Who will win the French Open? That question is not exactly packed with suspense. Who is Rafael Nadal’s biggest threat? Now that question–even though it less important–is far more interesting.
Dominic Thiem upset Nadal in Madrid. Novak Djokovic looked something like the Djokovic of old on Saturday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Big hitters like Marin Cilic, John Isner, and–when healthy–Juan Martin Del Potro can, at times, take the racket out of Nadal’s hands. And there is Alexander Zverev, who may be the answer to the aforementioned question.
Zverev, the recent champion in Munich and Madrid, improved to 17-2 on clay this spring by booking his spot alongside Nadal in Sunday’s Rome final. Success at Masters 1000 events is nothing new for the 21-year-old German, who not only triumphed last week in Madrid but also lifted 2017 trophies at this same Rome tournament and in Montreal. He has maintained momentum this week by beating Matteo Berrettini, Kyle Edmund, David Goffin, and Marin Cilic, surrendering only one set to Goffin in the process.
Zverev’s reward is a fifth opportunity to pick up his first-ever win over Nadal. Although the 31-year-old is a perfect 4-0 in the head-to-head series, he needed final sets to hold off Zverev at the 2016 Indian Wells Masters and at the 2017 Australian Open. Unsurprisingly, clay has proven to be a much different story. Nadal clobbered the youngster 6-1, 6-1 last year in Monte-Carlo and 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 earlier this season in a Davis Cup quarterfinal between Spain and Germany.
Still, the 16-time Grand Slam champion is not expecting a walk in the park–not with the way Zverev is playing these days.
“It will be a tough one,” Nadal noted. “Sascha is playing great, winning a lot of matches in a row. Tomorrow I need to be ready to keep playing my best, and that’s what I’m going to try.”
That is exactly what the top seed has been doing in Rome as he tries to make amends for his stunning Madrid loss to Thiem that ended a 50-set winning streak on clay. Nadal also dropped a set to Fabio Fognini on Friday, but he rolled over Damir Dzumhur and Denis Shapovalov and did well to pass a stern test from Djokovic 7-6(4), 6-3 in the semifinals.
Although Zverev also got off the court in straight sets, he once again finished much later than Nadal after requiring two hours and one minute to defeat Cilic. The second seed, who took a brief medical timeout for a shoulder issue on Saturday, also survived tough ones against Edmund and Goffin. All of this recent tennis is bound to catch up with Zverev–especially with the toughest physical test in tennis (facing Nadal on a clay court) awaiting him.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 8 games or fewer
[polldaddy poll=10009233]
who ya got?
Rafa in 2 of course 6-4 6-2
Even if Zverev were 100% fresh, I just don’t see him testing this level of Rafa on clay… I feel like ever since Zverev failed to capitalize on a 2 sets to 1 lead over Rafa at the 2017 AO, he has melted at the mere sight of Rafa… This will likely continue tomorrow. I’ll guess 6-4, 6-3.
yep. or something like 5 and 2.
Kevin, how could Sasha capitalise on a two sets to one lead? The slams are BO5, so even if you’re two sets to one lead, there’s still the possibility of losing the next two sets to lose the match and that’s precisely what happened.
It doesn’t mean that when you’re two sets to one ahead, you’re sure to win the match! We’re talking about the big four as opponent, when Youzhny was two sets to one up against Fed at USO last year, did people think that Fed would sure lose to Youzhny?
Nadal losing eight games or fewer
Uh oh Zverev may be on track for yet another slam disappointment. He’s playing too damn well at the masters he won’t have anything left in the tank 😂
He’ll want to take off a full week to rest, thats for sure.
Surely, the physicality of Zverev’s matches has to catch up with him.
Nadal 2:0 but hoping for a miracle upset.
It’s true and I don’t think it’s funny, Benny 😀
Rafa in 2 losing less than 8 games.
What Sasha is doing now is not unlike what Thiem had done in the last few years. Thiem also played lots of tennis esp on clay (and he’s still able to reach SF at FO) and then he faded away after that.
I’m not sure whether Sasha can sustain it physically to last a full season (and goes deep at the slams), we’re five months into the season and he’s the one playing the most matches so far.
Yep, I was thinking about the same comparison to Theim. I might throw Pouille into that group as well. But it’s not too late for Sascha to make adjustments. But you’d think his mom and team would be advising him for the best. Or maybe he’s not listening and going to do what he wants. Too bad Kyrgios wasn’t more focused and ambitious about his tennis career.
Odds opened at 1.19 and have eased to 1.24-25 with some major bookmakers. Thats very interesting. I wouldve expected a flod of money coming for Nadal at that price. He has to be a certainty to win this, all things considered.
Rafa in 2. He knows how to play Zverev: use slice
Amazing resilience from Zverev , but sadly will lose in 2 tomorrow.
Rafa back to world number 1 after Rome
Put $10K down for an easy $2.5K collect. if you guys are so confident.
i’m sure those that have that bankroll are putting a couple down but for him to win 2-0.
Everyone is picking Nadal, not without reason. But Zverev has probably played as well as Rafa in this tournament. Rafa is not at the level he was in MC, and he is having problems with his serve. Zverev already has the mentality of a champion, and he is become a master at masters tournaments. He desperately wants to beat Nadal on clay, and it’s only a matter of time before that happens. It’s not going to happen at RG this year, but I say it will tomorrow: Zverev in 3.
Joe, you always say the same thing, time and again. We’ll see….
No, Lucky, I don’t always say the same thing. I picked Nadal in two over Djokovic. Before that, I said I thought Fognini had a 25% chance of an upset IF he played well, which didn’t turn out to be that crazy. (You, meanwhile, gave up on your player and said he was going to lose after he dropped the first set). Prior to that, I said Shapo had the kind of game to give Nadal trouble, which he did a bit of. If he hadn’t been so inept at returning, he would have given him more trouble.
Prior to the tournament, I said that I expected Nadal to trip up somewhere along the line in Rome. So far he has proved me wrong.
Nope, I said if Rafa continued to play like set one, he would lose to Foggy,but Rafa upped his level in set two and three. I said before that match that Rafa needed to maintain a high level when facing Foggy, and Foggy was a tough opponent.
I was sure that Rafa would beat Djoko in two and he proved me right. Rafa will have too much for Sasha, he’ll beat Sasha in two, if his serve gives him problem again, then he may have to beat Sasha in three sets, that’s my take.
Sasha, after reaching the final in Rome, will become the no.1 in the race to London; incredible!
Well, yes and no. He’s certainly the best of the #NextGen. And I think he’s gotten a lot better on clay since he lost to Rafa at DC. But with so many of the best players still struggling/recovering from injury, Fed going down at IW and Miami and skipping the clay and Rafa being out for the American HC swing, *somebody* has to pick up all those points. It’s kind of been a LOT of “somebodies”. We’ve had a bunch of different Masters winners this year so AZ hasn’t been dominating but he’s been very consistent.
True that someone would’ve to take advantage of the situation other than Fedal do. The fact that Sasha at 21 being the one to take advantage instead of the other more experienced players really say something about how good and consistent he has become. He still has to prove that he can do better at the slams.
Sasha is at an age that Murray was in 2008 and Murray won two Masters in that year (beating Djoko in the final at Cincy and Fed in the SF before winning at Madrid indoors) and reached a slam final (at USO) for the first time. Djoko, another 21 yo in 2008, had won a slam (AO2008) reached another final (USO2007) won four Masters (Miami and Mibtreal 2007, IW2008, Rome 2008) and was world no.3. Both Djoko and Murray had to deal with Fedal at their prime.
We’ll see whether Sasha could have his breakthrough year at the slams this season; he’s the one among the young gen who shows the most promise and poised to be the best among his own generation.
I don’t think the outcome of this match is a foregone conclusion,like many are anticipating.
This court is way smaller than the one where they played in Davis Cup,so if Zverev is serving big like he’s been doing for a while and given Rafa’s far return position,he can blow him off the court and try to go for his shots. I think Zverev’s gonna appear very agressive（somewhere close to the first set against Goffin in the first set of the QF). Rafa’s first serve percentage will also be a key point,yesterday he barely won the first set with a 50% of first serves,which is very low for his standard. I’m curious to see how Zverev’s backhand will appear in this match,if he’s firing from that corner,we can have a match. If somehow Zverev’s gonna try to outrally Rafa instead of being agressive,then it’s game,set and match for Rafa easily.
Vamos Rafa!
Zverez can win a set providing there’s no issues with him physically.
I think he could be a bit like Fed in that department, resilient to physical breakdown.
If you look at his results and remove emotion from your thinking, he’s a chance. Cilic, Goffin, Edmund were very strong form lines. He also didn’t drop a set en route to winning Madrid beating Thiem (who beat Nadal) in the process.
Zverez is a much improved player since their previous matches and has learned how to win regardless of how well he plays, which comes with experience.
Nadal in 3
Both Goffin and Cilic had the advantage but failed to capitalise; that showed Sasha’s resilience but at the same time, his opponents’ ineptitude at crucial moments.
Cilic had a few SP chances in the first set TB and a good first serve or an ace would’ve won him the set, and he was leading in the second set, he lost both!
Zeverev has gotten better and better over time. He has the true champion killer mentality, never gives up on a match and has an impressive ability to save match points at the 11th hour. He’s also matured physically and is much beefier these days which has helped his stamina. He still needs to keep control of his temper and to tone down the verbal abuse directed at the chair umpire over contentious line calls. Yesterday he was ticked off by Lyani for continuing to argue with him.
I hope we get an exciting final today with Rafa as the victor but unless AZ is on his knees after the late finish last night I think it could possibly take 3 sets.
Rafa in 3 although I’m hoping for 2.
ed,
You pretty much summed it up the way I see it. Sascha has only gotten better this year. At 21, I don’t know that you get tired. He has matured and has the ability to raise his level of play in a match. He’s also serving extremely well now.
I think this could be a tough match. Rafa will need to serve better than he did in the semifinal. Zverev is hungry right now. But Rafa is Rafa on clay.
I also wanted to add that I agree with you about the temper tantrums with Sascha. I have liked him and seen his potential for a while now. But I read that he cursed out a chair umpire in vulgar fashion and I did not like how he went after Llayani last night. Llayani was right about the call, but Sascha went to the superviser and screamed about him going this in another match. He was a brat. I dislike the diva behavior abs he needs to get it under control. Otherwise I am going to lose respect for him.
