Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will be aiming for spots in the Beijing semifinals on Friday. They are set for respective showdowns against Americans Jack Sock and John Isner.
Jack Sock vs. (3) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Sock will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they battle for a place in the China Open semifinals on Friday. Their only previous encounter came at the French Open, where Nadal advanced to the last eight with a 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory. The eighth-ranked Spaniard is coming off a win over Sock’s doubles partner, Vasek Pospisil, in the Beijing second round. Nadal ousted the Canadian 7-6(3), 6-4 after beating Di Wu 6-4, 6-4 in his opener.
This hard-court surface obviously gives Sock a much better chance than clay. Perhaps even more importantly, the 23-year-old is quite simply in stellar form as he nears the end of what has been an outstanding season. Ranked 30th in the world, Sock is 27-13 for his 2015 campaign following wins this week over Teymuraz Gabashvili and Andreas Haider-Maurer. The American has not dropped a set and has been broken only once; he did not face a single break point against Haider-Maurer. Sock is more dangerous than Pospisil, for example, because his serve and forehand are slightly bigger and will not give Nadal a target at the net. The underdog will be content to outhit the favorite from the baseline, and that is something he can do right now with Nadal in mediocre form.
Pick: Sock in 3
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(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (6) John Isner
Djokovic will put an unbelievable 26-0 record in Beijing on the line when he takes the court against Isner. The world No. 1 is looking for his sixth title in as many appearances, having previously triumphed in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014. His most recent campaign is off to a routine start with straight-set defeats of Simone Bolelli and Ze Zhang (five total games lost). Djokovic is 65-5 for the year with three Grand Slam titles.
The head-to-head series stands at 7-2 in favor of the top seed, who defeated Isner twice in succession earlier this season–6-4, 7-6(5) in Indian Wells and 7-6(3), 6-2 in Miami. Isner’s lone victories came three years earlier in Indian Wells (in a third-set tiebreaker) and at the 2013 Cincinnati Masters (7-5 in the third). An in-form American is coming off a fourth-round performance at the U.S. Open and so far in Beijing he has taken out Dominic Thiem and John Millman. Thursday’s second-rounder actually saw Millman serve for a straight-set win before Isner stormed back. The world No. 13 is obviously one of the most dangerous players in this draw–or any draw–but Djokovic may be the best returner in the game and nowhere is the favorite more invincible than he is at this tournament.
Pick: Djokovic in 2 with 1 tiebreaker
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Keep calm, stay focused, be confident and fight bravely, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQzKqjEWsAAr_Hy.png:medium
OOP for Friday:
http://www.protennislive.com/posting/2015/747/op.pdf
I hope Rafa loses. Cmon sock waste him
charming! that kind of language is utterly uncalled for….
amy,
Just try to ignore it. Not the first time this person has posted a tasteless comment.
Lol the poll says big John in 3 for majority in going with Novak in straights with one tiebreak.
Djoker in 2 and Nadal in 3
I am still going with Rafa in 3 sets.
Novak in 2 sets.
I hope it’s a wastage ?
Here’s Rafa!
Well this isn’t good. Rafa double faulted away the break in only his second service game. Sock has come out blasting, as I predicted. He’s really going for his shots and putting a lot of pressure on Rafa.
I also noticed in this last game that Rafa wasn’t getting his first serves in. Not the start that Rafa would have wanted.
This is really frustrating. Rafa had 0-40 on Sock’s serve and wasn’t able to break back. Right now Sock is out hitting Rafa and getting the better court positioning.
What I say New Yorker. Wastageeeeeeeeee lol
J-Sizzle locked in at the moment.
Rafa just double faulted away another break to give Sock the set. He’s really been having trouble with his serve in this match. Sock wins the first set 6-3.
Sock is definitely in the zone right now and Rafa does not have any answers.
Rafa loses the1st set 63. Wake up Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQ2gtYbWcAA1rBu.png
🙁
Horrible stats for Rafa. A whopping 3 winners.
Rafa only had three winners for the set? Serve stats are way down from his last match.
Sock isn’t even playing that well…it’s just Rafa beating himself…TBH I see little determination in Rafa…he seems somewhat indifferent…he isn’t going for his shots, playing short, missing first serves, misfiring all over the place…Rafa is being defensive and just lets in…he is not in this match…wake up Rafa!
Wow that surprised me. Rafa gets the break. Nice job from Nadal.
Holy crap!! That leaping forehand from sock was phenomenal!! Still Rafa digging in up 2-0.
Thank goodness Rafa is waking up now. He gets the early break and is up 2-0. Now he has to hold his serve.
Why doesn’t Rafa exploit Sock’s backhand more? Rafa is missing strength in his shots giving Sock enough time to run around his weak backhand and allowing him to hit forehands…c’mon Rafa…stop those ridiculous UEs!!!
Rafa staying steady on serve for now.
