Rafael Nadal is one win away from a potential U.S. Open showdown against Roger Federer. Standing in Nadal’s way of the quarterfinals on Monday is Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Rafael Nadal and Philipp Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the 11th time in their careers at the ATP level when they clash in round four of the U.S. Open on Monday night.
Nadal is dominating the head-to-head series 9-1, including 5-0 on hard courts. Kohlschreiber’s lone victory came in their only grass-court encounter last summer in Halle, just after Nadal had captured a seventh French Open title (the German prevailed 6-3, 6-4). They most recently faced each other this spring on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo, where Nadal cruised 6-2, 6-4.
Normally a fast hard court would be thought of as a decent surface for Kohlschreiber in this matchup, but not so at the moment. Nadal is undefeated on hards in 2013 with titles in Indian Wells, Montreal, and Cincinnati. The second-ranked Spaniard is not looking back in New York, with straight-set victories so far this fortnight over Ryan Harrison, Rogerio Dutra Silva, and Ivan Dodig.
Many expected this to be a rematch of the Cincinnati final between Nadal and John Isner, but Kohlschreiber put an end to that talk on Saturday. Following wins over Colin Altamirano and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, the world No. 25 took out Isner in a fourth-set tiebreaker. Kohlschreiber is now a solid 26-17 for the season.
This may be Nadal’s toughest test of the tournament to date given Kohlschreiber’s form, but Nadal’s heavy topspin should wear down his opponent’s one-handed backhand before things get too interesting.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 11-13 games
[polldaddy poll=7364567]
Agree with your pick Ricky. However, important to note that all of Rafa’s wins over Khols on HC have included a dropped set on Rafa’s part so it would not surprise me if Khols broke Rafa’s serve during the match.
Rafa for the win!
With you on that one RITB. Kohlbi is a stubborn player capable of holding his own against many of the higher ranked players. Taking an early set off Rafa is certainly not out of the question unless Rafa comes out with all guns blazing. Hope he has his service under control for tonight.
I am beginning to suspect Rafa’s on-court energy “travels”, i.e. it seeps across the net to his opponents! How else to explain how all of Rafa’s opponents get transformed into tennis demons when they play Rafa? So, fully expect Khols to up his game and make Rafa play……..
Unless one person has voted twice there are two jokers voting Kohlbi will win.
Be focused, be confident, be strong, be brave, Rafa! Avoid ‘the things getting too interesting’!
Reblogged this on Tennis Abides and commented:
The Grand Stand it the gold standard
Eventhough Kohl looked pretty good vs Isner on Sat, I think that Rafa will dominate him today.
I have a bad feeling about this one 🙁
Shire, you’re already feeling sorry for Khols?!!!!!……….hahaha!!
Vamos, Rafa!! WE know you can dot it!!!
Kohls has hit 31 backhand winners in the tournament so far and this is the highest number of backhand winners hit by anyone ! He is tied with wawrinka at 31 winners apiece
Shows you how aggressive his backhand can be despite being single handed. I think this is really good practice for rafa with roger well in sights. Federer will also try to be very aggressive with his backhand against rafa so this is the perfect practice.
I am waiting to see how rafa serves and returns ! I am fully satisfied with the baseline game… ah and using a little more of backhand DTL would be sweet too 😀
Nadal in 3 !
Nadal in 3. Kohls was exceptional against Isner because Isner moves well for his height, but he did not have to deal with Rafa’s heavy topspin.
when is play expected to resume?
I’m going to this match. I only bought the evening ticket. How early could I get in? Shir, please don’t make me nervous. I’m usually tensed enough watching Rafa play.
Wow, 2.5 matches to go on AA court due to rain delays. Does that mean the 7PM evening match won’t start until much later? Or they’ll move a match other courts? Now I don’t know when I should go to Flushing. It’s an hour subway ride from Grand Central to Flushing. Anyone who has experienced rain delay before? Please advice.
I think this could be three tight sets or Kohls could get one set if Rafa loses his serve. I do expect Rafa to raise his level of play for this match. He knows that this is a quality players who has the game to make it a match.
There is no way I see Rafa losing this match. I have no idea why anyone would be worried about him not winning. I said that I think Rafa will finally be tested a bit and that’s good for him. He needs a bit of a challenge at this point to get ready for Fed.
They have started to dry the courts. You can watch this on LiveScoreHunter.
Damn rain! They have to relocate matches to other courts surely otherwise the evening sessions could be compromised/delayed? Last thing I want is Rafa starting late and only getting to his hotel at dawn!
I’m in the city. It’s drizzling outside. Flushing is one hour away so it’s hard to gauge its weather. I just called the box office. The guy said the director would make the call. He said usually it would only affect the evening match slightly. We’ll see. I originally plan to get there by 5. Now I don’t need to hurry.
Unfortunately it’s raining again!
According to a weather forecast, there will be no rain after 4 PM.
http://www.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/graph/Flushing+NY+USNY0504:1:US
It’s raining here in the city too. I don’t think they can finish 2.5 matches between 4PM and 7PM. Hmm…when should I go to the stadium?
My sister called me from Brooklyn to tell me that the weather was bad. It wasn’t raining there yet but she could see the dark skies. She was out walking and I told her that there was already a rain delay at Flushing Meadows. She said they predicted thunder storms and rain.
I hope that the weather forecast posted by augusta is correct. But I have no idea how they are going to fit in all the matches from the day session as well as the night ones.
The weather forecast has been updated – thunder storms until 5.15 PM. (:
I meant 🙁
Drying machines are working on Arthur Ashe stadium.
Fed’s match has been moved to Armstrong.
