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News/Results 2003
11/17/03: Last week, Rafael played in the Team Championships of Spain for the RCT Barcelona; his teammates included Albert Costa, Fernando Vicente, and Galo Blanco. Rafael defeated David Ferrer of the Valencia team in the semifinals, 6-3 6-0. In the final, he defeated Oscar Hernandez 6-3 6-2, helping his team to the championship. Rafi also played doubles with Albert Costa and defeated Portas and Puentes, of the CT Barcino team, 6-2 6-1. Felicidades, RCT Barcelona!
11/08/03: Apparently Rafael did not go to Barcelona as scheduled. He is not in any challenger draws, and we assume he is back in Mallorca working on his tan. He is not part of the Davis Cup team heading to Australia for the final later this month. He is likely to end the year in the Top 50. As of November 3, he was No. 47 in the ATP Entry System.
11/01/03 (Barcelona):
According to Elide, Alex Corretja, Albert Costa, Carlos Moya and Rafael are heading to Barcelona this weekend to help with a fundraiser for the Davis Cup physical therapist, who is quite ill. No word on whether Rafael will be asked to join the Davis Cup team for the final in Australia later this month.
10/25/03 (Paris): Rafa
lost his qualifying match against Victor Hanescu on Saturday, 7-5, 3-6,
6-7(3), in the TMS Paris. But Reiko was able to deliver our fan messages
for Rafael after the match. Muchas gracias, Reiko! This may
be the end of Rafael's 2003 season, unless he plays one of the upcoming
challengers. Stay tuned! As of October 29, his ranking remains 49 in
the ATP Entry System and 66 in the Champion's Race.
10/22/03
(Basel): Rafael had another heartbreaking loss
today. Feliciano Lopez defeated him 6-3, 3-6, 6-7(4) in the first round of
the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel,
Switzerland. According to the ATP, "Nadal was 5-2 up in the third set and served for the
match at 5-3 but lost his serve to 15. He didn't hold any match points but he
was two points away from the match at 5-3, 30-30 on Lopez's serve."
Rafi is among the 24 players scheduled to try to qualify for the TMS
Paris, which starts next week. The qualification rounds start on
Saturday, October 25. Vamos,
Rafael! Rafael and his partner, Tommy Robredo, lost
their first-round doubles match in Basel against Ivan Ljubicic and Filippo
Volandri, 6-4, 6-3, on
Tuesday.
10/16/2003
(Madrid): Rafael conducted an
internet chat with fans at terra.es.
Click
here
for a Spanish transcript of the chat. Click here for the English version.
10/13/2003 (Madrid): Rafael received a wild card to TMS Madrid thanks to fans who voted
for him at Marca.com. Rafael lost his first-round match against Alex Corretja, 2-6,
6-3, 4-6. Rafael is currently
ranked No. 49 in the ATP Entry System, and No. 66 in the
Champion's Race. He is scheduled to play Basel beginning October 20, 2003. We hope he
will try to qualify for the TMS Paris.
10/8/2024 (Lyon):
Rafael and doubles partner Thierry Ascione were
defeated in the first round by the French duo of Michael Llodra and Fabrice
Santoro, 6-2 7-6(3). Rafael lost in the first round of
singles. He was defeated 3-6, 5-7, by Dominik Hrbaty. This was his
first match after 3 weeks with a leg/groin injury. Good try,
Rafi!
9/28/2003
(Metz): Rafael has withdrawn from this
week's Open de Moselle in Metz, France, due to injury.
We assume it's the same leg/groin injury that caused him to retire from his
second round match in the St. Jean De Luz challenger, and then caused him
to withdraw from Palermo last week. Hopefully he'll be back in action
soon. Buena suerte,
Rafi!
9/20/2003
(Palermo): Sadly, Rafael has pulled
out of the Campionati Internazionali Tennis di Sicilia due to his
injury. Hopefully this is just precautionary and he will be fit to play soon.
9/18/2003 (St. Jean de Luz): Unfortunately, Rafael was down 2-6 when
he had to retire with a leg/buttock injury in his
second-round match against Richard Gasquet in the St. Jean de Luz challenger in
France. The No. 1 seed, Rafael defeated
Frenchman Rodolphe Cadart in the first round, 6-2, 6-1!
