A blockbuster second-round battle between Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios is on the schedule for Wednesday in Acapulco. Fellow Americans and occasional doubles partners John Isner and Sam Querrey are also bidding for a quarterfinal spot.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Nick Kyrgios
After Kyrgios beat Andreas Seppi 6-3, 7-5 in a strangely motivated performance at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Tuesday, he admitted that he was inspired by seeing Nadal next up in his draw. So perhaps it wasn’t strange after all. Kyrgios, who loves the big stage but has been plagued by both physical and mental problems especially at the less prestigious events over the past year, will get a shot at Nadal for the sixth time in his career on Tuesday night. The head-to-head series stands at 3-2 in favor of the Spaniard, who has won three of their past four encounters since getting upset at Wimbledon in 2014.
Kyrgios has not fully lived up to his potential in four-plus years since his unofficial arrival at the All-England Club, and he is currently struggling all the way down at No. 72 in the rankings. His win over Seppi improved the 23-year-old Aussie to just 3-3 for his 2019 campaign. Nadal took the court for the first time since finishing runner-up at the Australian Open and made quick 6-3, 6-3 work of Mischa Zverev. The world No. 2 still appears to be in fine form, while Kyrgios started showing signs of the bad Kyrgios–including a minor physical issue that he admitted to afterward–late in his match against Seppi.
Pick: Nadal in 2
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(3) John Isner vs. Sam Querrey
Isner and Querrey will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers on Wednesday. Somewhat surprisingly, Querrey is a borderline dominant 5-2 in the head-to-head series–including 4-1 in their last five meetings. Unsurprisingly, every single matchup has featured at least one tiebreaker; their most recent showdown at the 2018 Cincinnati Masters ended in a third-set ‘breaker, with Querrey getting the job done 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(5).
This is probably not the time nor the place for Isner to turn the tide. The world No. 9 is a disappointing 5-5 this season and he had never won a match in Acapulco before holding off Adrian Mannarino in three sets on Tuesday. Querrey faced lucky loser Guillermo Garcia-Lopez instead of Taylor Fritz and trounced the veteran Spaniard 6-3, 6-2. The 31-year-old American is a decent 5-3 for his 2019 campaign and coming off a semifinal showing in New York. Querrey should be confident enough to win the crucial points in this one and extend his countryman’s recent woes.
Pick: Querrey in 3
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WWW?
I told my husband last night Nick was playing well because he wanted the match up with Rafa. Ought to be interesting at least. I know Isner doesn’t have a great record in Acapulco or against Querrey, but I think he is one match away from 400 wins, so I’m hoping he gets it today!
Keep calm, stay confident, be strong and show your fighting spirit, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D0bvvrMWwAARrAs.jpg
Isner won! happy dance!!
Kyrgios in 3
…..
He’s back hahaha and i think he plays wawrinka next
Rafa really needs his first and second serves to be functioning well at the same time! His second serve is so attackable, I wonder why now that he improves his first serve, his second serve has gone down. Where’s that second serve of 2017 that helped him to win so many points?
Rafa had four break points when it was 4-4 in the second set. If he breaks then it’s 5-4 and he is serving for the match. But he didn’t break and then managed to get blown out in the TB.
I don’t know what is up with his serve. I don’t know why his second serve is not as good anymore.
Didn’t watch the third set. Rafa as usual these days, keeps losing TBs, more than he wins them. I don’t know, maybe he’s no longer clutch anymore, unlike during his younger days. The most painful one that he lost was that third set TB in last year’s Wimbledon SF; I’m not placing high hope on him doing well this season; he’s going to get married soon, may start to wind down his career after that.
Whatever happens, he’s already a legend of the sport and the greatest legend on clay. Let Fed and Djoko go fight it out for the ATG Goat title. Imo, Rafa is/was a contender but after what happened during his career, we should be happy he remains a legend of the game.
“Rafa as usual these days, keeps losing TBs, more than he wins them.”