RT @SI_BTBaseline: “Rain delay cancels Ivanovic-Azarenka,Williams doubles, and number of juniors/doubles matches. Federer-Robredo moved to Armstrong. #usopen”
Yes, Roger, you are only #7 now…….
Gonna try and catch a nap so I can be up for Rafa’s match…….
The revised schedule:
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/schedule/p_schedule14.pdf
rafaisthebest @ 12:36 pm
It’s why Rafa’s matches are always enthralling. He brings so much energy to his matches no matter who he is playing and this in turns brings out the best in his opponents.
JCKNY@September 2, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Hurry to the stadium! Rafa’s match will begin at 7 PM.
Who were you in your previous life?
YAY! Play resumes. Fed is moved to Louis Armstrong. Some women’s day matches have been cancelled. Someone on vb said that the policy at the USO in case of rain is for day matches to be cancelled and the night matches to go on as planned.
I can’t wait for Rafa! Bring it on!
Oh my! Robredo is playing really well against Fed. He just broke him to make it 5-4 and he will serve for the first set!
WOW! Is anyone awake out there overseas? Robredo broke Fed early, then Fed broke back and they were on serve. Fed had a break point when Robredo was up 40-0 and then lost a few points. But Robredo held and then broke Fed.
This is unbelievable!
I don’t think Robedo can keep this up for best of 5 sets.
Robredo just needs 2 more sets in no particular order.
Well he just won the tb to take the first set!
Unbelievable! Robredo had nerves of steel in that tb!
We have a match! Great play from Robredo!
So maybe everyone can stop worrying about how well Fed is playing because Robredo just took it to him.
He may not win this match, but he certainly has come to play!
Well done!
This is interesting ….NNY, have you seen where robredo is standing to receive the Fed’s serve? :O he is sooo far back ! He is still doing a pretty good job returning from that deep in the court…he has been really focused and matching up quite well against fed so far…this would be really tough for fed it seems
I am surprised fed served and volleyed at 5-3 down in the breaker, with a down the middle serve ! Robredo was waiting for the serve and hit a passing shot with ease… a well angled first serve on the duece court would be much more convenient for coming into the net ! Fed talked about robredo having a ‘great forehand’ and robredo is actually hitting his forehand quite well so far..
Robredo is so quick ! he is counter punching aggressively…if he can keep this up and fed is not able to find a solution, this could be a marathon match
Plenty of intersting things are happening on the courts right now! Federer is under a lot of pressure from Rob and Ferrer is having a tough time with Tipsy!!!! Hope Rafa plays with no drama!!! Vamos!!!
If Roger wins the second set I think Rob is toast!!!!
Fed’s playing like he does not want to meet Rafa!!!!
Rafa is on court.
#Vamos
Rock on, Tommy! T- Rob serving for the second set….
vamosrafa,
Love your thoughts on the match! You could hear a pin drop when Robredo won the first set tb.
I think Robredo’s ROS has been really good. He is standing far behind the baseline, but he has been able to do well from that spot. I cannot believe how well Robredo is playing right now.
Wow! Robredo just broke fed to make it 5-3 in the second set! He will be serving for the second set!
I am having trouble even typing this right now!
Rafa just walked out on the court for his match. So now espn has the basic nightmare of Rafa and Fed playing at the same time.
This is just unreal!
Roger down two sets to love!!! Rob is playing well. Hope there are no surprises on Rafa’s end or else I will kill him with my own bare hands!!!!
You cannot be serious! Fed is being schooled by T-Rob on one leg!! Now Fed will have to go to 5 to beat T-Rob! Every Fedfan must be in tears……
Omg . Am travelling. Rafael does not want to be denied the roger slam !
Im telling you, but I will hate to see Rgoer go down like that though!!!!!
These commies are a piece of work!! They are talking about how Roger is not focusing on every point and how he is going on a walk about, like he is not focusing on every point like Novak and Rafa does! Im thinking, leave that phrase for Rafa, he is the one who coined it and describes his thinking on the court when he is playing. Now they make it sound like its part of everybody’s game now! Plz!!!!
Damn Roger, now they are showing his lame-ass match instead of Rafa’s…..
Remember folks, only two days ago, Fed said it was Rafa’s fault Fedal had never played in NY…..karma truly is a biatch.
Seems hardly any one is playing well tonite!! Rafa has had so many looks om Khols serve and he has no capitalised by making ufes!
Tipsy served for the third and lost it!
Federer, thats another story!!!
What is wrong with Rafa’s forehand today? Leaking so many errors…..
Fed is out……
Tonite is a really strange nite!!!!! Rafa should have won this set already!!!!
#Vamos Rafa!
Rafa’s not chasing balls…….
SO fed dumped out in straight sets…will comment and reflect on this later …. rafa could not convert any of the 3 sets points he had..kohls serving so well ! win the tie break rafa and open up !
Khols is bossing Rafa around……
Yes, Rafa had 0-40 against Kohls and didn’t get the job done. Now he is behind in the tb. After what happened to Fed, I am really nervous.
This is why Rafa needs to be tested. This is the first decent opponent he has come up against yet.
I did really see that coming!!! How Rafa can have ZERO effect on breaking Khols!!! So many chances!!! Terrible tie break from Rafa…………just terrible!!!
Rafa had the chance with three set points. So it went to a tb and Kohls bested him. What a night this has been! That’s what happened to Fed. Now we have to watch Rafa try to come from behind.
That was not good stuff from Rafa in the tb. I don’t know what to expect now. This is going to be very tough.
I feel sick, maybe I should call it a night…..
