Deep tennis thoughts

[louiselux]

For your listening pleasure: my deep tennis thoughts (download from Box, 3.3mb mp3)

I wanted to write a post about why I am so obsessed with tennis these days, but it seemed too dauting and would be lengthy and complicated and I have a bad head, so I put it in a voice post instead. MP3. Whatever. But oh look, I'm going to write about it anyway.

I think one of the reasons I'm drawn to this fandom is that, to me, Roger and Rafa inhabit a world that is as fantastical and strange as anything: professional sports. They are very different people: Roger Federer is super nice, enjoys shopping for designer outfits, owning jets and has one of the most successful tennis careers ever. Rafa Nadal is a simple boy who still lives with his parents, likes fishing, movies and crushing his opponents without mercy.

They have both made each other cry, in various ways. They are excruciatingly kind and thoughtful to each other in interviews. They have dinner together. They giggle. Rafa Nadal has an apparent mancrush the size of China: Roger is one of his heroes and he's happy to say as much. Rafa is having his best ever year, Roger his worst since he became number one four years ago, and now Rafa is number one instead. Whatever they say about that, there must be some awkwardness and weirdness there.

Oh, it's all so compelling! I don't know how many stories there are to tell though. When emungere and I talk about (constantly) it's hard to come up with story ideas beyond 'oh look! their big gay love'. But I could probably write about that over and over again.

Comments

[niennah.livejournal.com]

Oh, please write it over and over again! Your first fic remains one of my top favourite fics ever. I love it so much. Write more!

Roger Federer is super nice, enjoys shopping for designer outfits, owning jets and has one of the most successful tennis careers ever. Rafa Nadal is a simple boy who still lives with his parents, likes fishing, movies and crushing his opponents without mercy.

Haahhahha!!! Perfect description. :D

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! It's just so lovely to get a compliment like that. :D

Oh, they make me squee so hard, they are so different and yet they genuinely seem drawn to each other.

[emungere.livejournal.com]

Seriously. If someone wrote the fic that is their actual life, it would be plenty slashy enough.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

It would be like a biography of slash! You must write it, obvsly.

ps i wrote moar!

[chomiji]

I enjoyed your talk immensely, and I don't follow tennis at all ... . That's part of why I haven't commented on any of the stories yet - I have nothing to saw except Wow, that was fun in a way I wouldn't like to have to describe at work! Thanks!

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Heee! Right. A lot of my fun seems to be like that these days. I'm glad my little talk was entertaining! :D

[i-am-zan.livejournal.com]

"Oh, it's all so compelling! I don't know how many stories there are to tell though. When emungere and I talk about (constantly) it's hard to come up with story ideas beyond 'oh look! their big gay love'. But I could probably write about that over and over again." -

Oh my dear ... many many hugs!!! I so know how that is!!! Ahhh it's like ... you try and not for lack of trying but the love is *madeofsighsandsparklyrainbowsitstoo damned hard notto!!!* kind of addictive. ^__^ My boyband love is just like that!

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Ahaha, sparkly rainbows indeed. It's too hard not to slash them, to be honest.

[moshesque.livejournal.com]

You just hit the nail on the head of why I enjoy reading Tennis fic, too. I was never even a big fan of the game before! :)

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Oh, cool! I'm glad I could do that. I've been mulling it over for a while. I think I really like the competitive element of tennis, the strange life on tour and how the players deal with that between themselves.

[maribella008.livejournal.com]

First, I thought your deep thoughts were fascinating, and it was delightful to put a voice with the thoughts.

Second, you said something interesting about being friends in situations where friends are also your work adversaries. The short thing I want to say about that - I work in an environment like that, and around some glittery types - is that men in general tend to think about that a little differently than women.

But back to our colorful rivalry and what you've said about running out of ideas (although if it were me listening back to your Deep Thoughts, there's a well of things to be inspired about there.)

Now I know I'm a talky American - worse, a New Yorker - but stay with me here a minute.

As far as RnR - here’s what else we’ve got.
Money. Like, a squillion pounds/euros/dollars. Enough to lease two private jets.
Travel. To some of the most glamorous cities in the world. Scene setting, backdrops, inspiration for activities (heh) for days and days and days.

A world-class, epic power struggle, the dynamics of which change practically week-to-week – which therefore affects the relationship dynamics from week to week. An Emmy-award-winning passel of writers couldn’t do better.

Two distinct and colorful personalities, always fated to clash at close range because of the nature of the profession they’ve chosen.