Keep your mind sharp and focused, stay confident, be strong and show off your warrior spirit, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdpBZeBV0AA67Ca.jpg
Like I thought, a flood of money has come in for Nadal at 1.24-25 and price is back down to circa 1.18, a similar price against Djokovic.
A things considered, if Nadal lost it would be the biggest upset of the year even with how well Zverez is playing.
Vamos Rafa!
I don’t like this start from Rafa.
Raffa has come out flat and not serving well. Sascha pounced right away.
Thank goodness Rafa woke up and broke back!
Now hold!
This was important for Rsda to respond.
But Rsfa not getting in his first serves.
Rafa holds. Much better.
Insyaalah…Rafa in 2….
Have faith NNY
You know he is often slow out of the blocks. It takes a few games for him to get going.
Rafa is feeling it now. What a shot to break Sascha!
Oh boy! Rafa is feeling it now!
He is on fire!
Vamos Rafa!
Yeah,he’s pummeling Zverev right now! He’s also exposing Zverev’s forecourt game big time.
Vamos Vamos Vamos 💪
Sascha will melt before long….
WOOOOHOHOHOHOHO!!!!……Sascha is done!!!
The FH down the line that Rafa hit on the 40-30 probably scarred Zverev for life. on the deuce point he just kept going to the backhand
This is a Master Class from Rafa. This is what I have been waiting to see from him. He is peaking at the right time.
expected
Vamos Rafa! Finish this before rain!
Vamos Rafa! An almost flawless set of tennis from Rafa if not for the broken serve in game 1. Incredible that Sasha has not held serve a single time in set one; Rafa really comes to play and he neutralizes Sasha’s serves so well!
Sasha is the fourth player to get a 6-1 set from Rafa, only Djoko is spared. Rafa is giving Sasha different looks with spins, slices, flat shots, volleys and drop shots, too much for Sasha to handle. Rafa is 8/8 at the net, incredible.
70% first serves to take te first set,in authentic schooling fashion. Keep it up King!
Look at these stats –
70% first serves in
57 % first serves won – that could be higher
100% Second serves won 😃
UE’s – 4
3 out of 4 break points won
Good stuff from Rafa!
Gaviria,
I wrote my post before I saw yours!
Yes, this is the best I have seen Rafa play so far in the clay season. Once he got going that was it.
No problem Nny 😊 It’s stunning the way he’s performing today,can’t believe he’s delivering it at this amazing level!
And yeah,these are probably peak stats for Rafa!
Rafa can’t let down now. He has to keep it up and not let Zverev back in the match.
Zverev trying to turn things around now.
Rafa has to hold here and not let Zverev back in the match.
Rafa is broken. I really wish he would not let him back in this match. Zverev is not giving up.
3-0 Zv
I am disappointed that Rafa has let Zverev back in this match. Rafa can’t afford to let down here, this may go to the sets.
Sitter forehand down the line missed for a double break.
What a chance that was.. damn sasha how could you miss that point
BOOOM!!! The double break!!
This kid Zverev is special. Not many can come back against Nadal on clay after getting spanked in the 1st set.
Zverev is doing exactly what he needs to be a chance at RG.
He’s keeping Nadal pinned on the backhand and drawing him forward often enough that Nadal can’t anticipate patterns in this second set.
Rafa lost his focus on this set and Zverev’s capitalising. Hope he can reagroup quickly!
Rafa needs to get it together now. He let down and Zverev raised his level of play.
Rafa’s already thinking on the third set probably.
Odds around 4 for sasha. Big value betting friends
I sense a few have their savings account balance on Nadal 2:0
The scoreline just proves how much momentum plays its part in Nadal’s matches. Momentum is a massive part of his game.
Goodness, what’s Rafa doing! Once his serve is gone, his game will suffer. Sasha upped his level and Rafa dropped his intensity!
lucky,
You summed it up perfectly. Rafa let up and Zverev raised his level of play. Rafa needs to step it up. Why he always does things the hard way, I don’t know.
Rafa is being embarrassed here. He needs to get back on track if he wants to win.
The decider shall decide who shall keep the top spot in the rankings. Your GOAT or my GOAT?! 😂
Has Nadal ever been bageled on clay, even by peak Djoko?
yeah fed bageled him of all people in Hamburg 2007
he’s been bageled 3 times
this is the ninth time he has been breadsticked
Yeah, that’s a great trivia question. Who are the other two assuming vmk1 is right?
You spoke a little too soon NNY 🙁
By rights Zev should be dead on his feet. It was gone midnight by the time he got off the court last night. But quite a few people (myself included) were anticipating it could be a three set match.
ed,
I replied to you up thread and said I agreed with you. But the way Rafa dominated in thst first set I thought he was in control.
This is really concerning,
I said up thread that Rafa needed to keep it up and not let down. But that is what he did. So there are some chinks in the armor after all.
Rafa has let this get away from him. You can’t just play one great set.
Why can’t Rafa just serve like that earlier on in the set? Why make it so difficult for himself? It’s not like Sasha was great in his returns, it’s more Rafa’s own undoing.
I bet there’s some already shattered punters and nervous ones about what may eventuate in the next 30 mins.
zverev certainly showed what he is capable of. Will Rafa fight for this considering RG is on the horizon?
Rafa only won 38% of his second serves, that shows how poorly he serves in this set; it’s not like Sasha is such a great returner of serves.
Rafa definitely has to raise his serve percentages if he’s to take the match.
Rafa is not right in his head in the 2nd sets….That’s 4 sure!Urgh!!
Rafa needs his serve to be functioning well in the third set if he really wants to win this final.
Time for Rafa to recalibrate his game and clip young Zeverev’s wings.
Have not been watching because it was clearly a blow-out
How did Sascha win a freaking set?
This just proves, dont let emotion dictate your predictions, look at the results and the facts.
Facts are Zverev has been the best performing player on tour this year.
Cilic, Goffin, Edmund were massive form lines. Have a look at the draw.
Who did nadal beat?
He’s ceased to think clearly out there 🙁
Zverev toying with Rafa now
The rain is the reason why Rafa’s top spins have been neutralized…Rafa has lost focus and Zverev is taking advantage of it and is pumped up…
Here we go again…
Sigh, Rafa is truly making a mess of everything now. Sasha is playing very well but Rafa gets agitated with himself and he’s giving Sasha a head start in the third set. Things are not looking good for Rafa, he looks flat from set two onwards.
Completely agree,despite Rafa being pissed and a bit more anxious,Zverev is striking the ball really well,hitting huge at times.
This kid is special and will be the end of the great 3.
Well people say that about Delpo too!
The difference now is that the big three are old and Sasha is young at 21. Sasha overpowers Rafa physically, big serve and big groundstrokes whilst Rafa couldn’t keep his intensity for two or three sets.
I think it’s a sign that Rafa is also getting old, and he badly needs his serve to be working well. He’s not serving well as the match goes on; Sasha doesn’t need to do much returning Rafa’s serve; and Sasha is serving big joe when he’s leading and Rafa couldn’t handle that.
If Rafa start believe in himself,and can get rid of his nervousness,he will win…if not…see ya in Paris!
Yeah!…that’s it dude!!That’s how to play!Urgh!….Don’t u know sascha play 3 straight weeks now?Push him hard!His legs so very tired now…
Incredible that Sascha is doing this in his third straight week of tennis. At last a hold. Vamos. IF Rafa pulls this off, it will be on fight and fight alone. The conditions are not suitable for him to do his clay court thing right now
Rafa will really need to stay focused here if he wants to win. He handles Sasha’s big serves so well in set one, needs to find that intensity again.
It’s Rafa who looks the more tired of the two, Sasha at 21 is looking fresh inspite of playing for three consecutive weeks. Perhaps his big serves do help him to conserve more energy.
Rafa has to move closer to the baseline, he’s giving Sasha so much time to move forward to the net after his serves.
IF Sascha takes this he would have defeated Roger Rafa and Novak for Masters titles and the one loss he has is to Isner ironially. Damn
Zverev, thinks he should be the winner, thats what I love about this kid.
I was talking to an American tennis player the other day who is an orthopaedic doctor specialising in sports injuries. He reckons Rafa is still troubled by the hip injury and his movement is compromised because he is trying to protect it.
I don’t think we should be looking for injury ex excuses here. Rafa showed no signs of problems.
Come on. Djokovic gave him a tough fight. If he is feeling any discomfort after that match he is not going to spill his guts today with RG so close,
If you have noticed he is not chasing down balls as you would normally expect him to do..
Match suspended maybe a blessing for Rafa…Hopefully after the rain,the sun will come out & conditions will be a bit dry..so his top spin will working back in full force..
Please, no excuses. Nadal was talking it up before this match. No problems against Djokovic also.
Why don’t you stop baiting Rafa fans with your obnoxious comments.
You want to act like you know more, picking Zverev to win RG when he has never done anything at a slam. Just to make yourself fe important.
Get a life, please!
Jim
Do you try to be annoying or does it just come naturally? If the latter then that’s quite a talent you have there…
Hey hey hey amy!….Long time no hear from u!!…How r u Boss??
Am watching live scores Mira hon!!!
Have been very low and sad about chloro…
What’s going on with raf a today mira?
I’m sorry u still sad about chloro amy!…U hangin’ there okay?Sometimes we’re happy..and sometimes we’re not…Will u feel better if i said that i lost someone very dear to me too recently?And it still hurt like crazy!..But we have to move on with our lives right?
About Rafa,i don’t know amy!…maybe overwhelmed with Sascha & the nerve got the better of him…I still think if he can control his nerves,then he still can win…Maybe he will regrouped after the delay..
So are his mental problems still there Mira??
Very sorry about you losing a friend mira. I will be back on site for RG and we can talk a lot then. I am still able to laugh and joke so don’t worry!!
I think nerves is always there below the surface amy…It’s just not bad as in 2015…
Amy,
Thank you! I am glad that I am not the only one who is fed up with this guy’s comments! But then Nostradamus here thinks he knows now who is going to win RG! He’s been going this for a while now to get attention and make himself feel important.
He’s no tennis fan and that is the thing that is most annoying.
Yeah agreed nny. His manners are terrible!
Lovely to see you nny!!
Amy,
I have been thinking about you a lot. You are never far from my thoughts. I think it’s going to take time, but you will always miss your friend. It leaves a big void in your life. The suddenness of it also makes it harder to deal with.
Just know that I am thinking of you and hope that you will work through the pain and get to a place of peace. Remembering good times helps. You had a great friendship with him and that enriched your life.
😍
Hypocrite lol
Thanks nny darling!!