41% first serve perentage… shaky forehand…
Kohli is clearly exploiting rafa’s backhand…its tose short angled cross court forehands thar are causing trouble to rafa…rafa’s backhand is not bad though…forehand was more concerning
Sorry, cannot win a match with those serving stats………….
Rafa has been hplomg serve fairly comfortably, but he was just horrendous in the tiebreak!! He could not buy a first serve and ufes for so!!!! He should be getting more lethal at this stage, not appearing shaky!!!!
This is not going according to plan………..my plan.
#Vamos Rafa
Come back Isner, all is forgiven.
@Shireling said he had a bad feeling about this match, am also starting to get the same feeling.
WHAT THE…. what is going on on break points?! Yes kohli is serving very well on big points but rafa has NO excuse not to break here…I am nervous now
They said that Rafa has missed eight break point chances. When has that happened? This is not looking good at all.
Rafa’s first serve percentage won’t get it done either. I knew this would be a test, but I didn’t see this.
Is this really happening?
I’m still in shock of Fed’s loss. 🙂
looks like he has just forgotten to take hold of the opportunities.
2/16 BP conversion is just too bad 😐
It’s a new affliction @abhirf, called Tie break-itis, Rafa’s got it too…………!
@ RIBT……………………lol!!!
Both Rafa and Roger are just a whole bunch of miserable tonite!!!!
First serve % had improved to 67% now….rafa has already hit 10 winners in set 2, he had a total of 10 in the entire set 1..some improvement but the issue is that rafa is not playing consistently well on kohl’s service games
15-40 , PLEASE BREAK RAFA PLEAASSEEEEEEEEEE
VAMOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Finally, Rafa gets a break, but a break is not a break if you dont convert!!!!Let’s see!!
OMG, Rafa just converted a break point………..
From now on, I SO HOPE that his turns out to be a typical rafa-kohls match on hard courts…rafa dropping a set but winning the match…
Sorry, I meant consolidate, not convert!
Humidity level: 91% at the Open tonight…………
Someone please give Kohls the script. He is supposed to buckle under the pressure.
PLEASE win this game with ease rafa…PLEASE…
@ clayqueen……………lol!!!! He was perhaps slipped a new script!
I saw this fight coming. Kohl’s has always been able to put up a fight against Rafa. This match will help Rafa to get some good match practice.
Ho ho ho! You are much more confident about Rafa prospects than I am, @abhirf…maybe it’s the humidity I don’t know but Rafa is not his usual aggressive self today……Khols seems to be handling the conditions better.
Vamos!! Phew!!!! Lets hope thats the one and only set Khols wins!!!!
What is Maria Francisca doing at USO? Never seen her accompanying Rafa except at FO and Wimby.
She’s been to the American swing before.
rafa shouts out a shrill COME ONN! pheww this set had me really worried when rafa missed out on that 0-40 chance… Now as clayqueen(nadline) says, kohls must obey the script which has kohls buckling under pressure lol…
I think rafa has held 48/48 service games at the USO so far…
Abhirf, No , Xisa has been present at the USO multiple times before as well
When is Khols going to tire?
arrrggghhhhhhhhhhhh 1/15 on break points
Can you believe this? Rafa is 1 out of 14 BPs
he keeps winning the duece points, what the hell happens on the ad ones ! one reason is that kohls is finding good serves on that ad court, the other reason is unknown…now adv kohls ! HUH
Has rafa ever been this poor on break points? 1/16
Its just one of these days!! Cant say im enjoying this match…………..at all!!!!
Rafa breaks!!!!!!!!! Jubilation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#Vamos
Yeah!!!!! Im having fun…………..for now!!!!
Nike needs to go back to the drawing to find a more practical fabric for Rafa’s kit.
this the best tennis of the tournament so far…. Rafa has gradually improved every facet of his game ..I am a much happier person now ! 1st serve % is now at 62% for the match…huge lift from 41% in set 1… he is yet to face a break point and kohls has a pretty aggressive return game ! Rafa has been supremely dominant on his serve except for those blemishes in set 1 TB
Kohls handles rafa’s forehand so much better than Federer does ! Kohls is such a small guy but still
I’ve officially lost patience with Khols………..
Woohoo! Rafa has not faed a single BP and is a set down :O Anyway now its 2-1 in sets 😀 😀 Vamos. Nice workout
This is shaping up to be a typical nadal-kohlschreiber match. So rafa breaks for the 3rd time and he is YET to face break point.wow..
Check this out folks :
Return points won by rafa in set 1: 32%
Return points won by rafa in set 2 : 35%
” set 3 : 44%
VAMOS…ROS has been aggressive….rafa is missing some but still going for them, i like this
Gasquet and Raonic are going to a 5th set. They’ve had 3 tie-breaks so far plus Raonic taking the 3rd set 62.
LOL..how lucky was rafa not to get broken in that last game ! so the streak is alive..yet to be broken !
on the other hand, gasquet just won set 4 11-9 in the TB against raonic
Dream draw for Rafa…woohoo
No Isner and no Federer either. Passage to the finals almost confirmed.
Good workout today though.
Would Federer have played his last match at RG on Armstrong?
Ahem….can I exhale now?
And now this fellow cant miss a single BP 😀
Murray has got his hands full with Wawa and Berdych still lurking around.
Rafa’s like a bloody python I tell you, you can almost feel him squeezing the life out of Khols.
GSM
Phew…..
I expected Khols to give Rafa a match, I did not count on him giving me multiple heart attacks!
