[新聞] Nadal seeks a golf course

[Athletics (!!)]

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/28/2717823/away-from-tennis-court-rafael
.html

Golf spotlight

Away from tennis court, Rafael Nadal seeks a golf course

By Bill Van Smith

Special to The Miami Herald


Whack! That’s Rafael Nadal and there goes the ball, hard and true down the
middle.

Yes, Rafael Nadal is pretty good, but we’re not talking tennis. We’re
talking golf.

If Nadal needs to get away from the grind of tennis, guess where he heads —
 straight to the golf course.

While playing in the Sony Ericsson Open the past eight days, Nadal — the
Spaniard who is the world’s No. 2-ranked player, expressed his love for the
little, white, dimpled ball as opposed to the larger, yellow ball that he
makes his living off of.

“I love the game of golf in general, no?” Nadal said.

Sometimes, Nadal’s focus — when it is the appropriate time — might be on
golf rather than tennis. This past Sunday, he said, “I was watching all the
afternoon the last round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational [which Tiger Woods
won]. I am a big fan of sport in general, and golf is one of my favorites.”

The peaceful setting is part of Nadal’s affection for golf.

“Golf is great, because you are always in beautiful places when you are
playing,” he said.

Nadal, 25, has made a nice living playing tennis, somewhere above the $55
million mark. That’s just tournament winnings, and not endorsements. In
golf, he hasn’t made quite as much. Maybe a few bucks from a $2 Nassau, and
no endorsements that we know of.

Money doesn’t make happiness, however. And Nadal is plenty happy on the golf
course.

“Most important,” he said, “is you can spend three, four, 4½ hours with
good company, with friends, with family. Spending time with friends, family,
that’s great. That makes the round good.”

Another advantage for Nadal and his golf-playing tennis friends is that you
chase down the ball in a motorized cart rather than having to run after it.

And, finally, Nadal pointed out one other reason he loves golf.

“The risk for injury, as you know, is very small,” he said.

So, for Nadal, either serving it up or teeing it up works just fine. The
money earned is not equivalent, but the enjoyment received seems to be pretty
close.

Golf and tennis are big crossover sports for the professionals in those
sports, particularly tennis players seeking out a golf course during their
travels. Less so than golfers crossing over to tennis for recreation and
peace of mind.

Don’t get the wrong impression that Nadal is all laughs and giggles on the
golf course. Nadal once wrote that before a round, “I look hard at my
golfing pals and say, ‘Hostile match, right?’ I know they laugh at me
behind my back, but I am not going to change.”

Other prominent golfers on the tennis tour include Roger Federer, Novak
Djokovic and Mardy Fish.

Golf and tennis even have crossover romance. Top young golfer Rory McIlroy is
the boyfriend of top young tennis player Caroline Wozniacki. Recently,
McIlroy was attending a tennis exhibition between Wozniacki and Maria
Sharapova at Madison Square Garden.

Just after becoming the No. 1 golfer in the world, which he later
relinquished to Luke Donald, McIlroy was sitting in the stands having a fun ol
’ time watching girlfriend Wozniacki play. Then, Wozniacki coaxed McIlroy to
come on the court and play a point against Sharapova.

“It was really entertaining to get him out there and play a point,”
 Sharapova said after a match at the Sony Ericsson this week. Then she added
with a smile, “Of course, I had to let him have the point. I had to let the
guy win a point in Madison Square Garden. I know he’s not gonna play golf in
there, so ...”

How would Sharapova fare against McIlroy in golf?

“Never have played,” she said. Then she corrected herself. “Yes I have,
mini-golf.’’



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推 chaohsiu:有沒有高手翻譯一下內文，看標題Nadal想弄一座高球場!?
推 petand86:應該是想要利用沒打網球之餘，打個高爾夫做調劑吧Q Q
推 sally0731:就是Rafa在打比賽之餘都會去打個高爾夫囉~
→ sally0731:比較有趣的事Rafa喜歡高爾夫的其中一點是 追球時可以
→ sally0731:坐著高爾夫球車就好~~XD
推 chaohsiu:他喜歡高爾夫球蠻久了，他回國有空還會跟Gacia一起打
→ chaohsiu:Gacia每年主辦的比賽也會邀請他來參加賽前活動
→ chaohsiu:有機會跟雅妮一起打好了:P