Top two seeds and fellow Spaniards Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer will contest their Barcelona openers on Wednesday. They are set for respective meetings with Albert Ramos and Teymuraz Gabashvili.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Albert Ramos
Nadal will be looking to bounce back from a surprising quarterfinal loss last week in Monte-Carlo when he takes the court at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The top-seeded Spaniard is 40-1 lifetime at this tournament, with eight titles in his last eight appearances. He has won 19 consecutive Barcelona matches without dropping a single set. This season, Nadal is a decent 23-4 but has failed to win any of his past three tournaments–even at his Monte-Carlo stomping grounds.
Up first for Nadal on Wednesday is Ramos, whom the world No. 1 has faced once before. Their previous meeting came at this same event just last year, when Nadal cruised 6-3, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. Ramos booked his spot in this matchup with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Nikolay Davydenko on Tuesday. The 103rd-ranked Spaniard is now 8-9 at the ATP level for his 2014 campaign, which includes a second-round performance as a qualifier in Monte-Carlo. Ramos should be more competitive than he was last season, but a determined Nadal will want to gain some confidence after his recent hiccup.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
[polldaddy poll=7987231]
Teymuraz Gabashvili vs. (2) David Ferrer
Gabashvili and Ferrer will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the second time this season on Wednesday. Ferrer has won both of their previous encounter encounters, which took place on hard courts; 6-4, 6-1 at the 2010 Valencia event and 6-4, 6-0 last month in Miami.
Ferrer upset Nadal in Monte-Carlo but then succumbed to eventual champion Stanislas Wawrinka in the semifinals. The world No. 5 is still going strong at 32 years old, with a 22-7 record to his credit in 2014. A resurgent Gabashvili, who beat Michal Przysiezny 6-3, 6-4 in his Barcelona opener, is up to a career-high ranking of 55th in the world with nine ATP-level match wins this season. The Russian registered as low as No. 198 early last year. Still, his recent loss to Ferrer is not encouraging and clay gives the underdog even less of a chance.
Pick: Ferrer in 2 losing 8 games or fewer
[polldaddy poll=7987267]
https://twitter.com/Rafaholics/status/458999143101644800/photo/1
Pill 4 what? Anyone knows?
o well, let’s just take it slowly…Rafa isn’t playing well, he is in fact playing awful tennis at the moment…no matter he got fooled by Ferrer who BTW got demolished by Wawa and Gabshwho…so, let us lower our expectations…I hope Rafa isn’t injured…
Love this:
http://tennis.si.com/2014/04/23/rafael-nadal-photos-fashion/
rafaisthebest (at 5:02 pm)
Please post this in ‘Rafael Nadal’ page also
https://twitter.com/genny_ss/statuses/459008565630750720
Thanks @augusta. So it was cramps, not blisters………..
He took the pill at 5:4 so it was a precaution in case the match went to a decider – which fortunately didn’t happen. He posted good stats on his serve (which was a relief after last week) although I doubt it would have been potent enough against a player with a more powerful ROS.
I remain cautiously optimistic he will raise his level from hereon in.
what is your avatar?
#SpeakNoEvil
https://twitter.com/genny_ss/statuses/459017776024539136
https://twitter.com/genny_ss/statuses/459018501622337536
Rafa feels happy to be through.
Video. An interview to TennisTV.com in English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMj11XQs_zw
Excerpts (via Rafael Nadal Fans)
¤¤ “It was a positive victory for me. Obviously I didn’t play my best match, but after the defeat in Monte-Carlo, the next match on court was never going to be easy. I am happy with the way I fought and proud of the victory today.
The victories are more important when you haven’t played well. I feel happy to be through on a tough day for the top seeds. I need to improve everything. I’m working every day to play more aggressively. I need to find the feeling of being dominant in the points.
I feel that sometimes I’m hitting balls from good positions and I’m not able to create the right spaces, to find winners. I need to try and find that for the next match,” said Rafael Nadal.¤¤
Vamos Rafa!
27 UEs, an improvement from the 44 we saw in the match against Ferru. Expect this stat to improve tomorrow.
#InRafaWeTrust
#Vamos!
Nadal vs. Dodig – https://tenngrand.com/2014/04/24/barcelona-r3-previews-and-picks-nadal-vs-dodig-robredo-vs-cilic/
An almost 37% improvement to be exact
yeah, but Rafa has always been the man to beat for many years now, and up unmtil AO Wawa had never taken a set from Rafa!
#Injured
I just watched my recording of Rafa’s match. That was frustrating, but he got the win. It’s interesting that he said he needs to find the feeling of being dominant on the points. From what I saw Rafa wasn’t really going for his shots. He seemed to be content to engage in longer rallies without pulling the trigger. Ramos just came out going for his shots because he had nothing to lose.
I remember predicting Rafa losing 8-10 games. I was being cautious. I was right. Obviously Rafa didn’t play very well, 27 UE’s in two sets! I freaked out when he couldn’t serve out that first set. That’s the lack of confidence. I also saw the camera pan to Uncle Toni at one point not looking happy at all. Then I really freaked out when Rafa had the doctor come and and give him some pills. I am relieved to know it was only a hand cramp.
I didn’t watch the rest of my recording. I can see those matches later this afternoon when they replay them on the tennis channel. But I was shocked to hear that Ferrer is out to Gaba. So I am grateful that Rafa got the win.
Reading Rafa’s own words shows that at least he is aware of what he is not doing. He was really off with the forehand in this match.
One match at a time!
Mona: Nothing remains static for ever. Neither the good times, nor the bad times.
I happen not to belief Wawrinka is in any way a threat to Rafa even if he does score the occasional win from time to time.
1-12
The only person beating Rafa ATM is RAFA!!!
#Injured
#WontLast
Too true.
@hawkeye,
I agree. Well said!
All Time Win/Loss % as of April 21st 2014
Rafael Nadal…………………83.7%
Bjorn Borg…………………..82.7%
Jimmy Connors…………….81.8%
Ivan Lendl…………………….81.8%
John McEnroe……………….81.5%
Roger Federer……………….81.2%
Novak Djokovic……………..80.6%
Rod Laver……………………..79.8%
Vamos Rafa!!!
(Fed is falling behind weak era and all.)
#WheresPistolPete?
Pete had a lot of losses his last few years on tour, for sure, no?
@nadline28, I think Rafa’s second to Djokovic to-date for the current season. Expect Rafa to be top of this list by the time the grass court season comes.
RITB, this is for all time, not only this season.
I know at @nadline28. My point was very soon Rafa will top both lists, the all-time (which he already does as per your info) and the season’s current.
Borg is second on that list! My two favorite players of all time are #1 and #2! Yes! 😀