Rafael Nadal will continue his Brisbane campaign when he takes the court against Mischa Zverev on Thursday. A place in the quarterfinals will also be at stake when Dominic Thiem begins his season against Sam Groth.
Mischa Zverev vs. (5) Rafael Nadal
Nadal’s 2017 season is off to a stellar start both unofficially and officially as he heads into second-round action at the Brisbane International on Thursday. The ninth-ranked Spaniard triumphed last week at the six-man Abu Dhabi tournament with wins over Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic, and David Goffin. He maintained momentum from those performances with a 6-3, 6-3 first-round victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov on Tuesday.
Up next for Nadal is the older Zverev brother, whom the 14-time Grand Slam champion has never faced. A memorable encounter with Alexander Zverev, however, went Nadal’s way via a 6-7(8), 6-0, 7-5 at the 2016 Indian Wells Masters after the German teenager squandered one match point. Although this Zverev lacks the same kind of natural talent, he is coming off a resurgent season. The 29-year-old won 12 ATP-level matches in 2016, including a quarterfinal performance at the Shanghai Masters and a semifinal showing in Basel (both as a qualifier). Zverev, who took care of Alex De Minaur in his Tuesday opener, does not have the necessary firepower possessed by his brother to seriously trouble Nadal.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 7 games or fewer
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(4) Dominic Thiem vs. Sam Groth
Early indications are that Thiem has not learned his lesson from the overly grueling schedule he created for himself in 2016. The world No. 8’s first three months–if not more–of 2017 are jam-packed with tournaments and he even played doubles this week in Brisbane. Thiem and Kei Nishikori upset No. 2 seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers before succumbing to Gilles Muller and Sam Querrey. The 23-year-old Austrian should, however, be well-rested at the moment on the heels of a much-needed offseason. It was a slightly shorter offseason than normal, because Thiem replaced Nadal at the World Tour Finals and went 1-2 with a win over Gael Monfils and losses to Novak Djokovic and Milos Raonic.
Up first for Thiem on Thursday is a second career meeting with Groth, who trails the head-to-head series 2-0. Thiem prevailed 7-5, 6-2 at last season’s Miami Masters before scoring a 7-6(3), 7-6(2) victory on the grass courts of Stuttgart. Groth earned another shot at this week’s No. 4 seed by outlasting Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 on Tuesday. Ranked 180th in the world, the Australian obviously needed a wild card in order to get into the main draw. He made the most of it against Herbert, but the surface may not allow him to be as competitive as he was against Thiem on the green stuff last summer.
Pick:Â Thiem in 2
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who ya got?
Thiem.
And Rafa losing no less than seven games.
Yep. I’m with Hawkie. same.
Keep calm, stay focused and remain confident, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C1ZaoyGWgAAdWlP.jpg
I think rafa will prevail in 2..
Rafa playing well!
Vamos Champ! ❤
Vamos Rafa!
#BreadsticksAreEverywhere
Wow, beautiful from Rafa! Amazing tennis! Rafa neutralized every S&W attempt of Zverev! Those passing shots were pure magic!
Bravo Rafa! Rafa is so loved wherever he goes!
Vamos!
YES!!!Rafa won!WOOOOHOOOO!!!
#BESTILLMYHEART!
Slams are ripe for the picking this year for someone ready to step up.
#ReturnOfTheBigFour?
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‏@jon_wertheim
Fwiw and Small sample size…. but rival coach notes: “I can’t remember the last time Nadal has looked this good.”
#ReturnOfTheGOAT
told you that moya would really help rafa! vamos carlos!
Amy,
Yes, we both thought that Moya would help Rafa! I saw a replay of his match with Dolgo and thought Rafa looked pretty sharp. Good serving, cc backhand was really good, aggressive play staying on the baseline.
I think that Moya will be a good support and adviser to Rafa.
nny, yes i said i had the positive vibe in a big way and that still continues. let’s just pray rafa stays healthy. not going to get ahead of myself and have too many expectations but feeling that moya will be very good for rafa. talk again soon….
Forgive me Amy, I can’t remember.
Didn’t I agree at the time?
But yeah, so far, great.
Hope to God that Rafa can stay injury free at least for the first 6 months…it’s enough for me atm..
yep. here’s hoping…..
i think you are new mira andi so welcome to the site!! lots of rafa fans here….!
Awww!Thank you so much amy!nice to meet u!
nice to have new people here mira andi. look forward to chatting with you again!
so much hoping rafa stays healthy!
Hey amy..here we are, chatting again…And yeah amy..the key is for rafa to stay healthy and i believe everything will come naturally after that…he looks so confidence…When i first saw him played in Dubai against Berdych,i thought wow!where is the old Rafa of 2 years gone?It was like what we saw in the last 2 years is a ghost..A ghost that i hope would never see again in the foreseeable future…Anyway,nice chatting with you amy!he he..
well i feel pretty strongly that moya is helping already with rafa’s confidence mira andi. he’s the kind of coach who can have a very calming and centering affect like darren cahill. rafa’s confidence has generally been so low this last couple of year and he’s been so nervous….moya can really help with that and i reckon is probably helping alreadly. i was thinking maybe rafa being superstitious is good in this regard ie being able to believe in the benefits of someone new very quickly….
see you mira andi…!!
Amy..in that case why in God’s name rafa wait for so long to add a new member to his team!I should smack him on the head for making us suffered a lot this last couple of years!Urgh!!
+++++++++++++++++++++++1
Vamos!
And hollered BIG HI to other Rafa fans as well..
Mira Andi,
Welcome to the site! You are going to enjoy the discussion. You are in good company with other Rafa fans!
I am with you in hoping that Rafa can just stay healthy and avoid injuries so that he can get himself going this year.
Great to have you here!
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@on Nativenewyorker…Thank you,thank you,thank you for your WARMMMMM welcome!…I really really appreciate it!…Oh!I feel loved already!ha ha ha…I know you guys are a very good bunch…I’ve heard it somewhere!Once again,thank you for your kind and sweet gesture !You guys are AWESOME!!VAMOS!!
Rafa says at his post-R2 press conference: “I’m not sure about my percentage of serves, I think it wasn’t that good tonight, but for the rest, I think, I played great”
https://youtu.be/zPREVs5wwdE
Set 1/ Set 2 stats:
First Service 43/53 %
First Service won 80/88 %
Second service won 77/71 %
Be brave Rafa! ?
Rafa with the beatdown #vamos
Great stuff from Rafa, baby steps though first ….