Rafael Nadal is back on the court against Yoshihito Nishioka as Spain looks to stay perfect at the ATP Cup on Wednesday. In the Austria vs. Poland tie, Dominic Thiem has an intriguing clash with Hubert Hurkacz on his hands.
Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN)
Nadal has been taking no prisoners through two matches at the ATP Cup this week. Nikoloz Basilashvili and Pablo Cuevas came and went in swift fashion, combining to win just 11 games. The top-ranked Spaniard was more impressive against Basilashvili on Monday, so he will be especially confident heading into Wednesday’s contest.
This marks the second-ever meeting between Nadal and Nishioka, with the former taking their first one 7-6(2), 6-3 three years ago in Acapulco. Nishioka has been awesome this week, humiliating Cuevas 6-0, 6-1 and beating Basilashvili 6-2, 6-3. Of course, Nadal represents a massive step up in competition and the world No. 72 won’t dictate play like he did against Cuevas and won’t benefit from all kinds of unforced errors like he did from Basilashvili.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
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Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs. Hubert Hurkacz (POL)
Thiem and Hurkacz will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Wednesday. Their only previous encounter came at last year’s Miami Masters, where Hurkacz pulled off a 6-4, 6-4 upset. Theim, however, was making a quick turnaround following an improbable run to the biggest title of his career at the Indian Wells Masters. There will be no such fatigue this time around, and the fourth-ranked Austrian should feel good about his game after bouncing back from a three-set loss to Borna Coric by beating Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 7-6(3).
Although Poland is 0-2, Hurkacz has been one of the best players at this tournament so far. The world No. 37 defeated Diego Schwartzman 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 before destroying Coric 6-2, 6-2. This should be one of the best ATP Cup matches at any stage of the event, with a slight edge going to Thiem based on his Monday rebound and the fact that Austria is still in contention to advance.
Pick: Thiem in 3
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WWW?
Keep your mind focused, remain confident and be strong, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ENujPvMXYAAnzX7?format=png
Rafa in 2;, but Hurkules in a tough 3.
Rafa having a tough time with Nishioka. Making too many UE’s. Nishioka broke and then Rafa got it back but Nishioka broke again.
I think that picked Rafa to lose 8-10 games. I was just being cautious but Nishioka has already won 5 games. If’s hard to watch with the time difference. I just happened to keep checking the tennis channel and saw Rafa come on the court at around 11:00 pm my time. I managed to see some of the matches during the day.
Either Rafa breaks him or it’s.a TB to decide the first set.
I picked Rafa to lose 8-10 games also. Looking at previous scores I could see that Nishioka has been playing well. His scores against Pella and Bashi were a bit better than Rafa’s so I thought Rafa was in for a fairly tough match.
Rafa and PCB won the doubles too, although they had to go to a 10 point deciding TB so Spain is through to Sydney with a perfect score. 🙂
Rafa said the other day that Perth is a slow court and he prefers fast hard courts so I guess the conditions didn’t really suit him that well.
TB I think. Rafa is slow at adapting to different conditions I feel. He used to play night matches so far and this is his first day match and he produces performance like this!
Nishioka just moonballs all the way and he causes the original moon baller so much problems! I think it’s because Rafa no longer moon balls that much but has switched to a more offensive game. In a way Nishioka is giving Rafa a taste of his own medicine, at least his old medicine!
It’s a TB. Rafa up 2-0.
Wrong strategy by Rafa, shouldn’t stay at baseline to return Nishioka’s moon balls; should move forward and cut short the rally.
Rafa is having to battle in the TB. 5-4
Set point Rafa 6-4
Rafa gets the first set, but it wasn’t easy.
Seriously, Spain will have to move to Sydney to play the QF, I think Rafa will have problem adapting to the conditions there on his first match.
Tough match for Rafa! Nishioka can run for sure, nice winners from both sides…great win for Rafa!
Vamos Champ!
Rafa playing in doubles too, maybe Spain doesn’t want Japan to qualify as best runner up, so that they don’t have to play against Japan again in the QF!
Maybe Rafa wants some practices in doubles just in case he has to play a crucial doubles match. Marc Lopez is there, wonder why he’s not playing doubles with PCB or Rafa.
Don’t think Marc is there as a player, but as a practice partner? He hasn’t played on the tour at all in a long time. Glad to see him there anyway!