Yes Philipp, that’s the script, you only win one set.
rafa was oozing with confidence by the end of the match. I really liked this win for several reasons. Rafa’s place in the final is almost confirmed, almost ….. Got to see which of the two from djo and andy face him there…
I think the ROS was really good in sets 2,3,4 …it was aggressive…rafa is now comfortably taking balls on the rise with his backhand ROS…forehand aint so comfortable in that department yet….
Still think he can serve better but happy he raised his serving level as the match went on
So who’s spoiling the party now? for the 3rd time, fed loses when he has rafa in his sights
#FearOfRafa
I dont think it was fear of Rafa but how muchever he denies it, I bet it played on his mind a bit
59% return points won in set 4 so the improvement is so visible ! 32%,35%,44%,59% return points won in sets 1,2,3,4 respectively… VAMOS
Oh you people of little faith… Vamos Rafaaa!!
^^^ love it!
FOR
And to think he blamed Rafa for the fact there’s never been a Fedal US final 😛
I am emotionally exhausted, but I am happy, happy, happy, happy…!!!!
Vamoooossss!!!!
Given the form Fed displayed in his match against T-Rob, I am glad he lost because he would have definitely been humiliated by Rafa
Meanwhile on court 17 the Gasquet-Raonic match is going to the wire.
With each win, Rafa inches closer to #1
That was some match! I predicted a tough one and said that it would either be three close sets or maybe Kohls would get a set. He did get that first set. But Rafa found another gear and started playing some brilliant tennis. That second set was hard on my nerves until Rafa finally got the break. Once he leveled the match, I felt better. But Kohls wouldn’t go away. You could see that Rafa was slowly taking over and wearing him down.
This is what Rafa needed. I knew he had not been tested and needed a real match. This is what brings out the best in Rafa. He rises to the challenge. Then he just blasted Kohls off the court in the fourth set. This match will help him moving forward.
I wonder if Robredo has another great match in him. I didn’t realize that he was ranked 113 or something because of being off with an injury. That makes the loss for Fed even worse. I still find it hard to believe that he beat him in straight sets. I kind of feel bad for the New York fans who were anticipating a Rafa/Fed match. We worried so much over Rafa meeting Fed and it never came to pass.
Ferrer won his match. Raonic and Gasquet are still at it going the distance in a fifth set. One of them will meet Ferrer. So Rafa has a pretty good path to the final.
Finally I can relax! What a night!
NNY. I made the mistake of drinking at dinner last night and didn’t wake up until the start of set 4. Reading this thread I’m rather glad I was spared the nervous tension. We had both been prepared for Kohls to take a set but the reality must have been a nasty shock.
ed,
I don’t think you made a mistake! Maybe you knew something! 🙂
By the way, I don’t know what the commentators were talking about, but Robredo is now ranked a decent 19th in the world. Maybe I misunderstood them. But I think that PMac was the one who corrected his mistake.
So you woke up for the good part! I was ready to tear my hair out when Rafa wasted three set points. Then he did not play a good tb and there went the set. I freaked out a little because I had just watched Robredo to the same thing to Fed in the first set of that match. Then the second set was a battle with Robredo and Fed holding their serves. Finally Robredo got the break and served out the set to get a two set lead.
No way did I want there to be some curse on this rain delayed day! Once Rafa won the second set I felt better but I was still not very calm. Kohls really hung in there and didn’t let up in the third set. I sensed that this is just what Rafa needed, but I also said previously that these matches are so bad for the nerves! Rafa really stepped it up in this match.
It’s really interesting that Rafa ended up not having to play either Isner or Fed. Who would have thought that? As I said when we started, there are no sure things in a slam, take nothing for granted. I bought into the idea that Fed was having some kind of renaissance, but he was really not at his best against Robredo. Of course Robredo deserves all due credit for coming out to try to win against a guy he had never beaten in ten previous matches. He really stayed focused and strong.
I need a day to recover from this match!
Wher is this Fedfan who used to post on TT, @brothdog? He never missed an opportunity to throw in a dig at Rafa at being beaten by a player outside the top 100 in the rankings (Rosol). No wonder some of these pathetic Fedfans do not dare show their faces.
Commies to sensible Fedfans like @abhirf………
ritb,
I think PMac made a mistake about Robredo’s ranking. Right next to his name there was the number 19, so I got confused when he said that he was ranked outside the top 100. As I said in my reply to ed, PMac did correct himself later on.
But the fact is that Fed lost to a guy who had never beaten him and had a 10-0 record! No one thought that Robredo could beat Fed. Including me!
I have been thinking about chr18. Remember how he was taunting us with that business of the golden swing of South American clay court matches? That Rafa could always count on that? Well, what would he say now!
Gasquet serving for the match
Rafa’s on-court interview.
—Rafa: “It was very tough tonight with the humid conditions, I was sweating too much.
“I had chances in the first set but couldn’t take them. I feel lucky to be through as it was physically tough.
“But as the match went on I felt more comfortable on my serve.”
…
“He [Robredo] is playing great and he has had similar circumstances like me in coming back from injury.
“He [Robredo] has come back and is having an amazing tournament. He has beaten Federer so he will bring that confidence into the match [against Rafa].”—-
I was at the match tonight…or l should say last night. Rafa made me a nervous wreck for the first 2 sets. Rafa’s serves dipped in the later part of the 1st set and the first part of the 2nd set. He couldn’t get a 1st serve in during that time span and his energy was down too. He might be frustrated because he just couldn’t break Kohls. Heck, I was frustrated that he gave away so many bp chances. He kept mishitting on all those bp chances. He was pumped after he fiiiiiinnnnaaaally broke in the 2nd set. After that, his energy started picking up and his serve started falling in and picking up pace.
