French Open R4 previews and picks: Nadal vs. Lajovic, Ferrer vs. Anderson

Ferrer winnerRafael Nadal and David Ferrer are on a collision course for the Roland Garros quarterfinals and they are approaching that destination. The two Spaniards first have to get past Dusan Lajovic and Kevin Anderson, respectively, on Monday.

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Dusan Lajovic

Lajovic has been the beneficiary of some good fortune this season as he heads into his first Grand Slam fourth-round appearance, which he will make on Sunday at the French Open. The 23-year-old Serb reached the Miami second round as a lucky loser and his draw this fortnight has been incredible. Lajovic upset Federico Delbonis then rolled over Jurgen Zopp, who had received a retirement from Tommy Haas in the opening round. The world No. 83 parlayed that into a straight-set defeat of Jack Sock, who had advanced out of an injured Nicolas Almagro’s section.

To say this is where the draw gets tougher would be an understatement. However, there is some good news for Lajovic. First, he gained valuable big-match experience last season in Davis Cup as a replacement for Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki. Additionally, Nadal’s back acted up just a bit during a third-round victory of Leonardo Mayer. Still, the top-ranked Spaniard has had little trouble in his first three matches, which also included wins over Robby Ginepri and Dominic Thiem. This will, of course, depend on Nadal’s health. If he is close to 100 percent, it will be a rout. If not, the favorite should still pull through in straight sets.

Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 11-14 games

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(19) Kevin Anderson vs. (5) David Ferrer

Ferrer and Anderson will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers and for the second straight year in round four of the French Open when they collide again on Sunday. Their previous Roland Garros encounter did not go well for Anderson, to put it mildly. He lasted only one hour and 45 minutes in a 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 blowout loss. Anderson has managed to defeat Ferrer twice in four tries, but both wins came on hard courts and one was via retirement with the Spaniard a set up in their recent Acapulco clash.

Both men have been in absolute cruise control so far this fortnight. Anderson has not dropped a set nor even been extended to a tiebreaker, although he did get a stroke of good luck when Ivo Karlovic retired after just one set on Saturday. Ferrer is also perfect in the set department and only two of nine have been more competitive than 6-3. The world No. 5, last year’s French Open runner-up, is coming off a routine win over Andreas Seppi. Anderson could be somewhat competitive if he serves extremely well, but the 2013 result suggests another clay-court clinic is in the cards.

Pick: Ferrer in 3 with no tiebreakers

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194 Comments on French Open R4 previews and picks: Nadal vs. Lajovic, Ferrer vs. Anderson

  1. I think Rafa will win in three sets. I believe I voted for Rafa losing 8-10 games. You never know what can happen with a guy like Lajovic. He’s got zero pressure, no expectations. As long as Rafa’s back is okay then I don’t foresee any real problems.

    Ferrer should get the win in three sets against Anderson. He’s looked really good so far here.

    • I beg to differ. Rafa/Lajovic should be compelling viewing in the same way Rafa/Thiem was. 2 young men playing the tennis of their lives up against the King of Clay.

      GGL/La Monf should be a coker, unless La Monf injured himself in his previous ancounters. Fer/Muzza should also be interesting unless Fer forgets his brains and desire in the locker-room. We know Muzza will bring his, as always.

  2. For the first time in my life I am actually not looking forward to a potential Rafa/Ferru match………….

  3. I am reading Serbian press and interview with Lajovic who is saying: Ï will beat Nadal and bring Nole back to No1″…unbelievable how delusional people can be…and the Serbian Davis Cup trainer saying: if Rosol could do it, Dusan may as well…
    I hope Rafa’s back isn’t a big issue, because Serbian press is already playing mind games and announcing this morning: “Fed out, Rafa’s back hurts again…Nole plain favorite for the title…

    • ^^It’s okay, @natashao2013, he is young, susceptible to hubris. My only concern as well is Rafa’s back, hope it is a manageable issue. Notice how this young man appears to have fallen under the spell that he is out there to further Novak’s glory, “bring Nole back to No.1”? What is that?

      Strange.

  4. So it’s Rafa who will be un-nerved by the long wait than Lajovic?? Honestly, when will people give Rafa some respect:

    RT @Ringham7: “Petko/Bertens nearing 2 hours. Longer wait than he might have expected for Dusan Lajovic. On Chatrier next v @RafaelNadal . Nerves?”

  5. So it’s going to be Daveed and Rafa pitched against each other in the QF. It looked as though he was going to do it in three sets and then did what he so often has done in the past i.e. started rushing for the line and ended up dropping the third set.

