A semifinal spot will be at stake when Rafael Nadal goes up against Andrey Kuznetsov on Thursday in Doha. Novak Djokovic and Leonardo Mayer are also in quarterfinal action.
Andrey Kuznetsov vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
Picking up right where he left off following an impressive 2015 fall swing, Nadal is in fine form early in 2016 as he heads into quarterfinal competition at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Thursday. The fifth-ranked Spaniard won the season-opening exhibition event in Abu Dhabi and so far in Doha he has taken out Pablo Carreno Busta and Robin Haase. Since dropping his opening set to Carreno Busta in a tiebreaker, Nadal has reeled off four in a row via scorelines of 6-3, 6-1, 6-3, and 6-2.
It has already been an outstanding week for Kuznetsov, who punched his ticket to the last eight with straight-set victories over Marsel Ilhan and Ricardas Berankis. This is the 79th-ranked Russian’s second career showdown against Nadal, having previously gone down 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 in the third round of last year’s French Open. Kuznetsov is a clean ball-striker who does his best work on the slow stuff, but he does not have the necessary firepower with which to hit Nadal off the court. The No. 2 seed should cruise into the semis without too much trouble.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
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(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (8) Leonardo Mayer
Djokovic and Mayer will also be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Thursday. Their only previous encounter came at the 2014 Australian Open, where Djokovic coasted 6-0, 6-4, 6-4. Based on the Serb’s form, there is no reason to think much will be different this time around. Building on what was a purely dominant 2015 campaign, Djokovic is off to a 2-0 start this season with consecutive 6-2, 6-2 beatdowns of Dustin Brown and Fernando Verdasco.
Mayer has been similarly untouchable through two rounds, having dropped a total of nine games to Benjamin Becker and Pablo Andujar. The 35th-ranked Argentine is likely to narrowly miss out on Australian Open seeding, as he would have to pull off this monumental upset and then reach the Doha final in order to have a chance. Djokovic will not let that happen, as the top seed will be eager to make some kind of amends for his surprising quarterfinal loss at this tournament last year to Ivo Karlovic.
Pick: Djokovic in 2 losing 5-7 games
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Only following the score. Nole’s doing a little better on 2nd serve. But he’s on the road to dropping a set if he doesn’t do somthing! yikes!
Mayer is making it easy for Nole spreading errors all over the place when serving for the set…poor fellow got terrified that he could actually take a set…
terrible from Leo
lol, poor Mayer, if that’s the case, natashao. Did Mayer choke?
you have to see his game at 5-4
I want to! 🙂
Of course he did! My comment was some sort of a parody to hawkeye’s diagnostic approach to Rafa’s game…he keeps reminding us of his diagnosis so I was just making jokes about it…
Mayer was pathetic in the last few games to be honest…
Not really. People keep asking why Rafa can’t consolidate so I’m just the messenger quoting Rafa directly on his “mental problem” (his words).
Mayer failed to serve for the set… It’s MENTAL… ?
that’s putting it GENEROUSLY
did you SEE the game?
no. only score following.
AT 6:44 PM,
Djoko failed to serve for the set against Brown on Monday…It’s MENTAL… ?
Definitely! ?
he said something in Arabic to the crowd
Yes Nole if broken only when serving for the set, then it was likely a MENTAL lapse. NOt to be confused with a chronic PROBLEMA MENTAL (Rafa’s words).
Apples and oranges.
Yes it is MENTAL. Classic MENTAL breakdown when an underdog serves for a set.
When a great player like Nadal does it chronically against players outside the Top 50, it’s very likely an anxiety disorder. As Rafa said, a “problema mental”.
There is a huge difference between Novak sometimes not being able to close out a set. It happens to all the top players at some point. But Novak isn’t doing it all the time, to the point where he has to expend a lot more energy and effort to win a match that should have been a piece of cake.
Here and there is just normal. But if it becomes chronic and there is a pattern, then it indicates a problem.
When Rafa was on his game, there were times when he couldn’t serve out sets or close out matches. Look at what happened in the 2013 RG semifinal with Novak. Rafa was serving for the match in the fourth set, but was broken and ultimately lost that set in a tb. We all know what happened in that brilliant fifth set, when Rafa played some of the finest tennis I have ever seen from him. But he had to work a lot harder. However, I can understand him having this happen against Novak. But not against lower ranked players in minor tournaments.
