Rafael Nadal and Fabio Fognini will renew their intriguing 2015 rivalry when they face each other again on Saturday in Beijing. Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer are also aiming for a place in the title match.
(3) Rafael Nadal vs. Fabio Fognini
Nadal and Fognini will be squaring off for the ninth time in their careers and for the fifth time this season when they meet again in the China Open semifinals on Saturday. The head-to-head series stands at 5-3 in favor of Nadal, but all three of Fognini’s victories have come this season. Fognini prevailed in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona before Nadal triumphed in the Hamburg final, thus setting the stage for an improbable and dramatic U.S. Open showdown. In a fourth-round night match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Fognini stormed back from two sets and a break down to pull off a 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 upset.
Neither man had an easy time setting up installment No. 9 of this budding rivalry. Nadal dropped serve four times in his Beijing opener against Di Wu, got past Vasek Pospisil 7-6(3), 6-4, then overcame Jack Sock 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Friday. The eighth-ranked Spaniard is 48-15 for the season and looking for his fourth title. Fognini destroyed Martin Klizan then needed three sets to survive both David Goffin and Pablo Cuevas. The 28th-ranked Italian has won eight hard-court matches in approximately one month after winning none this entire year prior to the U.S. Open. When motivated, Fognini can be borderline dominant. Case in point: his six victorious set scores this week are 6-2, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1, and 6-2. The underdog has Nadal’s number right now and the trend should continue.
Pick: Fognini in 3
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(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (6) John Isner
Djokovic’s record in Beijing now stands at a perfect 27-0, the second best start to a tournament anyone has ever had in ATP history (behind only Nadal’s 31-0 mark at the French Open). And the top-ranked Serb is showing no signs of slowing down, having clobbered Simone Bolelli, Ze Zhang, and John Isner this week. Djokovic is 66-5 for the year and seemingly on course for his sixth title in as many appearances at this event.
Next up for the No. 1 seed is a 21st career encounter with Ferrer. A 5-15 record is actually quite strong for Ferrer compared to that of many other players against Djokovic, but it does not really tell the true story. Once 5-6 in the head-to-head series, the Spaniard has lost nine in a row dating back to the start of the 2010 season. They have faced each other twice in 2015, with Djokovic getting the job done 7-5, 7-5 in in Miami and 6-4, 6-4 in Rome. A resurgent Ferrer is healthy and building on last week’s Kuala Lumpur title with straight-set wins this week over Thomaz Bellucci, Lukas Rosol, and Yen-Hsun Lu. This, however, is obviously a terrible matchup for the world No. 7. He will get more games than the four Isner managed on Friday, but Ferrer almost certainly will not steal a set.
Pick:Â Djokovic in 2 losing more than 7 games
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who yu got?
I am going with Rafa to right the ship and get the win in 3 sets.
Novak will get the win against Ferrer in 2 sets.
Rafa in 3 and Novak in straights and by the way u put Isner vs djokovic just to let u know
And Novak losing seven games or fewer
I am fan Rafa Nadal but tonight I am afraid about his match against Fabio.
Fognini has an amazing forehand , he had played very well matches with Rafa and I guess that Nadal has a phobia when he hears name Fognini.
As far as I am concerned Fognini will win again.
http://site.forumul-pariorului-maniac.ro/
Keep calm, stay focused, remain confident and show your warrior spirit, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQ5axPVVAAAbetC.png:medium
For me, SF loss is better than final loss against Nole.
Nadal in 2 tight sets and Djokovic in 2 easy sets.
I agree with you!
Even though he never hits any headlines you have got to admire Ferrer’s professionalism and attitude. Both Berdych and Ferrer won titles last week but despite being tired Ferrer regrouped and has reached the Sf in Beijing, whereas Berdych meekly surrendered against a clay court specialist Pablo Cuevas.
Ferrer is simply a far superior player right now
True. Berdych has gone down the drain since the beginning of the season with no injuries while ferrer was injured at middle of season but picked up from where he left off to take a fourth title in Kuala Lumpur.
Nadal in 3, Djokovic in 3
Oooo this is a tight one! The Fog again! PLEASE beat him now rafa.
But given the condition and their recent history, I think Fog is the slight favorite here,
Rafa can surely, surely, get his revenge though. He needs to play A LOT more aggressive than he did against Sock and be mentally very strong. If rafa can raise his level , he will have sufficient chances to win this.