I have been feeling absolutely terrible…it was all so sudden so it feels kind of unreal as well..
I miss him terribly…
I will be back on site for RG and Wimbledon so we can talk a lot very soon..
Predicting is about reading it before it happens, not after. Im sure all the moms and pops agree with your Nadal picks.
I don’t think he’s baiting to be honest. There was a comment about injury a couple of posts above. It’s generally been the trend with Nadal. Injured/Unfit when losing, unstoppable when winning.
Fedfan,
He has been baiting Rafs fans for a while now with his stupid comments and predictions. It’s just a way to get attention.
The one comment he made in response to the possibility of injury, I have no problem with. I actually agree that there should be no injury excuses and said so up thread.
+1
One hardly gets tired at 21 while being on pure adrenaline and fighting against the greatest clay court player ever. Beating Rafa here means volume for Zverev! Don’t think it’s the end of the world if Rafa ends up losing here. He at 31 gets more physically and emotionally tired than a 21 who has nothing to lose and is playing relaxed…As I said before, for Rafa only RG matters!
Vamos Champ!
Don’t talk about injury.
Rafa is just bad with his serve, and he’s already bad in that since he came back from injury, at MC. He’s just overwhelmed by Sasha’s power tennis.
It seems it’s the power tennis that’s taking over, now that the big three or four are getting old. I’m not sure I’ll enjoy tennis anymore should that really happens.
I’m surprised you make such a comment, RC. People were saying this thirty years ago about Lendl, Becker etc. Nadal is a ‘power’ player more than Federer, surely? You never complain when he hits those massive forehands .
RC?U mean Lucky Big Al?Don’t tell me RC is in your head?hahaha….
OOps!:blush:
hahaha!…That’s okay Big Al!…RC is a very very nice human being & one of the great posters here…Guess what?She is in my head too!!hehehe…
Oh!….BIG BIG BIG CONGRATS for another BIG WIN BIG AL!!…Wooohooo!!…I lost count how many times u win in a row now!…Don’t tell me u want challenge Rafa winning streak?Hehehe…Good job Big Al!…But my God!…have a pity on me puuweeaaseee??
Very welcome MA! Yeah, a bit of a winning streak on clay, but the biggest win of all was on hard court, Monterrey.Was 1st in the entire TDC bracket !!
Yeah, my post was to Luckystar .
See, the serve is bad!!
The rain delay can only be good for Rafa,Zverev was carrying all the momentum with him. Hope that Rafa can put a fight when they come back on court.
For sure it is only good for Rafa. It was exactly what the doctor ordered but given this kid is quite special, he should be able to deal with this adversity as well.
Mira and nny..and anyone else!
What’s up with rafa today? I can’t watch so only have live scores..
Rafa has himself to blame for letting the match to be dragged on and stopped by rain. Had he played better in set two, sustained his intensity throughout, he might not need to go the distance. He losing serve in his first service game in set two was pathetic, when Sasha was 1-0 up and then became 2-0, that encouraged Sasha to serve big and hit hard and raised his game. Once he did that, Rafa looked a bit confused and lost his serve again!
Against a player like Sasha, he couldn’t afford to throw him a lifeline; that guy has big weapons and self belief! Maybe Rafa, like us, thought that Sasha would be tired after three consecutive weeks of play?
Rafa’s serve is erratic, I think he can serve well only when he feels confident, or when his back is against the wall (like his last service game in set two). Once he’s nervous or agitated, he couldn’t serve properly. It’s a problem this clay season, I hope he gets it fixed before getting to Paris.
I think Rafa needs to move closer to the baseline, he’s made to do all the running from right to left so often. No wonder he looked the more tired of the two. Sasha is taking full advantage of that and comes forward after his serves. Rafa is also hitting CC (to Sasha’s BH) too often and got burnt by Sasha’s BH CC or DTL.
Rafa losing his way mid way through a match is getting very bizarre. He was 4-2 up against Foggy, lost his way once Foggy raised his level and broke back. He was 5-2 up against Djoko in set one, once Djoko broke back, Rafa lost his way and had to win a tight TB.
He’s 6-1 in set one vs Sasha; once he lost his serve in first service game in set two, he started losing his way and only managed to win his last service game! He lost serve again in the third and now has to give chase!
What is it about Rafa these day? He just can’t concentrate in a whole match once he faces a formidable opponent and starts feeling shaky once his opponent gains an advantage. He really doesn’t have much confidence in himself I feel.
Live scores says rafa broke!!!
Vamos!!
Vamoooooooos!
Vamos!
4-3 rafa!!!!
Go get him!!!
Rafa breaks again!!!
YESSSS!BREAK!!!!WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!
Well done Nadal, te rain delay saved you. A good result for me, I have Nadal to win and Nadal 2:1. A well rested Zverev will get him at RG, where it counts.
annoying guy. waits until results to dole out life lessons and brags about predictions. typical bench warmer sideline viewer.
The feelings mutual dude.
Yes jim everyone agrees that it’s slams which count. The problem with that is that at zverev’s age raf a had won 3 slams already whereas zverev has never got anywhere.
You are making ludicrous comparisons..
OMG!!! I did not see that coming. How many Rafas have the confidence that he can cclose it out. I dont
WOOOOOHOOOOHOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!….YEAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!
VAMOS RAFA!!!!!!
Yesssss! Vamooooossss!
Yesssss!!!
Group hug nny and mira!!!
Yeah amy & Nny!!…..This is 4 u guys!!
http://gifimage.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/animated-hug-gif-4.gif
Aww thanks mira!!!
I love elephants!!
Hahaha!Yeah??I thought u love GOAT amy??Hehehe…
When I was a kid my nickname was goaty!!
Prophetic no?!!!
Oh really amy!!…Goaty?Why is that amy?
It’s really good to chat with u here today amy!Thanks so much for coming here okay?
I will be back for Rg and wimby mira!!
You don’t get rid of me so easily!!!
Hehehe…Yeah!…Tho,Wimby is 1 century away..But,i’ll take it!
Throwback to the 2012 french final 🙂
The gods respect a god. The skies open up to give aid to the NOW 7 TIME Italy champion. Rafael Nadal.
8 time
2005-2007 2009-2010 2012-2013 amd 2018
Yes, correction *8. My memory not so good. many years playing american football.
How’s your big bank roll after that 2:0 loss?
I played Nadal straight up in a parlay. I made a couple hundred this weekend and will post pics when I get home. It just doesn’t make sense to bet 10k to win 2.5k, so I was merely saying big punters would play more even odds. You are barking up the wrong tree. I’m younger than you, more athletic than you, smarter than you…I know WTA, ATP, and MMA very well and will be posting my predictions the rest of the year on here just for you.
You misunderstood the play. It was not that I said Nadal would win 2-0. It was that I commented on your inane post that a professional handicapper would make a large play with poor ROI like a Nadal ML bet. You don’t even have to know tennis to know Nadal 2-0 was the right play. You just have to look at his last, oh I don’t know, 20 matchups this year. That doesn’t mean hobby bettors such as myself won’t put him in a parlay. I do it for fun and I’m very good at individual sports because I can get in the mind of the player. I don’t normally do this, but you ask for it. This is a normal fun weekend for me. https://s31.postimg.cc/6q0x0lre3/fun.jpg
Perhaps you have tailed one of my predictions on here and are upset. That is on you. It has been a topsy-turvy month and all tennis fans know this. It is what it is. Deal with it like everyone else.
Oh mine! Rafa wins it!! Yes! Yes! Yes!
What a Rafa! He wins four games in a row!
Rafa almost cause me a heart attack! Please Rafa, no more of such walk abouts please!!
So thrilled to see Rafa fighting this way,getting 4 consecutive games to take the match! What a warrior this guy is!
Vamoooooooos 💪👑🎾
And Rafa is back at numero uno. 🙂
Today’s win very important for self-confidence. Rafa has beaten all dangerous players once in clay court warmups. Theim, Djoker, Foginini, Dimitrov and Zverev twice(in DC and Rome).
I think he should rest for 3-4 days now and head to RG after that. He is the favorite for me on that ever large Pilip Chatrier court.
fedexal..i did not watch..what happened post 1st set? just 1 game out of 10 games..was he that bad..
Yes, serve not going for Rafa just like yesterday post first set. And once Zverev got that break, Zverev started hitting big. And with the momentum on his side, Zverev broke early in third which is often the case. Then there was a rain delay and Rafa played solid tennis on resumption to get this thru.
fedexal..read some comments up the thread about injury or movement compromised..is that true? Last thing I want is an injury before RG or even a whif of it
Sanju, not true. Rafa looks OK, maybe a bit tired with all the running behind the baseline. Sasha’s big serve and big groundstrokes the reason for that!
I don’t think there is any injury concern . RG should be easy for the body with a day break. Rafa wont start before Monday for sure and he should totally disconnect from tennis for 3-4 days now.
Glad that Rome final did not get postponed to Monday. I still think Rafa did not have a very brutal tournament physically.
Overall Rafa would be feeling good as to how he responded against Fabio and today. And that completes a very successful run of tournaments for Rafa. He has never won all 4 tourneys and winning 3 out of 4 is a very good success rate.
yes a loss before RG is always good..he has always lost a match before RG in 07, 08,12, 13, 14, 17 his great years. 2010 was only year he won it all but he did not play Barcelona
im sure in rain break Moya told him what he was doing wrong..he will adjust the same against Zverev in RG if they meet..I am sure Alex will play him the same way..Alex is no clouch..he has beaten Fed twice and even Djoko
Moya did not accompany Rafa in Rome. He would join him in Paris.
Yes agreed. Rafa has beaten all the dangerous opponents in the clay warm ups. I hope he feels confident now and please no more doubts or shaky moments or walkabouts.
Sasha knows now how difficult it is to defend a masters title or to win B2B Masters titles. I think he looks a bit disappointed, he might have thought he’s going to win this being 3-2 up in the third set, but in tennis, you have to be prepared for all sorts of weather conditions, expected or unexpected happenings during the match; whoever can make the best of the situations will have better chances of winning and Rafa proves that today.
No-one knows what would be the result had there been no rain break. Yes, Zverev was on a roll because he was hitting his spots . But I still thought it was a matter of one break for Rafa.
Overall Rafa was the better player today.
the same thing was said in 2012 when djoko was on a roll and rain came in 4th set..but rain breaks dont win matches..there is no guarantee that sasha would have redlined non stop..the closer he gets..he could ahve tightened and rafa would have pounced
@fedexal 5:34pm,
Well said!
