Rafael Nadal will continue his bid for the Shanghai title when he takes the court on Saturday. Standing in Nadal’s way of the final is Juan Martin Del Potro.
Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro will be squaring off for the 12th time in their careers when they do battle in the semifinals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Saturday night.
Nadal leads the head-to-head series 8-3, including 4-3 on hard courts. They most recently faced each other earlier this season in the title match at the Indian Wells Masters, where Nadal prevailed 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Del Potro has not gotten the best of this matchup since his famous 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 destruction of the Nadal in the 2009 U.S. Open finals.
The Argentine has gone three full years without capturing a second Grand Slam title, but he is healthy at the moment and clearly on top of his game. Del Potro beat Milos Raonic in last week’s Tokyo final and so far this week he has dismissed Philipp Kohlschreiber (in a third-set tiebreaker) and Nicolas Almagro in addition to getting a walkover from Tommy Haas. The world No. 5 boasts a 42-12 record for the season.
“I played very well today, very solid,” Del Potro said after rolling over Almagro 6-3, 6-3 on Friday. “I played aggressive. I hit my forehand very well. I like the way I played today. I just want to keep improving; keep going far in this tournament.”
In order to do that, the underdog will have to upset the No. 1 player in the world and odds-on favorite to finish 2013 in the top spot. Nadal’s 68-4 mark includes 29 wins in 30 hard-court matches, with the only blemish coming in last week’s Beijing title match against Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard booked his spot in the Shanghai semis with straight-set scalps of Alexandr Dolgopolov, Carlos Berlocq, and Stanislas Wawrinka.
Last week gave Djokovic a chance to avenge his U.S. Open setback and impending loss of the top ranking to Nadal. This week Nadal is playing more inspired, perhaps driven to turn the tide from Beijing. Del Potro may be able to serve his way to a tiebreaker, but Nadal’s one-two, serve-forehand punch is working to perfection in Shanghai and he should have too much in the tank both physically and mentally for the sixth seed.
Pick: Nadal in 2 with at least one tiebreaker
[polldaddy poll=7468891]
I agree with your Pick but I am not sure how delpo is going to turn up for this one. If he comes out playing near his best, It would be a very tough three setter. Rafa has been very clutch this week so I would favor him. This would be a major step toward securing the no.1 ranking
vamosrafa,
I am thinking along the same lines. It’s all about how Delpo is and if he is fit enough to hang with Rafa. He has been serving very well from what I have seen. He will want to keep the points short and blast big serves and then follow up with his powerful forehand. Rafa will want to have long rallies in which he can wear down Delpo.
I will expect a tough three setter unless Delpo is still suffering the effect of that fever. Rafa played his best yet in the match with Stan. He seems to be feeling it now. His serve stats for that match were great. His dtl forehand is on fire and his mindset is so much more aggressive.
Rafa knows what’s on the line. It’s not only about locking up the year end #1 ranking, but it’s about getting this Masters win. You can see it in his eyes. He wants it. I think that will be the difference.
Matches against Delpo can be so hard to predict because you never know which Delpo level will show up. His flat bullet forehand can cause problems for anyone. Sometimes it’s hard to gauge Delpo’s fitness level too, because his natural gait seems to be somewhat hangdog like. Hopefully, Rafa will maintain his high percentage first serve and I’m sure he will attempt to move Delpo around the court as much as possible, not only to tire him in general, but to take the steam out of that forehand.
Rafa loves the Masters series and has said many times how important they are to him. Having never won the Shanghai title, I’m sure he would like to add it to his collection as well as pretty much finalize his grasp on the year end #1 position.
I’ll go with a Rafa win, but I’m too indecisive to venture a guess as to the specifics.
What Rafa needs to do against Delpo is do what most players do against Rafa on fast hard courts: take time away from him, don’t give him a chance to wind up that murderous FH of his. This is why I am not understanding about Delpo’s relative success on fast courts: he does not take the ball on the rise as do most successful players on fast surfaces, Delpo practically telegraphs his shots, so why don’t players rush him so he does not have time to set up for that fearsome FH of his?
Rafa may finally drop a serve in this match but he goes through for his umpteenth final this year.