Rafa is at least fighting a lot better now. He can grind this out! Go RAFA!
vamosrafa
It’s nice to see you here and great to read your thoughts about Rafa playing Fog. I thought that Sock was Rafa’s first real test and he passed. After that dismal first set, he regrouped and came back strong to win the next two sets. He is fighting more now and that’s a good sign.
I guess Fog would be the favorite now, but it’s hard to even type that! He got the big win against Rafa at the USO and will come out with a lot of confidence. It’s up to Rafa to be aggressive and play well enough to beat him. I don’t think that Rafa can afford to come out the way he did against Sock. Fog will take anything Rafa gives him and if he isn’t playing aggressive then Fog will have no problem stepping up and taking full advantage.
I really want Rafa to beat Fog this time. He needs this. It would be nice to see him get to the final. That’s a great result for him.
Thanks NNY! 🙂
absolutely! we so want Rafa to beat Fog this time. Please!
I agree rafa cannot come out the way he did against Sock! Fog will easiy take advantage. Time to step up!
If USO was best of 3, Rafa would have won in straight sets easily there.
Rafa would repeat the first two sets USO in Beijing
I was watching Stan and Muller. Stan had a chance to serve it out but Muller broke back. They said on the tennis channel that Rafa and Fog are warming up. I expect them to switch to Rafa’s match once it starts.
Let’s get this party started!
Rafa got broken in the first game and has broken right back.
Rafa just had a tough hold in his second service game. But some good serving got him through. Now on serve 2-2.
Come on Rafa! You can do this!
Rafa’s body language is much better than it was yesterday.
Fog played a loose game with a few UE’s and Rafa was able to take advantage to get the break. Rafa up 3-1. Now hold your serve, Rafa!
Rafa double faulted away the break. No one is holding serve here. Six games with five breaks of serve.
I think Rafa is having to work way too hard to win points. Fog is able to stay with him in these baseline rallies.
DF on BP
If rafa plays like this against nole in final, zero chance unless miracle happens.
Fog crapped out in that game and of course, it’s racket smashing time. Bad game from him and Rafa breaks to get the first set.
1 set Rafa – 75. Rafa deserves to win the set because he was the better player even though he made a meal of it.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQ7tqhsWcAAz84_.png
🙂
Rafa’s not winning enough points on second serves. 38%? Even so, he still won the first set. Now he needs to keep it up.
Fog gave Rafa the scoreboard advantage by electing to receive. Rfa serves first in the 2nd set as well.
Vamos Rafa!
Nadal in Fed’s half
That’s good.
Rafa is better player today than in that USO match despite making UEs…Fog is playing well and with huge confidence as expected but Rafa’s being less nervous and it makes a difference on key points.
Ajde Rafa! ❤
Yes, I think if Rafa cuts down on the UEs he’ll be right back to being the real Rafa.
Yep!
Serving first is a huge advantage, I don’t know why Rafa always elects to receive; he says it’s to calm his nerves at the start of the match.
Rafa is doing some things much better than he did in that USO match. For one thing, he’s serving a lot better. He’s been using the body serve very effectively in the match. He’s also getting depth and penetration on his groundstrokes. He’s been very aggressive in this set, looking to move into the net to close out points.
Rafa still needs to find his forehand. He hasn’t been getting enough power on his money shot. At times he can hit it the way he used to, but he’s still dumping forehands into the net.
If Rafa can hold one more service game or get the break, he will win this match.
MP2 gone
Vaaaaaaaammmmmmmmoooooooooooosssssss!
The nerves have gone, the mental strength is back now he need his fear hand in full operation.
cold handshake (again)
Hahaha…I did not see your post but said the same thing! ?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQ75eqTWUAAuEvr.png
🙂 🙂
Rafa wins in straight sets! I am happy to be wrong on this one, thinking it would go three sets. This is a sweet one for Rafa after what happened at the USO.
Rafa is in the final! 🙂
Hooray for Rafa!
http://www.funny-emoticons.com/smileys/msn-dancing-smileys/disco%20dance.gif
Bravo Rafa!!!!! So proud of our boy! The nerves are almost gone, the confidence is getting back…beware the rest of the field! Rafa is traveling fast to his former self and once he is there nothing will be like in 2015!
That’s the right attitude, my dear Spanish hero! Rafa begins trusting himself and it will certainly lead to cutting those UEs.
Progress is what matters!
Vamos! Ajde Rafa!
Rafa passed Nishikori in the Race to London (Nishi lost in Tokyo today).
Very satisfying!