Luckystar AT 2:41 AM,
Ramara AT 7:20 AM,
Marc Lopez is there as Feliciano Lopez’s coach:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ENCNZ0wXYAAZAEJ?format=jpg
https://www.atptour.com/en/players/feliciano-lopez/l397/overview
🙂
Ah, nice! Thanks.
When is Federer coming out of hibernation? Nadal and Djokovic are getting laser-sharp for the AO and Roger is on an extended vacation. I hope he has a plan. … http://138mph.com/federer-reclines-while-nadal-and-djokovic-shine-at-the-atp-cup/
Spain will play Belgium in the ATP Cup quarter-finals in Sydney on Friday:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1214912861312626690
H’mm, Serbia may have their work cut out for them v Canada.
Looks like Rafa may play against Kyrgios should both Spain and Australia get to the SF. Kyrgios will be pumped up once he knows he’s going to play against Rafa.
I think both Spain and Australia have very high chances of reaching the SF.
If I understand the rules correctly NK would play Rafa only if they sit DeMinaur down as he’s the higher ranked player. That would mean Millman v RBA and my money would be on RBA so bring NK on! I kinda think Rafa will be pumped to play NK too.
No, Rafa would play against de Minaur beacause the latter is ranked higher than Kyrgios.
Alex de Minaur is ATP #16,
Nick Kyrgios is ATP #29.
The ATP Cup rules say:
“3 d) For each Tie, the highest-positioned (hereafter, number one) singles player named from each team shall compete against each other and the second positioned (hereafter, number two) singles player named from each team shall compete against each other. The order of positions in each team shall be based upon the most recent ATP Ranking as of the Monday prior to the start of the competition. ”
https://www.tennis.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/atp-cup-rules-1.pdf
AT 10:44 AM, I replied to Luckystar.
Not necessary, they can let De Minaur sit out, so Kyrgios becomes the higher ranked player and Millman the second ranked player. They did that during their matches against Greece when Kyrgios the higher ranked player played against Tsitsipas.
I think it depends on how Lleyton Hewitt and his team work out the strategy – it’s either of Kyrgios/Millman vs RBA and De Minaur/Kyrgios vs Rafa, so they’ll see which match ups give them the best chances of winning.
Luckystar AT 12:32 PM,
The captain can’t let De Minaur sit out if he is not injured. Illness or injury must be documented by the official doctor of the ATP Cup.
The only strategy Hewitt and his team can work out is: faking an injury.
The ATP Cup rules say:
¤¤ G 6) Player Designations
a) Each team Captain shall submit to the ATP Supervisor, in writing, the name of the two (2) singles players and the doubles team selected to compete in the Tie. The singles players shall be the top two (2) ranked players (including protected ranking) as of the date of the second entry deadline, unless there is a medically supported substitution, or otherwise approved by the Supervisor.
b) The two (2) singles players, named from each country for the Tie, shall be designated as player 1 and player 2, based upon the most recent ATP Ranking (including Protected Ranking) as of the Monday prior to the start of the competition. Change may be allowed for medical conditions as confirmed by the event doctor or for unforeseen circumstances approved by the ATP Supervisor.
…
g) The team Captain may not replace a player except in the case of illness, injury or unforeseen circumstances approved by the ATP Supervisor. Illness or injury must be documented by the official doctor of the ATP Cup. ¤¤
Them’s the rules but the Demon DID sit out v Greece. Was he really sick or injured? A case of the blahs? Allergy to Tsitsipas?
Ramara AT 3:48 PM,
My conclusion: Australian doctors help their team to cheat.
Spain’s post-RR3 press conference:
https://youtu.be/ozD38lFdAJc
At the press conference, Rafa said the same thing what he said earlier in his on-court interview:
“It’s the first day I was playing under such heavy conditions, two previous days I had played in the night. The feeling on court was completely different.”
“I played against an opponent who started the season on fire, winning two matches against two great players with very comfortable results. Today was a very, very tough one.”
Vamos Rafa!
I appreciate hearing Rafa’s comments about his match. That explains why it was a tough match. They said on the tennis channel that it was blistering heat out there. Having played at night previously, the incredibly hit conditions made it harder for Rafa. Good for him to get the win in straight sets.
augusta,
Thanks for the info about the rules. I am trying to follow this tournament, but find it a bit confusing. Your explanation of the rules is very helpful.
😀
Nativenewyorker AT 8:23 PM,
🙂