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
[polldaddy poll=9977255]
(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
[polldaddy poll=9977254]
WWW?
Nadal in 3, Ferrer in 4
Nas 2 primeiras semanas você já vê resultados, Suh! http://www.biblememorization.com/component/k2/itemlist/user/232968
Zv in 4;….Kohl in 4.
Rafa and Ferrer in five setters. Great matchups tmrw
Nadal in 3(75%), in 4 or 5(25%)
Ferrer “the terror” in 4(60%) and in 5(40%)
John Isner to defeat Ruben Bemelmans in 3 sets (80%), in 4 (20%)
Sam Querrey to defeat Joris De Loore in 3 sets (80%), in 4 (20%)
WYG (What You Got)?lol
Borna Coric to defeat Dmitry Popko in 4 sets. In 3 possible.
Marin Cilic to defeat Mikhail Kukushkin in 5 sets. 4 possible.
Kukushkin plays tough at home. He can upset also like he upset Coric yesterday.
Andreas Seppi vs Jeremy Chardy is a toss up. +2.5 sets either wins!
Fabio Fognini to defeat Lucas Pouille in 4 sets. In 5 or even 3 possible as Pouille is far higher ranked and skilled. But Fognini is a best in front of his home fans. so 3 also possible.
Correction –
But Fognini is a BEAST in front of his home fans. So in 3 (15%) also possible.
But like Fogs in 4(60%) and in 5(25%)
Fogs ML should be a winner.
Fogs is the better player on Clay having played many Clay matches on the South American swing, winning the Sao Paulo – Clay Title also.
Fogs has a 2:1 H2H advantage winning the last 2 H2H’s.
So like Fogs to frogy (frog jump) over Pouille for a win!lol
I will give a slight edge to Andreas Seppi can also squeeze out a 5 setter win as he is playing in front of his home fans. Besides Seppi has the better gas tank/endurance ans is the better defensive player. If Seppi can put tons of balls back into Chardy’s court especially his backhand (weak side), that will frustate the frenchy Chardy and make him hit lots of errors.
Seppi is in better form in 2018 with a W/L of 14/7 vs 9/8 for Chardy.
Jeremy Chardy can also win due to his superior power in his serves and returns especially with his forehand!
Like +2.5 sets either to win as I expect a tight 4 or 5 setter here today.
What you think experts?
WYG in the above 4 Davis Cup competitions (8 matches)?
This could not be a better scenario for Rafa’s comeback after so long without match play. It will be a true test of where he is at.
Vamos les Espagnole
ed251137,
Looks like Rafa is back. He beat my handsome (Giraffe Zverev) black and blue!lol
Nadal R. (Esp)
3 6 6 6
Zverev A. (Ger)
0 1 4 4
If Rafa’s knee has fulled healed then we should see Rafa winning most of the clay marbles (tournaments) at stake in 2018.
Ed, why do you have the big number “ed 251137” after your name? What is its significance?
Vamos y golpeamos al mundo Nadal!lol
He was asked if he played pain-free and he answered ‘that’s a difficult question’ – implying that he was experiencing some pain. Nothing new there. His attritional game style and physical problems has meant he has always played with some degree of pain.
But still to overcome Zeverev in straight sets was stunning to watch.
Bravo Rafa!!
ed251137 AT 11:49 AM,
Rafa answered that he’s playing “without limitations”.
Vamos Rafa indeed!!! Cleaned AZ’s clock for him again. 🙂 Now if Ferru can just get it together…
Why is it that Rafa is the only tennis player whose “play style” gets blamed for his injuries? The French players, for example, seem to spend half their playing lives injured but no one blames them for it. Currently the French are down to Chardy playing singles. Seriously?? He’s the best they can do?
Ramara says AT 12:01 PM: “Why is it that Rafa is the only tennis player whose “play style” gets blamed for his injuries?”
===
It’s because the Fedfans propaganda machine has created this narrative and has kept it alive.
Roger
Most people have already worked that one out. lol
Ricky used to refer to me as ed numbers 🙂
It’s the date of my birthday – which most likely makes me the oldest poster on this site. I’ve been watching tennis for roughly 65 years. Ken Rosewall was my first favourite player.
Yay! You’re older than me! 🙂 Not sure whether to offer congrats or condolences on that one.
Wow Ed!!…Watching tennis for 65 years already??Whooo!!….AWESOME!!!…
Much congrats ed!…I bet,there’s so many memories & experience in you…And i hope u will have another 30 years to savour this great moment ed!
ed251137,
Thnx. for clarifying the mystery behind those lucky magical numbers.
Congrats on watching Tennis for 65 years! I have been watching for nearly 1 year appx. that too just a few minutes of some important matches not all.
If I had 65 years of tennis experience, I would be making a minimum of $650,000.00+ money from tennis betting!lol I lack the deep knowledge of some player;s styles, skill sets, behaviors etc. which sometimes makes me lose a few bets (15 to 20%).
Ed, it is really a pleasure too have you on this website. You not only have the rich tennis experience but also are wise and appreciate the good in people! A couple of bad or evil people attack and trouble me a lot. But I remember you appreciating me for my good tennis prediction or bets. Thanks for the same. You are a wise and positive person unlike a few evil miscreants here.