#Mr.Sunday
Pat Cash agrees with Rafa that tennis needs reform to protect the health of players:
RT @TheRealPatCash: “Nadal is fed up and no one listens to his very crucial issue in tennis. something I have been talking about for years http://ow.ly/pK9a4“
Hey @hawkeye63, you have competition! Fed is now officially a hashtag fiend!
https://twitter.com/rogerfederer/status/388441282374139905/photo/1
How can you beat rafa?? 🙁 sorry delpo 🙁 but if he upsets rafa it will be the best thing for me today 😀 but chances are 2% only 🙁
I voted.
—Del Potro has not gotten the best of this matchup since his famous 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 destruction of the Nadal in the 2009 U.S. Open finals.—
Del Potro destructed Federer in the 2009 U.S.Open finals.
Rafa and Del Potro met in the SFs. Rafa got a right abdominal muscle injury (a tear) in Cincinnati and it still bothered him at the US Open.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5851KZ20090906
Rafa needs to keep the ball low, take the ball early and make JMDP run and run and run some more! Really looking forward to this one!
Rafa in 3.
Rafa’s thoughts on playing Delpo today.
Excerpts from a post-match interview on October 11.
—Question. Your thoughts on playing Del Potro? You played him in Indian Wells.
RAFAEL NADAL: Conditions here are completely different than Indian Wells. Indian Wells, the conditions there are different. The ball flies and high bounces, very high bounces on the topspin. The conditions in Indian Wells, because of the results, are the more positive conditions for me to play. Court is not slow, is not quick, but at the same time the ball goes quick. Big bounces, that help me.
Here the bounces are much lower. Court is faster. I cannot expect a similar match than Indian Wells. Even the match was very hard there. The match will be less rallies, I think. The only way to play against him and have success is play my best tennis, play aggressive on this surface.
If I am not able to play inside the court, if I go behind the baseline, I don’t going to have chances. He has probably better serve than me. He can have better shots than me, sometimes flat shots than me. I think I am a little bit quicker than him. So I need to play inside, to put pressure on him, and try to be very solid with my serve because I know the opportunities on the return will not be very often. So we’ll see. —
Full transcript:
http://en.shanghairolexmasters.com/transcripts/transcript-11-oct-2013-rafa-nadal-133.aspx
Okay Rafa, don’t keep Djoker waiting………..
So if Rafa wins, it will be Djoker again..
Tsonga gave a good test in 2nd but as usual his erratic and inconsistent self screwed it up.
^^^
#BusinessAsUsual
Del Potro’s fever… all in the past?
Keep calm, remain focused, stay strong and fight fiercely, Rafa!
Vamos to the final, Rafa!
Commies, “If Delpo is able to play his very best tennis, he will be able to beat Nadal”
Okay then, excuses in early, if Delpo loses, he did not play his very best tennis…………..
Rafa broken for the first time this week………..
Vamos Rafa!
Of course my Ipad is not on the line, Delpo’s taken sets off Rafa before…………….
Dont like Rafa’s position on the court, not aggressive enough and way too far behind baseline!
And that Koening guy is way too irritating!!
Delpo is creaming Rafa with that FH………
Vamos Rafa!!
Double break Delpo. Rafa needs to find a solution to Delpo running round his BH to rip a forehand……Rafa up against it in this set now…..
Vamos Rafa!!
Rafa is playing Delpo all wrong and is WAY too defensive!! He needs to stop these baseline rallies and bring Delpo to the net!!!!
Let’s go Rafa, let’s go!
Should have lobbed him there, Rafa……..but well done for bringing him in..
Vamos!!
Commies licking their lips – already talking about an upset.
Have they forgotten Delpo took the first set at IW?
Rafa’s shots are either sailing wide or falling short, not feeling the ball as well today………..
Vamos!!
my TV channel has noise on it and I can’t watch the match! plz somebody informs me what the heck is going on? 😐 although I prefer this loss to another consecutive loss to djoker!
Rafa’s in a hole in the 1st set, @rafaelo, down a double break….but no need to get depressed just yet……
Vamos!!
Rafa on the board……….
Vamos!!