9/13/2003
(Albacete): Rafaeldefeated Feliciano Lopez, 6-1,
6-4, in the final of the Trofeo Internacional 'Ciudad de Albacete', a
regional championship for the Castilla La Mancha area of Spain. This
is Rafi's fourth title of the year. The match of the event, however,
was Rafael's semifinal against Ferran Ventura. Rafi saved four
matchpoints, ultimately winning 4-6, 6-3,
7-6(7). Well done, Rafael!
8/29/2003 (NYC):
Rafael lost a tough second-round match against the
No. 22 seed, Younes El Aynaoui, 6-7(6), 3-6, 6-7(6). Rafael had his
chances in the breakers, but Younes showed his experience, playing the big
points with a bit more confidence.
Rafael and doubles
partner David Sanchez were defeated by Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor, 6-4, 6-0.
Rafael defeated fellow
Spaniard Fernando Vicente, 6-4 6-3 6-3, in the first round in singles.
8/13/2003 (New
York): Contrary to
earlier reports, Rafael is not playing Long Island this week. He is on the
draw list for the U.S. Open. The draw is scheduled for Wednesday,
August 20, 2003. Good luck, Rafi! This week Rafael
is No. 45 in the ATP Entry System, a career high ranking. He is 63 in
the Champion's Race.
8/8/2024
(Germany): Rafael defeated
Albert Montanes 6-2, 7-6(2) in his Bundesliga His team, Blau-Weiss Neuss,
defeated their opponent 7 matches to 2. Reiko has provided us with some terrific photos from that match.
8/3/2025
(Segovia): Rafael won the Open
Castilla y Leon Challenger, a hardcourt challenger, by defeating Tomas
Zib 6-2, 7-6(1) in the final! Felicidades, Rafi! Click here for our Segovia photo
album. He defeated Luxembourgeois Gilles Muller, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, in
the quarterfinals, and Aussie Paul Baccanello in the semis, 7-6(2),
6-4.
7/27/2003
(Umag): Playing in his first ATP
final, Rafael and his doubles partner, Alex Lopez Moron, defeated Todd Perry and
Thomas Shimada, 6-1, 6-3, for the Croatia Open doubles title. Felicidades, Rafi y
Alex!
In his first ATP singles
semifinal, Rafael lost a close two-set match
to his mentor, Carlos Moya, 6-4, 6-4. Earlier,
Rafael defeated
former world No. 2, Magnus Norman, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals,
and won his second round
singles match against Mariana Puerta, 6-2, 6-4. Rafael has moved up seven
places in both the Champion's Race (No. 59), and the ATP Entry system (No.
51). He's moving in on the Top 50!
7/19/2003 (Germany): In between Croatia and Stuttgart,
Rafi won a Bundesliga exhibition match in Germany. He
defeated Italy's Giorgia Galimberti, 7-5, 6-2. Well done,
Rafael! Thanks, Rebecca!
7/17/2003
(Stuttgart): Rafi and Andreas
Beck lost their doubles match to Kafelnikov and Ullyett, 3-6, 6-4,
3-6. Another close match! Rafi is off to Croatia next
week. Check out our updated Stuttgart Photo Album, which has some
great photos of Rafi touring Stuttgart with Al Costa and Tommy
Robredo. Fernando Gonzalez, the sixth seed, defeated
Rafael in the second round, 2-6, 6-3, 2-6. Rafi fought hard, but
Gonzo was the more dominant player in the end. In the first round, Rafi defeated German wild
card, Phillip Petzschner, 7-5, 6-1.
Rafael is now at a career high 56
in the ATP Entry System, and 66 in the Champion's Race.
7/11/2024
(Bastad): Rafael
lost a thrilling three-setter to Nicolas Lapentti, 6-3, 3-6, 6-7(6) in the
quarterfinals of the Swedish Open. It was an end to a great week,
including a win over third seeded Younes El Aynaoui and Rafa's first ATP
quarterfinal. Well done,
bien hecho, Rafi! On July 10, Rafael and Carlos lost
their 2nd round doubles match vs. the team of Arnold/ Hood, 6-3
6-4. They
defeated the team of Landsberg/Norman 6-3, 6-2 in the first round.