Ed, I can learn a lot from your vast and rich tennis experience. Hope I can interact with you one day and learn all that you know! Heeey, I am greedy here Ed {basically hungry for tennis knowledge to be the Best in Tennis betting like one of the best tennis players (Federer) copying my name of Roger.}!lol
Roger
Thanks for your kind message. I was by no way very proficient, even when I did play, and so lack the technical knowledge of some of the people posting here. However I’m passionate about watching tennis and follow the progress of quite a few players (non more closely than Rafa as I’m sure you are aware 🙂 and I’m usually not bad at assessing their current form and therefore their chances in any given match.
I consider myself privileged to have seen many of the legendary great names in tennis playing live at one time or another.
Rafa is not the only one who feels pain after a match! I bet Fed for eg would also feel pain (in his back)after a match, and Murray too!
Come on, it’s common to feel aches here and there after a match with all the physical strains exerted on the body.
All the big four are not without injury issues or pain free; same for Delpo, Stan, Cilic etc and etc. The wear and tear will catch up one day; Rafa is already quite amazing in that he’s coming back after injuries and manages to still stay in the top ten all these while and right now he’s still playing some great tennis on clay.
Constatação adiantado do cancro a próstata. http://freeminecraftgamese.com/profile/2839689/alisiabeet
Lucky
I wasn’t referring to the normal wear and tear which takes it toll on all players. We know Rafa has played in pain for most of his tennis career – due in part to the congenital foot problem (which nearly put an end to his career before it had even taken off in 2004) combined with the persistent knee problems which have plagued him for years. What is so extraordinary is his ability to play through the pain barrier and still win gruelling matches.
It’s great to know that Rafa beat Zverev! I will have to wait for the encore presentation tonight. But I am so happy for him! Two DC wins in his first matches back!
I think Rafa has endured pain and still managed to win. He’s quite marvelous in that regard! I am amazed at his will and perseverance to keep coming back after injuries. But I think one can see why when you watch him on court. He has so much passion for this sport. In his first match against Kohls, you could see the good body language and Rafa’s satisfaction when he hit a brilliant winner. The crowd was loving it, too. His wonderful for Rafa to come back in Spain and be able to share these wins with his countrymen.
It would be nice now if someone else on the team could step up and win,
Congratulations to ed on being the senior member of this forum! Brava! I have watched this sport all my life but have not lived long enough to top ed’s record!
Ferrer clinched the match and a place in the SF for Spain, well done! Feel sorry for Kohl as he played his heart out!
In this match, Ferrer finally shown some of his varieties that he used to have in the past when playing on clay. I hope this win will help him revive his career, at least get back to a top twenty ranking. He’s so happy about this win, so glad for him. He’s like a hero in Spain now!
I think, Ferru was very happy because he won in front of his hometown crowd – Valencia is his hometown.
His wife and mother were in tears when he won.
🙂
Vamos Daveeeed! He’s stepped it up for Davis Cup so many times! He’s truly been Spain’s Iron Man (Ferru means “iron” in Spanish). Hope this is not his last hurrah!
NNY
You and I have shared a lot of ups and downs over the past decade or so (including a certain amount of abuse from a pesky troll who shall remain nameless). MA left a message earlier saying she hoped I would live long enough to watch tennis for another thirty years or so. No way do I intend hanging around that long 🙁
When I hit 80 I posted a message on Facebook to the effect ‘You can live to be a hundred provided you are prepared to give up all the things that make life worth living’. That’s not for me!!!
Dearest ed,
Yes, we sure have had our ups and downs! We survived one of the worst trolls on Tennis Talk! You clued me in to Lew Hoad. I was too young and never watched him play. But I did some research and found that he died in 1994 of leukemia at 59. I watched a great documentary on the tennis channel last year about the great players from back in the day. It was all about the struggle to make tennis a professional sport and not amateur. It was fascinating and enlightening to hear about this great struggle to change the sport of tennis. Rod Laver was persuaded to turn pro and paid a heavy price for doing so. It was disturbing to see how he was banned from some major tournaments and how intense the bad blood was between those who wanted tennis to stay the way it was as an amateur sport and those who worked hard to make it a professional sport. The players back then didn’t make any money. But I really enjoyed the friendship among the players back then. They talked about Lew Hoad with great affection. They were young and had some crazy times back then.
Seeing Ken Rosewall, Roy Emerson, Tony Roche, Stan Smith and Rod Laver reminiscing about their days as players and what it was like, was great.
I totally understand your sentiments about getting older and not living too long! You have already reached old age and are still going strong!
You know that it’s been a special pleasure and privilege to chat with you on Tennis Talk and Tenngrand all these years!
😍
NNY
Wish I’d seen that programme. Maybe it will come up on YouTube.
I was actually at Forest Hills for the first New York Open Era tournament. I was on duty manning the Sports Illustrated hospitality tent and was close to tears when I saw all those players who had been missing from the scene for so long.
Didn’t know Lew Hoad had died so young. I used to have a large poster of him on my bedroom wall.
Those were the days…….