#ContinualProgress
Very tough and tense match for Rafa. It is a big victory for Rafa “s moral.
Vamos, Rafa!
Rafael Nadal vs Fabio Fognini Highlights; CHINA OPEN 2015 (in German):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIC3b-xRB-E
MailOnline, Oct. 10, 2015: ¤¤ Rafael Nadal beats Fabio Fognini…
(Excerpts)
Nadal said: “I am happy to be in the final obviously. It is a good result for me, a very positive one. For me to be in the final is great news and tomorrow is a match to try to enjoy and try to play the way that I want to play.”
He said: “It was a tough first set, as I expected, and a tough match in general, but I think I played well. I played much closer to the baseline than previous days, that’s very important for me and very important for my game. The position for me on the court today was more aggressive and that’s why I was able to beat him today after a couple of defeats.”
.
Fognini’s victories over Nadal this year and an argument between the pair during the final of the Hamburg Open in August – which Nadal went on to win – had added some spice to this particular match-up.
Although all seemed calm between the pair on the court on Saturday, there was one notable incident when Nadal’s coach and uncle Toni was seen reacting with frustration towards Fognini from his courtside seat.
Fognini said: “What happened in Hamburg is in the past, for sure. But I have nothing to say with him [Nadal]. I have all respect with him outside and inside the court. I was telling another time, the history was not against him, but against his team, especially the uncle.”
Nadal was quick, however, to play down any suggestion of any lingering issues with Fognini. He said: “I don’t know what’s going on, seriously. We had the issue that we had in Hamburg and that’s it.
At the US Open, no problems. No problems today. It was a very easy match in terms of attitude for both of us. Very, very easy I think for the umpire.”¤¤
Read more in:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-3267403/Rafael-Nadal-beats-Fabio-Fognini-straight-sets-China-Open-reach-hard-court-final-18-months.html#ixzz3o9i6lV37
The issue is, Pennetta had/has a crush on Rafa.
TennisNow, Oct. 10, 2015: ¤¤ Fognini Tosses Racquet, Uncle Toni Nonplussed¤¤
http://www.tennisnow.com/Blogs/NET-POSTS/October-2015/Fognini-Tosses-Racquet,-Uncle-Toni-Nonplussed.aspx
The article contains 2 video clips:
Ricky: “Fognini almost hits a linesperson with his racket throw,”
TennisNow: “Uncle Toni not all that impressed by Fabio’s behavior. “
ChinaOpen. Oct. 10, 2015: ¤¤ Nadal salvages pride, happily into China Open final.¤¤
(The article is based on the SF match and Rafa’s post-match press conference.)
http://www.chinaopen.com.cn/en/news/2015-10-10/1719891.shtml
Pennetta never had a crush on Rafa. She used to be Carlos Moya’s gf many years back and when asked about guys after their break up replied re Rafa that he was one of her best friends on tour but dating him would be “too weird”.
come onnn ! Brilliant effort from Rafa. He is making fine progress now. This is a great, great result. He beat someone who had beaten him at diff junctures throughout the year and he did that by controlling his nerves , employing a good court position and being tactically smart.
There is LOTS of room for improvement and the forehand is , as many of you mentioned, the shot that needs most work.
He needs a lot more penetration on his forehand. There are other things he can do well but this is all part of the process.
I am very happy he defeated Fog in straight sets and still has a lot that can be improved. That’s how good he is. Really happy with his attitude!
Vamos Rafa. Just relax and emjoy the final.
The final will be a very tough match. Djoko is in a briliant form…
Yes!
Two spaniards in the Beijing final, so far Rafa and Muguruza. Hope they make it 3 with Ferrer.
Rafa also needs to improve his ROS. He could play Dr Ivo in the 2nd round in Shanghai.
Has anyone noticed that there have been precious few TV warnings or penalties since the petition was lodged?
Agreed. Time violations are now few and far between. At the same time Rafa is also reducing the length of his pre-serve rituals.
Is it true that this TV thing started because of Fed? If its true then he must have regretted it; for he may be barking at the wrong tree(ie targetting the wrong person). He probably didnt expect that with Rafa in a slump, Novak now fears no one and no one could stop him from picking up all the slams and chasing after Fed’s slam records!
Fed himself couldnt even stop Novak at his own two favorite slams, ie Wimbledon and USO, so it looks like he needs some help to stop Novak at all the slams now. Fed needs Rafa to come back and stop Novak, when Murray and Fed himself couldnt and Stan is too inconsistent to do so.
