~With utmost gratitude~

Hi guys. I hope you’re all doing wonderful. I started Spanish Armada about 2.5 years ago. I started it because I was passionate about the tennis players who came from Spain- well because they are so darn good at the sport! I’ve enjoyed writing about them, posting endless pics, and sharing their success with all of you. But honestly I’m finding it hard these last couple of months to keep posting on a regular basis. And the primary reason for that is I feel I don’t have enough time to dedicate to it as when I first started. When my daughter first started school I didn’t realize I’d actually have to help her out with homework. lol 😀 And plus with the  daily grind  of chores, cooking, driving (all boring stuff!) I don’t have a whole lotta time surfing the net for fun things to post.  *Please understand! But before I disappear off of cyber-space I just have a few final thoughts…

Without a doubt this was my favorite post. *And that is why I chose this header as the final one! I somehow had this inkling at the start of 2011 that these guys were gonna win the Davis Cup. And when they did I was on cloud nine. Without a doubt I think they can win a couple more. I think Carlos Moya will be a dedicated captain who can help out the squad. Of course with the addition of Rafael Nadal, the squad’s chances will increase even more. 😉

I do realize that this was a blog about a group of players. I know a lot of times I came across biased towards David Ferrer. But can you really blame me?! I mean he’s a specimen of hard work and consistency. Not to mention he’s awesome in the looks department! 😉 I hope he can carry all his success from 2013 into the coming season.

As for Rafa- gosh he’s such a  relentless beast! We are really lucky to have witnessed the greatest rivalry (even though it’s a bit one-sided) in tennis. Of course I’m talking about Rafa and Roger. I honestly don’t know if Rafa will ever catch up to Roger’s amount of majors because of the fact Rafa is injury-prone. (No mocking here!) One thing I think most people will agree on is that his success on clay will never be matched. He is amazing on the red stuff! It’s not to hard to see why he’s Spain’s most greatest sportsman! I can only imagine him picking up more French Open titles in coming years.As for the “rest of them”. Nico, Feli, Fer, Tommy and Marcel/Marc, all are a talented bunch of players no doubt. Heck, there’s a reason why they’re in the top ATP 50. I love their spirit and ability to execute exciting shots on court.

I hope all the Armada members can conclude their tennis careers with much more success!

As for me, I’ll get back to my “mom” things to do. 🙂 I am so grateful to all of you who read my thoughts and shared my enthusiasm for their [sometimes funny] fashion-sense, the bromance moments, reaching new levels in tennis history and their passion for the sport.

As for you guys, thank you for letting me share my passion with you. I really hope you all enjoy the coming holidays. I hope your future can bring you a lot of success and happiness. I know that we’ll all be enjoying watching tennis from our respective corners of the world. 🙂

As always, with best wishes~
Iram

I hope you guys are having a nice December so far. It’s become awfully cold here in Cali! 😉 It’s actually heater-weather here. Lol

These next two pics popped up on David’s tennis schools FB site. I think it’s great that he can have a balance of having fun, playing professionally, and then of course giving his time to help out eager children who are anxious to learn the sport!And I had to post this pic of Rafa that he posted himself (on his FB site). He looks so fresh in this pic!

In NO way am I trying to ignore this blog these days. I honestly have no new updates concerning the main guys. I’m not sure if I read it correctly, but I think David was supposed to participate in a tennis exhibition in Budapest earlier this week but had to pull out due to injuries he picked up during his workout?!

An interesting tidbit. Retired tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero is opening up a tennis academy in Shenzhen, China. There will be  5,000 seat stadium and will also have 20 hard courts. Aside from it will be a 4-star hotel and an area for players to live. “I hope to make my contribution with the Asian continent to continue promoting competition tennis”. Definitely an opportunity for aspiring tennis players to progress in the sport.

~My favorite moments of 2013~

I hope for those who are in U.S.A. were able to have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I got to spend a lot of time with my relatives and family. I went to see Disney’s new movie Frozen with my daughter! BTW, it’s a really nice movie. (Not your typical princess movie!) 😛

Anyway, there’s still nearly a whole month of downtime. I really don’t watch any other sport than tennis so I’m quite bored without it. I thought since there aren’t a whole lotta new pics out there or any exciting news to announce, I’d post about my favorite moments of this year.

5) How frickin’ cool was it that in 2013 David Ferrer was able to reach his first appearance in a major? That too was beating out hometown boy Tsonga in the semi! He made it to the French Open final where of course he faced none other than his nemesis Rafa. The fact remains that despite his age and the amount of talent in the ATP tour, he was able to reach new levels.