Rafaelo, no talk about loss yet! This is Rafa we are talking about!
Ed, yeah, thats exactly what they want! I will put my TV on mute!
Rafa, should have challenged that…..was out.
ooh, he is on board!
One thing’s for sure, even if Rafa drops this 1st set he won’t go away………..
too much pace on the CC backhand of del potro…really neutralizing rafa’s forehand…. Plus,rafa’s backhand and return of serve are awful are the moment. this is a lot like their davis cup match in 2011 but that was clay and this is a fast hard court…poor rafa’s serve not working well at all too…
He wont go away but I hate the way he is playing right now! Way too defensive!!
Rafa avoids a bakery product. Rafa served intelligently those last 2 points to win the game………
Vamos Rafa!
I believe Rafa will try to turn it around in the second set but that first set was a wash out!
1st set Delpo……
Now the match begins……….
What is it that Rafa has to do to win this 2nd set guys?!
^^He has to serve better, @mona……..win more points off his 1st serve for a start.
Rafa only winning 46% of 1st serves in in that set, he needs to improve that stat, find a way of out-foxing Delpo on serve…………..
Vamos!!
the court at indian wells allowed rafa enough time to set up and hit his forehand DTL…not happening here so far…may be heavily sliced balls to delpo’s backhand would draw desirable response i believe,but a weak slice would get punished like hell…. 46 percent of points won on 1st serve for rafa…unprecendented… The giant is doing all the slaying with his axe right now..
Come on rafa ! We know u only play ur aggressive best when you have a good feeling on the court..it has not been the case so far but this is set is a new beginning,lets roll !
The problem is Delpo’s arms are like the blades of a bloody wind turbine 🙁
Rafa took pace off his serve in that game, went for placement………..and won it to love…
vamos! Much better game….ahh here we go,the graphic shows rafa has played ONLY 14 percent points inside the baseline…impossible to win like this… I hope delpo’s serving quality drops
Im just hoping that Delpo gets tired with Rafa making him play more shots and with that Rafa being to play more positively!!
Don’t hit yourself too hard Rafa, sh*t happens………………..
The graphics show exactly what ive been saying, he needs to be more agressive and step inside the baseline!! He is still playing the same in the second set! When will Rafa ever learn?!
Why do they keep showing us that time between points graphic? Who cares?
huge game
Rafa has yet to serve an ace……..
Delpo breaks………leads by a set and a break.
Rafa really, really, really up against it now………..
Vamos!!
Rafa’ YE#1 in danger now………..
the match is gone!
I am not sad 😉 a semifinal is not a bad result in shanghai for rafa.
what will be the situation for No.1 if djoker wins the whole thing?
@rafaelo, if Djoker wins the tournament, he will have 9,610 points to Rafa’s 11,670. So, agree with you, not a bad result from a points point of view for Rafa if he loses. But I have been disappointed with his performance today. Yes, Delpo is on fire but Rafa has let himself down a bit, particularly with the level of his serve.
some times things happen! I can not watch the match, so I can’t have a comment on how he is playing! but the last time when delpo was on fire in 2009 us open, he was even a more puzzle than djoker for rafa! he can hit heavy flat forehand DTL! which djoker couldn’t and those forehand DTLs are unreachable for rafa 😉
That is the worst I have ever seen Rafa play! Frankly its time he gets off the court!
no luck for rafa on break points..he is gutted
monalysa, rafa is certainly playing better in set 2,CERTAINLY…he has been a little unlucky so far not to have broken delpo serve not even once… Rafa can come back into this if delpo lends a hand…poorer serving wud help 🙂 rafa hitting his backhand better and also the ROS is better
The BH slice has not been effective today for Rafa, has actually set up nicely for Delpo to run around his BH to hit a FH….
The line judges have been castostrophic this week. And the umpires in general too passive – forcing players to challenge rather than over-ruling calls when the balls have been shown to be out by a wide margin. When that happens the player should not have the challenge deducted from his tally.
my last sentence should be ignored!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
they should be awarded an extra challenge!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Time is running out.
Court conditions not helping Rafa at all. Ball staying low……….but gotta give Delpo his due, he is creaming it out there…………….
