Germany is one win away from pulling off a Davis Cup quarterfinal upset of Spain, but there is still a long way to go–starting with Alexander Zverev’s date with Rafael Nadal. A potential fifth rubber is scheduled to include Philipp Kohlschreiber and David Ferrer.
(ESP) Rafael Nadal vs. (GER) Alexander Zverev
Nadal will be facing a must-win situation when he goes up against Zverev in the fourth rubber of this weekend’s Davis Cup quarterfinal tie between Spain and Germany on the red clay of Valencia. The world No. 1 did his part by trouncing Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 on Friday, but the host nation trails 2-1 following a five-set doubles loss by Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez at the hands of Jan-Lennard Struff and Tim Puetz. Nadal, of course, is back in action for the first time since suffering a hip injury in the semifinals of the Australian Open more than two months ago. He skipped the rest of the hard-court swing but playing at home and on his favorite surface appears to be just what the doctor ordered.
A showdown with Zverev will be an even better gauge of Nadal’s current form, because Zverev is whole different beast than Kohlschreiber at the moment. The 20-year-old, ranked fourth in the world, is coming off a runner-up performance in Miami and he clobbered David Ferrer–whom he also defeated in Rotterdam and Miami–6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in Friday’s opening rubber. Zverev trails the head-to-head series 3-0; he was competitive in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 loss at the 2017 Aussie Open but got destroyed 6-1, 6-1 in their only previous clay-court encounter last spring in Monte-Carlo. Although Zverev can make this interesting, it is almost impossible to see Nadal losing on dirt in Spain based on his encouraging Friday performance.
Pick: Nadal in 4
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(ESP) David Ferrer vs. (GER) Philipp Kohlschreiber
If Nadal takes care of business against Zverev, the scheduled fifth rubber between Ferrer and Kohlschreiber would be live. At a combined 70 years old (Ferrer 36, Kohlschreiber 34), the two veterans would thus turn back the clock for their 14th career contest. Ferrer is dominating the head-to-head series 10-3, including 7-0 in their last seven matchups, 3-1 on clay, and 1-0 in Davis Cup (2008 quarterfinals on a hard court in Germany). They have not faced each other since 2015, when the Spaniard got the job done 6-3, 7-6(5) in Barcelona.
Ferrer’s 2018 record dropped to 6-8 with his setback against Zverev, but he has not lost to anyone ranked worse than 49th. Kohlschreiber has been similarly mediocre this season, with a 5-7 record that includes opening-match losses at three different events. The world No. 34 went a relatively disappointing 4-6 during the April-May clay swing in 2017 but at least managed to finish runner-up in Marrakech. With the crowd behind him, clay under his feet, and confidence from his past success against Kohlschreiber, Ferrer should have the edge in this one.
Pick: Ferrer in 4
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I am so happy for Rafa and thevrest of the Spanish DC team! Great job, guys! Did not watch the matches but Rafa beating Alex in 3 is great news for Rafans!
I missed you Rafa!!!! Welcome on board! Let’s make on of those brilliant rides through clay season, the way only Rafa could do!
Vamos Rafa!
Rafa has said he will play the semi finals of the Davis cup and, if they win the SF, will play the final. If he’s not injured….
The commies on my the DC livestream were still hopeful that Zed would make it a match because he took Rafa to 5 sets in Australia and had match point against him once. The result was as I expected. If this is what a rusty Nadal can do, watch out when he is well oiled and running smoothly like a machine.
Yay! Ferret won! Good for him! I will get to watch the matches in a few hours. Can’t wait! So happy for Rafa and the team!
Vamos Espana!!
😀
That was the best Davis Cup weekend I can remember in a long time (apart from when GB lifted the Cup in 2015).
Full of thrills from the off culminating in the cliff-hanger 5th rubber. But best of all was seeing Rafa in such good form.
When the new format is introduced Davis Cup will not be the same 🙁
Absolutely loved seeing Rafa and David bringing the spaniards back for the win. David showed so much heart as did Rafa (even on the sidelines 😄)
😂😂😂,You’re so right Benny,Rafa was about to collapse with the nerves during Ferrer match,so much passion as always!
Too bad they’re changing the Davis Cup format,they’ll be taking away the excitement in so many ways…
I got to see both matches on the encore broadcasts on the tennis channel. Rafa played really well against Zverev. It was great to see Rafa looking so good. Then it was the marathon with Ferrer and Kohls. The match could have gone either way, but I think Ferrer was better in the fifth set in clutch moments.
The camera kept showing Rafa cheering on Ferrer from the sidelines. The commentators were getting a kick out of how intense he was! I loved seeing Rafa just as intense on the sidelines as he is on the court. His facial expressions and his animated and passionate he was, really made my day!
I was not aware of the changes that are to be made on Davis Cup play. How is it going to change?
There was description of the proposed changes here a few weeks ago. Sorry, but I couldn’t find it just now. Steve Tignor says a bit about it in his article today on Tennis.com. The changes would consolidate it to a week in September in a chosen venue and would, frankly, gut it. The proposition will be voted on by the ITF this summer.
Ramara,
Thanks for the info. I haven’t been in here much recently, so I missed it. I will check out Tignor’s article. It’s too bad if they are going to gut DC.
The proposed changes:
26 Feb 2018: “ITF announces plans for transformation of Davis Cup”
https://www.daviscup.com/en/news/281841.aspx
Dang that would honestly suck
Yeah Nny,it was great to see Rafa absolutely thrilled with all the drama there. I wasn’t expecting him to be in such a good form after a long absence.If he stays healthy,la Undecima is just a matter of time.
ITF wants to put the Davis Cup over a week format at a single location and in a best of 3 format,how’s that possible,they’re killing the competition.