That was such a nail-biter, totally unforeseen that’s why it’s difficult to predict with any certainty the outcome of any match. Matches are won on the court. I’m so relieved! The rain saved the day for Rafa because Sasha was on a roll.
Vamos Rafa!
True nadline.
Rafa has surely regressed post MC and barcelona…losing sets to Foggy of all and such a poor set to Zverev is not what the doctor ordered..hopefully he will pick it up before RG..Good thing is Sasha will be in other half and can meet Rafa only in final
But, you have to look at his opponents here – Foggy is one who had given him problems on clay in the past, he took a set off Rafa at Madrid last year. Djoko is always Djoko, Rafa is wary of him whether Djoko is back to his best or not. Sasha is the red hot player on clay this season and he has won B2B events on clay before coming to Rome, not losing a set or losing serve at Madrid!
Imo, his opponents here at Rome are much tougher ones than his in the earlier events. We can’t expect Rafa to keep winning in straight sets without facing any problems; but of course he going walkabout when he was having the upper hand was something more concerning.
Did Zverev not even lose a serve in Madrid ? And Rafa broke him what 5 times today.
No wonder today’s win was big. Rafa would believe somebody had to play a match of his lifetime to beat him in 3 out of 5 sets.
lucky,
I agree with you. We cannot expect Rafa to win so easily with tough opponents. Fog can be dangerous when he decides to play. But Rafa adjusted his tactics and took control in the second and third sets.
I think Rafa gets more out of tough matches where he has to come from behind. Novak will always be a tough opponent for Rafa, even when he’s not at his best. Zverev is the hot player right now.
Rafa did well to find ways to win. Winning is what counts in the end.
I do agree that going walkabout is concerning.
Once Rafa dropped his serve in the 2nd set, through his own fault I’ll have to say, Sasha grew confident and Rafa lost his confidence making more and more errors but after the rain delay, he’d had time to calm his nerves and came out playing like it was a new match.
Well done to Sasha. He is going to be a great champion.
nadline..any movement concern or any injury concern? Rafa does not lose 6 1 sets usually on clay unless its total walkabout..
Let’s not forget Zverev was defending champion here! Rada hasn’t had much sucess in Rome lately so nerves played big part in this match! Zverev caught Rafa bu surprise playing extraordinary aggressive tennis in the second and Rafa seemed a bit tired after chasing power hitting from Zverev. In the third, after having some mental rest, Rafa regrouped and was in the groove again…when he is aggressive like that no opponent can match him!
Well done, Rafa! Rome conquered again!
Vamosss!
In other news, Raonic has pulled out of the FO with knee problems.
I couldn’t watch when they resumed play the last time. That was nerve wracking!
I will go back and watch my recording, but for Rafa to come back and win four games in a row was great.
I am so happy for Rafa! I am not concerned iw about Rafa losing the second set the way he did. He lost his focus and serve. Zverev played a lot better.
No signs of injury at all. I think it was a mental thing where Rafa let down in the second set. Rafa might have been tired from the match with Novak, but I think the rain delay helped him regroup.
Coming back in the third set is a good thing for Rafa. He had to come back and find a way to win. You get more out of the tough matches. This will set Rafa up nicely for RG.
Congratulations Rafa on your 8th Rome title!
😀💪👆👑🏆
Mira and nny…see you on Sunday for the beginning of RG!!
Vamos rafa!!
Go Petra and simona!!
Yeah amy!!….See ya in Paris!!Have a good day amy!!
amy,
See you when RG starts! I look forward to chatting with you and enjoying the tennis!
You hang in there! You have friends here, so you are not alone!
😘
Vamos Rafa!!! Congrats to us Rafans, condolences to the Fedfans.
That was WAY too close! Try to pick it up for RG, you hear, Rafa?
Oh lol, Rafa making his speech, congratulating Zverev for his “amazing” streak of 15 wins *at such a young age*. Has Rafa forgotten what he did at 19?
Sorry to see that Raonic is injured again or still. Not a fan, but still…
He also said “on this surface”. LOL
Yes, there is only one king of clay.
Great comeback for Nadal; congrats on an 8th Rome title. Zverev certainly played well after the first set, and (imo) would have held on without the rain delay. Overall, I thought he was the stronger player from the baseline before the delay. He came close, but it was not to be.
What Zverev and others have shown in this tournament, however, is that Nadal is far from unbeatable on clay. Losing a set to Fog, being taken to a TB by Djokovic, and being served a bread-stick my Zverev, shows how much lower Rafa’s level is than it was in MC, where he looked untouchable. Or maybe it shows how the field has improved since then. Either way, although Nadal is still the clear favourite to win in Paris, I put the odds lower than I would have a month ago.
+1
Joe, I see what your saying. But there’s a key theme here. Rafa won still 😂
Again I’ve to say, it depends on who’s his opponents. His opponents in MC – Thiem, Dimi – no doubt Thiem beat him in Rome last year but that’s because Rafa was running on fumes. Thiem then lost easily to Djoko, when Djoko was struggling with injuries. Dimi has never beaten Rafa on clay.
Foggy has beaten Rafa thrice, twice on clay and when Rafa was having the upper hand but Foggy managed to turn the table in the final set so Rafa is well aware of Foggy’s threat. Likewise for Djoko here at Rome. Sasha has a big game and is in a red hot streak; so the three of them have done better than Rafa’s MC opponents.
I should also say: Rome was a *far* more interesting tournament, due to Nadal’s matches being far more interesting, than Monte Carlo was. It may be nerve-racking for his fans, but it’s great for tennis to see him challenged on clay!
In fact I’m so glad that Rafa got to meet and beat Foggy and Djoko here in Rome before the FO.
I’ve mentioned in one of my earlier posts, Rafa has played against all possible challengers during the clay warm ups – Thiem, Sasha, Dimi, Goffin the top ten players; young up and coming stars Tsitsipas and Shapo; seasoned players like Kei, Foggy and Djoko. He pass with flying colours, doing as well in 2018 as his 2017, ie three titles including two masters plus a Masters QF, same number of points. He lost four sets last year (MC R2, Madrid R2, Rome QF straight sets). He lost four sets this year – Madrid QF straight sets, one set at Rome QF and Rome final.
I hope he does the same at the FO, ie winning it in straight sets too, though it may be tougher this time.
Winner of Rome back to No. 1 where the GOAT belongs.
Coulda woulda shoulda don’t cut it in tennis I’m afraid.
Keep hearing all the ‘not unbeatable’ bravado from the hater (when no one has said otherwise) but Rafa keeps on keeping on. Stick to reading your fedfan subjectively weighted analysis.
Jeff Sackmann’s objective ELO analysis says it all.
Vamos GOAT!
“What happened is I played one of the best sets that I played on clay this year. First set was fantastic, in my opinion, in terms of everything. Feeling, good shots, tactically, everything was great. Returning great. All the things that I wanted to do happened. So, it was a great set. Then in the second, couple of things happened. First thing I was, I believe, not like in the first game of the second set. I had a chance to have a break. Because I brought in the 30-all, I brought a great return. He made a drop shot from nowhere, being honest. A drop shot that probably doesn’t exist. But, he make it. And he make it great. Then he break me, and then the things went quick. I had balls to be 3-1, but I didn’t convert it. Then I had love-30 to be 5-2 but didn’t convert it. The court was slower later. The beginning was hot, fast conditions, bounces higher. So, that helps a little bit more my game. And I was feeling great. Then the beginning of the second, it started to be much more cloudy, the game became slowly, and probably he started feeling better the ball. And I stopped doing the things that I needed to do. I’m lucky that I started to do it again. Not too late.” But exactly what changed in third set? ” I had to change something because, in my opinion, he was taking advantage from inside. In the first set, I was able to open the court against him, to change the rhythm of the point with the slice, hitting high balls, going for the winners. I did great. Then the court become slower, so I started to hit, trying to hit with a lot of topspin. But the ball stays heavier, so the bounces were lower. I take a while to understand again what’s going on. Then I made a little bit the tactical error at the end of the match that I made at the beginning. Hitting probably without accelerating the match, because the ball didn’t get that many topspin later when the conditions became slower. I didn’t play no one day with that conditions here. I play all the days during the day. So, when it started to be cloudy and when it started to be slower, for me it was new feelings. Different to all the things that I felt during the week. Especially on the return. I felt at the beginning I was hitting long enough and I was taking advantage of that. Then, I felt even with his second serve, for a while, I was not creating no one advantage. Completely the opposite. The second serve, he was able to hit the first ball with perfect position. And I was just running to save the points. When I came back, I believe I started to return again much higher and longer. And then everything changed then.”
Exactly what I was saying!
When the rain delay came and Rafa was down a break in the the third set I took my dog ‘Rafa’ out for his walk fully expecting to come back to find Rafa had lost. Luckily for him the Rain Gods came to his rescue and he used the time to regroup whereas it brought Sascha’s momentum to a standstill. But that’s tennis for you – it’s never over till the fat lady has sung.
So Zverev didn’t win a game after the break then..lol
Rain has thrown Rafa off too quite a few times
1. Rafa could have taken Roger out in straights at wimby 2008. The first rain delay helped Federer regroup. The second rain delay helped Rafa
2. THe rain put paid to Rafa getting the job done in straights in 2012 french final. The postponement helped him regroup to get back
3. Rafa won the fourth set against Rosol at 2012 and had the momentum and they had to close the roof owing to rain and Rosol broke Rafa right after the break in the fifth
4. Rafa was going to serve for the second set at the 2011 french final and they had to go off for rain. Fed came back to break. Fortunately he could win the set in the TB
These are some I recollect at the top of my head.
Yeap, whoever plays to the conditions better would have the upperhand. Rain delays are not uncommon, so players have to cope.
Rafa was more experienced here and coped with the situations better. The court conditions in set 2 and 3 didnt favor Rafa (like when it started raining in FO2012 final allowing Djoko to hit hard flat shots with the heavier balls without having the balls flying over the lines). However, Rafa made use of the rain delay to regroup and rethink his strategy.
Was Rafa lucky, maybe; but he’s unlucky many times with rain delays – that Wimbledon 2012 match vs Rosol was one, when Rafa won the fourth set with momentum in his favor; rain came and they closed the roof using 45 mins or so; Rosol regrouped and came out serving and hitting without missing to beat Rafa.
You gain some and you lose some, this time it works in Rafa’s favor.