Seems true for Fed as well.
“Let Fed and Djoko go fight it out for the ATG Goat title.”
I wouldn’t be giving up on Rafa in a hurry, particularly as he could win a few FO’s yet. He starts a very heavy favourite in all clay contests, except maybe against Djokovic, but Djokovic is more vulnerable to the rest of the field.
As great as the big three have been, they’ve all had to come back from serious slumps that had some fans and non-fans alike counting them out. Fed in 2013, Rafa in 2015, and Djokovic in 2017 etc.
The end can come very quickly, and it may well be the case for Federer and/or Nadal. But at the same time, there can be peaks and troughs and re-ascendencies which appear either fleeting or unending, yet prove to be the opposite. Not so long ago, Novak was in the tennis wilderness for the better part of two years. Just before that, some commentators speculated that he was likely going to chalk up slams for several years to come, and overtake Fedal. The present situation looks kind of similar, but we’ll see what happens.
How do you root for Kyrgios when he 100% faked that sickness bc he thought he would get smoked?? Then he had an opening and wasn’t sick anymore. Just bad for the game
What a match! I think it is best rafa lost this. He got match practice and wont be putting his body through the paces
KRYGIOS!!!!! the bad boy!!!! hahahahahahahaha YES. YES. YES.
Anyone who could possibly root for a player who is such a disgrace to the game, needs to have their head examined!
First it was being sick, then it was his back. But Rafa has only himself to blame for this loss. He was up 6-3 in the TB. Three match points. Kyrgios tied it up 6-6 and then Rafa served and double faulted to give him match point! That was a big time choke.
I know that some will say it doesn’t mean anything, this was a smaller tournament, blah, blah, blah. But I don’t think it gives confidence when you lose a match that way. Unfortunately, Kyrgios was a big enough jerk to act like he won a tournament or something. He behaved so badly that the crowd started booing. He is such a blight on this sport. Too bad Rafa could not have put him in his place.
Ha ha Rafa has become a big time choker these days!
Yeah, he has himself to blame for losses like this; like I said, he’s no longer clutch. If he played a bit better, he could have avoided the TBs imo, that showed his game was not there yet.
Hi Lucky, I guess finally you are convinced Rafa has some serious problems around his mental toughness. I think for a good while, he is never a guarantee to win every match. People talk about tough draws for Rafa all the time. Kyrgios, Wawrinka, Zverev because yeah we know he can lose to just anyone really. But with his australian open form he should have continued that momentum. With Rafa its not too predictable anymore. He always has the game and can have good runs in any tournament and I guess now its about winning as many big tournaments as he can and know he doesnt need to enter too many 500s.
I think with Djokovic or Federer you see clearly they dont want to play as many 250s or 500s like Rafa. I feel they are quite confident of staying at the top with the majors and masters. With Rafa he always relies on the clay court season and as much as he defended them well for more than a decade. I think its now going to be harder to do that. and he has now got to deal with a red hot Djokovic who will cause some serious problems to him. I really he hope he has a good win against Djokovic prior to the Frech
For me all I care is he gets a couple more majors or three .. Ok the three is just wishful thinking. but then you never know if he scrapes through a tough win against Djokovic, gets the French and then maybe a lil more lucky than last year at Wimbledon.. its not entirely impossible.. he just needs to believe he is the one thats got to create that momentum.
It seems that ever since 2015, Rafa’s mental toughness was/is no longer there; too many injuries and so often, had finally taken their toll on him.
From 2012 onwards, he’s almost injured every year (except 2015), it’s no wonder Rafa has lost confidence in his own body!
He’s still able to go deep in most events because mentally tough or not, he’s just so good at his game. Yes, he played well at the AO despite not playing for four months, but we have to admit that the draw at AO opened up nicely for him (imo not only for him but for Djoko too!).