It’s the serve that done Rafa in today, 4 double faults already………….., Delpo zero….
if rafa were playing this way from the beginning,it wud have been a very diff story…since getting broken in set 2, rafa has raised his level significantly…
But ed is right,time is running out…2 chances left for rafa assuming he holds both of his serves
^^don’t know @vamosrafa, don’t see an improvement in Rafa’s ROS yet……..
He should be creaming those Delpo 2dn serves, but no…….
Rafa still smiling, that’s good!!!
Lovely to see Rafa laughing and joking at the changeover. Anyone know what he was saying?
All after that, Rafa has not won a tournement after regaining #1!!!
^^Go easy on Rafa, @mona, they sped up the courts this year in the Asian swing. At least he is #1 and is in no danger of losing it even if he loses this match. Still got a healthy lead in Race points…………
What are the Umpires there for if they won’t overrule bad line calls?
Tell you what, never mind Isner, I don’t want to see Delpo on Rafa’s side of the draw in a major…………….
Not sure who is worse. Koenig or Know-all
Bernardes was worse than Koenig, Goodall, and Rafa COMBINED
Rafa has not put a single second serve in play, this has been awful…………
it’s over!
Delpo deserved that . He made Rafa look bad today by drawing him out of his comfort zone. Anyway 360 more points in the bag And if Delpo can win his first masters the lead would go up further 🙂
Congratulations to Dell Boy. Now kick ass tomorrow please to make up for beating Rafa.
Totally deserved win for Delpo.
Now I have to say, this loss is perplexing for me because Rafa did not compete well at all. His serve was off, did not serve a single ace, served 4 double faults, points won on serve low, converted zero out of 6 BP opportunities, only got one Delpo 2nd serve in play and lost the point. His court positioning was defensive, not aggressive.
The reason I am not happy is a win like this gives Delpo plenty of confidence going forward, you don’t wanna do that to a guy like that. My consolation is that Rafa can certainly play better than this, and he increased his Race points by 360. I don’t see how Rafa can avoid playing Paris now. Now that Delpo has qualified, he may be in Rafa’s Group at WTF and prevent Rafa gaining points there…………….
As for Delpo, I hope he backs up this win with a maiden Masters trophy.
Vamos to Basel Rafa!
Apart from an appaulingly display from Rafa, indeed, congratulations to Delpo!!! Hope he continues his form for the rest of the season!
I am sad, but a good thing is that Rafa can rest one more day before the next tournament.
Vamos Rafa – no matter what!
Not taking anything away from Delpo’s deserved win but is it not curious that all the HC were playing quicker this year? Montreal, Cincy, Beijing, Shanghai………….not a coincidence surely? I remember Fed complaining in IW last year that the courts were playing too slow……………….
But guess what, Rafa will adjust………….
great stuff from delpo…i am not feeling too bad because rafa played better and more aggressive tennis in set 2,not his best but much better than in set 1… Too little too late for him…he was very anxious after getting broken in set 2… the year end no.1 race is on now..
Delpo will have his chances to win his first ever masters 1000
Congrats to Delpo. And he deserves to win his first 1000 already, Novak should do the courteous thing. As for Rafa, was something bugging him besides Delpo’s game today? Why else a sharp drop in aggressive play? And yes, all considered a semi is a very welcome result.
^^Glad you also noticed @Chloro, the sharp drop in aggressive play from Rafa……………………
Oh that was horrible 🙁 Commies guys. Delboy was brilliant but agree with many comments, Rafa was too far back and didn’t seem to change his game at all, was that because of the weight of JMDP’s shots not allowing him to? Vamosrafa?
His serve wasn’t as effective as it normally is though either.
@deucy, from my vantage point Rafa was just too passive today. Delpo was taking care of his business but there was no reason Rafa chose to play so many safe shots.
It wasn’t Rafa’s day today, he just made too many errors and Delpo relaxed once he had a good lead.
RT @christophclarey: “Del Potro 6-2, 6-4 over #Nadal in Shanghai and will face Djokovic in Sunday’s final. Del Potro with chance at year-end No. 3”
Hope Delpo rises to #3 quick so Rafa does not have to face him until the semis…….