Every single aspect of a tennis match has to be viewed as just a part of the sport, including weather and delays. Same with fitness, injuries, timeouts, etc. It’s all part of the sport, ang that’s just the truth. That is why the most professional players handle those situations the best. Rafa and the other all-tome greats know how to still win when those non-tennis adversities come up. Zverev is not there yet… This was actually a really great learning experience for Zverev. He was going to have to learn at some point that rain delays do come at inopportune times. Now he’s experienced it. He’ll obviously be disappointed, but the fact that he came as close as he did to beating Rafael Nadal in a CLAY final should give him so sort of confidence. My concern, like everyone else, is still his inability to translate his game to best-of-five… He will surely want no part whatsoever of seeing Rafa at RG!
Hi Kevin,it’s been a while without seeing you posting here! As a big Djoko fan,I believe you have reasons to smile after he showed some glimpses of his best level.
Do you think he can make a deep run this season mate?
I think you’re confusing me with someone else, Gaviria… I’ve always been quite open about how I like Federer and Rafa way more than Djokovic. I am in no way what most people would consider a “Djokovic fan”.
However, as far as his chances go, I honestly don’t know what to make of him right now. I think I look at him right now how I viewed Rafa and Fed during their respective slumps. Meaning that I just cannot expect anything huge from Novak until I see it happen again. And for any of the Big 3, “huge” means title or bust. By that standard, I would never pick Novak to win a major again until he actually does it, or at very least makes a Final and makes it competitive.
What do you think?
I disagree, Kevin. I think Zverev can’t wait to play Nadal on clay again. Maybe it will happen at RG, but since they can only meet in the final, it might be unlikely on Zverev’s side. But Sascha is improving by leaps and bounds. I’d say it’s more like: if there’s a player Rafa doesn’t want to face on clay it might well be Zverev.
Please give me a break! The toughest task in tennis is trying to take out Rafa in a Bof5 set match at RG!
I think it’s still Djokovic.
Rafa knows that if he’s playing well – which he is – he has a very good chance at RG. He also knows that sometimes sh*t happens.
Ramara,
I guess my point is that Rafa is not going to fear playing someone who has not won at RG or any other slam. Zverev has not proved himself in a Bof5 slam. I like him and think he is the rest thing. But that is one thing he has not been able to do yet.
I think Novak, even not at his best, would be someone Rafa would not want to see on the other side of the net. Novak has won RG, the career slam, twelve slams in all, been the number one player for about three or four years and dominated the game. He has the wind and the record that would make Rafa not want to face him even if he is not at his best.
It would be like me saying that the one player Fed does not want to face at Wimbledon is Zverev!
I think Zverev is the REAL thing! *
Yes, maybe it’s Djokovic. But right now Zverev is the better player, and he actually won (and dominated) a set from Nadal. Notice that I didn’t say Nadal fears playing him: that would be absurd. But Rafa has said many times that he prefers to play weaker players rather than stronger ones, and I’m sure he would like to meet someone other than, say, Zverev, Novak, or Thiem if possible.
Sascha mentioned in his interview that he is glad that he will be in the other half as Rafa at RG. You would not want to face Rafa at RG unless one is a masochist. I am sure every one of the other 127 players think that someone else will do the dirty work and they can pick up the pieces. Like how a certain TMF won the French.
Sascha is no Joe Blow.
Fed said he’d love to play Rafa at the French knowing he was skipping clay.
Only stupid to want to play Rafa at the French unless you have too. Easy for haters to put words in his mouth LOL.
Vamos GOAT!
Of course Sasha wants to play Rafa at the FO, that means he is in the final! A slam final looks elusive for Sasha, his best result at the slams is at Wimbledon, where he reached the fourth round, in 2017.
Exactly LS.
Not unless he has to, like every other player on the planet.
Except for Federer, who made sure he wouldn’t have to!!! ROTFL!!!
Vamos GOAT!
I agree with you, Joe, if we are talking about tour-level clay events. In that case, Zverev (alongside Thiem) has proven to be a guy who can challenge Rafa on clay. However, I’m not talking about tour-level, I’m talking about Roland Garros. And it’s just a fact that Zverev has utterly failed in best-of-five tournaments, aka majors. If Zverev still hasn’t learned how get passed the 4th round at a major, then facing Rafa on clay in best-of-five is just a horrible scenario… And I’m not at all saying that Zverev CAN’T beat Rafa at RG because we all
Know that anything can happen no matter what the circumstances. But the odds are highly stacked against Zverev in this case. If he is still learning how to win best-of-five matches, then facing arguably the biggest challenge in tennis history (Rafa at RG) would just the hugest mountain to climb. I just don’t see how anyone can have any confidence that Zverev can just suddenly start playing well at Majors at the snap of a finger. If it did happen at RG, where he suddenly made his breakout at a major, nobody could claim that they saw it coming… We’ve been saying it’s coming for over a year now, after winning Masters titles even, and it just hasn’t happened. So if somebody tried to claim that they “know” that Zverev will breakout this year at RG, that would be “guessing”, not “knowing”. We were in the exact same position last year where Zverev destroyed defending RG champ Djokovic in the Rome final, and we all naturally became certain he would at least challenge for the RG title. But he shit the bed at RG like he does at every major. I hope he ends his awful streak at slams ASAP because he is just too good to not be regularly making at least SF at majors. I don’t know what it is about best-of-five that he hasn’t even been able to make even a single QF run, but I hope he figures it out sooner than later!
I would like to point out at no time did I say Rafa was injured. I was merely reported comments made to me by a sports doctor who suggested Rafa was being careful not to aggravate the hip problem which kept him out of the game earlier this year. i.e he no longer chases down every single ball as he did when he was younger. Today he is more likely to make the judgement it is a lost cause and pull up.
ed,
I think I get where you were coming from. But you know there are those here who will more out it than it was meant to be.
I just honestly felt that it was mental on Rafa’s part. Also the change in the weather with the rainy conditions.
I think overall Rafa is not chasing down every single ball all the time. I think that is just taking care of his body in general. Rafa can’t play attritional tennis anymore. So I have seen that at times he won’t go after a bal if he has no chance. It’s not just since the hip injury.
I don’t think Rafa can play if he is thinking about guarding against injury. He has to just go out there and play and trust his body. His movement has been really good.
Those here who will MAKE more out of that it was! *
I’m sure there’s some truth to that, Ed. But I also think that some of those balls that Zverev hit simply weren’t getting chased down by anyone. A well struck and well placed shot in men’s tennis is basically unreturnable.
Still, I’ve noticed what you’re saying at least back to the 2017 AO final, when it seemed to me that Rafa didn’t give chase to some of Federer’s winners. That was a much faster surface, so maybe there was just no chance on some of them. Also, when a player gets wrong-footed it can sometimes look as if they aren’t trying to chase, when in reality it’s just that all their momentum is going in the other direction.
I meant to say Novak has the WINS and the record that would make Rafa not want to play him. *
Rafa is not going to chase down every ball; only those that matter more, ie during an important point for example.
I think Rafa just plays whoever is in his draw, he knows sometimes is unavoidable that he has to play Djoko or Sasha or both like in Rome here. I like Rafa’s problem solving abilities out there, but of course he’s human so he has his own fears or worries or he can get agitated or shaky at times. The thing is, he’s not going to give up but tries all the time to fight for the win and so, many times he comes back from the brink and snatches victory out of the mouth of defeat. This is not the first time and it won’t be the last. Great champions can do that – Fed and Djoko have done that too.
Regarding Sasha, I’m impressed by his fitness, he had played three weeks in a row, won two out of three events and reached the final of the other. So, he had played 14 matches winning 13 of them, very impressive.
The one guy that could match him for the record was Rafa in 2009, where Rafa played and won MC, Barcelona and Madrid B2B2B, when at that time there wasn’t a one week break between Barcelona and Madrid. Rafa was 22 almost 23 back then.
With such fitness, perhaps Sasha is going to get deep at the slams. He has grown to be a formidable opponent, not only on clay but everywhere else.
Rafa can handle him if Rafa comes out all guns blazing the way he did in set one, or at the FO, plays like his 2017. Rafa was ruthless during 2017 FO. If you give Sasha time to breathe, he will be able to fight back, so the key is to rush him into errors.
At Rome, Rafa had beaten three tough opponents consecutively; each time he had the upper hand and that said something about Rafa’s game on clay; however he let the advantage slipped away and had to fight hard to win the matches. Perhaps, Rome is the place where Rafa has to be tested before he embarks on the journey to his 11th FO title.
I believe with the battles fought and won and the trophy in hand, Rafa is ready for his FO title defence.
I actually thought there was a difference between Nadal’s matches against Djokovic, on the one hand, and Fognini and Zverev, on the other. Against Novak, I never felt that the match was anywhere but in Rafa’s hands, on his racquet. This version of Djokovic just doesn’t have the baseline game or the consistency to match him.
Fognini and Zverev, on the other hand, showed for long stretches the kind of hitting that can take the racquet out of Nadal’s hand. Neither one could sustain it for the length required, but I feel that Zverev was close and in the near future he will have the game to beat Nadal on clay. He’s already shown he has the game to beat Fed on HC and maybe this year will show the same on grass.
Joe, do read what Rafa said about the court conditions changes when dark cloud gathered and then the rain came. It’s not unlike that FO2012 final match vs Djoko; Zverev was helped by those conditions then and it took Rafa quite a while to figure that out. If it’s in the past when Rafa was at his peak, I doubt he needed so long to figure things out; my qualms now is that Rafa these days takes a long time to figure out certain things during his matches, so as a result he may lose a set in the process.
For Zverev and Djoko or even Foggy to beat Rafa on clay, they have to play their best for a long stretch and for Rafa to be off his game. I give you that Djoko was playing his best during Madrid and Rome 2011 and MC 2013 when Rafa wasn’t playing badly. However, for the other matches, Rafa was simply not there, playing subpar tennis even on clay.
Beating Fed on HC or grass doesn’t equate to beating Rafa on clay. Rafa’s tactical mind helped him to win in the end; Rafa simply has different levels and dimensions to his game; he could just vary the way he hits his shots, his placements etc which is why it’s so difficult to beat him on clay. Zverev OTOH, is another Delpo, relying on a great serve and raw power to overpower his opponents.
On grass and HCs, it may be easier for Zverev to play his game to overwhelm others, as those courts don’t give his opponents too much time to defend, and that’s why I feel Zverev will have better results on grass and HCs in time to come. Madrid plays more like a HC, hence Zverev’s didn’t lose his serve, not once!