I said before, Rafa was nervous at beginning of each match, but most of the times he could overcome that and so he was winning most of his matches. However, there are some opponents who could make him feel more nervous than usual, and Kyrgios being one of them. I feel those who could beat him and make life difficult for him would make him extra nervous (the biggest culprit is of course Djoko, and lately Fed too). In the past, Rafa was more confident (with his health and his own game) and so he’s more clutch at crucial moments (like serving unreturnable serves DTL at BP/SP/MP); these days he could no longer do that (evident by how he lost TBs even when in winning positions).
It’s strange how mental toughness was always thought to be his big strength.But it’s linked to physicality which is letting him down. I think mental toughness on its own is largely a myth .
I wouldn’t write Rafa off though it’s only one match
I hope Zverev wins now,I picked him originally
Not strange, mental toughness doesn’t stand alone, it’s built on something. For Rafa, it’s trained from young built on his physical ability; for Djoko it’s through winning that he built his confidence (thus mental toughness), believing in his own game and his own abilities.
There are players who simply couldn’t even have the belief, thus they’re mentally weak, and very often lose matches that they should have won.
PK FEBRUARY 28, 2019 AT 8:24 AM;
Hmm. At the age of 33 (-/+), Fed demonstrated his “unwillingness” to play ATP-250s & -500s by playing in Brisbane, Dubai, Halle, Basel in 2014. He also played 4 times in the Davis Cup (in January/February, March, September and November) in 2014. This year, he played in the Hopman Cup (an ITF event) and now he’s playing in Dubai. He will play in Halle (he has a lifetime contract with Halle) and in Basel (he has a contract).
So, he played many tournaments when he was 33 (-/+) and still plays a lot.
PK FEBRUARY 28, 2019 AT 8:24 AM;
To add to my post at AT 11:58 AM, speaking of Djoko, he has always played an ATP-500 tournament in February. He didn’t play only this year. He has played mostly in Dubai. Last year, he requested a wild card for Acapulco. This year, he was probably busy doing other things.
PK FEBRUARY 28, 2019 AT 8:24 AM;
In 2018, Fed played ATP-500 & -250 tournaments in Rotterdam, Stuttgart, Halle, Basel. Rafa played only in Bacelona. I wouldn’t say I “see clearly that Fed doesn’t want to play as many 250s or 500s like Rafa”. 🙂
OK OK Point well taken. I didnt think too much about Djokovic or Feds actual participation. But in my mind, Rafa has always overly relied on his clay clourt swing and rarely missed Barcelona even when he was racking up titles on the rest. Partly because Barcelona is what a Basel or a Halle is to Fed.
My point was that I feel Rafa is certainly under more pressure during the Clay court swing, because even now, I am sure it makes sense he is wary of meeting Djokovic in the French semis than the final ( much like his fans and that includes me) and in my mind I am sure he “needs” Barcelona this time around.
Now as a fan, this would change if he wins Indian Wells and Miami ( ok well a final in Miami 🙂 )
I dont believe Nadal when he says he is not worried about his ranking. But I am inclined to with Fed (whose schedule has mostly been lighter) and Djokovic because he clearly has the confidence to win every tournament he enters.
Rafa is much the same player he was. He has still got the same fight till the last point. I dont think he necessarily fears losing but he seems to lack the belief that he would pull off a win in the clutch moments. Agreed even in the past its also more of things going his way to back up his clutch strength. But with a player of Nadals caliber, losing 3 matchpoints is way way dissapointing and would only hit his confidence.
PK FEBRUARY 28, 2019 AT 3:11 PM,
Rafa doesn’t want to skip the Barcelona Open because it’s his ‘home tournament’. He has never lived in Barcelona, but he has been a member of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona (that hosts the tournament) since he was 11 years old.
Fed’s schedule has been ‘lighter’ only in recent years when he has skipped the clay season.
He has withdrawn from many tournaments during his career due to his health problems. His fans have liked to call his withdrawals ‘good scheduling’. 🙂
Cheer up! Stan the Man will put Curious in his place, even if Curious just tanks the match to prove again he really does not care. 🙂 It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good, and Stan can really use the points. I hope he wins the tournament. Rafa will hit the beach and/or play some golf and get ready for Indian Wells. He’ll be fine with it.