7/5/2024
(Madrid): Rafael was defeated
by Feliciano Lopez, 4-6, 4-6, in the final of the Campeonato de Espana. He
had a great week. He defeated Fernando Verdasco in the semis, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, coming
back from a set and a break down. He defeated defending champion Tommy Robredo, 6-4, 6-4, in the
quarters, and easily defeated his two earlier opponents, Juan Luis Rascon, 6-2, 6-3, and
Luis
Perez 6-1, 6-0. Well Done, Rafi!
6/27/2003
(London): Rafael lost his third round match against Paradorn
Srichaphan, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, ending his Wimbledon run. He won his
second round match against Lee Childs, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3, with the help of a rain
delay in the third set. Rafael won his first round Wimbledon match,
defeating 19-year-old Mario Ancic (CRO), 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
It was a great result for his first slam. As a result of his showing,
he rose to 61 in the ATP Entry System. Well done, Rafi!
Rafael is featured in July's
German Tennis Magazine and ATP's Deuce magazine.
6/15/2003: Rafael
is not in the Nottingham or Rosmalen draws, so his injury must be keeping him
out of action for another week. Hopefully he will be able to play
Wimbledon next week.
6/8/2024 (London): Unfortunately, Rafael has withdrawn from Queen's (Stella Artois)
because of the elbow injury. But the good news is that he is planning to play
either Nottingham or Rosmalen, starting June 16, 2003. We'll keep you posted.
Thanks to James of Eurosport for this
information.
5/26/2003 (Paris): Originally Rafael received a wild card
into Roland Garros, but based on his 2003 results, he had enough ranking points
to directly qualify for the event. Unfortunately, he injured his elbow in
training a couple days before the tournament started, and had to withdraw,
disappointing many who were hoping to see him play at RG. According to NBC
commentators (as reported by Beth and Christine), he playfully jumped over the
net after practice, and fell on his elbow. Get well soon, Rafael!!!
5/23/2003
(Paris): As reported in the ATP Insider, Rafael
won the Burgeon Prize which goes to the most promising player.
5/12/2024
(Hamburg): Rafael lost
to Gaston Gaudio (ARG), 2-6, 2-6, in the third round at the TMS Hamburg (clay),
after beating his mentor, Carlos Moya (ESP), and also Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
in the earlier rounds. He qualified for the event. After the event he moved to
75 in the ATP Entry System. Well done, Rafael!
4/23/2003
(France): Rafael reached the final of the
prestigious Aix En Provence Challenger event (clay) -- his fifth Challenger
final. He lost the final to Mariano Puerta (ARG), 6-3 6-7(6) 4-6, but continued
his rise in the rankings. On May 5, 2003, he was 85 in the ATP Entry
System.
4/21/2003 (Barcelona): Rafael reached the second round of Barcelona (clay), where he
received a wild card. He lost to compatriot, Alex Corretja (ESP), 6-3 2-6 1-6.
4/14/2003 (Monte Carlo): Rafael justified his Wild Card entry by reaching the third round
of the TMS Monte Carlo (clay), beating defending Roland Garros champion Albert
Costa in the second round. He ultimately lost to Guillermo Coria (ARG), 6-7(3)
2-6, but secured a spot in the Top 100 for the first time. He began the
event at 109 in the ATP Entry System, and moved to 96. Well done!
3/24/2003 (Barletta):
Rafael won his first Challenger title in Barletta,
defeating Albert Portas (ESP) 6-2 7-6(2), in the final on clay. Congrats!
3/17/2003 (Cagliari): Rafael reached his third Challenger final of the year in Cagliari,
Italy (clay), losing to Filippo Volandri (ITA), 6-2 2-6 1-6.
3/3/2025 (Besancon): Rafael lost in the first round at the Besancon Challenger in
France (hardcourt).
2/24/2003
(Cherbourg): Rafael reached the final of this Challenger in France (hardcourt),
and was defeated by Sergio Roitman (ARG), in a close match, 3-6 7-5 4-6.
2/3/2025 (Belgrade): Rafael reached the quarters of this carpet Challenger event in
Yugoslavia. He lost to Markus Hantschk (GER ), 4-6 2-6.
1/27/2003 (Hamburg): Rafael began the year at 200 in the ATP Entry System.
He reached his first Challenger final of the year in Germany (carpet),
losing the final to Mario Ancic (CRO), 2-6 3-6. Definitely a good start to the
year!
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