Well said Lucky. Zverev is a great player to beat Federer on the only two surfaces he plays on indeed.
Beating a focussed Rafa on clay is another matter all together and at RG when healthy ? Never been done.
Peak federer has been beaten on all surfaces at slams at slams by better players such as Rafa and Nole.
Of course this is part of why Rafa come out on top on Jeff Sackmann’s objective ELO analysis.
Joe Blow fans should stick to fedfan biased lists with biased weighting formulas.
Lucky, if Rafa can’t immediately figure out that cloudy and damp conditions are going to slow the court down and make the ball bounce lower and spin less, then he’s not very bright. Of course he knows those things without thinking.
The main factor in Nadal coming back after the delay in the 3rd set was, as you’ve said, his better ability to adapt to the break, which is part of the game. 6′ 6” Zverev had cooled down/tightened up quite a bit, and when play resumed he never got close to the level at which he had been playing prior to the break. That’s the main reason (imo) that he lost, not Nadal’s adjustments.
I don’t buy that for a minute. I watched my recording of that third set after the rain delay three times. Zverev was actually playing well. He did not come out and just play crap tennis. But Rafa was very aggressive and focused. He was clear about what he wanted to do. He just took the match away from Zverev, who did not play badly. He may not have handled the rain delay as well as Rafa. So be it. He will learn. But Rafa was too good. He just was determined to win when he came out after the rain delay.
I do not think the Fog could take the racket out of Rafa’s hands. He won one set and then only won three games in the next two sets,
Rafa is a formidable opponent on clay. His movement is still amazing at this point in his career. He has so much variety in his game that he can beat an opponent in many ways.
Well, in his post-game interview Sascha said that he tightened up quite a bit during the delay and didn’t come out loose. Again, that’s on him, and props to Rafa for coming out ready to go. But Zverev seemed to think, and I agree, that he was playing well below the level he was at before the delay. You obviously see things differently.
Regarding Fognini, the result is what it is; he couldn’t do what he needed to do for more than 5 games in the first set. Personally, I think that if Fognini had Zverev’s work ethic and mental strength, he would be a multi-slam champion. But he doesn’t.
I have never denied that Rafa is formidable on clay, which is a massive understatement. My recent comments have been limited to the observation that he doesn’t look *as* formidable on clay as he did a month ago.
So many Joe Blow backtracks and coulda woulda shoulda.
Federer doesn’t look as good as he did during the weak era but he’s still going to win Wimbledon because it’s still a weak era on grass ATM and Wimby traditions of cushy draws, schedules and closed roof on demand. Unless Sascha discovers how to play BO5. If he does, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see Sascha have his way with Federer like he did when he basically schooled him on grass in Halle at just 19. He’s two years older now and the fountain of juice has to expire eventually.
Unless a cloud appears and they rush to close the roof of course…
Joe, you’re saying Rafa is not very bright?? You made me laugh, as a not very bright Rafa has/had caused Fed so much headaches and heartaches on the tennis court! That speaks a lot about Fed and his even less bright mentality.
Rafa is always bright, we do not have to doubt that; it’s a matter of him willing to make the changes immediately or too nervous to make any changes. It seems that in the second set, once Rafa lost his serve, Zverev upped his level and Rafa might be the one tightening up and was not thinking calmly, and that’s the thing I’ve qualms with. Rafa being a great champion sometimes is/was so lacking in confidence, giving his opponents too much respect I feel.
Foggy and Zverev’s play could take the racket out of opponent’s hand? Well, many big hitters could do that, all the big four could do that too! The difference – the big four could do that and sustain that level of play long enough to win the match, the others the like of Foggy, Zverev couldn’t, esp against a big four guy, and that’s the difference!
The difference between the big four and these guys is – the big four could raise their level during the match when they need to, to win the match; these other guys couldn’t!
Joe failed to realize one thing: not all opponents are equal. You can’t equate a Goffin, or a Dimi, to a Djoko or a Sasha! Do you expect Rafa to beat all of them 6–1, 6-4 in their matches??
Rafa in 2017 lost a set to Edmund at MC and lost a set to none other than Foggy at Madrid. Did you at that time say the same thing, that Rafa wasn’t looking formidable? Yet, what happened at the FO last year?
Lucky, you truly have to work on your reading. Read my post above again and you’ll see clearly that I didn’t say Rafa wasn’t bright; quite the opposite.
Nor did I say Nadal wasn’t formidable on clay; again, quite the opposite. I said he wasn’t looking *as* formidable as he was a month ago. I even emphasized it as I have just done.
I think Dimitrov and Nishikori are very formidable players on any surface. They weren’t competitive with Nadal in MC. Several players were (more) competitive with him in Rome (never mind Madrid, which is very different conditions). The main reason, I think, is that Rafa’s level, particularly on his serve, is not as high as it was a month ago.
When HASN’T Joe Blow emphasized “Nadal isn’t as formidable” blah blah.
His open daydream doomsaying before a tournament inevitablely turns into another coulda-woulda-shoulda about why Rafa’s opponent dropped the ball after Rafa wins another title further cementing him as GOAT and justifying Jeff Sackmann’s excellent ELO analysis of why Federer is no longer GOAT.
Quite funny really.
Joe, please refer to your own post at 8.15pm, if you’re trying to be sarcastic then expect a sarcastic response in return!
You failed to realise one thing, you kept saying Rafa was not as formidable as during MC but you failed to take into consideration Rafa’s opponents at Rome. Kei at MC wasn’t better than Kei at Rome, Djoko beat Kei earlier at Madrid in two sets but had to go the distance at Rome, that meant Kei was getting better when Djoko was also getting better!. Goffin and Dimi on clay are << Foggy and Djoko and Sasha on clay.
The fact that Rafa still had the upper hand vs all three of them before they fought back said a lot about Rafa’s level. When you have formidable opponents, you’ve to expect them to fight back, those three certainly do/did.
And Joe, are you saying Rafa is lying? Rafa said all those things himself, I didn’t make that up!
I repeat, I’ve qualms about Rafa being nervous and tightening up resulting in him not being able to respond immediately to changes in conditions. A Rafa in his younger days when he’s at his peak would not allowed Zverev to win the set 6-1 against him. Against Djoko under similar conditions at FO2012, he at least managed two games; Djoko >> Zverev!
Lying about what? Rafa has his own take, in which he mentions that Zverev hit a great drop shot at the beginning of the set, and then mentions the several chances he (Rafa) had but didn’t take. He does mention the court slowing down, but doesn’t say that he failed to notice or adjust to it. Basically, although he doesn’t come out and say it, he knows that he just got outplayed in the second set.
Interesting too that Nadal doesn’t think Zverev’s “failure” so far at the slams is an issue. In his words, “tennis is tennis,” and there’s no reason that a player who has won masters 1000s can’t win slams as well.
To me that shows that Nadal recognizes that there’s no reason that Zverev couldn’t start doing very well, perhaps winning, slams right now. He just played a competitive final against the best clay player, with chances to win. Following Rafa’s reasoning, it shouldn’t be a stretch to imagine Zverev doing the same at RG, perhaps winning the final.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZYQzzsiElg
Joe, you really want to argue for the sake of arguing. The way Rafa put it, of course he’s aware of the condition changes; it’s just that Sasha was taking advantage of the situation and was having the upper hand and Rafa had to do all the defending chasing after the ball. If you think a TOP player could just flip a switch and turned things around just like that, then why these TOP players are/were still losing some of their matches, and sometimes to non TOP players?
Sasha had the upper hand in the second set, just like Djoko had his during FO2012 final in the third set; but, did they win in the end?
Rafa knew how to adjust to the conditions, if not he won’t be winning in the end. Sasha to win the FO? Well I give him better chances at Wimbledon , when his serves and hard hitting will serve him well, may even overwhelm the aging defending champion along the way.
Joe made me laughed by saying its not Rafa adjustments that made the difference but it’s Sasha’s level that had gone down after the rain break! Anyone whos not blind or biased against Rafa would have noticed that Rafa came out all guns blazing after the rain break. If he played the same way he did in set two, Sasha might even win in the end!
Like what Rafa said, he hit high balls with depth, making it difficult for Sasha to get his racket on the ball to hit his hard and penetrating shots, and Rafa would then make his way forward to get ready for his next shot, rushing Sasha in the process. Sasha didn’t hit like he did in set two because Rafa didn’t allow him to do so!
Hope rafa gets a good draw at rg. .players I don’t want on his side are djoko and nick kygios ..not that rafa can’t beat them but he does give them too much respect…and that meeting can happen as early as 3rd…delpo could be another danger but he is injured
Winner of Rome back to No. 1 where the GOAT belongs.
Coulda woulda shoulda don’t cut it in tennis I’m afraid.
Keep hearing all the ‘not unbeatable’ bravado from the hater (when no one has said otherwise) but Rafa keeps on keeping on. Stick to reading your fedfan subjectively weighted analysis.
Jeff Sackmann’s objective ELO analysis says it all.
Vamos GOAT!!!!
Sascha is no Joe Blow.
Fed said he’d love to play Rafa at the French knowing he was skipping clay.
Only stupid to want to play Rafa at the French unless you have too. Easy for haters to put words in his mouth LOL.
Vamos GOAT!!!
MA,
Can you find that clip of the baby saying – I love you to Rafa? I can’t find where you posted it.
Thanks!
Oh!Sure Nny!…here it is!…
https://www.givemesport.com/1316225-rafael-nadal-breaks-focus-because-of-brilliant-moment-in-the-crowd?autoplay=off
MA,
Thank you so much!
You are the best!
😍
Hehehe…You’re most welcome M’lady!…
Oh!..Nny!….I just noticed yesterday when i watched the replay[final]…I think this same baby called ‘Rafa!Rafa!’ when Rafa was about to serve in the 3rd set 3 3 15 15…And Rafa just stopped for a minute & turned his head to his left[no doubt to the baby’s voice]….and just smiled widely!!..haha…
I tried to find the article/video about it..but so far..none!
MA,
Are we sure that he was saying it to Rafa? I assume he was. In English, not Italian.
Did you hear that baby again in the final? Because I still have my recording. Maybe I should check it out.
Hehehe…Oh yes ma’am!!…I heard it before Rafa stopped his act to serve…And turned his head to the voice..It was the same voice Nny!..only ‘I love u’ missing this time…God!..It’s so cute those moment!
MA,
I watched my recording again. You said it was at 3-3 15-15 in the third set. I did hear a baby when Rafa was serving. I could not mahevout what the baby was saying. I couldn’t understand it. But Rafa did hear the baby sbd stopped and smiled briefly. But we don’t know if it was the same baby.