How about Rafa going up two sets against Fed in the 2008 Wimbledon final? Then he lost the next two sets and there was that dramatic fifth set. But it can happen against the great players. That’s not unexpected. You don’t expect to see it happen so often against these lower ranked guys who haven’t done anything in this sport.
NNY gets it.
Unbelievable what you just said! Following your false logic none of the lower ranked players should ever be able to beat top players?! They should all be beaten just because they are “lower ranked”!? What are you talking about? Rafa was “lower ranked” at some point in his career and he beat top ranked guys to get where he did…
Anyone can beat anyone at a good day in the office! Rafa’s game is readable and while he was younger he could have won matches on muscles and hard work…now, he will more often have to di it hard way…please do not underestimate any player…they are in top 100 for a reason…
Btw, you just proved Hawkeye wrong…unless your point is that Rafa suffered from anxiety disorder even back in 2008 which I am sure was not your intention…
natashao gets it..
I am happy with the progress Rafa is making. Rafa rarely finished off his opponents in double quick time except at RG 2008 and one other RG. That’s the way he plays. He needs a great serve to be able to crush his opponents. Not only will he expend less energy but his return games too would be less stressful as currently he is often under pressure to break back.
nats,
Suffice to say that I do not agree with your interpretation of what I said. You are twisting my words and also accusing me of using false logic. I never said that lower ranked players should never be able to beat top players. I am talking about a pattern in which Rafa has had matches under control against lower ranked players and then let it slip out of his grasp.
That’s what happened all too often in 2015. I don’t know why people have to get so emotional and make it personal. It’s hard to respond when someone so blatantly distorts what I said. That’s when it’s impossible to have a reasonable discussion.
I do not want to see Rafa working too hard in these tournaments against these lower ranked players. Why? Because I want him to remain healthy. He’s not a kid anymore in this sport and winning as efficiently as possible is important.
I also would appreciate it if you would stop trying to say that I am in any way stating that Rafa has a specific anxiety disorder. I never said that, in fact I disagreed with hawkeye and chloro regarding that. So please read my posts with an open mind and stop twisting what I am saying.
As far as Rafa rarely finishing off his opponents in double quick time, that comment strikes me as completely absent of logic and accuracy. It’s a generalization.
So Rafa only finished off opponents quickly at the 2008 RG and one other? For real? I don’t think so.
Ha ha thus speaks hawkeye’s Godel!!!
@ native 4:54 am,
I appreciate your words. My impression was that in a support of an opinion of why Rafa fails to beat his opponents in a more convincing way you were saying that he may have had a mental issue even back then when he was playing at a top of his game and bursting with confidence…because hawks agreed with you I thought you also supported the idea of some kind of disorder Rafa could have…
I guess I misunderstood you. But I do agree that Rafa’s serve has always been his issue and therefore he was most of the time forced to fight in his matches to win them…
I am glad we agree on lower ranked players…they all have their chance on a given day… it’s the matter of belief, luck and their opponent level that makes it possible for the underdog to win…
And I would too love Rafa finished off his opponents quickly but I doubt it will be the case…it may be exception rather than the rule…
The armchair doctor is constantly making huge efforts to deliver diagnoses to other people – AT 7:07 PM. LOL
The armchair nutbar is constantly making huge efforts to deliver made up stories to other people about Rafa “only joking” about his “problema mental” LOL
The armchair doctor keeps telling one lie after another (AT 7:54 PM). It’s mental.
No that is just another one of your own lies after many others.
you’ve repeatedly said Rafa is “only joking” frequently to explain why Rafa said he has dealt with mental issues.
Oh please, Godel! Really? You are becoming way too obvious. Don’t give yourself away!
nats,
I just saw your reply and I appreciate that you understood my clarification. I know that you have been reasonable and are someone who can discuss things without having any kind of hidden agenda.
I really want to see Rafa do well this year. I will be there supporting him all the way. 🙂
Mental as not feeling confident about your game…mental as fear of failures… Mental as fear of particular flaws in your own game (read: Lousy serve)..not mental as some type of illness…that is how I interpret it… ?
Illness has such a bad connotation.
Mental problem (problema mental in Rafa’s words) is what it is.
It’s mental AT 7:37 PM.
nats,
I think that’s fair enough.
Nats, it is more than that according to Rafa’s own words recently.