Ever since hawkeye has been introduced, the chair umpires have gotten pretty lazy with regards to overruling calls, hence some atrocious calls not being overturned. Not really that surprising as technology can have that effect on some people.
True. (In all fields).
Tiggy called it!
Ricky do me a favour, don’t pick Rafa to win ever again, will ya? I beg you……..m’kay?
couldn’t watch the match but Woooohaaa JMDP the man 🙂 you make my day :* I cant believe the scores though 😀 amazing , atleast rafans congratulate me :p
i am amazed how guys did not feel rafa played better in set 2 :s his backhand was so much better in set 2 and his ROS was also better…again,no parts of his game were at their best but much better than in set 1….
But yeah,rafa did not compete so well..the effort in the last game was really poor… This was unlike the 2013 rafa on hard courts,undoubtedly…but the court conditions, rafa not feeling the ball so well on the day and delpo being on fire was too tough a combination to manage..
Perhaps rafa’s body has been saved another battering in the final…he can take a few days off now and honehis attacking skills…
RITB, yes rafa did not serve so well but there is another reason for the poor stats u mentioned…delpo takes a deep return position on his backhand side and makes it really tough for rafa to hit an ace on the ad court…. regarding dble faults, rafa had to hit some aggressive 2nd serves as he was under so much ressure frm delpo’s returns… and going for more on the 2nd serves to delpo’s forehand are also out of rafa’s comfort zone…. So these added to rafa’s serving woes…but i agree it was a bad serving day
I really like you, Delpo, and you deseved it! But could you do us a favor and win the whole darn thing, your first Masters title? Otherwise, the race for year end No 1 could get uncomfortably tight.
And RITB, I noticed, too, that the Asian swing seems to play faster this year.
@littlefoot, I also recall Rafa saying Montreal was playing very fast this year. Cincy has always played fast so that was not a surprise but it just seems too much of a coincidence that all the hard courts have suddenly become very fast. I smell a policy decision form the ATP………………..
Well. Montreal and Cincy weren’t fast, since Rafa won. And we know, that hard courts on which Rafa wins, are slow by definition, lol! 🙂
Anyway, there well might be a change of policy, but I don’t think, it’s an anti Rafa conspiracy. Those surfaces must have been ordered month ago. It might be more of an answer to all those voices, who want faster courts lately.
rafaisthebest@October 12, 2013 at 2:37 pm
I haven’t read/heard Rafa saying that hard courts are faster THIS year. Could you refer to a source?
Is it true what I’m reading? That Novak has signed on to play Basel, in addition to DC? Delpo, Fed, Berdych, Ferru will be in Basel so it was a strong field already……….
So you heard it, too. Novak really wants that No 1 back, and it can get very tight for Rafa, especially if all the courts get faster this year.
@littlefoot, at this point it is just a rumour, which make for strange calculation on Novak’s part because if his intention is to vulture some points to edge Rafa, he is better off playing Valencia where he would be guaranteed 500 points since the only top seed there is Ferru!
On the Basel site, it doesn’t say anything about Djoker so far. But they have a secret weapon: On Monday, they bring one of their oldest and schmaltziest pop singers, Udo Jürgens, who will sing the siren song for all Fed opponents. Only Fed will be warned and wear ear plugs 🙂
Is the rumor of Djoko playing Basel, too, correct?? If so, poor Fed, lol!
It wouldn’t surprise me at all for Djoko to enter Basel on a wild card. I guess @hawkeye63 is right, he does value #1 more than DC…………………
Regardless, unless Rafa crushes out of Basel in the 1st round, I am not pressing the panic button yet. All this means is Rafa cannot afford to miss Paris……..drat.
duecy, one thing that never allowed rafa to get into the match was the excellent depth delpo was keeping on his shots to rafa’s forehand ! His CC backhand and inside out forehand had such good pace and lenth that they rendered rafa’s forehand ineffective…this was the most defining pattern of the match for me…
Rafa had a bad serving day ..he was never able to get that much needed ‘calm’… anyway, there were many things rafa could have done better…he played better in set 2 and had chances despite not playing near his best….the anxiety got to him in set 2…
Thank you, vamosrafa.
