A blockbuster quarterfinal on Friday in Basel will pit Rafael Nadal against Marin Cilic. A far more surprising showdown features fellow Americans Jack Sock and Donald Young.
(7) Marin Cilic vs. (3) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Cilic will be squaring off for just the fourth time in their careers and for the first time in more than four years when they clash in the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors Basel on Friday. Nadal is leading the head-to-head series 2-1 after cruising 6-1, 6-3 on the clay courts of Rome in 2011. They have split their two previous hard-court encounters with respective blowouts; Cilic dominated 6-1, 6-3 in the 2009 Beijing semifinals before Nadal coasted 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in round four of the 2011 Australian Open.
Despite a mostly disappointing season, Nadal qualified comfortably for the World Tour Finals. The seventh-ranked Spaniard is starting to post improved results, with a final in Beijing, a semifinal in Shanghai, and now a quarterfinal in Basel thanks to three-set wins over Lukas Rosol and Grigor Dimitrov.
Unless he gets an alternate spot, Cilic will not be returning to London–where he made his year-end championship debut in 2014. But that is mainly because a shoulder injury forced him to miss basically three full months of the season. At the moment, the 13th-ranked Croat is playing like a sure-fire top 10 player. He is 17-4 since the start of the U.S. Open and 6-0 in his last six matches, a stretch that includes a title last week in Moscow and straight-set Basel victories at the expense of Marco Chiudinelli and Teymuraz Gabashvili. Cilic has the prototypical game that can trouble Nadal: big serve, first-strike groundstrokes, and a flawless two-handed backhand. And unlike Rosol, he is consistent enough to execute his game-plan.
Pick: Cilic in 2
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Donald Young vs. Jack Sock
It’s not often that anyone–especially not an American–faces three consecutive Americans at a 32-man indoor event in Europe. But that is what Sock will do when he goes up against Young on Friday. The world No. 29 has already taken out countrymen Denis Kudla and John Isner, both in straight sets. A red-hot Sock is an outstanding 34-16 for the season and coming off a runner-up showing last week in Stockholm.
Surprisingly, this is only the second career meeting between Sock and Young, and first at the ATP level. They previously collided at the 2013 Winnetka Challenger, where Sock prevailed 6-3, 6-4. Also back on the rise just like his opponent, Young registers at 49th in the world thanks in part to an improbably dramatic run to the U.S. Open fourth round. The 26-year-old has advanced this week with victories over Henri Laaksonen and Kevin Anderson. This should be high-quality affair with both men extremely confident right now, but an edge goes to Sock based on superior firepower.
Pick: Sock in 3
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I haven’t seen one of Rafa’s matches since Wimby this year so this did seem as an average display from him but knowing where he’s coming from it’s a great achievement and Rafa is right in expressing his satisfaction at the end. Well done Rafa
I posted the Paris Masters draw on “The rest” page.
I’m not going to study that just yet – too soon to start worrying about what lies in store next.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CSmAL_QWUAAs725.png
??
Rafa!! What a boss.
OOP for Saturday:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CSmDU8ZWcAAkzck.jpg
According to Koenig and he other guy on Sky whose name escapes me, Cilic was a big test for Rafa, bigger than Rosol and Dimi but now that Rafa has beaten Cilic, all of a sudden it’s no big deal to beat world #12.
That’s why Rafa says he doesn’t about what these people have to say about him and his game.
Rafael Nadal vs. Marin Cilic, 2015 Swiss Indoors Basel QF / Highlights
http://rutube.ru/video/4b5cd66024a413240e2ffec14a95d266/
Another version In French:
Rafael Nadal vs. Marin Cilic, 2015 Swiss Indoors Basel QF / Highlights
http://rutube.ru/video/fba07bce6c9ac29bff6a4b195ce1a9b6/
Said with such confidence lol… Do you????
Ricky Dimon says:
October 28, 2015 at 11:31 pm
he wont play Fed
maybe Ricky after all had some inner doubts about Fed reaching finals… 🙂
No, no, Ricky had Federer over Wawrinka in the final.
Like I said before, the more emphatic he is, the more he is just wrong LOL.
Rafa’s post-match press conference / QF Swiss Indoors Basel 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knCnQA9AHlQ
Rafa’s post-match interview with the ATP Staff / QF Swiss Indoors Basel 2015:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/video/nadal-on-track-in-basel
@ nadline,
I sure know what Ricky’s prediction was 🙂 that is why I said his” inner” or I should have stated “hidden” doubts…he seems to constantly refuse to come out with his real feelings about this…he does not want to let Fed dearest down… 🙂
I see what you are saying, however, even if Ricky had inner doubts, he certainly predicted Rafa to go down to Cilic in 2 so as far as Ricky was concerned, Rafa shouldn’t even be in the SF.
that is true…