Rafa’s serves were good after that aforementioned down period and got really great by the 4th set. He wasn’t really threatened much during his service games. He even picked up many free points on his 2nd serve. He got really aggressive in the last two sets. He let quite a few wide angle shots and even drop shots go in the first few sets. I don’t know whether it’s strategic due to his knee. But he started chasing every shot in the 4th.
Kohls hit some incredible angle shots that hit the line and some great DTL shots that I wish Rafa could hit. (After a couple great fh dtl shots, Rafa kept mishitting it long so he didn’t try that shot in the last two sets IIRC.) Kohls also hit many wide serves perfectly early and some dtl serves in the last few sets that Rafa couldn’t return. Rafa also had a tough time to drop shot against him. He won several of those drop shot exchanges. He won some fans tonight by the 2nd set. The crowds were overwhelmingly pro – Rafa at the beginning. The only shot he mishit often was the overhead volley. He hit two into the net. He even mishit it during the warm-up. But Kohls seemed to run out of gas by the 3rd set. I don’t remember he hit any crazy angle shots after that.
I forgot to mention those two drop shots Rafa hit were ridiculous. I had no idea how he made the ball drop like a stone right after flying past the net.
I saw a report saying the humidity was 90% tonight. I sat on the 2nd level and it was breezy and very comfortable. It must be a lot more humid on the court. Rafa changed shirts after every set. Whenever he got caught shirtless on the Supertron, there were lots of whistles/cheers. 🙂
I got great sight line behind the baseline, but the usher didn’t block people from getting in and out during points. I missed several key shots because people walked down to the seats and blocked my view. It was quite annoying.
I was expecting schedule delays. I didn’t expect them to keep the evening schedule on time and move the day matches. I didn’t get the chance to enjoy Chase’s hospitality center or the food court. This is the first time I saw US Open live. I have to say the transportation was easier than I thought. They even ran special express 7 train at the end of the night to Manhattan to get people back into the city fast.
Overall, it’s been an enjoyable experience, if only Rafa didn’t make me so nervous.
JCKNY
Great to have your bird’s eye view comments. It’s even more stressful watching Rafa live isn’t it – particularly if he starts off by losing the first set !! And how sensible of them
to organise transport back into the city.
Yes, that boy needs to be spanked for making me a nervous wreck. 😀 Ha, now I sound like all those women (or men?) who cheered on shirtless Rafa. 😛
Most people went to that match just to see Rafa. There were overwhelming cheers for Rafa throughout and most of us left right after Rafa’s match. But NY crowds do appreciate efforts and great shots. They applauded Kohls loudly after he fought so hard to save BPs after BPs in the first 2 sets.
Yes, it’s very considerate for the MTA to run special express 7 trains on a holiday for just the US Open crowds. It cut the train ride from 45 min to 30 min. It’s much appreciated because the match didn’t end until 10:40 PM.
There was a sense of disbelief after the 1st set because we knew Fed lost his match. So everyone’s unspoken thought was: “Not Nadal too!”
Nadal vs. Robredo preview – https://tenngrand.com/2013/09/03/u-s-open-qf-preview-and-pick-nadal-vs-robredo/
Brad Gilbert said that the humid conditions were making the balls heavy and damp. He said that the balls weren’t kicking up as high and that was causing problems with Rafa’s shots. That may be why he seemed to have some trouble in the first set. They said that it was 81% humidity that night. All of the players were sweating buckets. Robredo left a puddle of sweat on the court after he served. I think he even slipped and fell on his sweat when he was trying to get to a shot. Fed’s hair was completely wet and I never remember seeing him sweat so much. It was the same in the Raonic/Gasquet match. They were both sweating buckets. At the end of the fifth set despite his big serve, Raonic was out of gas.
Rafa mentioned in his on court interview with Brad Gilbert that the conditions weren’t good during the match. So that may have been part of his problem. But Kohls did come out and play very well. Rafa had to go to an extra gear tonight and that’s a good thing! He will feel good and have confidence after this well earned victory.
Chris Evert is talking heresy:
RT @unseededlooming: “Roger needs to be tougher. He needs to be like Spanish players. He needs to grind.” #shitchrissiesays”
Would loooooove to hear what @chr17 has to say about the above……………….
……that would be @chr18 of course………..
No, that would be chr21. Lol
Chris Evert was the original grinder. She never forayed beyond the baseline and wouldn’t know what a drop shot from a volley.
Guys, did you notice Gasquet went through a 5-setter, in brutal conditions, without suffering cramp like he usually does? This is a good omen, I hope this is a sign of better physical conditioning on Gasquet’s part, he is too good a talent……..
The espn commentators said that Gasquet has been working hard to improve his fitness. I think it paid off in this match. I was amazed to see him still going strong in that fifth set. It was Raonic who had nothing left in the latter part of the fifth set. These tall guys with the big serves always seem to have fitness problems.
I was very happy to see Gasquet get this win. They switched away from Rafa’s match for the fourth set tb. It’s a good thing that I didn’t have a real favorite in this match. I do think Raonic had at least one match point in that tb. Gasquet squandered a few set points before finally getting it done at 11-9. Then they went back to Rafa’s match.
Thanks @nny. So it can be done, improving one’s fitness I mean. Then why do people snipe and throw innuendo at Rafa when clearly he dedicates a lot of his time to fitness?
Maybe that win will restore some of Gasquet’s confidence .Lack of self-belief is his worst enemy. The H2H against Ferrer is not promising but H2Hs have not counted for a lot so far in this tournament so anything could happen – particularly as Daveed has cooled off a bit since his stellar 2012 year.