I could not make out what the baby was saying. *
Oh!Okay Nny!….Tho,i still think it was the same baby…hehe…That’s okay!
Sure he’s no Joe Blow and can play a couple of good sets in a Masters (against anyone but Rafa) but Zverev hasn’t shown the ability to do damage in best of five.
Saschas game can do more damage on grass.
Surface cherry picker Fed better hope Saschas best of five woes continue at Wimbledon because Sascha could definitely take him down if they don’t. Saschas already beaten Federer on clay and grass don’t forget
Of course he won’t be in feds half obviously.
Sorry HARD COURT and grass. Most likely would have tagged Fed on clay by now if Federer hadn’t yet become a cherry picker.
Even though I am a rafa fan…I don’t understand your utter dislike of Federer to this extent hawkeye. Is it actually towards fed or towards his biased fans who dislike rafa with a passion ?
I have never disliked Federer ..I only have an issue with the name calling n disrespect quiet a few of his rabid fans indulge in towards rafa…
Well said sanju.
Federer is a great player. One of the GOATs and I respect his game enormously. I consider myself fortunate to have watched him play live.
Like Rafa, his game and style will never be duplicated.
To answer your question, it’s a small majority of his fans. Sorry if it’s not obvious.
If anyone on this site thinks Zverev can beat Fed in Wimby , you can very well guess his intellect level.
Of all biased Fed and Rafa fans, that guy is the dumbest.
Zverev has no chance at Wimble
I wonder. Zverev lost the Rome final but he’s leading the Race and without having done well at a slam…yet. His legs look stronger now. I think he’ll start doing better at slams. If he does he may well be the year end No 1 this year depending on how Rafa/Fed do at the slams. Health is a question for both now but AZ seems to be quite healthy.
It’s just as dumb as thinking Zverev can beat Rafa at RG!
yep
Agreed fedexal. Almost the same mentality as thinking Zverev can beat Rafa at RG.
Except I’m not remotely serious.
No fedexal. You are dumber with complete lack of context.
You used the word condolences in a wrong context Ramara. Rafa is not an enemy, just a great player we can all learn something from, especially discipline and power of will.
There could be a way that A.Zverev could win Wimby. Both Fed and Rafa have first week shock losses and Sascha has good draw in which he can win each match including the final in 3 sets. And gets lucky too – one match opponent retires and another is a w/o.
Every year I say to myself – Federer won’t win another GS. One of these years I will be right lol. I don’t dislike Federer. He’s been amazing. I just think it’s unreal that he keeps winning.
Zverev could beat Rafa at Wimbledon. An early loss by Rafa is not what Zverev needs in order to have a chance.
But wouldn’t it be better if he didn’t have to see Rafa across the net. Same with Federer and Djokovic, for that matter….who else. The point here is luck and not having reserving energy = if he is to win. It’s not very likely this year. Doing well, going deep and knocking out a big grass court player in the process is more what I hope to see from him.
*reserving his energy to make it through to the final — if he is to win.
If Rafa wins French, I expect him to make some noise at Wimby this year.
Fed is also not a lock for Wimby though he is surely the favorite.
No one is a lock for USO, it is the widest open slam.
I expect Djoko to start getting sharp by the time Wimby comes around..
Fed is lock. Won’t lose a set.
Ricky and I agree on something.
#Worried
lol
That is going too far. He lost his last 2 matches , is 37 and no one has seen him play for last 2 months..to say he will not even drop a set is too much given his age…he is more susceptible to ups n downs now.
Note to self:
Bookmark link to this post for closed roof Wimby final post match.
#ToldYouSoGoldenOpportuniesAreEverywhere
Sanju, it’s very unlikely that Rafa will make it far at Wimbledon this year, after his results the last several years. He will be 32. If he wins RG he will be exhausted and the change of surface is no good for him. Imo, he won’t win another non-RG slam.
Federer is surely the favourite to win Wimby, but it is wishful thinking for any Fed fan to predict that he won’t drop a set. Nadal has a better chance of doing that at RG this year, but I don’t think he will. Last year was highly unusual for both of them, and neither has been as good this year. They are both a year older, the next Gen field is stronger, and Djokovic may be approaching his old self. Wawrinka may even surprise at RG.
Federer’s advanced age is a wild-card for any prediction made about him. Everything he does from this point out is gravy. It’s like Ratcliff says: every year one thinks that he can’t possibly win another slam, but somehow he keeps doing it.
Well Zverev can meet Rafa only in semi and if Rafa reaches semi at Wimby, chance of big upset is less as most of the grass would have vanished from the courts. Ofcourse the roof can close and then he can outhit Rafa..but frankly I feel Rafa wants to do well at Wimby one last time and he will (hopefully this year by going deep)
Let him win RG first. I dont think Rafa can win Wimby this year with his below par serve , I hope he surprises me though.
Sanju — meeting Rafa in the SF wouldn’t work for Sascha. Rafa won’t lose if he gets that far or if he does lose, he’ll still fight through 5 sets and his opponent will be toast. Same with Federer. Someone else has to knock out Rafa and Federer earlier. And whoever that someone is that knocks out Federer or Rafa will have been through a lot. Sascha then meets the one mystery man in the SF but doesn’t have to play him because he gives Sascha a W/O. Then he meets someone who has been through a harder draw than he has in the final…Novak or Dimitrov or Muller….and Sascha wins the title in straight sets. I like it. Well I wouldn’t mind Novak winning another Wimby either! 😀
It’s just fun to speculate on how Sascha possibly could win Wimby after Ricky said absolutely not.
If Rafa and Zverev met in the semis at RG, Rafa would destroy him imo. Also I don’t think Zverev is getting past the quarters. He has set himself for yet another slam letdown with these impressive but tiring runs at the masters. Rafa and Thiem to face in the finalswould probably be my pick if they landed on opposite sides of the draw.
Yeah, Benny – agree about RG. It would be a good result for Sascha to make the QF.
I was just speculating about how he might go deep at Wimby (with a lot of luck)
Actually, I don’t expect Sasha to win or even go deep at Wimby either. There will be perhaps a healthy Delpo and Raonic and other names I’m forgetting right now Wimbles.
Could take another year for him to add in the type of endurance Sascha needs to go deep in GS’s.
Jez Green on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1paSEbKbFs
correction to my above post:
Raonic is skipping FO, sorry about that and Delpo is in doubt, as I posted on his player page.
Rafa and Sasha can only meet in the final of FO; it’s unlikely that Sasha is making the final there, over BO5, guys like Kei or Goffin or Djoko will have better chances against him.
I can see Sasha doing a lot better on grass this year,but I guess Ricky is remembering the beatdown he got from Fed.
Who is 37, so is going to lose sometime
Oh you probably mean last year in Halle 😀
I don’t know how Federer does it — it’s certainly age-defying and I’d like to buy a bottle of it. Federer will be going for how many Wimbles? And how he can just skip the entire clay season – play Stuttgart, Halle going for his ? win there, and then win another go win another Wimbles? But that’s what Ricky and Hawkeye are saying and they are a whole lot better at predicting what Federer does than I am!!
As for Sascha, he’s an improved player from last year – it took him 3 sets to beat every opponent in he met in Halle, I think. But he got to the final. And I think he could improve on his performance and beat Federer in Halle.
Not so sure about the second week at Wimbledon. lol unbelievable Federer!
unbelievable Rafa too 😀
They can only meet in the SF of Wimbledon, by then Rafa is hard to beat and Sasha may be worn out by then. I’ll rather trust Rafa in a slam SF than a player who hasn’t gone past R4 at a slam.
obviously
Never underestimate Federer or Rafa.
Sasha can and will do better this year on grass. Last season he reached the final of Halle and R4 of Wimbledon (the best at a slam for him). He’s a much improved player this year, with a better and bigger serve and improved movements and groundstrokes too.
With his big game, playing on grass would require less physical endurance unlike playing on clay; his big serve will certainly help him to win his points quickly thus avoiding long drawn out matches on grass. I think he’ll go far on grass, may reach QF or even SF at Wimbledon.
I fully expect Zverev to do well in the grass season this year. As you say, his serve and movement are both improved. In fact, he is quickly become an all-court player who can be expected to contend on any surface. He also has the right mindset to win at the highest levels. I think we’ll see him do very well in the remaining slams this year.
Agree .As Ls says he could well get to the semis of Wimby.
Lucky, I wasn’t being sarcastic: I was saying that the reason Rafa lost set 2 wasn’t because he failed to account for the changing conditions. It was because Zverev played a lot better than he did.
Nor did I fail to realize that Nadal’s opponents were tougher in Rome. Rather, I *disagree* that they were; that’s why I said that Dimitrov and Niskikori were formidable, but Nadal still walloped them. The main reason Rafa’s matches were closer in Rome than in MC, imo, is that his level has dropped in the last month.
Does that mean that I think he is playing poorly? Of course not. He has just tailed off a bit, and the field has more chance against him now than they did then; that’s all.
It’s both – ie it’s Rafa not making changes in time and at the same time Zverev upped his level after breaking Rafa’s serve to go up 2-0. Also, the conditions in set two favoured Zverev’s game as he’s serving as big as possible and hitting as hard as possible.
So you don’t think Djoko was tougher opponent than Goffin or Dimi?? Or Sasha tougher than Goffin and Dimi?? Goffin lost to Sasha at Rome for your info, and Dimi lost to Kei who then lost to Djoko.
Yes, those were the results in Rome. But Kei was playing well in MC (and easily could have beaten Novak in that Rome match). I thought Goffin was playing well in both tournaments, too.
My main impression from MC was that it was more about Nadal’s level than his opponents, and that’s why the matches were so lopsided. I just didn’t have that feeling in Rome (and of course not in Madrid). Yes, he was good enough to win against some tough opponents in Rome. No one is disputing that he is the best clay player right now. I just think that he is not playing as well as he was, and his serve in particular is not firing like it was earlier on.
TBH, Rafa’s serve wasn’t firing at MC either, that’s the impression he gave me, it’s just that his opponents then weren’t able to capitalise. Also, Rafa was physically fresher back then.
I don’t agree that Kei was playing better at MC than at Rome. He was struggling through his matches at MC. He lost to Djoko in straight sets at Madrid, but after an almost 3 hour match to beat Dimi, he was still able to push Djoko to the limit in the QF at Rome, that showed how much better he was at Rome. The Kei at MC was able to beat Djoko at Rome? Fat hope! Beating Djoko at MC maybe. Djoko was playing at a high level at Rome, a tournament he loved and where he had so much successes.
