Rafael Nadal will kick off his Barcelona campaign on Wednesday against familiar foe and fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. Ernests Gulbis and Benoit Paire are also in second-round action.
Nicolas Almagro vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Almagro will be squaring off for the 13th time in their careers when they collide in round two of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at 11-1 in Nadal’s favor after the world No. 1 cruised 6-4, 6-2 last month on the hard courts of Miami. They have faced each other three times in Barcelona, where Almagro scored his only win via a 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 decision in 2014. Nadal is still 8-1 lifetime against his fellow Spaniard on clay.
Like last year, Nadal is struggling as he heads into this event. The No. 2 seed lost early in Indian Wells and Miami before falling to Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3 in the Monte-Carlo semifinals. Almagro missed much of last season with a foot injury, but he owns nine victories in 2015–including a semifinal showing in Buenos Aires. The world No. 123 is coming off a quarterfinal appearance in Monte-Carlo and he eased through his opener on Tuesday by getting a retirement from Paolo Lorenzi at 3-0 in the first set. Almagro is a difficult opponent this early in the tournament, but Nadal at least showed some encouraging signs in Monte-Carlo and he boasts a 42-2 record in Barcelona with eight titles.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 8-10 games
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(8) Ernests Gubis vs. Benoit Paire
Gulbis has been a mercurial performer throughout his career, but never had he descended into this drastic of a funk until now. The Latvian is a horrendous 1-8 on the season and his only win has come at the expense of a lucky loser (Daniel Gimeno-Traver in Indian Wells). Things went from bad to worse for Gulbis last week in Monte-Carlo, where he got blown out by Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-1, 6-0.
Up next for Gulbis is a second career meeting with Paire. Their only previous encounter came three years ago on the clay courts of Gstaad, where Gulbis prevailed 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-4. Paire advanced to the Barcelona second round by defeating qualifier Jaume Munar 6-2, 6-2 on Monday. The 78th-ranked Frenchman is 4-3 at the ATP level in 2015 and he also owns two Challenger titles and one Futures trophy. With Paire starting to round back into form and Gulbis slumping, this should be one-way traffic.
Pick: Paire in 2 losing 3-4 games
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Too many UEs from Rafa, needs to focus better. BP conversion needs to improve, and 1st serve % needs to improve.
I think Rafa suffered a let-down, he was expecting a sterner test and it never came until the last game when Rafa had lost concentration.
Well done, Rafa!
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Finally, an ace to finish, I thought this moment would never come!! Shish Rafa u got to sort yourself out, asap!! I really can’t watch when u play like this, bearish not bullish, at all!!!
Who does Rafa play next?
Fognini or Rublev, they have yet to play today.
Rafa does seem to still have trouble closing out matches. He was just missing shots, Almagro wasn’t doing anything special. But then Almagro decided to just go for it since there was nothing to lose at that point. So Rafa found himself in a battle to finally close out the match.
This is one piece of the puzzle that is still missing. It’s been a pattern with Rafa. Fortunately, he was up two breaks at that point but I don’t like to see Rafa staying on the court and having to use up energy when it’s not necessary. Thank goodness he found an ace when he needed it!
Other than that, I thought Rafa played well. This wasn’t an easy first match, but I don’t think Almagro is back to his best either. I am just glad that it was a routine straight sets win, except for the blip in that last game.
At least with Fognini, Rafa knows what to expect. That young kid is an unknown. Can he keep it up and get the win against another experience player?
I expect Rafa will repeat what he said last week: regaining that ability to rarely falter during an entire match is a process, and things are getting better.
Good perspective @chloro. Rafa did not falter DURING the match as he has been doing lately. He faltered at the end. Hopefully this chink will disappear soon.
ritb, my Rafa glass is always half full. 🙂
I think Rafa played a bit defensive for my taste but I assume that was part of the game plan…Almagro is nowhere near his best and it was expected that Rafa would defend and wait for Almagro’s UEs…Rafa was returning very well most of the time and hit some deep and beautiful shots…his backhand is improved and is working better…most of Rafa’s drop shots were pure art…I wish he would go to the net more often, to avoid long rallies but I believe more rallies is what Rafa fancies ATM so that he could get in shape and find the right rhythm with his new racquet…
the last game I see a bit different…I think in the last game Almagro had nothing to lose, he was aware that the match was over so he started playing relaxed and hit with more precision…it took Rafa some time to find his rhythm with this new Almagro but what is important is that RAFA never gave up the fight in that game. Good job!
Vamos Rafa!
Would you believe it, Rublev the Kid is a set and a break up on The Fog……….
Rafa next if he pulls off the win.
Post-match press conference:
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Quotes from Rafa’s post-match press conference in Spanish, English (page 2) and Catalan:
http://www.barcelonaopenbancsabadell.com/sites/default/files/audios/pdf/rafa_nadal.pdf
Kid’s fading, looks like it will be the Fog against Rafa tomorrow…………
Won’t be too much of a fog…
I expect Rafa to put the Fog in his place tomorrow………….
rafaisthebest (April 22, 2015 at 2:18 pm),
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rafaisthebest (April 22, 2015 at 2:18 pm),
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Good luck to them! Although I hope this sort of thing (proposing mid-match) does not become a regular occurrence on the Tour. Clearly affected Rafa’s concentration leading him to drop his service game on resumption of play.
Should have been done before the match started, in my opinion.