Which is absolutely mired in peripherals – both players reps on the ATP Board? Battle of the Surfaces? Grapple in the Apple, for grace’s sake? I mean, nobody wrote a quickie at the Mandarin Oriental? Remember, louise -- of course you do -- in "Shared Madness" you had someone knocking at the door? What if it had been the ATP or IOC random drug testing people?
(Personally, I’m still waiting for doubles fic featuring Rogi/Stan and Tommy/Rafa set at midnight between the 17th and 18th of August. You know – the night when for one night we had two number ones? :D)

The most outrageous cast of supporting characters (Feli & Tommy spring to mind only recently) ever. Marat has yet to throw a racquet through the stained-glass window that is Rogi/Rafa. (And don’t Rogi and Marat have a little history?)

And, in top shape, the condition of their lives … perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect shoulders, perfect forearms, perfect watches ...

Two of possibly the most stunning men ever – the apex of their own specific brands of gorgeous.

What’s not to like? :D



(I know I probably won't be permitted to talk here for days, but it was worth it to get that out. :D)

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Perfect watches - lol! This is so true.

Thanks for your thoughts on this. Actually there are a lot of stories, you're right, and I think your perspective has helped me. It's possible there is just too much to absorb for me to see that right at the moment, and all I can think about how shiny they are. Because they are very shiny. Very. Shiny.

*gets distracted*

Um. And also, those little summings up of their personality types on the poster are interesting because they are so shallow and there is so much else going on behind them.

The friendship thing fascinates me. I think men are generally more competitive than friendly at work, or perhaps they use friendship for different things. I don't know, men are strange and different.

The doubles fic, hehehe. :D I don't know, but I do love the idea of the power dynamics between them. It's one of the things that gets me about them, as well as the strange world they exist in.

[best-of-five.livejournal.com]

first i'll get the most shallow comment out of the way - your accent! i luff it :D

now as to the actual content of what you posted, i think you hit the nail on the head on many if not all fronts. it's intriguing, there's a lot of drama and angst and underneath it all they just seem to be able to get along.

i think part of what makes it work is that they respect each other's tennis abilities. with a tinhat firmly on, i'll say that compared to marat or andy or whomever else in the past, the fact that rafa NEVER gives up is hugely compelling to roger. he genuinely respects him and that's crucial because roger needs that. he's said many times that he enjoys rafa's long battles because he really likes to see him fight it out. i think he's majorly turned on by rafa's single-minded focus. i imagine that's how rafa is around him. well, no need to imagine, we saw it on AA day. rafa, also, genuinely is in awe of roger's talent. he too needs that. moya, feli whoever, haven't earned his respect and they won't. there are practice session stories (and we saw it too in one set of pictures), rafa just stares at roger playing. i think he's gripped with the beauty of roger's tennis because nobody else really plays like him.

i also think roger has charisma oozing out of every pore. he naturally seems to charm the pants off people (ok, literally too!) and i think rafa is in awe of that a lot. his past "crushes" have included moya and feli, both charismatic men who i think he sees as effortlessly good looking. rafa really doesn't pay any attention to his looks (omg, the striped shirts) and i think roger's grace and ease is deeply attractive to him.

finally, i think they're both rare in that they're genuinely nice people. everyone uniformly praises roger. for all that he can sound cocky about his tennis abilities, as a person he's always reported as down to earth and nice. rafa's the same way though he's intensely competitive off-court, roger's not. on a personal level, i think they're perfectly compatible.

the reason all this works is because they fit. like very few other couples in the fandom.

sorry for ramble :)

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Haha, tinhat comes free with every purchase...

i think he's gripped with the beauty of roger's tennis because nobody else really plays like him.

His 'exquisite technique', yes. Those pictures of Rafa just staring... That's one of the things I love about how he feels about Roger. He just wants to stare, even while playing. I'm thinking of him saying he gets distracted by Roger's moves even during matches, which is so slashy it kills me.

Roger does have a lot of charisma, and I'm sure Rafa notices. He definitely notices when Roger looks good, like with Roger's cardigan moment.

Oh god the striped shirts and three sizes too big jackets, which Rafa really needs to stop wearing.

And yes, they are both just genuinely nice people, and to me they seem to have a bit of wicked humour going on, which I love so much about them. Roger is just so funny and dry. It's interesting you say Rafa's intensely competitive off court - in things like his football supporting and insane playstation sessions?

[maribella008.livejournal.com]

"It's interesting you say Rafa's intensely competitive off court - in things like his football supporting and insane playstation sessions?"

Any photo, any vid, of Rafa cheering on his teams (Real Madrid, Davis Cup, etc.) or doing PS "Winning Eleven"?
Not to be missed.
Poster Boy for "Brims with Testosterone".

(If it didn't make me blush and dot the face with the handkerchief, I might actually be a little scared.)

If you haven't already heard it, his teammate Tommy Robredo (no slouch himself in the Testosterone Division) says about Rafa when he plays: "If his eyes turn black, watch out."
*heart thumps*

P.S. Sorry to tell you that on "day off from tennis". Perhaps to read this tomorrow. :D