Did anybody watch the WaWa-Baggy match. Stan very nearly came unstuck and was none too pleased the crowd got behind the charismatic Baggy who repaid their support with his hilarious celebrations after winning several key points.
ed,
I think they briefly switched to that match but not for long. So I only saw a little bit. Baggy can be quite the character on court. I could see the crowd getting behind him.
Rafa’s post-match interview on September 2 (full transcription)
http://rafaelnadalfans.com/2013/09/03/an-interview-with-rafael-nadal-monday-september-2-2013-us-open-kohlschreiber-federer/
Rafa says he couldn’t play well from the baseline in the first set. Later, he changed his position – he started to play more inside the court. His serve worked well – ‘my serve is working just amazing!
Excerpts:
—Q. It was a tough battle out there until the end. What were the sensations and what wasn’t working as well as you wanted it to?
RAFAEL NADAL: I think in the first set I didn’t feel that I had the control of the points from the baseline. When I was serving, was okay. I didn’t have a lot of problems with my serve during the whole first set. But when I was returning, I thought I need to play a little bit more aggressive with my background and with my forehand. I was thinking about that. But then when I was hitting the ball, I was not able to do it. Is true that I had an amazing opportunity with the 6-5, Love-40. I had to win that set there. But even like this, in the first set when I was returning, I felt that I should do more.
Q. When you talk about the conditions, you mean the humidity?
RAFAEL NADAL: Very hard tonight.
Q. About the humidity, how tough was it? People were sweating buckets of water essentially. How do you adjust to that? How much time does it take to recover?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don’t know for how much, but I need to be ready in one day and a half, so… That’s what I going to try. That’s all. Is not easy to play during these days. Is very uncomfortable. Is very tiring. That’s why I felt when I lost the first set, you know, first set was very important in these kind of days. Then you are in trouble, because physically you can have lower moments in days like today. When you are one set against, you can have a mistake and then lose another set, then the match gets completely crazy and anything can happen, no? I was losing too much opportunities today with the return. Finally I had the chance to made it in the second set. I played a good point, and I did. And after that, I was able to play little bit better. I was returning more inside the court, and I changed the position a little bit during the match. I played more inside the court. In the beginning, I felt he opened the court very good with his backhand against my forehand. The same thing against my backhand with his forehand. I was out of position too much times, no? Playing more inside, I was able to change that situation. —
Relaxed, happy and funny Rafa: “My serve is working just amazing!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZqH__hMS9I
—Q. To have not lost your serve all tournament is quite remarkable. What about your serve do you feel is working well? What are you pleased about the way your serve is going?
RAFAEL NADAL: My serve is working just amazing (smiling). I think I didn’t lose the serve because I played good points from the baseline. Today I didn’t lose my serve because I was very lucky that Philipp had a big mistake with his match in the first game of the fourth. That’s why I didn’t lose my serve. Anyways, is a good new. Four matches without losing the serve is great. I don’t want to lie you. Happy for that. But I felt at the beginning today I didn’t serve my best. But then in the next sets, I am very happy the way that I served. I was able to win a lot of points and I start a lot of points in a good position.—
Saw the Eurosport replay of the Fed match in the wee small hours this morning. Felt a bit foolish having said earlier yesterday that Robredo would not trouble Federer for more than a game or two 🙁
His renaissance at Cincy was pretty short-lived, no?
I actually felt sorry for him. He clearly could not believe what was happening and you could see him visibly deflating game by game.
ed,
Having seen it live I can understand where you are coming from. Can you imagine watching this unfolding in front of your eyes? I thought that I was dreaming. I remember when Robredo won the first set, I thought well at least he will give Fed a tough match and maybe wear him down for Rafa. I never thought at that point that he would win. When he won the tb, you could hear a pin drop in the stadium. It was that quiet. I think the whole crowd was in complete shock.
I know about feeling foolish, but to be honest no one saw this coming. No one could have predicted this result. Winning in straight sets? I kept waiting for Fed to turn it around, but once he lost the second set I thought it really was over.
I think Cincy was a one-off. That’s what I think now after seeing this loss. It was best two out of three and that’s where you have a better chance to beat a tough opponent. Also I think he caught Rafa off guard with some different tactics. But in a slam, I realize now that there is no way Fed could stay with Rafa in a best three out of five set match.
I did have mixed feelings as I watched the match. In the third set, that’s when I felt a little sorry for him. It was quite embarrassing. Even the espn commentators were at a loss for words. He seemed to be resigned to losing. I had the distinct feeling that he just wanted to get off the court.
I don’t think even Robredo thought he had a chance to beat Fed. He seemed surprised. But he kept it together and stayed strong. He was so happy after the match in his on court interview. He looked like a little boy instead of a 31 year old guy who has come back from some tough times.
I really don’t think that Rafa and Fed will ever play at the USO. I think it was this year or never.
It was late here and they were only showing Robredo-Federer, Gasket/Raonic on Europsport (it’s called Eurosport but they just show French players), so I watched Rob/Fed and couldn’t believe my eyes.
Fed,in his presser, mildly gives credit to Robredo but also says that he (Robredo) just did the usual thing – I don’t agree with him there. Robredo was adamant and full of self-belief in his defense yesterday, he closed out many games with aces, that tells a lot.
But Fed… no offense but his game is all over the place, very erratic. Agressive as ever but just all over the place.
Then, when it was over (relatively quick) they finally switched to Nadal/Kohl and I watched the first set – by then it was 2h30 AM and just didn’ have it in me to continue watching.. first thing I did in the morning was check the score though …. and was very relieved and happy about the evolution and result of the match.
Vamos Rafa!
