An all-Spanish affair between Rafael Nadal and Nicolas Almagro is set for Thursday at the French Open. Another Spaniard, Pablo Carreno Busta, is in second-round action against Jack Sock.
Nicolas Almagro vs. (6) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Almagro will be squaring off for the 14th time in their careers and for the second time during this current clay-court swing when they collide in round two of the French Open on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at a dominant 12-1 in favor of Nadal, who is 9-1 at the expense of his fellow Spaniard on red dirt. They most recently faced each other last month in Barcelona, where Nadal turned in one of his best performances of the season en route to a commanding 6-3, 6-1 victory. Almagro’s lone win came last fall at the same Barcelona event, where he prevailed 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.
Despite his recent lopsided loss and Nadal’s 67-1 lifetime record at Roland Garros, Almagro should not consider this a lost cause. After all, Nadal has an alarming five losses on clay (nine overall) in 2015. Almagro, meanwhile, is coming back nicely from a foot injury with 13 match wins on the year following a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) defeat of Alexandr Dolgopolov on Tuesday. Nadal kicked off his bid for a 10th title by cruising past French wild card Quentin Halys 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Almagro will put up a fight, but he would rather contest this matchup on a fast hard court. Conditions are by all accounts slow and heavy in Paris and the underdog in all likelihood will once again be undone by Nadal’s heavy topspin forehand directed at his one-handed backhand.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 12 games or fewer
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Jack Sock vs. Pablo Carreno Busta
To say Sock is making up for lost time would be a considerable understatement. The 22-year-old American missed the first two months of this season because of a hip injury and did not play until Indian Wells. He promptly reached the fourth round there, the third round in Miami, and captured a title on the clay courts of Houston. Sock, who is up to No. 37 in the world, opened in Paris on Tuesday with the biggest upset of the first round–a 7-6(7), 6-2, 6-3 drubbing of 10th-seeded Grigor Dimirov.
Up next for Sock on Thursday is Carreno Busta, whom he has never faced. The 61st-ranked Spaniard also kicked off his tournament in impressive fashion as he hammered Victor Estrella Burgos 6-3, 6-1, 6-0. Carreno Busta is just 8-13 on the season, but he appears to have emerged from a major slump. The 23-year-old reached the Estoril semifinals earlier this month to pick up some momentum prior to Roland Garros. Although the surface slightly favors Carreno Busta, Sock is underrated on clay and will have too much game for his opponent.
Pick: Sock in 4
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Who would have predicted this from a ‘sub par’ Rafa!
all we ask is no off day this fortnight
too much to ask?
Well, if it’s coming I hope it comes against Meltzer or Kuznetsov, …………
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CGGO3sUWYAAorRD.png
I like the UEs stats, much more Rafa-like than of late……………
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CGGO5-8WEAA49ys.png
May not watch the Murray match, might go out for a walk. I’ve gone right off Mr Murray since Madrid.
^^Hehehe! I wonder why??
#Rhetorical
Rafa vs Almagro, crowded stands:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CGGS-eMWYAAL8Sk.png
What are all of those green spots in the back?
#EmptySeats
#CrosstownTraffic
Empty seats
https://instagram.com/p/3Ol3ThSK8V/
Rafa vs Almagro, crowded stands:
https://instagram.com/p/3Oe9P9rWWH/
Rafa vs Almagro, crowded stands:
https://instagram.com/p/3OaFzcg1Wb/
Rafa vs Almagro, crowded stands:
https://instagram.com/p/3ObuhcJpCZ/
https://instagram.com/p/3OXRQEkOmM/
On the one hand you could say it’s because it’s two Spanish players and since the FR don’t give a toss about anything Spanish (especially if they don’t think Almagro has any chance of beating Rafa) why would they see the match?
On the other hand, you could say Rafa is a 9-time champion ,,… imagine what a crowd at Wimby would do?
Different cultures, different attitudes to their legacy…
Shireling1 (at 3:13 pm),
hawkeye63 is always trying to belittle Rafa. You shouldn’t take him seriously! 🙂
Belittling pot-bots and the RG crowd. Nothing to do about Rafa lol!!! 🙂
Rafa’s on-court interview after his R2 match (Rafa speaks French, gets an ovation from the crowd and signs autographs):
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rtij8_rafael-nadal-on-court-interview-r2-2015-rg_sport
btw nadline,
Unfortunately I couldn’t see the match but I’m very glad Rafa is getting back his mojo and dispatched Almagro in straight sets 🙂
Rafa was sensational!
So how do you folks rate Rafa’s performance?
Subdued as in? Anything wrong?
Murray has dropped the 2nd set.
Video by Roland Garros: Rafa’s post-match press conference (02:05 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOnRD73KH0U
Rafa knows why. The amount of talk on time between points is inversely proportional to the Perfect One’s ever shrinking slam lead.
Hilarious!!!!
Because a certain GOAT has developed green eyes, Rafa!
Yep, deucey keeps setting me up and I can’t resist.
Rafa was nice enough to win before I had to leave for the eye doctor! Thank you Rafa! 🙂
I will have to catch the match later on the tennis channel replay. I was able to see some of it on ESPN3 and then they switched to Rafa’s match late in the third set.
I saw enough to believe that Rafa is playing well, especially for only his second match. He’s got two more matches to get even better before you-know-who!
It’s just nice to see Rafa feeling good and playing well on his favorite court. This is a good win against a quality opponent.
Murray had a tougher time than expected. The American commentators are going to be pulling their hair out as American men are dropping out all over the place. I thought Isner would beat Chardy. So the only American man left is Sock battling Carreno Busta.
Rafa plays Kuznetsov next.
snoozefest
So far Rafa’s matches have not been too taxing. He needs a similar match before ramping it up for either Coric or Sock and then……………….armageddon.
I thought Sock just aces right? Does he really have a game?
uhhh. his serve isn’t his best shot. he is also an amazing doubles player. all-court player, completely.
Sock’s game is centred around a good serve but watching him, he has impressed me with his enthusiasm and court intelligence.
forehand is his biggest weapon, more than serve
Rafa’s backhand was brilliant throughout the match. The way he was striking the ball for full three sets was quite impressive. The forehand was decent but definitely he needs to move up a gear and he knows that. He did hit some nice and aggressive forehands but overall he is a little conservative with his forehand and that is understandable; he is building confidence on that wing.
I think rafa is making really good progress. If he plays the next match even better and continues to build momentum, he will get stronger and stronger mentally and fear will once again take over the locker rooms.
Keep going rafa! Avoiding inconsistencies in the next match is the biggest challenge and I have a positive feeling about his prospects of doing that. VAMOS
Hear hear vamosrafa!
Rafael Nadal vs Nicolas Almagro Highlights Roland Garros (11:27 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81wAWIpHrCk
Rafa is a polyglot! He speaks in Italian in this interview:
(Adriano Panatta is a former tennis player from Italy, the winner of Roland Garros 1976)
Published on May 29, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQxlKPfINnw