Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have battled their ways through the Rome draw and are now one round away from a blockbuster title match. Up first for the top two players in the world are respective Saturday semifinal showdowns against Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (12) Grigor Dimitrov
Nadal and Dimitrov will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers and for the second time this season when they collide in the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Saturday.
All four of their previous meetings have gone Nadal’s way, but he has never defeated Dimitov in straight sets. They most recently faced each other at the Australian Open, where Nadal survived a memorable four-setter 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(7), 6-2. Their only previous clay-court clash came last spring in Monte-Carlo, where Nadal prevailed 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
The world No. 1 has already been required to work harder this week than perhaps at any clay-court tournament of his career–especially of the best-of-three variety. He has spent a whopping eight hours and 42 minutes on the court in three matches, needing three sets to get past Gilles Simon, Mikhail Youzhny, and Andy Murray. Nadal is looking to win back-to-back titles on the slow stuff, having triumphed in Madrid after losing in the quarterfinals of both Monte-Carlo and Barcelona.
Dimitrov celebrated his 23rd birthday on Friday by reaching the semis in both singles and doubles (with Lukas Rosol). His singles victory came via second-set retirement from Tommy Haas after Dimitrov had won the first set 6-2. The Bulgarian preceded that with victories over Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Ivo Karlovic, and Tomas Berdych. Dimitrov is 26-7 for the year and projected to rise to another career-high mark of No. 12 in the world on Monday even if he loses this one to Nadal.
Given Nadal’s fatigue and their past history of competitive matches, it would seem like another three-setter is in the cards between these two men. However, Rome’s top seed is so battle-tested and also confident in the most important moments of matches that he just may find a way to get this done in straights. Either way, it should be another wildly entertaining contest.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing more than 8 games
[polldaddy poll=8054546]
[polldaddy poll=8054548]
wygas
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/467625418624090113/photo/1
I’ve already commented under the poll on the QF thread but I’ll repost
Nadal in 3, losing first set as per current form
Djokovic in 2 losing more than 8 with 2 TBs
Ricky, Dimi has also spent many hours on court playing doubles so he must be suffering fatigue too. Rafa needed the hours on court to get his rhythm and momentum going.
Raonic had iproved on his ground strokes but this week he seems to have reverted to his old style and with that he has no chance against Nole.
Raonic’s coach, Ljubicic, is a friend of Djokovic’s, no? Figures, no other explanation for sending Raonic out with the tactic of extended rallying with Djokovic……………
Koenig is adding his voice to the ‘enforce the time rule strictly’ lobby.
Koenig is an idiot. strictly enforcing the rule means players would be sanctioned for stopping to let the dust-gathering whirlwinds that have been the staple of this year’s afternoon Rome sessions, drift.
What part of “Umpires’ discretion” does he not understand? I am afraid he is letting his Fedfanboyism get the better of him…………………….
Btw, this Koening chorus is only going to gather steam, especially with each Slam Rafa snags………..
I am wondering, if he has a Swiss bank account.
Roanic seems to be holding his own………but it is only a matter of time
Not if he thinks he can out-rally Djokovic, that is stupid. He needs to focus on his strength: aces, don’t bother rallying with Djokovic in Djokovic’s service games, but play for a TB THEN rally on a point or two on Djokovic’s serve……………
Boris looks like a spare whatsitsname at a wedding.
^^And looking redder and redder by the minute……….painful looking complexion that….
ed, I’m sure that doesn’t happen very often. 😀
You’ve just made me spill a cup of tea I was laughing so much
Roanic is just so irritating……… why must he keep hitting the ball to Novak each time?!!!!
When he does so, it goes out more often than he gets it in.
Nole taking it out on his racquet.
Well he should. I don’t see anything special about Raonic’s game that is pegging Novak back so…….
Koenig reckons Milos is a future Slam winner.
They are all saying that. Peter Fleming went further by saying clay would be his best surface!
jaw dropping stuff from djokovic for a 3-0 lead..
Raonic’s DTL backhand is becoming a weapon…
I’m sorry, but Djokovic’s on-court preening is disgusting…..
Boris looks like he his cheering because he’s been told to or else.
^Close, he is cheering because he’s been PAID to…….
So, Raonic takes a set. Every pundit and hid dog out there had him being beaten in easy straight sets by Djokovic, with Rafa being mauled by Dimitrov, but of cause.
Well done young man, carry on………………
RIBT, yes of course bcoz Novak is the best on clay………ever, and Rafa is just chicken feed!!!!!
what a tie break from Raonic !
this is great tennis….now its on raonic’s racket…test of nerves
first set Milos. Djokovic is not at his best and Raonic’s baseline game is holding up very well ! I can definitely see improvements there since he has started working with Ivan
Monalisa@May 17, 2014 at 1:04 pm
But it seems to take a long time…
Lol……..yeah, but he must stop sending the ball back to Novak……..he must capitalise or he will get burnt!
which match are you watching?? raonic has been reasonably aggressive ! he is taking his chances on the groundies !
lol..you guys were also of the opinion that raonic stands little to no chance today ! so nothing wrong the pundits did by saying that…
raonic is playing really well..even under pressure
^^not me, @vamosrafa, not me. You will not find a single post from me predicting a roll for Djoker, in straights or otherwise. I had absolutely no opinion on this semi due to an absolute lack of interest on my part. The only reason I am watching is I have nothing else to do.
yeah, ,did not see any prediction by you or others here but the comments here suggest you guys dont think raonic has nothing special in his game to topple djokovic ..
I think predicting a straight sets djo win was a resonable pick. I am really impressed by raonic’s baseline game today….for the first time he is impressing me…
On twitter, looks like the only pundit watching is Brad Gilbert……………..
I am not going to compare that with Twitter traffic during the Rafa/Muzza match last night, it was electric!
@vamosrafa, if I had made a pick I would also have picked Djokovic in straights. While I think Raonic has improved his groundies I do not think that alone has won him the set. I would say it’s Djokovic who is showing nothing special out there! I say that because I have seen him play better, no offence to Raonic.
I would,d give Novak the edge over Milos but I will never give Dimi the edge over Rafa!! No one can play clay court tennis better then Rafa……….everyone else are all pretenders!!!
Don’t think any expert is picking Dimi over rafa. Its just that rafa’s mental lapses of late and the fatigue factor and the fact that Dimi has troubled him in the past give him a decent chance of pushing rafa to his limits.
I think rafa will be ready. This one won’t be as tough as the Qtf match
OK. I’m running a book. When will Djokovic call for the trainer?
Djoker is behaving as if Raoni doesn’t have a right to win………….Do you know who I am, kind of attitude.
That’s what gets up my nose, too. The air of entitlement he exudes.
If Roanic does not break here, he will surely lose the match…..game changer
Raonic’s tactical naivety is astounding, given he has 2 coaches at the helm, one of whom, Riccardo Piatti, is quite experienced.
what tactical adjustments should he make in your view?
Well, one glaring one is he needs to stop approaching the net on Djokovic’s BH, that’s an invitation to a passing shot for Djokovic! I would like to know the stat for the number of BH passing shots Djokovic has made so far, all on Raonic’s approaches!
Tennis 101: always look to neutralize your opponent’s strengths. Muzza and Rafa gave a masterclass in that lesson last night. As Tiggy said, it was chess on wheels. I don’t see that from Raonic. Looks like he is just hitting and hopping for a Novak error. Novak does not make errors cheaply.
………If he wants to press, he is better off approaching on Djokovic’s FH because that is the weaker wing, better chance of extracting an error from that.
Raonic has improved his groundies but no where near a state where he should be dueling in long rallies with Djokovic. The point of the semi is to win, for him, not to show he can hang with Djokovic, so he needs to apply his bread and butter tactics: play for a TB. His serve alone can shade it there.
To be fair, he has won the 1st set, in a TB, but that’s because Djokovic is “flatter” than normal in my opinion.
WHen rafa was pressed yesterday ,his response was so spirited. cannot say the same for djokovic. Rafas spirit is unearthly
Vamosrafa, I agree………I can understand the frustration but his attitude sucks……….and I don’t see any clapping at good shorts today….do u?
^^^that’s what happens when you have a killer serve. It gets in the way of developing a powerful all court game.
Yes. Raonic’s attitude when he first came on the scene was to bide his time and win tiebreaks.
@ed,
Well said! Absolutely brilliant! I am in complete agreement. I totally think that having a big serve keeps a player from developing other aspects of their game. There is too much tendency to just rely on blasting an ace or a huge serve and winning the point. That’s why these big servers come off so one-dimensional.
Raonic is standing up to this pretty well. Impressive to break straight back like that.
Serves Djokovic right for carrying on like he’d won the match after he broke Raonic serve.
I’m beginning to think of ‘what if’…………………
On the other hand, perhaps not. He is now serving to stay in this set.
Another approach by Raonic, another BH passing shot by Djokovic…….
I can only admire Novak’s game but nothing else!!
^^same here @Mona. Sums up my feelings about Fed as well. Muzza, I like both his game and his person, at least the person he allows us to see.
Not sure if admire is the right word but I am in awe of his ‘bendy toy’ limbs 😉
A second tie break is a juicy prospect.
Is Djoker not supposed to be the greatest returner since time began ❓
Another BH passing shot from Djokovic, on a Raonic approach……….
RT @SteveTignor : “Paul Annacone with some nice understatement about Novak right now: “Definitely struggling to sustain that relentless optimism.””
This is not a Djokovic who can trouble Rafa. However, we know what players do when they face Rafa, they raise their game…………
inevitable
I predict: 6-1 to Djokovic in the 3rd.
I’m not quite so pessimistic but agree he will run away with this now.
RT @bgtennisnation : “Never seen so many long grueling matches for the top guys this week in Rome that they keep coming through”
#BarbariansAtTheGate
As much as I’d like Milo’s to win, I see Gumby winning. Milos can be boring to watch but I’m of thinking of the greater good.
Why does Raonic keep approaching the net only to be left stranded there like a beached whale?
Lol!! Beached whale indeed…….and a damn choker!! How many aces did he even have in the second tie break??
Djokovic starting the theatrics, clutching at his arm/wrist/hand………..
I lost the bet I was having with myself he would call for the trainer during this match.
Didn’t watch the 3rd set till the very end. When did he start clutching his arm?
Before or after he broke Raonic serve – if you get my drift 😉
At last! Raonic approaches to Djokovic’s FH and draws an error…..
https://twitter.com/BenRothenberg/statuses/467680340258344961
Don’t be fooled……….its all part of the if I lose to Rafa that was the cause……….
I do believe you are even more cynical than I am 😉
Raonic has got a long way to go with his ground strokes. You cannot win by just serving big.
Nadline, that’s exactly my feeling and he keeps playing the ball right back to Novak each time while ignoring the real estate on the other side….he so sold this match!!Disgusted!
What’s Djokovic whining about post-match?
Apparently, he was trying to find out what he had to do immediately after the mactc from the ATP Rep. I thought they all knew the routine by now.
Trying to exert his authority about something. Any Italian speakers around?
Someone on twitter said Djokovic held his arm and wrist in 3rd set. Did anyone see it?
I am sure they saw more than required as he won the 3rd comfortably 🙂
#WishfulThinking
#Someone
Yes I saw it.
So did a certain Rosol comparator…
https://twitter.com/BenRothenberg/status/467680340258344961
#DidntYou?
#YouDid.
#OKGood.
hello! I was at university? what happened? wasn’t rafa supposed to play first? how was nole! it seems he is not too sharp
Y’all (except for VR) are nuts.
Milos’ ground game is 300% better than it was last year along with his consistency.
Nole played great to beat him.
Rafa will have to be at his best to beat him assuming he gets past Dimi.
I’ll just agree to disagree that VamosRafa and I saw a different match than the rest of you.
#FutureSlamWinner
#NID
I’d appreciate RD’s take on the match.
https://twitter.com/cbfowler/status/467689978534051840
I don’t agree with the above from Chris Fowler. Novak was on the back foot for two sets. I wouldn’t say he went into top gear at all. Only his experience at this level and Raonic’s relative lack thereof got the win. He had no plan B after failing to clinch the win when it was within his grasp. He lost momentum and allowed Nole to cruise to the final.
Again, we saw a different match obviously. Had a real shot in the 2nd set TB. Only natural to have a mental letdown in the 3rd plus it was the longest 3-set match of his career.
He continues to get better and IMO Nole played at a high level, particularly his ROS in the second half. He kept getting Milos to hit the extra shot.
how was Djoker-Milos?
Good match. Andy-Rafa was better.
https://twitter.com/bgtennisnation/status/467665630431154176
https://twitter.com/theljubicic/status/467689609821192192
Well I am surprised to hear that the Novak/Raonic match went three sets. I would have predicted a straight set win for Novak. So Raonic must have done something right. Novak doesn’t just give away sets these days. I can’t comment any further until I have a chance to see the replay of the match later on the tennis channel. But I will say that it’s easy to sit in a chair at home and talk about what a player should or should not do, when you are not out there on the tennis court. It sounds like Raonic gave a good account of himself. I will have more thoughts after I watch it.
You say he shouldn’t just go baseline to baseline with Nole and then knock him for approaching the net?
21 of 39 at net. Nothing wrong with that. Put pressure on him. Letdown in the 3rd but no doubt, he gave Nole a serious match. 3 hrs.
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/467688960333201410/photo/1
The second set serve percentages won tell the story. Novak had 64% and Raonic had 44%. Overall, Novak’s serve stats were excellent. Only 16 UE’s, so it appears that he was playing some good tennis. All the more impressive that Raonic got a set. As for the net points won by Raonic, it’s just about 50%, a hair above. That doesn’t indicate it was a bad tactic. Is Raonic supposed to slug it out from the baseline with Novak? That’s not a winning strategy. I am sure that Raonic learned some things out there today and that’s what it’s all about. He’s a work in progress and should take the positives out of this match and then work on the aspects of his game on clay that may need improvement.
Sorry, I meant to say just the second serve percentages won, not the second set!
https://twitter.com/BenRothenberg/status/467688165021855744
https://twitter.com/bgtennisnation/status/467673771998851072
https://twitter.com/bgtennisnation/status/467669499869528064
what’s been the best match in Rome so far?
Rafa-andy by a good margin.
Yes by a marginal margin. 🙂
what about Ferrer Djoker?
Ferrer djoker was very good …so was raonic djokovic…what makes andy-rafa the best for me was that it was really really tough to say who held the upper hand in the decider… andy was up 4-2 at one stage but then came back rafa…
Good net play (definite growth from last year)…
https://twitter.com/BenRothenberg/status/467669186429603841
No contest as to best match – Rafa/Andy by a mile!
Darren Cahill @darren_cahill · 7m
Dimitrov to beat Nadal tonight ? #run #duck #takecover #hide
I want to say so happy for Rafa last night. Incredible fight and spirit. Best match I’ve seen him play in quite some time. I love his will to win.
He needs to up his consistency even more to beat Nole.
Vamos Rafa!!!!!
Brilliant effort from Raonic. This is the best I have seen him hit from the baseline. He finally has started to understand how to construct points from the baseline. I really liked the use of backhand DTL today by him.
Every aspect of his game has improved. He impressed me today. Djokovic was not at all at his best but managed to raise his level enough. raonic pushed him to all the way …a 3 hr contest is no joke !
^^that
what was better: Nadal-Simon or Nadal-Youzhny
Fed-Chardy
vamosrafa,
I respect your tennis i.q., therefore I will keep your assessment in mind when I get to watch Novak/Raonic later on!
Thanks for your thoughts! 🙂
lol… nadal-simon !!
vamosrafa,
Agreed! 🙂
Was worse or better?
For me, Nadal/Simon was not as good as Nadal/Murray.
A completely different rafa today in terms of starting the match
I wish Rafa would quit starting every service game 0-15. It makes me nervous.
Me, too! But today it didn’t cost him. Nice to be able to relax during a Rafa match! 😀
Domination, or what?
Vamos Rafa
RT @pmouratoglou: “Grigor started the match on observation mode while #Rafa was on punching mode.”
Dimitrov can play better than this but rafa is on fire today ! looks so assured out there. the ‘colm’ is back ! backhand is being struck with so much authority
I don’t think Rafa is allowing him to play his game.
vamosrafa,
Did you see the backhand in his match with Murray! At one point he hit about three cc backhands in a row and the last one had that lower trajectory and was much flatter and that was the winner. Rafa also kind of let out the guttural roar as he hit it! Good stuff!
Rafa came out ready today. Those matches really helped him, especially the one with Andy. I think Rafa wanted to smother Dimitrov and just not let him into the match. But honestly, Dimitrov was off today. Dreadful stuff from him, so much so that the crowd has started whistling their disapproval.
vamos RAFA
6-2
VAMOS!!!!!
I’m really enjoying this.
Just hilarious how the commentators sometimes give praise to Nadal … their bias underlying it all.
Rafa’s got two breaks in the 2nd set…………4:1
Oh Rafa, thank goodness for this! I was quietly hoping that Dimitrov would come out kind of flat and Rafa could just blow him off the court. Rafa looks focused today and Dimitrov can’t do anything.
I really wanted Rafa to finally have an easy match. I did see that Dimitrov had a very tough doubles match and also realized that he hasn’t done anything this clay season and hasn’t looked that good. This time he got the win over Berdy, but otherwise he just hasn’t done much. So I hoped that he might not be able to make this a match.
Rafa held his serve, consolidated and then got another break to win the first set. I will take this easy match for sure! Rafa needs to get off the court quickly to be ready for the final.
I will have to check out the Novak/Raonic match on the replay later on. Three sets, huh? So just maybe Novak isn’t quite that invincible? I thought he would win it in straight sets.
Rafa, now finish this thing and go rest to be ready to beat Novak!
RT @pmouratoglou : “Rafa uses the #Rogerstrategy vs Grigor. Serve 100% to bh, play high to his bh to make him play short or change direction, then attack him”
You mean the PANTETED #Rogerstrategy, coach?
RT @pmouratoglou : “In the big matches, #Rafa controls the court. He plays high and deep, then comes in and plays flatter and early, to take time off opponent.”
That was too easy…..
Vamos Rafa!!
Vamos!!!!!
congrats
RT @darren_cahill: “I blame Rasheed for this. #vamosrafa Time for me to hide on a 12 hour flight. Well played @Ataraxis00. I await my penalty for the poor call.”
Thank you Andy for letting Rafa sharpen his tools against you. Thanks also to Simon and Youzhny for drill you gave Rafa for his endurance.
Roger Rasheed will have to go back to the drawing board against Rafa.
Sanju says:
May 17, 2014 at 4:58 pm
Darren Cahill @darren_cahill · 7m
Dimitrov to beat Nadal tonight ? #run #duck #takecover #hide
What does Darren Cahill know?
He himself is embarrassed and ashamed 🙂
@Sanju,
He should be!
Congrats All. Master class from Rafa today. No illeffects from yesterday match
Murray awakened the beast in Rafa today. Today was total beast Rafa
Coach MOURATOGLOU @pmouratoglou · 23m
In the big matches, #Rafa controls the court. He plays high and deep, then comes in and plays flatter and early, to take time off opponent.
RT @juanjosetennis : “Note to Grigor Dimitrov: it’s cool to hit awesome shots. Even cooler: keep moving your feet in case they come back.”
#FacePalm
RT @SI_BTBaseline : “It will be No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 2 Novak Djokovic for the Rome title on Sunday. Nadal dominates Dimitrov 62 62. Murray woke the beast.”
Hehehe, Muzza! Look what you done………..
I think everyone seems to be going over the board. Rafa was just as good as yesterday. Grigor didn’t take it to Rafa like Muzza. He hardly made him play.
But @abhirf, it cannot be Rafa’s fault if Grigor was rubbish. Rafa can only take care of his own game and he did that very well. When you get an opportunity have a look at the match stats, pretty clean from Rafa
I disagree. Rafa was as good as he could be given what was thrown at him. He can only play as well as his opponent forces him to.
The BH down the line, IO FH, FH down the line were all in the house. He served well too. He was very deft at the net.
Most importantly no lapses at all except when serving 4 the match played a bit passive compared to rest of the match.
Abhirf, no offense but here’s something I’ve thought about many of your comments over the last months, and I’ll write it this time: while you are a pleasure to read and make great points you are not as objective as you might think when it comes to Rafa. (but then again, I am not either, in the opposite direction :-). Similarly, your remark yesterday re Murray not having improved in 2.5 years was quite far from as objective as you might have thought it was. It immediately reminded me of a similar remark Roger made about Murray a few years back. In fact Murray played very well and was using all kinds of right tactics and adjustments yesterday with no lack of fire, fight and confidence.
Just my observation. Peace.
@chloro, if I may jump in, I don’t think @abhirf has ever claimed to be objective (unless he did and I missed it). He is a Fedfan so it is pretty natural for him to be anti-Rafa (not in the Federazzi mode). This is an honest stance which I personally think is okay.
What throws me is fans of players who claim to be objective, its oxymoronic to me. This is the problem with a lot of today’s journalists, they are fans selling themselves as objective scribes. Exhibit A: Mr. Neil Harman.
Yeah, I’m not saying that Rafa didn’t played bad, but those tweets and comments make it look as if he was in some devastating form which wasn’t the case.
I’m really frustated at Grisha for not giving up a good fight.
Anyways, I’m awaiting for tomorrow’s match up. Both Nole and Rafa have struggled to reach the Final here and are pretty far from there best. Let’s see who takes it all on the bigger stage.
Ritb,
Exactly what I meant. :-).
Abhirf is more or less objective from his (sane) fed fan end as I am from my (sane I hope) rafa end. And I mean no sarcasm here whatsoever.
And good on you, Abhirf, for conversing here often with us fairly numerous (albeit not insane) rafa fans. Really.
See you all tomorrow. May the better ( historically 🙂 clay court player win.
^^Put another way, no way @nadline can ever accuse @abhirf of hunting with the hounds and running with the hares! 😀
@chloro,
Okay I may not look objective, but I won’t agree on the Andy part.
For me Andy’s game has not seen a drastic change ( i still feel he played much better against a very good Rafa at FO’11).
For me it’s his mental game that seems to be stagnated and if it improves it again oscillates back to the previous versions.
He hardly seems to be more relaxed after winning his 1st slam as many predicted.
Also his demeanor on the court looks like he is always struggling. His body language hardly exudes the aura of a winner or a good player. Be it a good player or a lower ranked player, he finds a way to struggle against all of them.
Regarding yesterday, yes Andy was good with his game plan and strategy but he faltered at the same stage with the same problem like his previous years i.e. inability to remain calm under pressure. Look at the way he played that game at 4-2 up in the 3rd set. It looked as if he was the one playing catch up tennis and needed to do something special. That was the part which frustated me the most.
Still you are welcome to hold your opinions.
What a dud of a match.
Really expected Dimitrov to make a good match of it, instead he made it a walk in the park for Rafa. It was not like Rafa was playing like a beast that he was going for too much on every shot of his.
Pretty thoughtless game plan (if it was there) from him and Rasheed.
Anyways, we finally get the proper tune up to FO just before as tune up to it was about to end.
Rafa vs Nole..
I can’t pick a winner!!
#MayTheBetterPlayerWin
^^Another young gun who has improved his game and thinks he is now good enough to trade long rallies with the Big 2.
Agree with you, thoughtless……
Milos played miles better than Grigor.
Pfft
Agree, Milos played better than Grigor. Still, the essence of my statement applies to him as well.
#LotToLearn
abhirf, what did you expect from a guy who modelled his game on Fed.
SHBH rarely going to get it done vs a healthy Rafa.
Fed, BabyFed same difference for Rafa.
#Rhetorical
#Vamos
Well no..I think Rafa fears Grigor more than Fed. Grigor has always given Rafa a lot to handle in his past matches..Montecarlo, Cincinati, AO..he took it to Rafa in all those matches
who are the guys who trained up Grigor to adopt a SHBH in this generation.
It’s almost like making you a handicap especially against Rafa.
Well I just hope you don’t compare 0-6 to 10-23. Don’t you? Or do you. You did. OK. Good.
Dimitrov was out of his depth and totally outclassed. Rafa took the racquet out of his hands and pinned him down totally. Rafa was prepared for this. He knew what he had to do especially as his serve was working not like when they played at the AO.
Rasheed looked a little embarrassed because he like most people thought, one more heave and Dimi would get a win over Rafa.
After Rafa’s match against Grigor at AO2014 the post match chatter was Grigor nearly beat Rafa, he has closed the gap blah, blah, blah. Sean Randall even came out and said the next time Grigor played Rafa, Grigor would beat Rafa. But watch, no-one will be talking about Milos closing the gap to Novak on the basis of today’s match……………..
So glad Rafa keeps writing his own script……….
Sean Randall??
Who he?
Pfft.
As a denizen of Montreal, Kanada you DO know just how to use the most eloquent word de la belle langue de la merveilleuse France: Pfft.
In Mallorcan a well-timed shoulder shrug :-).
@abhirf,
Take heart! Unless myself, you have not been accused of hunting with the hounds and running with the hares! An expression that has been used so often that it has already become a cliché. 🙂
https://twitter.com/RafaelNadalFC/status/467752154183507968/photo/1
https://twitter.com/Rafaholics/status/467758991838556161/photo/1
More from Rafa: “I’ve had difficult moments in tournament but I kept the motivation for the victory. Yesterday’s & today’s were + matches
“Brad Gilbert @bgtennisnation · 9m
Will very interested to see if Djoker will imply same tactics as Miami and went a to very successfully the Rafa fearhand all the time
Chris Skelton @ChrisSkelton87 · 17m
Nadal/Djokovic: Nadal leads 22-18, 13-3 on clay. Djokovic leads 11-8 in finals, 12-9 in Masters 1000 tournaments.
RT @pmouratoglou: “If we refer on today’s performance and shape, #Rafa is the favourite for tomorrow. If we refer on their head to head history, #Nole is.”
Can someone please explain to me what Serena’s boyfriend is on about? Is there another Rafa/Nole H2H history out there I am not aware of, because the one I know has Rafa in the lead? Unless he means history as in their last meeting?
#LostInTranslation
Not that I’m bothered who’s favourite you know, just want to understand people’s reasoning.
I think he is talking of recent history..not overall H2H..maybe post 2011 Nole he is taking into account..where it is 11-6 in Noles favour
But if you discount 2011 when Nole was in another zone, it is 6 5 in Rafas favour
Thanks @Sanju. I figured as much, sigh. So pre-2011 does not exist anymore…………..
@SelectiveAmnesia
When asked about tomorrow’s match against Novak, Rafa’s said that there is only one way out: to play at the best level to have chances.
More from Rafa: “I’ve suffered when I had to suffer, accepting the adversities (conditions for 1st two matches were awful).
From the struggles & fights of the 1st matches I’ve reached this point…I’ve prepared myself for what’s to come. Suffering is always worth”
Classic. And classic Rafa.
In his own way he is living and putting into words (because his job includes endless interviews) one of the core insights / advices shared by various wisdom schools.
Thoughts on tomm?
Whoever wins tomm fav for RG or Rafa always fav for RG?
No.
They are both not at their best and vulnerable to each other tomm. And the outcome I think will say little about the shape they will be at the end of the second week of out of 5 matches if they reach the final at RG.
For example, if Rafa continues to shrug off the way he has been to arrive to that final more or less as he has on other years then no one will pry the cup out of his feral hands.
Nole is at 90% and Rafa is at 70% but Rafa is rising with a bullet.
Rafa savours the underdog role.
#GOAT
@Sanju, even if Rafa gets thumped tomorrow he will still be favourite for RG, with good reason. When someone does as well as he has for this long he does not drop down to mere contender status in a best-of-five clay event just like that. Until Rafa loses again on clay, best of 5, in Paris he is the favourite regardless of what some fantasists out there think, or say.
Indeed.
Remember also that roger has never been as consistent in Wimbledon nor at the USO as Rafa at RG, and that says a lot. Same for Nole at the AU versus Rafa at RG. Even Bjorg at RG was not quite that consistent.
no. If Nadal loses 0 and 0, Djoker is the favorite.
Ricky, this discussion assumes Rafa actually attends the match, playing! 😀
Novak needs the win tomorrow more than Rafa does. Rafa already has 2 clay titles going into RG, Novak has none. This is why for me, a loss by Rafa changes nothing but a loss by Novak raises serious questions about his readiness. He loses tomorrow I would not expect him to go deep at RG.
I agree RIBT, unless some me beats Rafa at his best at RG, he will always be the favourite!! Even if Rafa kept knocking at the door at Wimby NO ONE thought he was the favourite even in 2008 and after!
if one kills the other, the one who kills is the favorite.
Anything else, Rafa is favorite.
If pigs fly, Nole will be the favourite at RG, no?
#ParaphrasingRicky
^ that. ( the paraphrasing )
No! Absolutely not! It doesn’t matter if Rafa or Novak wins, that is not going to determine who wins RG. Now that’s not what the blogosphere online will say. They will say that Novak is the favorite if he wins, or Rafa is again the favorite if he wins.
There are too many variables in a slam that have nothing to do with warm up tournaments. It’s always a good thing to win the last Masters clay tournament before RG. That will give a player confidence and good feelings. But Rafa won RG in 2011 when he lost Madrid and Rome. So we should bear that in mind. The normal rules do not apply to Rafa. Of course, I hope that Rafa wins. I want to see him get his 8th Rome title!
You cannot extrapolate pre Slam results to forecast the Slam result. I recall a certain Swedish player being annihilated by Rafa in Rome (6:1, 6:0) before inflicting the worst loss Rafa ever suffered two weeks later. But for that, Rafa would be defending his 10th consecutive RG this year. And Federer would still be hoping to complete his career slam.
What is far more important is Rafa has stemmed the flow of losses which his fans were starting to fear could become a trend.
There will be 128 in the draw at RG so it’s not simply between Rafa and Djoker. Favourite or not, they both still have to win 7 matches and the rest of the draw are not just there to make up the numbers.
In 2011, Nole won Madrid and RG and did not even make the final at RG.
Rafa is still even odds to win RG vs the other 127 players in the draw including Nole.
#Beast
#GOAT
Someone didn’t think Ricky’s picking a Rafa Nole final was a good pick.
#ConspicuouslyAbsent
#SilenceIsGolden
So far it’s looking like week by week, match after match, Rafa is restoring his mental calm / consistency so unless that trend gets derailed I expect he will fare no worse in the first week at RG than he did in the first week in 2011. In fact he seems more out of the slump now than he did then. Should fare better is my expectation. Ditto second week. First week still a bit of a question mark. If he makes it to the final then I give no one else a chance there and that includes Nole. Nole is not that good on clay against Rafa out of 5 on clay. Even if Nole prevails quite convincingly tomorrow. and let’s see if Nole makes that final. Come the end of RG Nole may come to see that last year was his golden opportunity to beat Rafa at RG. And still Rafa outplayed for most of that match.
^^
+1
A short post-match interview.
Video. Rome 2014 Saturday Interview Nadal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpXVBjUU9-k
Here’s the audio from Rafa’s post match press conference. The first 8:30 is in English.
http://www.tennistopic.com/arthur-ashe/audios/sufrir-ha-ayudado-encontrar-sensaciones-positivas/
Last weel I said: we may see Rafa struggling in Rome, but expect him to peak at RG. I still think in that direction. I believe Rafa has improved tremendously during this tourney. He was not at all convincing in Madrid, yet he won the title. Today we have seen a calm and smart Rafa and I liked the way he played. His shots were sharp and deep, he served great and most importantly he was playing with calm. You could see it in his body language and on his ( *cute! :-)) face.
I was again not nervous about the match with Grigor although I always said I did not like to see the Bulgarian facing our Rafa, at least not with the form Rafa has been lately. But after Rafa’s inspiring performance last night against a great top player I just did not expect Rafa to lose…I even indulged myself with a thought how it would be a real thing if Rafa could beat him easily… and Rafa did just as much to make me again so proud of him! He is such an exceptional human being…
Nole will fight hard tomorrow. He will bring his A game, doing his best to break Rafa at early stage of the match and will try to force Rafa chase him…Nole will hope for Rafa’s mental lapses…But I think tomorrow Nole will face a different Rafa, the one that he hasn’t seen since USO 2013.
No matter what happens tomorrow Rafa is clear favorite for RG. And he has well deserved it. I know Rafa can beat Nole tomorrow! But what I don’t know is how far Rafa is ready to go to beat Nole. If the match becomes too grueling and too demanding Rafa may as well just let it go to save himself for RG. This is not live or die for Rafa. Nole OTOH wants to win because he has not won the title on clay this year and he likes being in the spotlight especially if he beats Rafa. can’t blame him for that…Rafa is always the center of attention win or lose…
let’s hope for the best tomorrow for our dear Rafa…however, for me he has already proved he is made of steel and that he is a real contender for RG title.
Vamos Rafa!
If Rafa thinks he does not want to push himself to win a Masters crown, I say he does not deserve to be the No 1 then. Rafa may win or lose but that he wont give it his all is simply not going to happen
@Sanju,
I agree all the way!
Sorry, but Rafa will never save himself in a Masters clay tournament final! It’s not in him to do that! Rafa wants to win! It gives him the confidence and belief and momentum to keep doing what he is doing. He will go out there and fight for every point. Believe it! That doesn’t mean it’s live or die. But it does mean that Rafa plays to win, not take it easy and save himself for another day.
Wasn’t that the strategy chr18 mentioned last year with Novak winning MC and then saving himself by going out early in Madrid and Rome? So how did that work out for him? You don’t save yourself in this sport! If the opportunity presents itself, you go for the win!
My only concern is Rafa’s serve. Novak puts tremendous pressure on Rafa with his ROS. So Rafa will have to serve as though his life depends on it. Other than that, I don’t have any concerns with Rafa. I think he’s as ready as he can be.
I did say that I expect Nole to face a totally different Rafa today….
I don’t know and honestly do not care what chr18 mentioned for Novak last year…we are totally different persons and we do not think the same, so please leave your comparisons for someone else….But I do know that Rafa is always ready to fight, no question about it…however, what I am saying is that it would not be a disaster even if Rafa loses today unless he loses with two zeros as Ricky pointed out…This match isn’t an indicator of anything…Rafa is still the clear favorite to win RG no matter what happens today…that’s the only point I am making…he will not see it as something that will be a deciding element for his confidence…and Nole, if winning, may falsely get the idea that he will automatically be able to beat Rafa in RG…no way…for me it’s irrelevant whether Rafa wins or loses today…he is the one to beat in RG…
Vamos Rafa!
On another note, now that I have seen the Novak/Raonic match, I will say that I agree with vamosrafa’s assessment of the match. I don’t know how anyone can quibble with Raonic pushing Novak to a first set tb and winning it. Then he was down a break in the second set and broke back and got it to another tb. You can’t do any better than that. So there had to be a lot of things that he was doing right. He had Novak out of his comfort zone, even smashing his racket for good measure in the first set when he missed the opportunity to get a break. I liked Raonic staying cool, calm and composed. I know that Paul Annacone was full of praise for his effort.
In the third set finally Novak was able to take over and get the break and keep it. But this was a very close match and Novak had to fight in a tight second set tb to stay in the match. Raonic is still learning on clay, it’s not his best surface. But he did himself proud in this match. If he didn’t do everything right and his tactics weren’t always the best ones, well that’s how you learn. It’s not like Novak is going to stand there and let his opponent just go after his forehand. Rafa has spoken of how difficult it is to change the patterns of shot making against Novak. He’s been able to do it. But there are times when Novak will be successful in dictating the points despite his opponent’s best effort. Raonic tried to shorten the points whenever possible, following up a big serve by going into the net to try to close out the point quickly. There were times when it worked and times when it did not. He also did well to hang with Novak in many baseline rallies.