From a recent interview:
Nadal said that for the first time, he felt the fear of not being able to play tennis and pointed out the mental challenge that had kept him from being the 14-time Grand Slam winner that he is. “For the first time in my career I went on the court with ‘fear of failure,’” Nadal said, reports Tennis World USA. “Not of losing, but of not being able to play.”
http://www.ibtimes.com.au/rafael-nadal-reveals-fear-failure-first-time-career-1495484
This is what an anxiety order is. It is anxiety to the point that it significantly affects your performance. It caused most of his losses last year and as Rafa said, he was worried about not even being able to go on court.
That’s how bad it got for Mardy Fish.
Aren’t we really arguing over semantics here? We seem to agree that Rafa does have a mental issue. Rafa used that word in his on court interview after he beat Haase yesterday. He said that he was happy with the mental aspect because he found solutions. So he does use that world. But we are not talking about a mental illness and it’s really unfortunate that at times it has been distorted.
Rafa isn’t saying he’s mentally ill. I don’t see anyone here saying he is mentally ill. The issues that nats listed in her post can all be components of what ends up being categorized as some kind of mental issue.
I agree with the examples she listed. These are all things that are behind the loss of mental focus that plagued Rafa all last year. So I think we are all essentially in agreement.
Nativenewyorker ( AT 7:42 PM),
—Rafa isn’t saying he’s mentally ill. I don’t see anyone here saying he is mentally ill.—
===
.
Anyone? Really? The local armchair doctor – hawk – is constantly delivering Rafa a diagnosis!
Rafa has said mental problem (“problema mental”).
The local armchair nutbar – augoogle08 – is constantly delivering made up stories about Rafa “only joking” to explain why he said mental problem.
Nativenewyorker ( AT 7:42 PM),
The local armchair doctor -hawk – delivered a diagnosis to Rafa AGAIN (!!!) – on JANUARY 7, 2016 AT 8:03 PM.
Nativenewyorker ( AT 7:42 PM),
The local armchair augoogle08 delivered a made up story to you AGAIN (!!!) – on JANUARY 7, 2016 AT 8:08 PM.
next person who adds to this conversation is going under moderation until the Australian Open
^^^ that applies only to Augusta and Hawkeye, of course
I hope that delivering diagnoses to Rafa won’t be allowed in the future.
.
The end of the topic. 🙂
The usual suspects always see Rafa’s glass half empty.
nadline (AT 5:48 AM),
I agree! 🙂
Rafa needs to cut down on his errors, handing his opponents free points. Everyone plays Rafa harder than they play anyone else because, I say again, beating him has more kudos than beating other top players in spite of all his losses last year. Djokovic doesn’t do anything special, he just benefits from his opponents’ errors most of the time.
How much will so called Rafa fans keep running him down? Frankly it is tiring to even come on this site now and hear so called supposed Rafans overuse the mental problem -rinse and repeat.
Sanju (8:55 AM),
Well said: “…so called Rafa fans…” !
sanju gets it….well said sanju. Please be more active in this forum. The voice of reason and common sense you bring is a welcome interruption to the incessant abuse heaped on Rafa by the Djoko fan club.
We are not even allowed to enjoy our Rafa’s progress in peace. I don’t know whether Rafa will ever win another slam again but I am happy and proud of our Rafa. He is a great champion who has won 14 grand slams. It is very painful to have everything about him questioned, his coach,his team, his technique, his mental competence. His superior career ROS stats were dumped in favor of so called “expert opinion” to glorify Djoko. The struggle of his champion’s mind and heart coping with the fragility of his body has been classified as mental disorder. Looks like some people are his fans only when he is winning. The last one year has shown who are his true fans and who are time servers worshipping at the shrine of whoever is dominating.
Mary W (AT 1:45 PM),
Well said! 🙂
Sanju (AT 8:55 AM),
I agree.
Well said, Sanju. Rafa’s so called fans are willing him to have a mental problem. They are not happy unless they have a reason, no matter how slim, to put a downer on him.
Agree with sanju.
People should stop repeatedly asking why Rafa continues to struggle when he’s up a break and translations from Genny about his anxiety.
I’ve only responded to these posters.
Rafa has moved on. You should too. If you can. I doubt it.
The RU-AN syndrome is alive and kicking. Ru-an was a fanatical Fed supporter who even started Ru-an’s Federer fan Blog and was running it for several years. With the rise of Djoko he has dumped Fed and become a big Djoko fan!
No wonder there are fissions in our Rafa Nation. The migration to Djoko’s altar has begun.
I was going to mention to you that the living legend posted on TX yesterday but figured you’d see it for yourself.
A certain senorita should have a word. 🙂
I think the living legend is trying to promote his site.