue? Or am I reading too much into it?!

Nike are selling them but I can only see men's

Love the t-shirt! (At least he didn’t have it in his bag like Roger did at Wimbledon ) I think Rafa is quite superstitious (just a bit!)

I read that about Del Potro Chessie - it would be really nice to see him back playing - it’s a shame about Thiem though

I think I saw a few people in the crowds wearing the t-shirts (and at the time worried it was a bit premature)- but at first I didn't register it said 21, and thought it was a squiggle .

Weirdly -I always associate the Australian Open with orange- probably because the previous tournament logo had an orange background. Plus- that's still the logo that is saved on my laptop for the tournament website- although it changes to the new one when you click it.

Good news about Delpo Chessie it would be great to see him back- it has been so long.

I can only find the t-shirt in mens sizes too. I need a womens one as mens are always too long for me. We are going to Spain this summer and I’m sure being there and wearing the t-shirt will help me feel closer to Rafa!

Morning all - did anyone buy a t shirt?

I’ve just seen that tickets are on sale soon for the Laver Cup in September at the O2 arena. Rafa has said that he will be playing (with his bestie Roger - no mention of you know who!)

Not sure whether to try for tickets - it could be my last chance to see Rafa in the flesh and quite a few of the other top players would be there as well

Ha ha Fizzy I put my name on their list and asked DS2 if he'd like a trip to London in September so tempted!

I’ve registered my interest as well Jane - we could have a tennis thread meet up

if I went and didn't see Rafa I would cry.

Me too Jane - would be just my luck to end up watching Djok v Isner or something like that!

I’ve never managed to see Rafa at Wimbledon - he’s always been on the other court

I saw this announced. I did think it was quite early in the year for Roger to be committing to it, to be honest (sorry Rog ), but maybe that's the plan- it might end up being his 'final'. Which could be quite fitting. I don't think he will play much this year- and you can't blame him for that.

I very much hope we don't see 'you know who' very much this year . Or Isner.

I haven't had chance to see much tennis 'live' over the the last few years -and have never seen Rafa live- so am very glad that I at least got to see Stefan in his prime (though not at Wimbledon- I saw him a few weeks before he won his first Wimbledon title though).

I still haven't recovered from Sunday, really- I saw a lovely picture of Rafa giving Xisca a hug at Mallorca airport- I wonder how she was feeling, I bet she was glad she wasn't there watching!

I’ve never seen Rafa despite many Wimbledon and O2 visits. Ive registered my interest but I too would cry if I didn’t see him. Though the thought of never seeing him play is too awful for words! I’ve seen Roger and Djok a few times but but it’s all about Rafa for me. I still can’t find a womens 21 t-shirt - anyone had any luck?

No T-shirt Well - someone on Instagram said the men's XS was a good fit but I dunno! Surely Nike must cop on that there's a huge market of middle aged women out there

And I've just seen that XS is sold out so there you go!

So, I've been sitting here watching the Winter Olympics opening ceremony (because I have to fill my day with something in the absence of tennis, and doing something useful isn't on the agenda)- and it dawned on me that it's in Beijing- which is where Rafa won his Olympic gold - the summer before he went on to win in Australia. So maybe Sunday was meant be after all .

I'm not say that Rafa will appear in Beijing and win Gold in the skeleton or anything, but you never know...

It would be interesting to see Rafa at the Winter Olympics Raahh - not sure if the cold temps would suit him

I’ve just seen the pics of Rafa at the airport - they’re talking about naming the airport after him!

I somehow ended up on The Sun website which said that Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Coleman were at Rafa’s wedding - I know they were in the Night Manager which was filmed at the wedding venue - maybe someone at the Sun confused the two things!