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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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…
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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