love...

THIS:

photo of rafael nadal at the 2010 italian open, by andrew medichini/AP via nytimes.com photo replay, may 2, 2010.

nadal defeated his countryman, david ferrer, after two rain delays, two sets, 7-5, 6-2.

THIS: maximum favorite writer reconsiders rafa (a "clay-court special-ist" after all)...

and THIS:

at the italian open, may 2, 2010. photo by pier paolo cito/AP via tennis.com

maybe not a dream match-up, but a dreamy one

i woke up in time to catch a few games of the battle of the handsomes: safin v robredo.
and then, with robredo serving at deuce, down 2-4, the rains came.

marat safin, during his match vs. tommy robredo at the internazionali bnl d'italia. photographed by julian finney for getty images. april 28, 2009.

to be continued...

***

in the meanwhile, here's a favorite photo of safin from last year's australian open:

marat safin, at the australian open 2008. photographed by greg wood for getty. january 18, 2008.

and to keep the "handsome guy with racket" theme going, one of robredo:

tommy robredo at the 2004 french open. photographed by clive mason for getty. may 30, 2004.