The final is at 7.30 pm local time tomorrow..
Rafa really needs to up his level tomorrow when he faces Novak. The way Novak is playing now, no one can beat him; maybe Fed.
There’s something that I really dislike about Ferrer – why must he work so hard to beat Rafa, but once he sees Novak across the net, it’s like he’s a mouse seeing a cat? The way he plays, it’s really brainless; why stay at the baseline to rally with Novak when he is good enough to move to the net? Why only does that,i.e. moving to the net when he’s facing Rafa?? Why so keen of beating your fellow Spaniard but so afraid of the Serb (Novak) and the Swiss(Fed)??
Matchup. Ferrer is good at hitting balls that are at a comfortable enough height and depth. Djokovic doesn’t give him that, and is better at redirection. It’s a bit like why Federer wouldn’t have as much of a hard time against Djokovic as he would against Nadal.
Nah, Rafa always beat Ferrer in the past, at leasr on clay, and Ferrer could beat Novak in the past. Its like Ferrer loses confidence once he sees Novak across the net now. Why keeps staying at the baseline to rally with Novak when hes capable of moving forward to take the ball early and takes some risk? He may not beat Novak but at least tries make it more competitive and the scoreline more respectable.
Nadal vs Ferrer H2H is 23-6.
Well we haven’t been watching the same match then, the depth of Djokovic’s groundstrokes wouldn’t let Ferrer do take the ball early or move forward. He is a dimunitive man relatively speaking and his limited reach also means he is on the back foot when Djokovic redirects.
Furthermore, his game is reliant on supreme timing or anticipation to take the ball on the rise all the time a la Federer. Lack of the latter quality also means he wouldn’t pounce on the odd short ball (which seemed to be very rare yeseterday).
Pointless talking about the past. Both Djokovic and Nadal were very different players, and Djokovic is playing some of the best tennis of his life, even better than 2011 for me.
Probably because he thinks nothing short of digging in will work against Rafa. This goes for other players against Rafa, they seem to bring their best against him. Fog never competes with Djoko, he hands it to him with ribbons on. Look at Isner’s performance yesterday – he served 3 aces in the whole match.
lucky,
It’s good to see you back here again sharing your thoughts. Novak is the gold standard right now in men’s tennis. Rafa will have to raise his level of play if he wants to be competitive. I think we need Rafa back at his best, because when he’s on his game he can take down Novak.
The comments you made about Ferrer resonated with me. While I respect Ferrer making the most of what he has, I also think he has to work way too hard in matches. I think right now Novak has the aura of invincibility thing going for him. Players are going to go out there and maybe think that they don’t have much of a chance.
I swear Djokovic was playing a cat and mouse with Ferrer at 5:2
The two commies were in competition with each other to see who could clock up the most sycophantic cooments about Djokovic. That or Eurosport are running an incentive bonus scheme based on the qauntity of praise spewed out.
I also have a sneaking suspicion the bizarre statistics he posted for the SF are a smokescreen as to his true level. I trust Rafa knows him well enough not to be taken in by that kind of gamesmanship.
^^ ……a cat and mouse game…………
Tennis is a mental game. It’s an unrelenting process of staying in the now and keeping your focus. Djokovic has been prone to lapses in the past and still is every now and then. Nadal knows Djokovic’s true level; it was well on display for the first 7 games of the set on television. So how exactly would Djokovic’s cat and mouse ploy work?
well said
Have you ever watched a cat tormenting a mouse? He was letting Ferrer ‘get away’ by playing an UE or an easy shot then ‘pouncing’ with the killer blow to win the point. Well, that’s what it looked like to me at the time 🙂
I qualified my second paragraph: Rafa knows not to be taken in by Djokovic’s antics.
I know Rafa may not beat Novak but just hope that he tries his best to make it competitive and test his own current level. I hope he wont lose to a Novak who’s playing only at second gear; at least must force Novak to play at a high level. Vamos Rafa!
My gut feeling is Rafa will go for broke in this match. Tomorrow will be an indication of just how far up the ladder to recovery he has climbed.
I hope he doesn’t get nervous.
I certainly hope that is what Rafa does. He has no reason to hold back. If he loses, he loses. But at least go for his shots and put it all out there on the line. Then he will at least know he’s given it his best. He can live with that.
lucky,
I agree with your thoughts @ 2:18 pm. I do hope that Rafa will fight and do his best. Then he can take the measure of himself against the guy who is currently the best. He will know where he’s at and what has to be done.