RT @SI_BTBaseline: “Nadal: I am humble enough to admit that I didn’t play a bad match and I lost 62 64. #atp”
I think Rafa is just giving props to Delpo, fair play. Does not want to appear to be denying Delpo credit. Notice how Rafa talks about his play in the negative: ” I didn’t play bad” not, “I played well”. He knows he did not play his best but nothing to get down on himself for……
Expected this, always fearedd this..was just hoping this would not happen.
I had a strange feeling that Rafa would win 7 titles till FO..I said it on TT too..it came to pass..I also had a feeling Rafa will win 10 titles for the year..he has already won 10 till now..not sure what to make of it.
WTF is the key..hope he wins it..but am having a strange feeling he wont win any title for remainder of the year..I just hope he caps the year end No 1
1170 points more needed to secure the berth considering Novak wins Shanghai , ATP 500, Paris, WTF, DC matches
DC points will not be added this year, the ATP season ends after WTF…………..
@littlefoot, no I don’t think the court speed changes would be direct anti-Rafa actions although this disadvantages Rafa and others of similar game of course. I also believe this was a nod to the many voices who wanted the courts speeded up. I guess there aren’t that many voices in Rafa’s corner to back up his calls for a reduction in hard courts……………..
I think if Novak wins Shanghai (which 80% he will), he will play an ATP 500
All rather desperate @sanju and maybe futile. Davis Cup points Novak earns will not count toward 2013 ranking. The ATP season ends after WTF. So Davis Cup points will be added in January 2014.
it was not appalling display by Rafa, tho it certainly wasn’t good. Delpo was unbelievable.
so i guess it’s safe to say everyone is rooting for Delpo tomorrow?
^^
Go Delpo!
Go Delpo!
Go Delpo!
Nole! Nole! Nole!
exactly, Ricky ! it was NOT an apalling display from rafa. Though far from his best, but not that bad..
btw, @nadline, I hope you got an idea of how capable delpo is ! you are always so dismissive about him having the potential to beat nadal djo murray …. I totally disagree that there are others in the top 50 who ‘on their day’ can beat nadal djo murray ..there is none like del potro outside the big 4
Are you sure RITB it doesn’t count? In this forum only augusta and holdserve included it in calcs.
Let me confirm and come back to you @Sanju
@Sanju, here’s your answer:
“The Emirates ATP Rankings Race To London include points earned in 2013 plus points earned at the 2012 Davis Cup final and late-season 2012 Challengers and Futures played after the 2012 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.”
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/Rankings-FAQ.aspx
The DC points that will be added are those earned at the 2012 DC final. So any DC points Novak earns in 2013 will be added to his tally NEXT YEAR, 2014.
at what point in 2014 do they add?
Wohoo..Thanks RITB.
So how many points were added for 2 DC final rubbers Augusta and holdserve in that 1530 number we came up with?315 right?
Sanju@October 12, 2013 at 4:31 pm
I wasn’t sure about counting the DC final in the 2013 year.end rankings.
But the points Djoko can earn at the Davis Cup final are:
2 x 75 + 75 = 225 points
It is 75 points per win and 75 points as a team bonus. The team bonus is awarded to a player who wins 7 matches in a calendar year and his team wins the competition. Djoko has won 5 matches this year.
So Augusta ..that means Rafa has to win 1530 – 360 (won in Shanghai) – 225 = 945 right to seal the No 1?
@Ricky 4:24 pm, I do not know when exactly the 2013 DC final points are added in 2014. But the explanation from the ATP site is clear: we cannot include the 2013 DC finals points in the 2013 Race points calculation, they will be added in 2014.
how epic would a Rafa-Djoker World Tour Finals title match with No. 1 at stake be?
^^^That is exactly what I am hoping does not happen. It would not be fair because the court surface would favour Novak. Anyway, it will not happen, Rafa will wrap up the YE#1 before WTF……….
Assuming Novak wins tomorrow, the points gap between him and Rafa will be 2,000. Rafa’s almost home and dry……………
not fair?
what’s not fair is there are THREE Masters 1000s played on clay and ZERO on grass.
what’s not fair is there are about FORTY clay-court tournaments every season and FIVE grass-court tournaments.
