Australian Open second-round previews and picks: Nadal vs. Smyczek, Federer vs. Bolelli

January 20, 2015 Ricky Dimon Match previews 147

Rafa 1Rafael Nadal will get the night session this time around as he goes up against Tim Smyczek on Wednesday at the Australian Open. Roger Federer is also a heavy favorite in his second-round match, with Simone Bolelli assuming the challenger role.

Tim Smyczek vs. (3) Rafael Nadal

Nadal will need bigger wins over better opponents before his return to 100 percent is confirmed (or denied), but his first-round Australian Open performance against Mikhail Youzhny was extremely encouraging. The third-ranked Spaniard, who lost his opening match of the year to Michael Berrer in Doha, destroyed Youzhny 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 50 minutes while striking 37 winners compared to only 15 unforced errors.

Up next for Nadal is a night-session date inside Rod Laver Arena with Smyczek, whom the 2009 Melbourne champion has never faced. This is already a solid result for Smyczek, who is into the Aussie Open second round for just the second time in his career and will obviously get a great experience playing in this kind of atmosphere. The 112th-ranked American earned it by qualifying for the main draw then taking care of Luke Saville 7-6(2), 7-5, 6-4. Not unlike Youzhny, Smyczek does not have the firepower necessary to give Nadal a ton of trouble and the favorite will be able to hit aggressive service returns like he did in round one.

Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games

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Simone Bolelli vs. (2) Roger Federer

Federer and Bolelli will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers when they meet again on Wednesday afternoon. All three of their previous encounters have gone Federer’s way and the 17-time Grand Slam champion is 8-0 in total sets against Bolelli. They most recently faced each other last season in the Davis Cup semifinals, with the underdog Italian accounting himself more impressively than he ever had against Federer. Still, the Swiss–with home-court advantage–won 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4.

Head-to-head:
Bolfed
Seeking his fifth Australian Open title, Federer’s fortnight got off to clean start on Monday in the form of a 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Yen-Hsun Lu. The 33-year-old remains undefeated for the season, having opened with a title in Brisbane. Bolelli is also off to a stellar start on the heels of a second-round performance in Doha and a quarterfinal showing in Sydney. The 48th-ranked Italian hammered Juan Monaco 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to maintain his fine form Down Under. Bolelli can trade one-handed backhands all day with Federer, but eventually the rest of the underdog’s game will break down.

Pick: Federer in 3 losing 11-14 games

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147 Comments on Australian Open second-round previews and picks: Nadal vs. Smyczek, Federer vs. Bolelli

  3. I like Ricky’s prediction. I will go along with Rafa winning this in three losing 8-10 games. Fed should also get the win in three sets either losing 8-10 or 11-14 games.

    Yes, it’s one match at a time.

    Good luck, Rafa!

    Reply

  5. Hah! I noticed that! Yes, wishful thinking indeed! The match will be on at 3:00 am my time and I don’t think I will be up at that hour. But sometimes I wake up in the early morning hours, so I may catch some of it.

    Reply

  9. I am watching the Fed match and can’t believe that he lost the first set. What’s up? I never thought he would take a set off Fed.

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  22. I woke up to see that Rafa lost the second set to this guy! What’s going on here? I don’t know if I can stay awake to watch it because it’s 5:00 am. I think that I recorded it.

    Is there something wrong with Rafa?

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  36. This is soooo disappointing. But you have to hand it to Smy – he’s playing the match of his life and gaining confidence by the minute. Still hoping for a miracle……………………

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  37. Rafa has no intensity…his serve does not exist…he is not running…whatever is wrong with him he looks like he will drop dead on the court…I

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      • ahahaha…you just made me laugh…thanks…you are right…here I am suffering tremendously about Rafa being kicked out by nobody again whereas he is probably thinking-let’s get this over with…I am not feeling well and ready to beat this “American beast” on the other side of the court…I have a football match to attend in Spain that seems much more fun at this stage…

        Reply

  51. This match is a little too slow. Even the audience looks bored. Looks like the ones talking about AO being faster this year were on an aspirational trip.

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    • No not wrist he said cramps in post match interview

      He said he felt cramps all around body n dizziness

      Where did u read wrist?

      He can’t be smacking jaw dropping winners if his wrist was injured but many of his errors were pedestrian

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      • I just heard the interview…I was only reacting to what I saw after Rafa celebrated the win… he seemed as though his left wrist was hurting him…but no…obviously he was not ready to play at high intensity and at humid conditions so he got dehydrated and had crumps in his legs…
        It’s difficult to be Rafa fun these days…or should I say these years…

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  60. Rafa said in the courtside interview that since he is playing competitive tennis after a lon time, he is not as fit as he wants to be. The humid conditions resulted in hum having cramps all over the body just one hour into the match.