I do want Rafa to push Novak. Don’t let him get off with not playing his best. Make him earn it.
ed, the sycophancy was too much for me so I switched the TV off and went for a long walk and only came back after checking the final score.
Ferrer ranks as THE No.1 journeyman. And he has had a very successful career as such. But at the end of the day a great journeyman is what he is.
It’s very true. Ferrer is the ultimate journeyman player. He’s done well to work with what he’s got, but he’s not going to measure up to the top four.
Sorry but Rafa has a slim chance imo.
I agree with you. But let us to dream …:)
I am not sure how hard will Rafa push Novak in this final…it really means little to Rafa because he has a lot more work to do next week…killing himself against an in-form egoistically confident Nole will not do much…
Novak is playing really well and this tourney is like his own…he is won it so many times that it almost looks inevitable to do it again…don’t get me wrong…it’s not that I would not like Rafa to beat Novak and win the title…but Rafa’s form is not yet there to deal easily with Novak and it would take tremendous effort from Rafa to be hand in hand with the Serb…I would rather see Rafa do well in Shanghai and earn more points…however, if Novak’s level dropped for some reason and Rafa manages to take advantage of it I’ll take it with all my heart… 🙂
I hope Rafa plays tension free…and displays some of his best tennis and his latest improvements…
Vamos Rafa!
I am not sure how hard will Rafa push Novak in this final…it really means little to Rafa because he has a lot more work to do next week…killing himself against an in-form egoistically confident Nole will not do much…
Novak is playing really well and this tourney is like his own…he is won it so many times that it almost looks inevitable to do it again…don’t get me wrong…it’s not that I would not like Rafa to beat Novak and win the title…but Rafa’s form is not yet there to deal easily with Novak and it would take tremendous effort from Rafa to be hand in hand with the Serb…I would rather see Rafa do well in Shanghai and earn more points…however, if Novak’s level dropped for some reason and Rafa manages to take advantage of it I’ll take it with all my heart… 🙂
I hope Rafa plays tension free…and displays some of his best tennis and his latest improvements…
Vamos Rafa!
I agree that Rafa should just go for it like he’s got nothing to lose because no one expects him to win anyway………………..well, I do, but the commies don;t.
I don’t think Rafa/Novak would kill themselves winning this title. I don’t expect a 3 or 4 hours match. Also, they may start their Shanghai matches on next Wed, so I don’t think it’ll affect them that much.
This is a quick HC so I don’t expect too many long rallies between them. I do agree that Rafa should just go out there and play like there’s nothing to lose, doesn’t think too much and goes for his instinctive shots, for I feel once Rafa starts thinking too much, he’ll get nervous and feels the tension.
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So what do you guys forecast for tomm?
Is there anyone expecting an upset?
I feel Novak wins in 3 tomm. Won’t be straights
I’m sitting on the fence on this one. As I said earlier it’s not clear where Djokovic is atm.
He’s not played his best tennis so far but this is a final so comme d’habitude he may well have been saving his best for this moment. If that is the case then I shall be happy as long as he acquits himself well.
as long as he (Rafa) acquits himself well
Djoker is under pressure because he won’t want to burst his bubble by losing to Rafa atm so I hope that gets to him.
I don’t think Paire is yet at the level to take Warwinka down. At his best he is capable of beating almost anyone but he still far too erractic – either very, very good or absolutely terrible. This is his first 500 level tourney against a two times Slam winner plus he has played an awful lot of tennis recently and has some kind of foot injury. I would love to be proved wrong.
Wawrinka in 2
Maybe it’ll be like Beijing final of 2013? Or Miami final 2014?
Or Rafa could make it more competitive in 3 sets. I hope he at least gets a set.
I checked Novak’s records at Beijing, he played there since 2009, except 2011, and he had only lost a set three times, once to Berrer and twice to Verdasco. He was scarily good in Bejing; this year he only lost 14 games on his way to the final, and he need not even moved out of second gear to beat all his opponents, including the no.7th ranked player!
don’t think that Rafa is quite there yet. He’s certainly on his way back but he’ll be lucky to take a set.
7 games, less or more?
Mikkers, I only watched 3 games of the Djoker/Ferrer match before I decided to go for a walk because there is nothing worse than watching ping pong.
I hope Rafa just comes out and swings freely.
http://rlv.zcache.com/vamos_rafa_with_flag_of_spain_sticker-r5b169e45925a4dc3870a8a8ab097dc13_v9waf_8byvr_324.jpg