Here’s what I do not u dear stand about Fed: in the buid-up to this match he was so confident and in fact, I read one tweet from a regular tennis blogger saying she wished she could have Fed’s confidence just for a day. Post this match it turns out he lost because he lost confidence, heis short on confidence. Which is which, is he confident or not? Was that pre match “confidence” just bluster? If so, why?
Another thing, why is he still hanging on to Annacone? Fed’s net rushing was frankly embarrassing and smacked of desperation. That’s Annacone’s footprint right there. Fed is a baselines, that’s what made him beat Robredo all these years, that’s what earned him 17 Slams. It’s not about rushing the net, it’s WHEN you rush the net and Fed is plainly clueless in this regard. Compare his net play to Rafa’s. I tell you, Rafa is the most intelligent volleyer out there. He knows WHEN to come in.
Lastly, Fed needs to get down and dirty, he needs to grind. It is no accident that 3 Spaniards are through to the quarters. They grind.
Fed needs to fire Annacone and hire a Spanish coach.
I did read some of the post-mortem on tennis-x. I wanted to see how the Fed fans reacted over there. I think some of them are in their own kind of denial. Someone who I will not name, said that Robredo did nothing except wait for Fed to make another mistake. That is absolute nonsense! What about the aces he hit to hold his serve at critical points in the match? Shireling made that point very well. Also about Robredo’s positive attitude and self belief. He went out there to make this a match and seemed to have a game plan. I did not see him just standing back and waiting for Fed to make errors. Why would he take that for granted? Who knew in advance how poorly Fed would play? Robredo took his chances and capitalized on his opportunities. He deserves credit for this win.
I think the problem is that Fed is 32 and now in the twilight of his career. It doesn’t matter if he keeps Annacone or gets someone else. It was always going to happen, but I was just never sure exactly when. So now we see it happening. Great champions lose their mental strength and then their game starts deteriorating little by little. The Fed fans who think it’s just mental with him are simply wrong. They should go watch some of his matches when he was in his prime and they would see the difference in the quality of his game.
this Hewitt-Youzhny match is epic
Rafa lost a lot of fluids and electrolytes with all that sweating. I hope Maymo steps up and does what is needed to get Rafa ready for T-Rob because let’s be honest, T-Rob was hardly tested yesterday, was he?
The reason Rafa’s excessive sweating makes me nervous is it reminds me of that Australian Open where he was sweating buckets and his body broke down in the match against Ferru……………
Are you talking about the 2011 AO when Rafa was attempting the Grand Slam? I don’t recall excessive (by his standards) sweating. All I remember was how forlorn he looked as his chance to go for the GS went up in smoke because of the groin injury and how
he refused to retire and soldiered on in spite of entreaties from Uncle Toni to do so.
@RITB
Fed’s game was always about movement and speed round the court. Isn’t it just that he’s slightly slower than he was and in consequence is not timing the ball like he used to. Hence shanking. Dunno if he will be able to adjust or not, but doubt if he can “recapture the first fine careless rapture.”
And surely regarding confidence, isn’t the problem for Fed is that his opponents now have a lot of confidence AGAINST him!
Feel sad actually, he sure played a “beautiful game” for me anyway.
@deucy, yes Fed has slowed down but so has Rafa, it’s a natural ageing process, he is not the only one slowing down. The problem with Fed is: he is slowing down and adopting the wrong tactics. The ageing process does not seem to have affected Robredo’s sharpness, shot placement and general court savvy, why is Fed’s? I like ed251137’s characterisation: he seems to have lost his lucidity. Compare this: Rafa was up 40-0 on Khol’s serve at one point and lost a bunch of BPs as a result of points won by Khols, not lost by Rafa. When Fed was in the same situation, it was the opposite, Robredo did not hit a single first serve, it was second serves and Fed shanked them all or dumped them in the net. This had nothing to do with movement, it was mental.
The problem for Fed is that, early on in his career, he was told he was a natural and his best game was enough to beat anybody, that he did not need to adjust/adapt. In the meantime, everyone was adapting/adjusting. How many times have you seena picture of Fed working out? Muzza transforms his physique to adapt, Nole changes his nutrition to adapt, Rafa is always adjusting mid-match, Fed does nothing. Oh sorry, he becomes a serve and volleyer……………..really?
It just hit me that, in my post above, I am essentially calling Fed a one-dimensional player. Irony of ironies, isn’t that what he called Rafa sometime back?
#Karma
deucey,
Great observations about Fed! In fact, the espn commentators did point out his poor footwork in the match. That is a function of getting older. This is the way it is with all great champions. The only way to avoid it is to leave the game early the way Borg did. He walked away in the peak of his career. I would not want to see that happen again. But mentally and physically the skills start to deteriorate. Fed has held up well until this year when it all seemed to catch up with him. He isn’t going to be making any more comebacks. He had his renaissance last year when he won Wimbledon and got the #1 ranking back again. Now it’s all going to be downhill.
It’s not a tragedy. He has been healthy throughout his career without any serious injuries. He has done everything he wanted to do in this sport. I found it kind of hard to watch near the end, but it does happen to all great champions.
Also, great point about Fed’s opponents having confidence now. I also think that losing in the second round at Wimbledon did a lot of damage. That one had to hurt. I don’t know that Fed has really recovered from that loss. That is the one that knocked him out of the top four. I don’t see him getting back. Not now.
It’s more than just a loss of speed Deucy. He’s lost his ‘lucidity’ too. Ive had the feeling several times this year when matches were not going well that panic has set in. That combined with his reluctance to change his game mid-match (something Rafa and Andy excel at) is why he has floundered at all the slams and masters this year with the exception of Cincy.