I thought this match would be an easy straight sets win for Novak. I didn’t think Raonic had a chance of pushing him. But this young man did a really good job and acquitted himself quite well.. I am sure that he will take a lot of good things out of this loss.
@NNY
‘I liked Raonic staying cool, calm and composed.’ lol.
Since when has Raonic ever appeared anything other than CCC?
He has that same languid air and inscrutable expression no matter what the scoreline.
Talk about soporific………….some animation would be welcome 🙂
@ed,
Why? That only gives the opponent an advantage. I like how he handles himself on court. You know that I am not about the histrionics and bad behavior. One thing that Raonic has always had is mental strength. That was a tight match with a lot of crucial moments. He didn’t implode like Novak and smash his racket. No, the young kid held it together.
Let me just say that I am don’t really care about Raonic all that much because of his game. I have never warmed to the big serving guys. So I don’t have to exert a lot of effort defending him. To some extent , I get what you are saying. He is kind of inscrutable on the court. But that can work to his advantage.
I was just really surprised that he made a match of this. I honestly didn’t expect it. I can appreciate how he pushed Novak and rattled him. That’s always nice to see! 🙂
However, I guess Novak also doesn’t like these big serving guys because they give you no rhythm. It’s the same thing that Rafa always talks about with the big servers. He was giving Novak fits out there.
http://tennis.si.com/2014/05/17/novak-djokovic-criticizes-media-serbia-flood-italian-open/
“Unfortunately there’s not enough awareness of what’s going on,” Djokovic said. “I see on CNN and BBC and other big networks there’s a lot of talk about the miners in Turkey and so forth and it’s another disaster. But no broadcast about Serbia and this is the biggest flood that I’ve ever seen and maybe that Europe has ever seen.
FACTS:
1. By Saturday 17th May 2014, 25 people had died in the Serbian floods, with a risk for the fatalities to rise.
2. By Saturday 17th May 2014, 301 miners had been confirmed dead in the Turkish mine disaster, with many still un-accounted for.
With this in mind, Djokovic chides CNN, BBC and the lot for “talking a lot about miners in Turkey and so forth…..” Yes, “and so forth….” “…..and it’s another disaster”.
According to Djokovic, the floods in his country are the worst HE has ever seen. So, because HE says they are the worst, everybody should say/think so. How dare the media focus on the Turks, isn’t Serbia important?
Who does PR for this man?
I hope Serbian commentators do not use again the Serbian floods as an excuse for Nole’s lost focus at times…it’s just unacceptable to use it in such way…I agree, Nole’s PR is ridiculously naïve…
If Djokovic loves his country so much should live there and pay his taxes to help his less privileged compatriots.
^^^ Don’t start me off ritb…………………he loves the sound of his own voice and is the self appointed spokesman pontificating on all matters he considers constitute an injustice.
Did the Serbian media cover the floods in Dorset last year?
Video. Rafael Nadal Press Conference / SF 2014 Rome Masters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7XHhnHexjU
¤¤ Rafael Nadal Interview for RTVE after SF at 2014 Rome Masters (given in Spanish)
[Translated from Spanish to English by Ericka Domenzáin; source Vamôs Rafael Nadal]
Q: Rafa after tough matches this week,this match must have tasted awesome for you..
RAFA:Well,it´s been a tough week for sure,today there were moments were I actually felt a little lack of energy but at the end I played well the complete match,yesterday with all the ups and downs during that match was more special but today I confirmed all the good sensations I had and I am happy,I have gone through difficult situations during the tournament but I think I have kept the illusion and the goal to have the victory and joy of doing what I do,that is play tennis and those things had led me to feel the motivation to be in Qf and semis and now I am on the final.
Q: Rafa this week u have done a master´s in suffering,master´s in coming back..can you tell us if you have learned something more,something more to add to your career?
RAFA: No,the truth is I have played enough of these kind of games during all my career,here are never too many and maybe I have played even more than I should have,but no,I havent learned anything,the positive thing is that i have that feeling of positivism,the willingess of fighting,of feeling satisfied with myself,not only on court,but also in my own mind..I have been overcoming some blocking thoughts,I have been suffering and accepting all the challenges,and we also have to take into account that the first 2 days,the situations here were very complicated,it was very windy and it made it very difficult to play,but I was there,I fought and since the first 2 matches fighting little by little I ended up feeling better and it is important that I am getting my confidence back now and I am adding more pts and this is good for now and for what´s coming,so suffering is always worth it.
Q:Rafa I have to ask you abt Djok,you have played the 3 matches with players that have better backhand that forehand,today was different with Dimitrov and tomorrow u are facing a player that it is not necessary to teel you how he is,he defends very well with his forehand,how do you see the match?
RAFA :well,it the kind of game that u can only win if you play almost a perfect match,to play at the highest level and even like that,sometimes even that is not enough,beyond some adjustments in my game,that of course I have to have them,he fact is I have to play at my highest if I want to have any kind of options. ¤¤
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFp9AEBB3vM#t=32
^^Just do your best, as always, Rafa. Vamos!