If not, how then could Rafa up his level after the rain delay? It’s obvious Rafa was more aggressive after the rain delay and Sasha had no answer.
Joe, there’re two players out there; Rafa explained the situations very clearly, it’s not only about Sasha’s level of play but also Rafa’s. Rafa’s level in set one > Sasha’s; his level in set two Sasha’s hence he won the match in the end.
I meant, ‘his level in set two than Sasha’s hence he won the match in the end.’
Something wrong with my typing, I’ll try again:
Sasha’s level in set two > Rafa’s; and Rafa’s level
after the rain delay > Sasha’s hence Rafa won the match in the end.
I have been so busy… just dropped by to say congrats to Rafa 😭😭😭 and to his…🤣🤣🤣
A little late but all is good right?
Take care, don’t forget I love you 😉.
Nny!…Here’s a couple of article for u!
http://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Rafael_Nadal/55266/rafael-nadal-is-the-most-educated-player-says-rome-open-stringer/
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/964044/Rafael-Nadal-Roger-Federer-fishing-French-Open-tennis-news
lol re the fishing comment. Rafa uses fishing to relax, but if he misses the tennis competition he just might get serious about his fishing…and I would not bet against him becoming World No. 1.
MA,
Thanks for those! Rafa saying he will be number one fisher? Priceless! I would not bet against him! For now I just want to enjoy him while he is still playing! I have watched my recording of the last pasty of the third set after the rain delay in the Rome final, over and over!
Ramara…I think after Rafa retires,we maybe will see him constantly with his fishing rod @ golf club!…But,i certainly will miss him holding his precious racket that’s 4 sure!
Nny!…Can u hear the baby’s voice calling Rafa’s name again in the 3rd sets?
MA,
I have to watch my recording again. I will let you know.
Nny!…This too!
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/963998/Rafael-Nadal-Roger-Federer-record-Grand-Slam-Ken-Rosewall
MA,
I found Ken Rosewall’s comments very interesting. He ought to know if anyone does. Maybe Rafa will have to skip parts of the hard court season, especially since it is so hard on his body.
😀
Yeah Nny!….That’s what we Rafans make a noise about!…I think he should skip Asian swing altogether…Just participate in Basel & Paris…But,with Rafa i’m not sure about anything Nny!…Just a while ago he said if he’s healthy,he will not skip any tournament..unlike Roger…And Rafa is Rafa…He’ll do anything he wants usually….
When players thank their team after a win I imagine casual fans of tennis are usually unaware this is not just polite lip service. Their role is crucial to the success of players. Jez Green (Andy Murray’s former fitness coach) is the man responsible for the awesome stamina Sascha has developed which allowed him to play at the level we saw in spite of his late finish the night before and truncated recovery time. It reminded me of the 2009 AO final when Rafa faced a well rested Federer after playing a hideously tough 5-set SF against an on-fire Verdasco until the early hours of morning and yet went on to win against all the odds.
Sascha’s lack of good results in the slams may soon become a thing of the past. Few players are going to relish the prospect of either Rafa or AZ in the early rounds.
I’ve a strange feeling that Sasha actually likes the heavier conditions (rainy weather or playing at night) as that allows him to serve and hit hard without the ball flying over the lines as the balls are heavier with the moisture. I remember Sod vs Fed at FO2010 QF, after the rain delay, Sod was hitting without missing and beat Fed, not unlike the heavy conditions during this Rome final set 2 and 3.
In set one of the final when the weather was fine, Sasha couldn’t have the luxury of hitting without missing and Rafa was able to return almost all of his serves! I think at RG in BO5, players will have their chances vs Sasha if the weather is fine and Sasha couldn’t hit without missing; players like Goffin or Edmund or Cilic for examples, who lost narrowly in TBs to Sasha, would have more chances against him when more sets have to be played.
Sasha to me is still inexperienced in BO5 matches, esp when there may be unforeseen twists and turns during matches.
Sasha’s done well in DC matches, hasn’t he? Barring his last match vs Rafa — and there’s no shame in losing in straights to Rafa on clay in Spain. He may find the additional support in DC helpful. But everyone’s got to do it for the first time. After that, I’m told, it gets easier.
DC only two matches max; at a slam you need to play seven to win the title. At DC you may meet only one top ten player, sometimes there’s no top ten player; at a slam you’ve to meet a top ten player sooner or later.
IMO its as much to do with Nadals topspin not being as effective, which makes him less confident and his opponent, more so .
Sasha isn’t good at B05 yet but at his age, not unusual.
I watched Sasha vs Djoko Rome 2017 final; the weather was fine and Sasha tend to overhit at times too. I think a big hitter like him would make more errors while going for his shots, so I actually think that heavier conditions suit him even better.
Sasha uses his serve and big groundstrokes to overpower his opponents, not unlike Delpo or Sod; but, his movement is good, better than those two and he’s young now and full of energy. He’s getting better and better, to me he’ll be something like a bigger version of Djoko, good from both wings and good on any surface.
He would also not hit as many winners in the slower conditions. It’s Rafas topspin that saved him from making errors while hitting hard,unlike most of his opponents.
Big Al. I’m talking about Sasha not Rafa.
If you’re talking about Rafa, then you got it wrong. Rafa likes sunny conditions when the ball is lighter hence his topspin has better effect on the ball, making the ball bounces higher thus more difficult for his opponent to handle, like in set one in the final.
Rafa doesn’t like slow conditions, it’s a misconception that Rafa likes slower courts. On slower courts he has to grind, I doubt he likes grinding when he has a choice not to. Rafa likes medium quick courts and higher bounces surfaces. Too quick and low bouncing courts are not to his liking either.
Sasha is a big hitter and that’s why he tends to have some mishittings or overhittings when he goes for his shots. The heavier conditions will let him hit without much missing as explained earlier. His big serve will help him in quicker conditions hence it’s difficult to break his serve, as shown in Madrid when the conditions was quicker there.
Sasha will be hard to beat as he matures and becomes more experienced, when he can add more precision to his already powerful groundstrokes. If he can improve his ROS further, he’ll become the dominant player like. Djoko, in time to come.
My first sentence was about Sasha .His errors may be less on the slower stuff,but fewer winners also.
Agree the faster clay would help the big server,but you said he might have trouble keeping the ball in than when it’s damp ?Don’t see why.
As I said earlier,Rafa depends a lot on topspin and the ball exploding off the court
Fed beat Rafa after Rafa had won MC, Barcelona and Rome and winning Hamburg was too much to ask for! Note that Rafa beat Fed at Hamburg in the following year, after Rafa lost early at Rome. Rafa had not won all four warm up clay court events before the FO, during all his career.
I was talking about Sasha’s groundstrokes, not the Serve! The groundstroke was affected by the weather conditions.
Big Al, in lighter conditions the ball will fly quickly and it’ll be harder to control the ball unless you’re Rafa who puts in unbelievable amount of topspin. With heavier conditions the ball wont fly so quickly and so for big hitters it’s easier to control the ball. Refer to Sod/Fed match at FO2010 QF and note what Fed said after the match about Sod’s hitting in heavier conditions. Refer to FO2012 Final, set three and four and this Rome final set two and see which player benefitted from the heavier conditions, it’s Djoko and Sasha who hit as hard as possible. Sasha hit more winners in set two than in set one, the stats are there.
Sasha’s big serve helps him in quicker conditions because it’s difficult to return big serves in quick conditions; no contradiction.
Of course if Sasha can master the precision of his shots, then whether it’s quick or slow conditions it won’t matter much to him.
I must say a big hitter is very difficult to defend against in any condition, not everyone can be like the big four, who have great ROS and with varieties to neutralize the big hitters; still they have to fight tooth and nail too at times to beat the big hitting players – eg Fed vs Delpo; Rafa vs Delpo and now Sasha.
I was talking specifically about the serve in damp or dry conditions. You said earlier that Zverev would make fewer errors when it was damp,but I think it would be negligible compared to the winners he hits when it’s fast.Its winners unforced errors ratio that matters.
I’ve no disagreement about the groundstrokes,Fed beat Nadal in slow damp conditions in Hamburg .
Nny!….An interesting article for u to read….
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tennis-frenchopen-nadal/underarm-serve-when-all-else-fails-against-nadal-why-not-idUKKCN1IP04H
Yesterday a bunch of articles appeared about Robin Soderling gave an advice how to topple Rafa at FO…I chose not to give u coz imo that article was not interesting at all…I mean,everytime FO come..there’s going to be an article like this..talking the same thing about how awesome/famous Robin was bcoz he made that upsets in the history…
Sure Robin was awesome THAT day…but we also know that Rafa had a problem at that time right?So,if Robin is awesome,why can’t he emulate his perfomance at FO 2010?I say Robin won over Rafa at FO 2009 is just 1 time thing…A lucky one…
MA,
I agree with you. If Sod was so great, then how come he couldn’t do it again! A healthy Rafa beat him easily in the RG 2010 final. We know that although sod played great, Rafa was struggling with knee tendinitis that caused him to withdraw from Wimbledon.
They are trying desperately to find something to stop Rafa at RG! Good luck with that!
😀
Fed devotees’ anti-Rafa propaganda machine is running at full speed, as usual. Robin Sod has been remembered (almost?) on a daily basis on (different) websites since 2009.
Good draw for Rafa.. Thiem, Zverev, Dimitrov, Djokovic all in other half
Cilic /Delpotro in semi
He opens against Dologopolov
Anderson QF
Jack Sock 4th round
Thiem- Zverev QF..spicy 🙂
Cilic- Delpo QF – spicy
Projected men’s quarters
[1] Nadal vs [6] Anderson
[3] Cilic vs [5] Del Potro
[8] Goffin vs [4] Dimitrov
[7] Thiem vs [2] A. Zverev
Ricky..if someone has pulled out like Chung or DElpo pulls out..can they mess up draw now or a qualifier/lucky loser takes their position?
Interesting draw for Rafa:
All those dangerous guys Rafa met and beat in the warm ups – Thiem, Goffin, Dimi, Kei, Djoko – are in the other half of the draw.
The four top ten guys that Rafa had not met in the warm up events are all in his half – Anderson, Cilic, Delpo and Isner.
Shapo, Diego and Foggy, all of whom Rafa had beaten in the warm ups are in his half with Shapo in his quarter.
A good draw for Rafa I have to say.