4) I love happy stories that showcase “where there’s a will, there’s always a way”. And Tommy Robredo exemplifies that. A couple years ago he was out of the tour due to injuries. In fact last May his ranking fell to 471. It’s not like he got right back on track in the main tour- he had to play few challenger tours (and won a couple) and this season he captured Umag and Casablanca. (*I know that he had tweeted that he was undergoing new treatment for more unfortunate injuries). The Catalan is now ending the year at 18. Talk about getting back on track! 🙂

3) Okay, I admit this next point isn’t specific. But I do want to point out that there are eight Spaniards ranked in the top 50. (Rafa, Ferrer, Nico, Tommy, Feli, Fer, Marcel, and Pablo). Well what this means is that Spain continues to produces some of the biggest talent in the sports. In a country where there is basically one renowned player and everyone is “the rest”…let’s give credit to “those rest”. It’s definitely not easy playing at such high levels under the shadow of a star. I think those guys put their heart and soul on the courts! I’m looking forward to 2014 being successful for them.

2) Fernando and David were remarkably successful in the doubles. The two guys have been consistently successful throughout the year. When most people were writing off Fernando, the Madridista turned around to expose another side of him- that he’s one heck of a doubles player. Let’s make it that they’re both fantastic as a team! Did you guys know that they themselves didn’t even know if they’d make it to the end-of-year-finals until after the Paris masters?! And to think they WON that title! (That too by beating the best doubles team in tennis history!) I think these guys can definitely contribute to the success of Spain’s Davis Cup in 2014.

1) I think the coolest thing has to be that Rafael Nadal was the ultimate “comeback-king” of 2013. From taking 7 months off due to injury he came to experience of of his best seasons of his career. He had an astounding 75-7 match win/loss record. He picked up 10 titles this year including 2 majors and 5 masters. Not to mention he was the finalist at this years Barclay’s. AMAZING!! What’s cooler?-Being named the country’s best sportsman of all time.

In off-season~

Sorry for the lack of updates [again]. Honestly in off-season there’s not that much to post. The guys are either vacationing or getting ready for the next year (which scares me a lil- already?!)  Or sometimes they are receiving one of the coolest awards given…

Rafael Nadal recently was awarded Spanish sports star in history. What an honorable award considering the country also boasts champion-winning Iker Casillas or Pau Gasol!

The fact that both Nicolas Almagro and David Ferrer are sponsored by Peugeot España isn’t new. But these pics are (which came from the company’s FB site). BTW, did you guys know that David Ferrer had made it to the top ten of highest paid tennis players? I mean I know that one has to account for inflation and increased prize money over the years- but still it’s pretty cool!)

Hi guys, I hope you’re all well. I’m stuck in a super busy weekend. 🙂 It’s life! I hope this year is getting a lil bit more easier for your guys as it’s winding down. Hopefully you’ll all have more time to spend with those who you’re closest to. 🙂 Take care!

A couple of things…

For more pics of or Marta and David on their vacation check out the FB site of El Gran David Ferrer y algo mas. There’s quite a few of them. Apparently they work out together too! 🙂

Fernando Verdasco can really enjoy his 30th b-day! He has achieved so much in his career, including being in the top ten, contributing to the success if his country’s Davis Cup, and well of course his recent Barclay’s [doubles] win!

Rafa is in Chile with Massu, Nalbandian and Nole. World # 1 & 2 showcased an exhibition match; where Nole beat Rafa 7-5, 6-4. Pics are courtesy of http://rafaelnadalfans.com

Enjoying vacation!

😀 I guess they’re enjoying touring South America! It’s def. new and interesting to explore ancient ruins. Don’t get me wrong- walking around in Paris and Rome is awesome, but for a guy who tours those cities constantly it’s nice to see a change of scenery.

 

Okay this is pretty sweet too!

This HAS to be one of their best pics taken together! I love it 🙂I swear they go to all these fantastic ‘hidden’ places. I’m glad he’s unwinding though…

~Ferru and Rafa in Peru~

I felt a tad-bit empty this past weekend. It was Davis Cup. Congrats to Czech again! But I wanted to post about Spain. 😦 And unfortunately 2013 was a disaster year for the the Davis Cup squad. I hope 2014 brings a promising opportunity to Coach Carlos Moya and his squad. To be honest I think Germany is a tough first challenge, esp. if Tommy Haas will compete in it. I think Spain will really have to rely on Rafa in the first round. I hope he doesn’t pull the “I’m-too-busy-with-my-schedule” to participate! 😛 BTW, here’s a pic that Rafa posted on his FB site of Ferru and another friend.The two guys are in Lima, Peru and participated in an exhibition on Nov. 17th! Rafa won 7-5, 6-4. Here’s some more pics.

BTW, there’s a lot more pics of them on El Gran David Ferrer y algo mas FB site. (I found the last two pics there!)

I hope you guys are enjoying your day. 🙂 Take care.

Ferru’s fashion sense

Thank goodness in these videos he’s actually looking stylish and not colorful with too many patterns. 🙂

I don’t know how old this one is, but I know I’ve never posted it! 🙂 (This just has snippets of him along with a another athlete.)