That situation will never arise. Thought situation would be epic 🙂
Rafa just needs 900 odd points now from Basel, Paris, WTF..if he reaches final in WTF..by virtue of reaching final itself..he would have pocketed atleast 800 points (2 round robin minimum and 1 semi).. and he will def play Basel too..
good point. thanks!
Ricky Dimon@October 12, 2013 at 4:47 pm
—what’s not fair is there are THREE Masters 1000s played on clay and ZERO on grass—
All the players in the world have possibility to practice on clay courts (in their home countries), but not on grass courts! This grass-thing is totally unfair thing!
.
@Sanju, and Rafa’s definitely playing Paris, at least according to Uncle Toni……………
@Ricky, I guess you also think it is grossly unfair there are so many HC tournaments compared to clay and grass………………..
no
Delpo said: ‘ I saw Rafa playing very far off the baseline, which is good for my game, my serve and my confidence..’
Says it all, no?
Sanju@ October 12, 2013 at 4:48 pm
—Rafa just needs 900 odd points now from Basel, Paris, WTF—
Rafa will earn additional points in Basel, if he reaches at least the semifinals (180 points). These 180 points would replace his 150 points from Vina del Mar.
Currently, Rafa’s ‘SIX best results’ in the RACE TO LONDON include:
1) Monte Carlo Masters, 2013 – 600 points (a non-mandatory Masters tournament; it’s counted as one of four ATP-500 tournaments a player has to play)
2) Acapulco ATP-500, 2013 – 500 points
3) Barcelona ATP-500, 2013 – 500 points
4) Beijing ATP-500, 2013 – 300 points
5) Sao Paolo ATP-250, 2013 – 250 points
6) Vina del Mar ATP-250, 2013 – 150 points (possible to replace with the points from Basel)
Well, since most players, who are good on fast hard court, are good on grass, and vice versa, I really don’t see anything unfair in the number of clay court tourneys. But I also don’t complain about the WTF being indoor hard court. I kind of regard it as the 5th slam, which is an indoor hard court slam. The difference to a real slam is of course, that only eight players are invited.
As to the race situation, good, that DC doesn’t count, but it still could get very tight, if Novak does indeed play Basel, and wins everything from now on. Rafa got 650 points out of the last two tourneys. Getting out a bit more than 900 points out of the three remaining tourneys ain’t a cakewalk at all. If he makes semis at Basel and Paris, he still has to get quite a few points in London. If he makes the semis there with only two wins, and then loses the semis, it might not be enough. And this is exactly the reason, why Novak might play Basel, DC be damned. It’s quite a gamble, since he might run out of steam in London, but so might Rafa. So I figure, Rafa would greatly appreciate a little help from his collegues. If Delpo wins tomorrow, Rafa is almost home.
If Rfa makes semis of Basel and Paris..he will add like 360 points( as 150 of Vine Del Mar already counted nd Basel semi will earn him same)..which means either he needs to win all RR matches or win 2 RR and the semi.. All this is assuming Novak plays Basel and wins it and wins Paris and WTF
These are my calculations, too. If Novak wins Basel and Paris, which is still a big If! This scenario could lead to a very interesting semi final show down between Novak and Rafa, should they meet, with Novak having won all RR matches, and Rafa only two of them.
So the No 1 ranking could well be on line at the WTF final, though certainly not in a final between Rafa and Novak, but between Novak and someone else, with Novak having to win.
recap – https://tenngrand.com/2013/10/12/del-potro-rolls-over-nadal-to-face-djokovic-in-shanghai-final/
final preview – https://tenngrand.com/2013/10/12/shanghai-final-preview-and-pick-djokovic-vs-del-potro/
My calculation.
Race to be YE #1:
Djoko can earn points :
¤ Shanghai – 400 (tomorrow, Oct. 13)
¤ ATP500 somewhere – 500 (there are 2 tournaments left: Basel and Valencia)
¤ Paris – 1000
¤ WTF – 1500
TOTAL: 3400 points
Rafa:
¤ leads before tomorrow (Oct.13) with 2460 points in the Race to London
¤ needs to add 945 points to be YE No.1.
