Rafael Nadal and Milos Raonic will be playing for the first time at 250-point event–and almost certainly for the last time in the quarterfinals of a 250-point event–when they clash on Friday in Brisbane. Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov are also in action.
(1) Milos Raonic vs. (5) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Raonic will be facing each other for the eighth time in their careers when they battle for a semifinal spot at the Brisbane International on Friday night. The head-to-head series stands at 6-1 in favor of Nadal, who is an especially impressive 5-1 at the Canadian’s expense on hard courts. The Spaniard avenged a 2015 Indian Wells loss by most recently prevailing 6-3, 7-6(3) at the Shanghai Masters that fall. They also squared off at last week’s six-man Abu Dhabi tournament, with Nadal getting the job done 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on his way to the title.
The world No. 9 has not looked back at his first official event of 2017, hammering both Alexandr Dolgopolov and Mischa Zverev in straight sets. But the competition level obviously gets tougher in the form of Raonic, who is up to a career-high of No. 3 in the rankings and coming off a semifinal showing at the World Tour Finals–where he was one point from reaching the title match. Following a first-round bye as this week’s No. 1 seed, Raonic rolled over Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday. Unless Raonic turns in a near-flawless serving performance, he will likely be outclassed from the baseline once again by Nadal.
Pick: Nadal in 3
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(4) Dominic Thiem vs. (7) Grigor Dimitrov
Thiem and Dimitrov will be going head-to-head for just the second time in their careers on Friday. Their only previous encounter came last year on the hard courts of Acapulco, where Thiem got the job done 7-5, 6-2. That was part of a brilliant pre-Wimbledon season for the Austrian, who captured four ATP titles and reached the French Open semifinals before slumping down the stretch. Still, Thiem made his debut at the World Tour Finals and fared decently there with a win over Gael Monfils and competitive losses against Raonic and Novak Djokovic. Well-rested following the offseason, the 23-year-old opened on Thursday with a 7-6(5), 6-3 defeat of Sam Groth.
Dimitrov’s 2016 campaign was somewhat of a mirror image compared to Thiem’s, although the highs certainly were not as high. The 17th-ranked Bulgarian struggled early before reaching the Toronto quarters, the Cincinnati semis, the U.S. Open last 16, the Chengdu semis, the Beijing final, and the Stockholm semis. Maintaining momentum from those results, Dimitrov has advanced this week with routine victories over Steve Johnson and Nicolas Mahut. This should be a high-quality contest that could go either way, but a slight edge goes to Thiem.
Pick: Thiem in 3
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who ya got?
Dimi will win this in 2, he is will prepared for this event and Thiem need more than Sam Groth to raise his game
Dimitrov is the favorite according to the odds
Ever so slight favourite.
Hate picking Dum Dum (but he should win this).
I am going with Rafa to win in 3 sets.
I do think that Thiem/Dimi should be a quality match. Dimi showed signs of regaining his form last year and will want to continue to stay on track. I do agree that Thiem has the slight edge in this match. I expect him to continue to do well this year.
I have to go with Ricky in this one. It could go either way for sure. Thiem in 3 sets.
agree with ricky as well. rafa for the win and thiem to beat dim dim.
Courts are fast. Milos in three.
Dummy in three. (Same reason.)
Rafa and dimitrov in three
Rafa in two and Dimi in three..
Rafa of today will win in 2
Dimitrov in 3
Agreed (if Rafa of today plays Milos).
Very happy about Rafa and happy for TG Rafa fans! Before I get carried away… fingers crossed he wins the next match. Baby steps. I have not seen any tennis this week.
Rafa in 3 is my conservative vote. (he is my tournament winner pick !)
Yes Dim dim is favored to win but I am on solidly on Team Thiem – in 3 sets.
Very very slight favourite.
#VirtualPickem
I like Raonic in 3 and Dtrov in 3…so great to have live action back on the tennis channel!!!
Dimi in 3. No clue ra Rafa v Raonic. Could go either way.
After watching his first round match and today v M Zverev I can see one thing: Rafa’s forehand is back! In spades. I think Moya’s a great addition to the team, but I don’t think you can credit him for the forehand. That’s health and consequently the ability to practice. From reading Rafa’s book, I assume that Moya will encourage him to play more aggressively, which is probably a good thing.
Also calm and confidence. Stated reasons by Milos for why he hired Moya.