The minute I saw the draw I said: Rafa is going to lose to Kyrgios. Rafa shouldn’t have played this tournament at all! Yes he lacks match practice but so does Novak and he opted to rest until IW!
I hate when Rafa loses to idiot who is only interested in scoring a sensational win to be talked about for a while and will probably retire in his next match!
Not good prospects for Rafa this season…hopefully he performs best on clay and that should be sufficient…
I agree too that Rafa shouldn’t be playing at Acapulco; just like he shouldn’t be playing at Beijing in 2017 after the Laver Cup. Since he’s always injury prone, why not take a longer rest and works on his game?
I’m still pissed with him at what happened in 2017 after Laver Cup. Both Fed and Djoko were wiser and took two weeks off after playing the Laver Cup (Djoko in 2018). Our Rafa thought that one week rest was enough for his often injured body and we knew what happened after that!
Imo, some of his injuries could be avoided (like not playing at Rotterdam in 2009 after his grueling AO); and I felt and still feel strongly that his 2009 could be his best year in his career and might cement his place as the best tennis player in the Open Era. Without injury, who knows, he might win his calendar slam that year beating Fed at FO and Wimbledon (he had Fed’s number) and Delpo at the USO (given that Delpo was not yet that fit and strong physically and a healthy Rafa could run him rugged all match long).
Had Rafa not being injured in 2017, imo he would have a great chance of winning the Paris Masters and the WTF (given that Fed wasn’t playing great and lost to Goffin); more pissed off was that he wasn’t clutch and lost the AO final when he was leading in the fifth set! And to add salt to the wound, he had a good chance to win Wimbledon last year and defended his YE no.1 ranking, had he being more clutch and won the third set TB in the SF!!
Well, at least I’ve now poured out all my ‘pissed off’ feelings about Rafa and his often misguided decision making in his career! I’ve no right to say what he should or shouldn’t do really, it’s his career after all, not mine! It’s just that I find that it’s a ‘pity’ that Rafa being such a great piece of ‘material’, was often mishandled and not being able to realise his full potential because of some not so intelligent guidance and decision making.
If Rafa comes with a great serve from the very beginning, it’s not difficult to imagine how much more he could achieve in his career, given that a great serve would help reduce his chances of injuries (by cutting down the grinding in his game). A great serve is achievable imo, as Rafa has shown us during 2010 and now, that he too could serve well to win points efficiently, what more when and if he was trained from young to do so.
I agree with you guys both!
It came to the point where I have to ask what in this world his team’s doing,specially Dr. Cotorro! It amazes me how Rafa’s still commited to play a meaningless 500’s,after all the injuries he’s having year after year! And apparently Rafa injured his hand last week during practice,so,why not withdraw from Acapulco?
At this stage of his career,a serious injury can be the end of the road for him,and it would be a shame if it come due to bad scheduling.
i think he needs Dr. Fuentes mate, that’s the issue.
he never lost when 100%.
I have no idea what is going on with Rafa. This is something he did not need. Losing to a piece of garbage like Kyrgios, who has done nothing in this sport and is a complete embarrassment and a joke, is not s pleasant thing to see.
Break points not converted. Chances wasted. Three match points. Double faulting to give Kyrgios match point.
I don’t know what to expect from Rafa at this time. Maybe all the injuries have left their psychological scars. But it concerns me when people don’t want him to play. He was off for months before the AO! What is he supposed to do – sit on the sidelines?
I don’t know what the answer is with his scheduling.
Simple answer.. He needs to get into Indian Wells and win it. 🙂 and if he follows up with a good run in Miami, would guarantee near domination on clay and good run until the US open and as always the rest of the year is a consistent question mark.