TOTAL: 3405 points
Perfect Yes..so 945 is the magic figure now 🙂
Don’t worry folks, Rafa will be the YE#1………………………
yeah, it’s not even going to be close.
Rafa fans just grabbing at reasons to worry themselves.
so what do you think Ricky will Novak not win out of Shanghai, Basel, Paris, WTF?
So RITB our wish of Rafa having lone record of max masters is gone (:- . He shares it with Novak (:-
I doubt he will win Paris
Agree with you @Sanju, I don’t think he will win Paris. All I want now is for Rafa to secure that YE#1. I don’t care if he wins another tournament for the rest of the season……..
Agree with Sanju and RITB, but it COULD get close…. unless Delpo wins his Maiden Masters tomorrow 🙂
Well I hope DElpo wins it..not coz it will get easier for Rafa..as I think he deserves to win atleast 1 Masters..he hasnt won yet right? This can be the best chance..but I doubt he will..Novak may pull it off
Don’t count on Delpo following up today with a win tomorrow. The normal thing will be for him to have an emotional let down. Remember, he was playing to secure WTF 2013 today. Of course tomorrow he will be playing for his maiden Masters but he has another shot at that in Paris this year.
I don’t count on it at all, but it would be greatly appreciated from this Rafafan 🙂
Plus, I really like Delpo, and felt bad for him, when he lost IW to Rafa. He deserves a Masters title.
I will be rooting for Delpo too. The sooner Delpo gets to the top 4 the better, he is too dangerous to be floating around waiting to ambush some poor unsuspecting top player in an early round. Yes he has a Slam but he really needs some Masters trophies as well to his name to have real gravitas.
deucy@:October 12, 2013 at 5:51 pm
—Nole! Nole! Nole!—
Your wish is understandable. If Delpo wins tomorrow, he’ll be only 370 points behind Andy Murray in the ATP rankings when they are updated on Monday.
True, but I also really like Nole 🙂 JMDP is not for me. I’m with nadline on these tennis “giants.”
As usual, Juan Jose at changeovertennis.com does a BRILLIANT job of deconstructing the Rafa/Delpo match;
http://www.changeovertennis.com/key-points-analysis-del-potros-brilliant-execution-rafael-nadal-shanghai/
This is where the match was won and lost:
Set 1:
Delpo Key Points won: 11
Rafa Key Points won: 7
Set 2:
Delpo Key Points won: 12
Rafa Key Points won: 9
Rafa never recovered from the smothering Delpo did in the 1st set…………….
Rafa needs some Mallorca R & R! Hope he can summon up sufficient energy to wrap up that YE#1.
Vamos Rafa!
RT @juanjo_sports: “Can’t get this out of my head: Delpo is into his 3rd M1000 final ever (0 titles). To get there he beat Nadal, who’s won 5 M1000s in 2013.”
#Perspective
I love hearing from Rafa himself after his matches. I read the transcript of his post-match presser on vb today. I always feel so much better. He has things in perspective. I think he knows that he did not play his best. He said that he could have served better. But I don’t think he wanted to take anything away from Delpo who played outstanding tennis.
Rafa’s comments show that he is okay with this loss, feels that he did the best he could on that day but that Delpo was just too good. He is happy with a final and a semifinal result.
Of course, I would love to see Delpo win for a few reasons, not just the obvious one that it would make Rafa’s attempt to secure the #1 ranking a bit easier. I also would like to see him win his first Masters. He has seemed to be so close this year to getting back to his best. Rafa did speak about that in his presser. He thinks that this is the best Delpo has played. But something always seems to derail his progress. He had a respiratory infection that forced him to withdraw from RG. Then he had knee problems at Wimbledon, but still got to the semis and pushed Djoker to the limit before losing. The USO was a disappointment because of his wrist acting up.
I think Delpo wants to move up into the top four and have a shot at winning a slam next year. We will see if Rafa, Murray and Djoker can keep up the monopoly at the slams.
It can only be a good thing for the health of tennis to have a group of players capable of regularly challenging the current triumverate.