This is the Rafael Nadal show. No, his face doesn't grace the posters in the center of Barcelona promoting the Barcelona Open, nor does his name appear on the tickets. Yet mention this tournament to anyone around here and they start talking about Nadal. An expected win over Albert Ramos still makes the front page of the local newspaper. There were two Spaniards among the four semifinalists, but when the Tournament Director made the decision to have both semifinals played simultaneously following a rain delay, only about 60 people chose to watch the match on Court 1. The rest watched Nadal face Milos Raonic, on Central Court, of course. Fans tend to identify smaller home tournaments for a top player's as that star's invitational; here, the name might actually be the most warranted. Yes, there is Federer and Basel, Wozniacki and Copenhagen, and Djokovic's family even used to own the tournament in Belgrade until recently. The crowd support for the top player at those tournaments may measure up to Nadal's fans in Barcelona, but the Mallorcan's record is in a league of its own. He has won the Trofeo Conde de Godó seven times; of the 39 matches he played here before today, he lost a single one. In 2003, his first showing, he bowed out in three sets to Alex Corretja. Since then, his entry in the tournament has meant reducing the other players to, essentially, extras.

Nadal is back!
This tournament marked Rafael Nadal's return to the hard courts, his first official matches on the surface since March 2012 in Miami. Nadal was humble about his chances coming into Indian Wells, repeatedly saying he was just happy to be back and playing, that each extra match was a bonus for him. But, clearly, he didn't have that much rust to shake off. It surely helped that Nadal got a first round bye, that Leonardo Mayer withdrew before their third round match, and that Roger Federer was not at his best in their Quarterfinal. But Nadal had to bring his "A game" to beat Thomas Berdych in Saturday's Semifinal, and he showed much of his old form in this match, taking it 6-4, 7-5. Long rallies, corner-to-corner aggressive defense, and punishing forehands had the crowd roaring for most of the match. Sunday, we'll see if Nadal is in good enough form to win his third BNP Paribas Open title.

 

TalkAboutTennis.com attended the 13^th Annual BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis, a charity event to benefit New York youth tennis that brings top chefs and tennis stars together every year Thursday night before the US Open.

Players, chefs and attending celebrities were eager to dive in and enjoy the food, but stopped to chat with us on the green carpet at the W New York to share their love for New York, food and the event. Here are a few excerpts from TAT’s interviews with the attendees, to accompany the photos below!

Gail Simmons, of the Top Chef TV franchise confessed:  “I love tennis and I love food.”  Who is she rooting for at the US Open? “I have to, tonight, favor the Bryan brothers, because I’m cooking with them, they’re my co-hosts. I hate to predict anyone, because I’m about to meet all of them and I don’t want them to know who I root for… yet.”