No, it’s not simple. Coming off an ugly loss at Acapulco early in the tournament, is not going to give Rafa the match play he needs or confidence.
The competition will be even tougher at I/W. Rafa could have a tough draw. He has been off since the AO and I don’t think it was a bad idea to play in Acapulco.
Sitting around is not going to help Rafa get match ready. I assume he will try to brush off this loss, but he did not get what he needed out of this tournament.
Rafa does not seem to have the mental toughness that he used to have. I am not sure what to expect from I/W. Rafa will have to contend with a full field, including Novak and Fed. It’s only going to get tougher.
PK FEBRUARY 28, 2019 AT 3:58 PM
People who call themselves Rafa fans should listen to (or read) what the man himself says. 🙂
He said about his schedule at his press conference on Jan.27, 2019:
RAFAEL NADAL: “I need matches, but I can’t go crazy to play matches. I have my age. I have my calendar. I have my priorities. My priority now is come back home, have some rest. …
Then my next step is Acapulco. That’s my goal. Is a tournament that I like to play. I had some success there. I am excited to come back to Acapulco. I have Acapulco, I have Indian Wells, and that’s my calendar today. The only thing I am sure I am not going to play something before these two events. That’s my calendar today. Then we see. Depend how things go, I keep going or I take a rest to play on clay.”
Simple then, skips everything and concentrates on clay. It seems Rafa is so scared of getting injured again, so the best thing to do is to concentrate on clay and skips those HC events before the clay season.
He doesn’t have any ranking point to defend, and if he doesn’t mind not gaining any point before the clay season starts, then skips all the HC events. Want match play? Play the clay court golden swing to gain some match practices.
I don’t understand his mentality, on the one hand he’s afraid to get injured, on the other he still wants to play on the HCs, when clay events are available. He played at Rio and BA for a few years, don’t understand why he’s not doing that now, when that’s a good way for him to have matches under his belt and also helps his confidence when winning. Why lost it mentally playing a jerk like Kyrgios? It won’t help his confidence losing from a winning position.
Luckystar FEBRUARY 28, 2019 AT 5:36 PM,
Rafa has explained that he doesn’t want to play in South-America because of high humidity.
He played clay tournaments there because of his troubling knees.
Acapulco is also with humid conditions! Don’t understand his logic. He might as well play at Dubai!
Going forward, maybe Rafa should just play AO and then skips everything until the clay season. He can play all five events on clay then, maybe will lose at MC and Barcelona as he prepares himself on clay, and then picks up steam on the clay courts to win the Masters and the slam. I mean this is just one of the options.
Anyway, all these are just our opinions, Rafa and his team may or will have their own plans. What we discussed here won’t change anything.
Luckystar FEBRUARY 28, 2019 AT 6:53 PM,
Acapulco’s weather is obviously more bearable for him.
TW, AUGUST 7, 2017: ¤¤ At this point, Nadal won’t play in the South-American clay-court swing, unlike he did from 2014 to 2016 when he always played in Rio de Janeiro. “I don’t have any knee injury anymore, so I am not forced to play on clay,” Nadal had said a few months ago. “Also, the heat is extreme in South America.” It was Alejandro Burillo, Pegaso Group CEO who announced the news. ¤¤
Luckystar FEBRUARY 28, 2019 AT 6:53 PM,
Acapulco’s weather is obviously more bearable for Rafa.
TW, AUGUST 7, 2017: ¤¤ At this point, Nadal won’t play in the South-American clay-court swing, unlike he did from 2014 to 2016 when he always played in Rio de Janeiro. “I don’t have any knee injury anymore, so I am not forced to play on clay,” Nadal had said a few months ago. “Also, the heat is extreme in South America.” ¤¤
Rafa will skip IW when he retires. He loves it there. He likes playing Acapulco too, gets a week in at one of his resorts and enjoys the beach. Plus this year he had his tennis center to open.
Underplaying is as likely to be a source of injuries as overplaying. It’s really common for players to get injured when trying to come back from a different injury. It’s happened to Rafa – and others – lots of times.