Rafa has settled down and is serving much better in this set. It’s all on him to just hold his serve and get the second set.
Paul Annacone made the observation that Rafa has forced himself to move up closer to the baseline in the second set. He’s getting better court positioning.
I’m mad at Rafa for losing the 1st set. Maybe he doesn’t like playing the first match of the day.
Rafa’s ROS is also letting him down.
One set all.
Vamos Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQ2qhcZWwAEx8Ev.png
🙂
Rafa kept it together and served it out to get the second set. He got the big first serves when he needed them.
Rafa has raised his level of play while I see Sock missing more shots than he did in the first set.
Sure enough, Rafa’s serving stats have improved.
Sock is not under too much pressure on his serve so Rafa has to be extra careful with his. There is no Rafa energy in the match.
Rafa is netting too many fhs.
I noticed that Rafa has been looking to move into the court after hitting a big first serve to close out points quickly. He’s been doing that effectively in the last few service games. Rafa also has more depth and penetration with this groundstrokes.
Now Sock has raised his level again, playing better than he did in the second set. He’s holding serve pretty easily, so Rafa is going to have to stay strong with his serving. This is a tight third set and it may come down to who loses serve first.
Rafa gets the break, leads 4:3, final set.
Sock blinked! Loose game and Rafa took advantage to get the break! Okay Rafa, now hold your serve and you’ve got the win!
YAY! Rafa breaks for the win!
Spot on NNY. I thought you were a bit harsh predicting Rafa in 3 because I thought he would win in straight sets.
Vamos Rafa!
Yep! I was right. Ricky was wrong! 🙂
Rafa looked so happy at the end of the match. He knows this is a good win against a guy who’s hot right now.
So next it will be either Fog or Cuevas in the semis.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQ2zubKWEAAqu9V.png
🙂 🙂
Fist pump, Rafa!
http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/yellow-hd/fist-pump-smiley-emoticon.gif
I am so proud of Rafa! He made adjustments in that second set and played so much better.
Now it’s off to bed because it’s almost 3:00 am here!
Pieman says:
October 8, 2015 at 2:05 pm
I hope Rafa loses. Cmon sock waste him
*********************
Rafa completes his pop socks duo.
That’s the way to go Rafa! Bravo! No nerves in this match! Is this a sign our Rafa is coming back… Love the way he handled the third set, with calm and focused…
Gosh, am I glad Ricky got it wrong this time! ?
Vamos Rafa!
Hi guys. I was watching but my wifi connection is playing up and I was running several games behind in real time so couldn’t join in. I too had predicted a win in three sets but was on tenterhooks in that last set. Still work in progress but so far, so good.
Who would you all rather see him face in the SF?
Fog
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQ24o59UEAA1U0P.png
Vamos Rafa!!!
Well done !
I’m not fussed who Rafa plays in the SF, either of them will do.
Augusta, please send highlights when you get them 🙂 it seems that Rafa played worse than in his last match, or was it Sock playing better?
I thought Rafa played worse than he did against Popsy.
^^It’s all relative. The positive was Rafa adjusted his game during the match: something he has not been doing most of this season.
Rafa definitely did not play as well in that first set. Sock was blasting winners all over the place and Rafa was pushed behind the baseline. Sock played better than Pospi and he has the kind of game that can give Rafa more trouble.
However, Rafa did make adjustments in the second set moving closer to the baseline. It’s an encouraging sign. He was not doing this earlier in the year. That shows he’s mentally in it and thinking out there. He got better as the match went on. I thought Sock’s level went down in the second set while Rafa raised his level. Then in the third set, they both played really well. Rafa was very aggressive, moving into the court after hitting a big first serve to close out points quickly. Sock was the one who played a loose game and that gave Rafa the opportunity to get the break.
This was a really good win for Rafa.
I want Fog, no doubt.
2015 China Open QF Rafael Nadal vs. Jack Sock / Highlights
http://rutube.ru/video/caa004ed655d0ac558d394cb3fce8e41/
Thx Augusta (and Nadline) 🙂
Judging from Sock’s demeanour in the 3rd set the Rafa of old seems to be coming back.. it seems that at times Sock had had enough punishment…
Also, judging by UT’s reaction you can see how important these consecutive wins are for Rafa’s camp.
I’m already happy with SF but I hope Rafa wants more
Augusta,
funny that you keep finding these highlights in rutube.ru .. the Russians are posting things first it seems …
Shireling1 (at 10:00 am),
The video I posted is in French and probably made by a French speaker…
[polldaddy poll=9118892]
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On Saturday:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQ3hCMDXAAALGA_.png
Same OOP for the SF. Rafa vs Fog 1st up at 12.30 pm local time and the second SF at 7.30 pm.
Vamos Fog!
Video by ATP. Nadal Reacts To Beijing Battle With Sock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA4aaVn5Kfo&feature=share
First and foremost this is Rafa’s chance to erase the memory of being lost in the Fog in New York. Secondly, a run of consecutive wins will go a long way in restoring his bruised confidence.
