A blockbuster quarterfinal between Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic is on tap for Tuesday at the Australian Open. A more surprising one pits Grigor Dimitrov against Kyle Edmund. Ricky Dimon of The Grandstand and Joey Hanf of Cliff Drysdale Tennis preview the two matchups and make their picks.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (6) Marin Cilic
Ricky: Cilic vs. Pablo Carreno Busta on Sunday was better than anyone could have expected. PCB threw everything he had at Cilic and the Croat came up with the necessary answers. On a relatively fast surface, he is once again looking like a slam title contender (just as he did at the 2014 U.S. Open and at Wimbledon in 2017). In my Wimbledon pre-tournament picks, I had Gilles Muller beating Nadal in the fourth round. When the time came, I changed it because of how good Nadal looked through three rounds. I’m not getting swindled into the same mistake again. The world No. 1 is playing well and has dropped only one set through four matches in Melbourne, but Cilic is playing too big for him right now on a hard court. After all, even Diego Schwartzman bullied Nadal around for a brief time on Sunday. Cilic in 4: 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(6).
Joey: The first real test for Nadal in this tournament will come on Tuesday, with Cilic the first player he has faced who has actual weapons that can hurt him. But Cilic, as is often the case, has not looked particularly reliable this fortnight. He has given up leads and struggled to close out matches that realistically should have been routine. And whenever you play Nadal, you have to be willing to go for it on the big points. I think Cilic will keep sets close because of Nadal’s insane return position but ultimately come up short when it matters most. The Spaniard’s serve has looked very good thus far, and the forehand doesn’t seem to be having any problems. Nadal would be smart to use a fair bit of slice and force the Croatian to generate his own pace. This lopsided head-to-head will only grow further apart. Nadal 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-2.
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(3) Grigor Dimitrov vs. Kyle Edmund
Ricky: Dimitrov was awesome against Nick Kyrgios, four days after playing down to his competition in a five-set escape against Mackenzie McDonald. Once again heavily favored against an unseeded opponent, the world No. 3 will learn from his McDonald mistake and make sure to treat this match with the respect it deserves. After upsetting Kevin Anderson in the first round, Edmund has done what he failed to do at last year’s U.S. Open: capitalize on a favorable draw. But it hasn’t been easy. He needed five sets to outlast Nikoloz Basilashvili and took a medical timeout for a right shoulder issue during a four-set win over Andreas Seppi on Sunday. This is where the Brit’s Australian summer finally comes to an end. Dimitrov in 4: 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
Joey: I’m surprised by this quarterfinal; really thought we were getting another Kyrgios-Seppi clash. Edmund’s journey has been wild; he was literally running on fumes against Basilashivili. He began going for virtually every ball in that match, and he executed the same strategy against Seppi. Unfortunately for him, Dimitrov is one of the most athletic defenders in the world. Dimitrov had to play an extremely high level to beat Kyrgios, and I think that momentum should carry him through this one. While he wasn’t playing great early in the tournament, his confidence is growing. I am interested to see when this match is scheduled; Dimitrov heavily prefers night conditions where the ball doesn’t fly as much. Edmund has been playing the best tennis of his career, but it seems pretty clear his legs not quite there anymore. The Bulgarian will expose that. Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
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Why is Rafa not hitting the angles but instead hitting to the middle of the courts?
He is having a hard time containing Cilic’s power.
Rafa better not lose this match, if he does I am going to deal with all Rafans on this site.
😠!
Again not exactly, Rafa is a bit afraid imo, thats why hes not taking risk and prefers to hit to the middle of the court instead of painting the lines.
Lucky, Rafa did the same thing when he played Diego Schwartzman.
He needs 2 player’s better.
play
Cilic is playing well. He might win this match also. His serve and returns are working well. Nadal needs to increase his power and aggression quickly that is when he starts draining winners from everywhere.
Nice service game from Cilic. Here we go with the tiebreak.
If you were betting live, which play will you pick?
Rafa cant change his pattern of play, he keeps hitting to Cilic’s BH which is his stronger wing. Come on Rafa, wins this set.
I’m not sure; his FH is looking pretty good too!
Not really, his FH tends to crack errors, like hitting into the net.
Wow. Easy miss for Cilic and that’s all it takes. I just hope Marin keeps it up and doesn’t fold.
Rafa takes the TB,what a nervy ending for this set,my heart’s about to explode!
Vamos Rafa!
😂😂😂.
Not at all convincing but somehow snags the set. Still dont think he can win the match playing like this. He seems strangely subdued today. As if he does not want to be there
Rafa takes the TB. Leads by 2 sets to 1.
Well done Rafa, one more set.
Rafa will lose his semi or finals, he can’t win the title playing like this.
Did Rafa get a warning in tie-break ? Did he lose his first serve at 4-3. BTW he should get aggressive now.
Yes!! Rafa finally wins the third set in a TB, what a dogfight!
Cilic is playing well the second and third sets, Rafa not so but still manages to win narrowly the third set. Now Rafa, time to step it up no matter what, please win this asap and conserve energy.
Hope the pressure gets to Cilic.
Vamos Rafa!
How is Cilic able to penetrate the court but not Rafa. Rafa mostly winning points on ufes by Cilic. If Cilic tightens up a little, Rafa stands no chance
Rafa’s backhand slice is the only shot he hasn’t been able to improve much over the years. It evolved initially but then no significant progress. Cilic is the sliced backhands today.
Rafa had very good BH slices during 2010 but it had regressed after that. He was able to keep it low, just barely over the net back then.
Rafa’s timing is off today, being mistiming his shots and his volleys.
Rafa playing from too far back, not getting depth on his shots.
4-1 Fourth set adv Cilic. If Rafa loses this set, I think hes going to lose this match. He normally was able to up his level at this stage but no so now.
MTO, not looking good.
Cilic deserves to be leading this set,he’s the one going for his shots,Rafa’s being very defensive and always waiting for Cilic errors,instead of being agressive. Luckily,Rafa took the 3rd set,otherwise the match could be finished by now.
I knew something is bothering him. He has just been lacking explosiveness in his legs. It was fine early in the match but has worsened. He normally struggles to generate good depth in these cases.
Rafa’s MTO:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUOQJN6X0AAS6u0.jpg
Rafa is injured. Hope the pill the doctor gave him will work in the 5th set.
Vamos Rafa!
Don’t think it is an injury. he just lacks fitness as he was not able to train much prior to the AO.