?
Ramara FEBRUARY 28, 2019 AT 9:11 PM,
Speaking of the two beach resorts Rafa partially owns and his new tennis centre in Mexico, they are located in Mexico’s Caribbean region. The flight distance from Mexico’s Caribbean coast to Acapulco is about 1500 km/ 930 miles.
But yes, he has liked to rest at these resorts (& to practice on the resorts’courts), including this year. 🙂
OK Augusta. Now my loyalty as a Nadal fan is being questioned :). So I chose to respond directly to your post, while also staying in context with the rest of the discussion on here.
I was not the one thats questioning him playing in Acapulco. Its not a cramped schedule playing a month after the Australian. On on the one occasion he played in Rio and I think Acapulco on Clay, he needed matches and also the points (I am sure in his own opinion ) and took the smart approach that he would have his best chances to win and he did and I guess it was 2013 he went on to win Indian wells, so thats a pretty damn good run. didnt work too well in 2015 and ended up with a bad season.
My point is, he played Acapulco I am sure believing he could win and he is someone I believe is very connected to the points and races. He has talked about defending and critical points gain and the like. Now with his defeat, my problem is it does not augur well for his confidence and he feels pressured. He is not bringing that belief in clutch moments and he is not in his prime, so he has to learn to both schedule and peak at right times. I wouldnt be saying unless I thought he was really rattled with Kyrgios both game wise and his behaviour and unfortunately ended up losing as well.
I have a 100% belief Nadal is capable of winning a tournament he enters, maybe not as dominantly as Djokovic but certainly clutch enough to win the tough ones. I am just praying and hoping he brings that belief to himself. He will need it all the more to play Djokovic.
It is never comfortable to lose, but all I am hoping is for him to bring his best in the Clay season and most importantly the French.. I dont see anyone else other than Djokovic that wins it in case Nadal slips and thats not good in the long term for Nadal and he will begin to believe even lesser and thats my problem.. Its all about how the season unfolds for him before the french and I am hoping for the best.
I don’t think we need to worry too much when he’s playing on clay. He’s a beast on clay; he just has to make sure he doesn’t get injured.
Rafa did have his chances to best Kyrgios, so he’s not playing badly even though not playing at his best. He’s disappointed about this loss, imo not so much that he lost but rather the way he lost after having 3 MPs, was 6-3 up in the third set TB but DF and lost five straight points to lose the match; that to him and to us was unacceptable!
If Rafa wants to win big titles outside of clay, he has to overcome this unpleasant trend of losing it in clutch moments – against Delpo in TB at Wimbledon QF; losing third set TB to Djoko in the SF; losing in final set TB against Shapo at Montreal; and now losing final set TB to Kyrgios when having MPs!
I don’t know how he’s going to overcome that problem, but maybe winning on clay and gaining momentum may help?? Let’s see how he does at IW first.
PK MARCH 1, 2019 AT 5:59 AM,
I don’t question your loyalty as a Rafa fan. I just said that people who call themselves his fans, should read & listen to his interviews.
I repeat that Rafa played in the South-American clay-court swing from 2013 to 2016 because of his troubling knees. During his 7-month layoff from July 2012 to February 2013 (due to Hoffa’s disease in his left knee), he got his pain under control, but he still had some pain during the whole year 2013. (At the end of the year, he underwent stem cell treatment on his left knee.)
He was limping after the 2013 Indian Wells final and his doctor advised him to skip Miami.
In the photos taken a week after the 2013 USO (after the Davis Cup play-off round in Madrid), you can see how Rafa avoids bending his left knee:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DCw4oz0W0AAYArC.jpg
In 2015, Rafa lacked confidence due to injuries he suffered in 2014.
Wow! I have tracked and read his interviews and followed his injuries and career but certainly not to the extent of identifying the stretched knee on the picture.
Did he just win the US Open with that Knee ? Imagine that. Thats awesome! Against Djokovic!.