#WorkInProgress
In taking nishikori in 3 over Paire. Honestly I would’ve liked to see nishikori kyrgios instead but eh that’s ok Paire and kei should be good match too. As for Nadal fognini, this match has many possibilities. I’m gonna go with Rafa getting blown out in the first set then slowly finding a way back and grinding to a three set win kinda like he did against sock. Upset here is of course very possible too, but my final pick is Rafa in 3,
Period not comma lol
For the time being, there will continue to be the risk of an upset.
I repeat. For the time being.
Having said that, I still believe he will dig deep and find the way to win even if he is not playing at his best.
I could not stay up to see the end of Nishi and Cilic. The tennis channel went to that match as soon as Rafa’s was over. I did see Nishi win the second set and then they were in the third but it was just too late for me to hang on. It’s nice to know that Nishi got the win.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think Rafa will get blown out in the first set against Fog the way he did against Sock. I think he’s going to come out strong right from the start. Rafa never says he wants revenge, but I have to believe that he will want to set things right and beat Fog this time.
I think Rafa’s got a very good shot at getting to the final. For me this is all a win-win scenario. Rafa’s gotten to the semis and that’s a good result. If he gets to the finals it’s icing on the cake. I just hope that Rafa can continue playing the way he has, because there are some very encouraging signs.
ChinaOpen: ¤¤ Nadal survives Sock to reach semifinals ¤¤
(The article is mainly based on Rafa’s post-match press conference)
http://www.chinaopen.com.cn/en/news/2015-10-09/1657880.shtml
Rafa’s post-match press conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ9XEO3ysM8
filter says:
October 9, 2015 at 11:11 am
Vamos Fog!
Well, Fog is Italian so you should say “Andiamo” Fog …if you want to support him
Isner is just rubbish today. He wasn’t that good against Millman either. Djoker is leading by a set and a break.
was watching a bit of the match Isner vs Novak and realized it was a waste of time…but I was watching long enough to hear the Serbian commentator say: “Tomorrow, Rafa faces Fognini…can’t wait to see it. We all know Italian is Rafa’s worst nightmare this year”…the comments like this make me sick…why does he even care?..
Rafa is improving at slow pace but I think he stands better chance against Fog this time…as Rafa said these matches he treats like preparation for the season 2016…he has nothing to lose…I sense Rafa is more relaxed and it may help…
anyway, good to see Rafa in the semis…
Vamos Rafa!
juat watched first set of Nadal-Sock. Rafa was unspeakable.
perhaps needs a well-meant kick in the shoes
kidding, kidding !
^^^ will you put a sock in it, please Chloro, or I will sock you one.?
As I said above @ 11.47am, what was most encouraging was the fact Rafa analysed the first set loss and altered his game accordingly. One might ask why he had to lose the first set to find that out!
we’re not professional sports-people so it’s hard to say why Rafa would stand so far behind if he knows, better than anyone, that it’s counter-productive .. I guess you have one plan before the match and then you have to deal with what your opponent is throwing at you; a bit like when you go for a run motivated to go fast and then you lose your energy after 10 mins …
Sock is in form at expectedly came out all guns blazing.
no, it was not Sock…it was Rafa being awful in the first set…he seemed as he had given up from the very beginning and that early break…no emotions, no enthusiasm…very upsetting to watch but at least he changed his approach in the second and the third…Rafa still occupies the 3m behind the baseline and it is his main problem…a lot of shoots he was unable to hit deep due to that fact…why does he do it? One would say it’s confidence issue…others argue it’s his natural court positioning but the difference is that his shots now lack strength and he can no longer hit deep as he used to…
I personally think that Rafa was not pumped up in this match…yet he was able to win…and that is a good thing..
Fog lives on victories over Rafa,,,he is only known for that…he will again be hard to control…I am not sure if Rafa is ready to confront him the way he should…the way that would bring him victory…but I certainly hope Rafa will give his best tomorrow…
Rafa should be boiling inside and dying to prove to himself that he can outplay Fog with one hand tied behind his back were he playing at his former level.
Vamos Rafa!
Rafa was broken twice in the first set and both times he double faulted to give Sock the break. So it was all about Rafa not playing the way he needed to play. I had no doubt that Sock would come out guns blazing and just go for his shots. Rafa seemed to be not quite himself. He should not have been surprised by Sock’s aggressive tactics. But he just didn’t seem to show a lot of energy.
It did take him one whole set to adjust, but this is still progress. A come from behind win against a hot player who is a tough match up is always good for the confidence. This is a win that should help him against Fog. The thing is that Fog has now beaten him on clay and hard courts. That win at the USO will give Fog real belief going into this match. So it’s up to Rafa to change the dynamic and assert himself again.
I expect Rafa to come out motivated to get this win. He needs to put Fog in his place!