Rafael Nadal is one win away from the Doha final, with unheralded qualifier Peter Gojowczyk standing in his way on Friday. The winner will go up against either Florian Mayer or Gael Monfils for the title.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (Q) Peter Gojowczyk
Surprisingly, only one seeded player made it through to the semifinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. To the surprise of nobody, that seed is Nadal. The world No. 1 booked his spot in the last four with victories over Lukas Rosol, Tobias Kamke (in three sets), and Ernests Gulbis. Nadal is off to a solid 3-0 start in 2014 after compiling a 75-7 record last season.
Up next for Nadal in Doha is a first-ever meeting with Gojowczyk. The 162nd-ranked German is already in the midst of his best week as a professional. At 24 years old, Gojowczyk qualified for the main draw then advanced with defeats of Dominic Thiem, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Dustin Brown (in a third-set tiebreaker). His first ATP semifinal against one of the best players ever will undoubtedly present far too big of an occasion for the underdog.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 4-5 games
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Florian Mayer vs. Gael Monfils
Mayer and Monfils will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers on Friday. Monfils has won all four of their previous encounters, but they have never faced each other on hard courts. Their most recent clash came last year on the clay of Stuttgart, where Monfils cruised 6-3, 6-0.
The 31st-ranked Frenchman, armed with a rare clean bill of health, has not dropped a single set in Doha while taking out Santiago Giraldo, Richard Gasquet, and Daniel Brands. Mayer moved into the semis with scalps of Michal Przysiezny, Andy Murray, and Victor Hanescu. The 40th-ranked German struggled for much of the 2013 campaign and he is on the outside looking in on an Australian Open seed. Based on both current form and past history in this matchup, Monfils has to like his chances of setting up a likely final showdown against Nadal.
Pick: Monfils in 2
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I agree with Ricky’s picks. With a guy like this Gojowczyk, it could go either way. He might be overwhelmed by the occasion and bumping up against Rafa will be the ultimate reality check. On the other hand, with nothing to lose and no pressure he might come out swinging for the fences and make it a little interesting.
I believe that Rafa’s three matches have helped him raise his level of play, especially against Gulbis. If he continues the way he played in that match, then this should be over in fairly short order. I went for Rafa winning in two, losing 6-7 games. I debated between 4-5 and 6-7. However, I won’t be surprised if it does turn out to be 4-5 games lost by Rafa.
I also agree with Monfils in straight sets. I didn’t get to see his match against Gasquet, but it was a pretty routine straight set win. Monfils seems to be getting back some of that ggreat form. The other seeds may be out, but Monfils is a former top ten player. He’s a quality player who can be dangerous when he’s on his game.
I expect to see Rafa and Monfils in the final.
I shall report anything interesting tonight. Sadly, can’t post during the match as I don’t have my iPhone with me.
@nadline
I’ve really enjoyed your reports and pics. what a tennis treat for you! Like me at Queens last year. There’s nothing like “live” tennis 🙂
that reminds me, if any of you are planning to go to any tournaments, let me know in advance and I will try to get you a pass, like I did for nadline in Abu Dhabi.
If anyone is wondering why there are empty seats, it’s because the website showed the tournament as sold out weeks ago when they were not. I met loads of people living in Doha who turned up on the off chance of buying tickets at the gates and were surprised to see tickets still available when they said weeks ago they were sold out. I guess a lot of people who couldn’t get tickets online didn’t bother to go to the stadium on spec.
All the tickets were sold online, first of all, the website wasn’t up and running on the 28th of November as promised then when it eventually worked, you had to have javascript to view the seating plan, You have to select your tickets on the sitting plan. They had the old version of javascript so anyone with the updated version could not load it. Trying to talk to anyone on the phone about problems is almost impossible.
By the looks of it, they cannot organize a welk stall. How on earth are they going to organize the World Cup. I hope they have not bitten off more than they chew. Maybe I’m spoilt with the standards in the UAE, especially Dubai where I’m staying with my daughter. Dubai is another word for opulence.
The expatriates here that I spoke to yesterday think it’s laughable that they were awarded the World Cup.
nadline: Thanks for the explanation. I was wondering why there were so many empty seats at Rafa’s match. Now we all know why.
I also wondered why there were so many empty seats, considering Rafa’s popularity. A lot of people missed out on a chance to see him in the flesh.
Peter Gojowczyk asked Rafa for his autograph in the locker room during the USO last year. Must be a dream come true to play against him. I hope Peter knows his place.
and goes down by himself? 😀
ah i vaguely remember that. awesome.
Rafa remembers an unknown teenager who took down a world no. 1 in his prime. So I am sure Rafa is wary of all unknowns when he plays them for the first time. Peter is unlikely to be a potential legend as he is already 24 years old. But he is definitely playing his best as 24 is a player’s peak.
Rafa is still finding his form especially on the backhand side.
Expect Rafa to win but first set might be competitive.
If this court is fast, Monfils will be a real threat as he thrives on fast courts. He beat a Federer in top form in 2010 at the Paris Masters which was made exceptionally fast for the Maestro. Fed learnt his lesson then and his minions in the ATP never made a court that fast again.
I am not watching, but what the hell?????!!!! somebody please give me some clue, what is going on there?
rafa breaks!
but very poor service game statistic!
and i don’t have UE’s statistics to see what is going on there
no one is here! wierd! 😐
i am was following the scores because I have some guests at home.
now waching this game at 4-5..
this guy is taking the ball so early !! moving rafa…
lost the first set!!!!!!!! :|:|:|
Nadal finishing a set like its 2009. So bad.
he got it together
an early break for rafa in second
double break for rafa
second set to rafa
pheww…now that was something all of us were expecting! good set from rafa…he just started adding a little more to his shots… the average speed of his groundies in set 2 was around 117 kph (shown around the scoreline of 5-1) .an improvement from 110 kph in set 1 !
I hope rafa gets a break early in set 3..these Oz open tune up events have never been lucky for him so I hope he storms his way to the title this year
rafa breaks in third
oh nooooo! rafa gets broken and make the score one at peace!
was watching Rafa Gulbis highlights..Rafa was running a fever and was under the weather the commentator said..true? He had a virus and fever in Doha in 2011 too (:-
rafa had fever? :s really?
Yes vamosrafa..I saw highlights on YT..the commentator said it.
Oops sorry I saw the 2011 highlights not 2014..Sorry me bad..Gosh what an error and oversight..Yes 2011 he had fever
hahaha …come onn Sanju 😛 no worries 😉
is Rafa being serious?
🙁