#MentalSolutions
Rafa and Thiem, both in 3. But both really could go either way, feel more confident about Rafa though.
Same
Rafa made 30 winners and only 7 UE’s against Mischa yesterday…And that is a staggering stats considering he played under the roof where he usually had trouble in the past..It’s also indicated his self belief and confidence in a highest place atm..Hopefully,he can neutralize Milos’s booming serve beautifully like he did in Dubai last week…VAMOS RAFA!!!!
Nadal in 2, Thiem in 3. Thiem was playing ATP Finals not long ago. That level should have Dimitrov covered. However, Dimitrov is 25 now so hitting an age where he should be dominating his younger rivals of a similar level. I think Thiem is a bit stronger than Dimitrov off the ground and is quite mature for his age.
Thiem is ranked 8 in the world also compared to 17 for Dimitrov. That means Thiem should win IMO as there is no excuse for Dimitrov being ranked significantly higher given he played 25 tournaments last season.
Completely agree with you, Mark
Keep your mind sharp and focused, remain confident and show your fighting spirit, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C1dyw2MVQAEN0TC.jpg
I really don’t like Rafa’s court position behind the baseline. Why is he playing a clay court game on the HC again? He’s going CC all the time hitting right back at Raonic, why not try a DTL shot instead?
I think he’s still not calm out there, too bad he has a hard time overcoming a top three player.
Yep, Rafa is all nerves…not capitalizing on break points..hitting short in key moments and being tentative..same old, same old…
The problem with him is he’s not thinking clearly out there; see, once he’s not hitting right back at Raonic, he usually wins the point. What take him so long to figure out?
Once his intensity drops he’s easier opponent for Raonic. He’s so far behind the baseline and his ROS becomes so short that Raonic could just rush in to hit a winner. I’m disappointed with the way he plays this match, so unlike at Abu Dhabi.
Congrats to Me 2-0.
(Sorry for Ricky 0-2.)
#Hawkstradamus
Still so much to be done for Rafa to win on HC again. I mean once he meets a big serving guy he will have a hard time, standing so far back to return serves.
His level now is still not good enough to beat the top 3 or 4 guys imo. I hope he can be ready for the clay season and wins the big prizes.
Agreed. He still lacks match to match consistency required to win tournaments let alone slams.
This is why I went with defending champ Milos here.
#BetweenTheEars
#NothingNew
I watch Rafa’s Abu Dhabi match vs Raonic, he was more willing to step inside the court, his passing shots were so great, mixing in CC with DTL shots. It’s just so different from this match even though Raonic was playing better here than at ABu Dhabi.
When it mattered, Rafa seemed not sure of himself, still lack of confidence and calm I supposed. I just hope he doesn’t lose in R1 at the AO this time. I can’t help but feel really disappointed with the way he plays once it’s a real match (not exho) and vs a tough opponent. If he continues to play a clay court game on the HC, then I hope he just play on clay and skips the others.
I think by next year, he would have met all criteria (31 yo; played >600 matches; being in the tour for > 12 years) and so can skip any tournament. His game now is no longer good enough to win on the HCs if he insist on playing from so far behind the baseline; might as well concentrate on clay.
He’s no longer good enough to win on the HC’s IMO only because he’s no longer confident enough.
He still has the same physical talent that got him to the AO ’14 final.
Year he’s not confident. He’s not willing to move out of his comfort zone sometimes, doing the same thing over and over again like hitting his shots CC almost ‘forever’. It’s when he’s about to lose then he woke up and started hitting DTL. Why wait till his back was against the wall, and when it’s too late, then he changed up? I don’t understand that mentality.
Human nature.
When your down and out with back against the wall, it’s all but over and ya got nothing to lose so players tend to swing away more freely.
Conversely players (underdogs, or Rafa lately) tend to tighten up when they are in the drivers seat serving for the match!
Credit where credit is due, Raonic was playing very well- serving so many aces and hitting so hard. His average ground stroke pace was > Rafa’s. I think once the big four guys are gone or are all going downhill, Raonic can start to dominate, though I must say I just don’t like tennis with just raw power.
Raonic has really been amazing at looking at every aspect of his game and improving it. He’s no Big Four or Sampras but he’s intriguing to follow.
And I think he is more than just raw power, a poorer man’s Sampras if you will.
But I’m Canadian so…