I will be honest. I stopped watching Nadals matches because everytime I watch it jinxes him and most times ends up losing.Also watching his game has my BP get to the 140s 🙂 I give him an hour a set and pray and hope he wins. I did all tournament at the Aussie and was glad how dominant he was in every round. I really hoped and believed he would have pulled it off in the final and was so looking forward to his 18th. and it was a total shocker. And I ended up googling his score a lil too early against Kygrios and we know how that turned out.
To Lucky’s point he needs momentum but I feel the momentum has to happen at IW /Miami prior to Clay. I dont expect him to win all three masters (Clay). A win against Djokovic would be totally in his favour even if he should lose another but I would be scared if he goes into the French without a winning record prior.
and oh I know you werent taking a dig at me. I got what you meant.
PK MARCH 1, 2019 AT 1:10 PM,
Rafa talked about his left knee at the 2013 Shanhgai Masters played after the USO.
An excerpt from Rafa’s interview on October 8, 2013:
RAFAEL NADAL: “…The feeling, I say it, since I came back, the feeling on the knee is not 100% perfect. But the feeling on the knee is very good for me because even if I have pain a lot of days, the pain is not limiting my movements. That’s the most important thing. I am playing with no limitations. I am free when I am playing.
Even if I have pain, I am able to control that pain, something in the past I was not able to control that pain, so I couldn’t play.
But the feeling is I would like to improve a little bit more. But for the moment, I am happy because I am able to play. Since I came back after the injury, I was able to play all the tournaments I want and with a very good feelings.”
http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=93301
So, it’s a bad idea playing at Acapulco, should start playing at Europe in 250 event to ease back into competition mode if he wants matches; he could play another event should he lose early in one. Now, he can only continue with his training after playing two matches.
It’s hard watching Rafa these days, I find it no longer enjoyable watching Rafa – playing like this, losing from winning positions. I’m no longer too disappointed after he lost, for he losing when he faced tough opponents seems to be the norm these days, even when he has/had chances to win.
Luckystar FEBRUARY 28, 2019 AT 5:08 PM;
When did Rafa say that it’s a bad idea playing at Acapulco? He likes to play there.
I said it, not Rafa saying it!
Actually, playing Acapulco and IW should be easier than playing IW/Miami and give him plenty of time between the American hard court swing and Monte Carlo. It’s a very reasonable schedule and includes two tournaments he really enjoys. He was unfortunate this year due to his hand injury which prevented him from training for the week before Acapulco, plus a really bad draw for him. Them’s the breaks. The good news is he’s healthy for now at least.
Watching Rafa (and the other players) at Acapulco, it looks like it’s very humid there; players are sweating like crazy. I don’t think it’s pleasant playing there and it’s physically draining.
I’m thinking, if Rafa wants some matches on the HCs, maybe he can play those 250 events in Europe? He can then ease himself back into competition after the AO. I’m not sure playing only two matches at Acapulco is considered good enough for match practice purposes.
In any other year, Rafa’s existing arrangement may be enough but not when he’s so short of matches coming into 2019.
luckystar FEBRUARY 28, 2019 AT 4:05 PM,
All the ATP-250 tournaments held in Europe in February are indoor events.
i think he should start playing the challenger tour so he can get his confidence back.
Kygrios has followed up with a 3 set victory over Stan, a very high quality match that might have featured the hardest forehand I’ve ever seen (at 4-3 in the 2nd set). Gotta hand it to Nick, beating two tough players in 24 hours, both in 3 sets. He may collapse in his next match, of course, but if he keeps playing like this he should take the title.
Anybody watch Nadal Wawrinka tiebreak tens. Nadal leads for a good part of the breaker and ends up doublefaulting on the penultimate point and loses. Second time in a row after doublefault with Kyrgios.. Now thats a disturbing pattern..:(
He is supposed be winning such tournaments even if exhibitions. Hopefully he will go a good distance in the main tourney.