@ed
Always thought that Fed was an “instinctive” player and au contraire, that Andy thought far too much…;)
^^Naughty, naughty
I think I may have given the following link to a BBC radio interview before. It dates back to May 2009 but it was what triggered my irritation not just at his overweening complacency but also the dismissive tone of his comments about Andy and the references to Rafa with the habitual sting in the tail.
However, one can detect in many of his responses the portents of his current predicament. Years of adulation, combined with a largely sycophantic press corps – not to mention the OTT live match commentators – blinded him to the need to adapt to changing circumstances.
He will always rank as one of the Greatest Players but by now I imagine only die-hard Fedfans are still clinging to the GOATdom theory.
@ed251137, please see the following article.
“There had been something disconcerting about Nadal’s excessive sweating during his third-round match last Saturday evening against Australia’s Bernard Tomic, yet the reason he lost to Ferrer had nothing do with the lingering effects of the flu-like virus he picked up at the start of the month while playing in Abu Dhabi and Doha. ”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/australianopen/8284078/Australian-Open-2011-Rafael-Nadals-Australia-Day-curse-strikes-again-as-injury-ends-bid-for-Rafa-Slam.html
The sweating was so bad and it looked even worse through his form fitting shirt, which Nike changed to a loose baggy one for the following match.
rafaisthebest@September 3, 2013 at 4:11 pm
You shouldn’t panic, Rafa’s excessive sweating yesterday was caused by high humidity.
Other men also sweated profusely.
Thanks @augusta08. My concern was more to do with whether he would recover in time for his next match given he lost so much fluid. But Rafa has expert advice around him and he will get the appropriate attention.
It’s true that all the men were sweating buckets last night. Robredo left a puddle of sweat on the court when he was serving. Gasquet and Raonic were sweating profusely in their match. Raonic was out of gas late in the fifth set.
Rafa will do what is necessary to get hydrated and recover. I did notice that during the on court post-match interview with Brad Gilbert, Rafa was drinking from his water bottle. So he must have been feeling it. But I think he will be okay.
Oh RITB..dont stress too much..Relax
Even Roger was sweating last night. The last time I remember him breaking sweat was at the Beijing Olympics. But maybe it was more than just humidity which was responsible.
I don’t ever remember seeing Fed sweating like that. His hair was soaking wet. I think the conditions were truly dreadful for all the players.
A good analysis of Federer’s loss:
http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/federer-paid-price-for-not-adjusting-his-game-plan/?_r=0
Apparently, a lot of Fed fans were upset last night that his match was moved on the smaller Amstrong court. One woman complained to NY Daily News and asked why Nadal couldn’t wait (for Federer’s match to be over), why Nadal received “preferential treatment”. Er…maybe it had something to do with their current rankings?
Fed himself was happy about moving his match to the Amstrong court!
—But location, according to Federer, wasn’t the problem. In fact, he had hoped it might be a solution. He said the surface there is faster than it is in Ashe, which is to his liking, and that the fans might give him some energy.
“I’ve been practicing on Armstrong,” Federer said, “so there’s no excuse there. I was prepared for it. I was even happy about it. I thought it was going to be a great atmosphere, that I could take advantage of maybe the fact that people were really going to get behind me. But unfortunately I didn’t show the game that they could really get into and excited about.”—
http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/09/owning-night/49024/#.UiZCNtKmjPW
Federer’s fans were upset because they couldn’t all fit into the smaller Amstrong court. It’s understandable, but they have better get used to it.
Shirling: You mentioned earlier today the irritation of French TV ignoring marquee matches in favour of showing French players’ matches. I can recommend the investment (€3.90 per month) for a subscription to Eurosport Player. High quality streaming with a choice of up to six matches although you can only have one at a time. So I have the TV on with sound muted, live scoring to see what is happening in other matches and then dart between them on the Eurosport Player (usually English commentaries). They also have a catch up feature but not for every match only those that been televised on TV – heavy bias towards the French players obviously.
The worst aspect of the French coverage is the inane ‘Advantage Leconte’. What a waste of time and money that is. Dont know why they would think we want to be ‘entertained’ by a group of has-beens trying to be amusing (and failing dismally) when there is a tense match being played out on court.
oh, thx ed, I’ll consider that. Indeed 3.9 Euros doesn’t seem too much. You seem to have a multi-screen-media live show everytime you see a match, lol 🙂
… yeah… I don’t get angry any more, of course the FR want to see the FR.. but, why do they call it Eurosport….?
Mind you, some FR players are fun to watch, like Monfils, Gasket, Tsonga, Paire..
^^^Too right I have. My head is buzzing. Doesn’t help getting so little sleep during the American swing – which seems to have been going on for ever. Beats working though. lol.
During the Olympics I was watching so many events simultaneously (British and French TV, plus don’t know how many live streams) my computer adapter burnt out and I had to make a 2-hour round dash for a replacement 🙁
Another observation last night: Rafa is all muscles and bones. He doesn’t seem to have any body fat! I could count his muscles and rib bones when he bended down to put away his stuff after the end of the game. Hey, they put shirtless Rafa on the supertrone so many times, I just had to look. 😀
nah, he has some.
JCKNY: Ricky is right. Have you never noticed the ‘love handles’ on the hips 😉
JCKNY @September 4, 2013 at 3:11 am
ed251137 @September 4, 2013 at 9:58 am
Here you can see plenty of photos of Rafa to count his muscles, rib bones and estimate his body fatness:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.622091147812038.1073742074.148883365132821&type=1
🙂
^^^ Told you so……. 🙂
rafa has very little fat…the area around the hips has the most fat hehe…