Rafael Nadal will hope to avenge a loss from earlier this season when he goes up against Fabio Fognini during third-round action on Thursday in Barcelona. Philipp Kohlschreiber and Benoit Paire are also looking for a spot in the quarterfinals.
(13) Fabio Fognini vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Fognini will be facing each other for the sixth time in their careers and for the second time this season when they clash in round three of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in Nadal’s favor, but Fognini got on the scoreboard a few months ago on the clay courts of Rio de Janeiro in the form of a 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 upset. Nadal has still won two of their three encounters on the slow stuff, having previously prevailed 6-1, 6-3 two years ago in Rome and 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4 shortly thereafter at the French Open.
Unfortunately for Fognini, this may not be the same Nadal that was on display in Rio. The fourth-ranked Spaniard lost early in Indian Wells and Miami, but he played better in Monte-Carlo (despite succumbing to Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals) and crushed Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-1 in his Barcelona opener on Wednesday. Fognini also benefited from a first-round bye before battling past Andrey Rublev 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. The 13th-seeded Italian is just 7-9 for his 2015 campaign and this is first trip past a second round since Rio. With Nadal picking up confidence and Fognini lacking in the same department, this should be routine.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
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Benoit Paire vs. (12) Philipp Kohlschreiber
Kohlschreiber and Paire will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers on Thursday. Their first showdown was their most memorable; in round two of the 2012 U.S. Open, Kohlschreiber broke back at 5-6 in the deciding set and ultimately survived 6-7(4), 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(4). The German once lead their head-to-head series 2-0, but Paire has since won two in a row with victories at the 2013 Indian Wells Masters (6-4, 6-2) and a few months later at the Masters event in Montreal (7-6(1), 7-5).
The Frenchman could not have asked for a better draw so far in Barcelona. He disposed of qualifier Jaume Munar 6-2, 6-2 in his opener before recovering from a slow start against an ice-cold Ernests Gulbis to roll 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. Kohlschreiber is slumping with a 6-8 record for the year and he has not yet won back-to-back matches at any event. The world No. 25 got the best of Andrey Kuznetsov 7-6(1), 6-3 during second-round action. This could go either way, but Kohlschreiber plays with a high margin of error and will be able to extend points long enough on clay in order to expose the Paire forehand.
Pick: Kohlschreiber in 3
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From an article following Rafa’s 9th RG title…
“For the next three months he struggled to find his usual mental intensity and suffered three defeats on clay in the build-up to the French Open for the first time in a decade.”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2652947/Rafael-Nadals-French-Open-record-special-according-Spaniards-coach-uncle-Toni.html#ixzz3YEO3XacU
#NothingNew
#BeCalmAndVamosRafa
I am trying to keep it all in perspective and not panic. But I do think this year is different. He lost even earlier at Barcelona to the likes of Fog. At least last year he was losing to Almagro and Ferrer.
I am not giving up hope, but still am concerned about this inconsistency. I don’t know if the racket change is helping or hurting.
Shireling, please help to understand! 🙂
Francisco Roig was asked questions about Rafa’s new racket. I used Google translation, but I didn’t fully understand his explanations. That’s what I understood:
Question: “Why is this one better than the previous racket? ”
Francisco Roig: “I cannot say it’s better or worse. What happens is that he misses more. …I think 80 percent of the change of racket is to spin the ball more with less effort…”
http://www.puntodebreak.com/2015/04/21/francis-roig-creo-nadal-podra-luchar-titulos-33-anos-federer
Augusta08,
I’m glad to help
This is the answer to the question about the difference between the two rackets:
Francis Roig answers: “the new one is neither worse or better but the ball “goes out” faster from it. It has the same amount of strings but they’re more spaced out between each other, especially on the sides. This way, when you don’t have a perfect hit in the middle of the racket the ball still goes out at the same speed. I believe that there’s an 80 % chance that the reason for the racket change is to have more ball speed with less effort. If on the other hand, one wants to decrease ball speed then there’s no point in changing racket, you just need to adapt your game”
There you go. I can’t say I fully understand it and I don’t like what it derives = Nadal struggling to hit the ball as hard as he always does. This we have seen very clearly against Fognini.
Shireling1 (at 3:28 pm),
Thanks!
So, “misses more” is a wrong translation. That’s a relief! 🙂
My pleasure, just saw that Fognini lost to Andujar….