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  61. Rafael Nadal Fans, January 21, 2015:
    ¤¤ Rafael Nadal: “Today the conditions were a little humid for me. I tried to deal with my condition and the support of a fantastic crowd really helped. I don’t know what was going on. In the second set I started having cramps around my body, but all these processes are normal after a long time off the tour and hopefully I will be back to my normal level soon.” (via BBC) ¤¤
    http://rafaelnadalfans.com/2015/01/21/rafael-nadal-beats-tim-smyczek-and-advances-to-third-round-at-australian-open/

    Reply

  62. at least it’s not another injury…although the notion that Rafa is not fit and prepared to play these type of matches gives me no comfort…

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  63. this kind of sums it up…

    “Rafa was down and out, yet proved he has the courage to make a run for the opening Grand Slam title of the year. His physical struggles are likely to continue throughout the process and could be further exposed against a more experienced opponent.

    They won’t come much tougher than Smyczek, though, who deserves recognition for putting up the game of his life. Nadal only added to concerns surrounding his fitness with the win, but nobody can question the heart of a player who can use his victory as motivation along the path to finding his best form”

    Vamos Rafa!

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  64. and BTW I am behind the schedule with the reports that I have to turn in mostly because of Rafa…if I lose my job I will hold Rafa responsible… 🙂

    Vamos Rafa no matter what!!! 🙂

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  67. and Eurosport will now be rerunning this match the whole day and night so I will be able to watch it again and this time around I may actually see the match as I was closing my eyes every time Rafa served on break points and missed some beautiful shots on both sides…

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    • “…tried to be with my best acktitude…” never gets old. Looks like I missed an amazing match. This was what I expected his match against Youzny would be.

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  71. We knew before this week that this was going to be hardest AO for Rafa to win, given how little match play he’s had, after playing little since his wrist injury … compared to any previous year. He still has an outside chance. Outside.

    We can still hope for the elusive second AO one of these few coming years, no?

    More importantly: no injury. Let this be a calendar year with no (major) injuries for Rafa, for a change.

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  72. I just woke up and had to find out what happened. I saw the scoreline and couldn’t believe my eyes! A five setter with Rafa down two sets to one! Just reading the comments here was something else!

    It’s confusing because people were talking about an injury, but now it seems that Rafa wasn’t feeling well because of the humid hot conditions. Just when I thought it would be routine, this is what happens. I guess Rafa really isn’t ready at this point.

    My concern is how will he recover from this. It was just the thing we didn’t want to see him face early on – a long match.

    I don’t know if my dvr recorded it all. I will try to watch it today.

    Unbelievable!

    Reply

    • Well it may just add a lot to his confidence too let’s look at the brighter side. He got out of jail came back from 2 sets to 1 down and played a hard flat hitter which he will face in the likes of berdych downstream. It also may have got a lot of rhythm in his shots as I felt some of his winners in 4th and 5th set were jawdropping and gutsy

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      • The issue is not the 5 setter, that maybe good for Rafa but issue is Rafa starting cramping n feeling like throwing up just 40 minutes into the match . is there an underlying illness that contributing to such an early tiring out?

        And what’s this stuff about a bee stinging fed?

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  75. Smyczek’s interview:

    Q. If someone at the final of the challenger in Napa said, Don’t worry, in a few months you’ll be the attention of world media in a fabulous Australian Open match against one of the great players of our era, what would you say?

    TIM SMYCZEK: I probably wasn’t really thinking about that at the time. The challengers are great for honing your game and really getting some work done. That’s the way I treat them. So, you know, it’s kind of just like an added bonus coming here and playing well. That was really special tonight. It was pretty clear Rafa didn’t have his best stuff. But it just shows the kind of player, the kind of champion he is because, you know, he was sick and not playing well. That was his C or D game. He found a way to win. So hats off to him. That’s why he’s one of the best.

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  76. The worry is not the 5 setter that may actually bode well for him .The concern is how did he start cramping just 40 minutes into the match. Is there an underlying illness that is contributing ?

    And what is this stuff about a bee stinging Fed?

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  77. . After the third set, what was happening in your mind and body? Did you feel at this moment that you can still turn this around?

    RAFAEL NADAL: No, no. I felt very tired. I felt, I don’t know. At the end of the first set, I start to feel my body very bad, very tired. I don’t know. I was worrying crazy. Then when I was serving for the third, almost throw up. So was terrible feeling, no? I suffered too much on court for three hours and a half. I was suffering a lot. Too much. You know, was not funny today the way that the match was. Obviously is a very positive thing that finally have the chance to win, but, yeah, I hope to recover myself.

    He really suffered today!

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  86. My question is will Rafa be able to recover from this. We still really don’t know what was going on with him. Is he sick with some virus or is it about the hot, humid conditions and him just not being physically fit enough yet?

    That was hard to watch. Seeing Rafa doubled over and in such distress, was just unbearable. When I turned off the tv finally, Rafa was serving at 5-4 for the third set. But the last image I had was seeing him walk to the back of the court as if he had to throw up. Then he just spit up but he looked terrible. At that point, I wondered if he would be able to finish the match.

    The moment I woke up I had to get online and see what happened. That score just blew my mind!

    I don’t know much about Dudi Sela’s game. I just hope Rafa will be okay.

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  87. I heard on VB that Rafa was throwing up between sets two and three. Also, there was a report in the Spanish media that he was dehydrated and needed an IV saline solution.

    Reply

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