  6. Kevin was competitive in the 2nd set as well, but couldn’t sustain it against the retriever that Ferru is.

    If Nole was playing Lajovic, he would have thrown the match to help Nole get back to #1.

  7. Being driven mad by Petchey and Santoro yacking between themselves non-stop.
    True there is not a lot to say about SUCH a lop-sided match but they could at least try.

    • ritb. Difficult to judge since there is virtually nil resistance from Lajovic. His serve is still a cause for concern although it improved for the 2nd set. It’s hard for him to maintain full concentration when it is so lopsided let alone get into top gear.

  8. Not watching live either. But stats show lajovic has been making too many UE. 7 winners to 36 UE so far… Rafa’s serve speed looks totally fine though ! comments?

  9. Rafa couldn’t be better. Whatever advice Nole gave Lajovic I hope he takes it himself if they meet in the final.

  10. RT @linzsports: “Phew. I am so happy I’m not missing one single point of this Nadal beatdown. (But Rafa, no need to make it competitive on my account. Sheesh.)”

    Not once did I see such sarcasm leveled during Novak’s beatdown of Tsonga yesterday. It was all about how clinical Novak was, how he was the “Wall of China” out there blah, blah, blah…………

    • Neither Petchey nor Santora have much to say because they are so busy asking each other inane questions or swapping anecdotes about their own playing days I doubt they are watching half the time 😀 I would almost prefer the deadly duo to these two.

  11. So Rafa, you wait until the time when you are serving for the match to drop serve?? I hope Uncle Toni locks you up in your fancy hotel room tonight for that…………….

    Vamos!!

  12. 19 UE errors from rafa and 15 winners…stats don’t tell everything but 19 UE for rafa is too much for a 6-1 6-2 6-1 win…

    • I think the errors were the result of a lack of intensity on his part faced with an opponent giving a good impression of a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car.

  13. Practicing for the winners’ speech maybe?? Rafa you rascal, you know French approval can be bought, no?

    RT @NeilHarmanTimes: “Rafael Nadal breaks into French in after-match interview. Spontaneous applause”

  14. RT @Sofia_Arvidsson : “You know you are in France when you open the door to your hotelroom and it hits the bed?..”

    Thank you! I have been left wondering sometimes if space is an alien concept to the French………………..

  15. I don’t understand why this Lajovic fellow was so pipped up about when he plays with SHBH. Easy pickings for Rafa.
    Apart from that, Rafa’s groundstrokes seem better but his service still seems to be shaky. Will need improvement on that if Nole does make it to the final.

  16. RT @jon_wertheim: “Dimitrov. Thiem. Lajovic. Easy administering those last rites for the one-handed b/h”

  17. RT @darren_cahill : “Rafa leading 5/0 3rd set. A rematch of last years final vs David Ferrer in a QF on Wednesday. Weather forecast is for rain.”

  18. I wanted Rafa to beat him even more convincingly but Rafa gave away a couple of games…Lajovic needs to learn respect for his opponents and the story about bringing Nole back to No1 only proofs how inexperienced in PR department the young Serb is…

    I couldn’t listen to the Serbian commentators who were saying that Lajovic may become next Soderling and so on…pathetic…I rather switched to more realistic and more fair commentators…I will keep an eye on what Serbs have got to say now, but from what I heard there were some already saying how Rafa “does not look hurt at all”…I wonder what they expected?! Did they really think Lajovic would threaten Nadal in any way?! ridiculous…
    good routine one for Rafa…Ferrer will be a tough, very tough call..

    Vamos Rafa!

  19. RT @scambers73: “That’s the fifth time @RafaelNadal has reached the quarter-finals at @rolandgarros without losing a set”

    Let the good times roll…………..!!

  20. RT @christophclarey : “Funny moment in David Ferrer press conference when reporter calls him Rafa by mistake. No problem, says Ferrer who plays him next at #RG14”

  21. Almost 1 in 5 who voted on the Rafa match today (13 votes out of 71) went with a Dusan win.

    Based on what?

    Dusan said mission impossible. Impossible in life pretty much, possible in the movies.

  22. It’s the Crown Prince of Spain who is King as of today as King Juan Carlos has abdicated the throne. Trust a Brit to think that no other country can have a prince. The prince was sitting next to Rafa’s team.

    • ^^Really, is Prince Felipe at RG already? Normally he only shows up on Championship Sunday when Rafa’s playing. I thought the Prince Neil was alluding to was Prince the Pop Star who IS at RG.

  23. “I have great confidence and I believe Ï can go further. I’m playing good tennis at Roland Garos. I hope for the best in the match with the first racket of the world”-Lajovic
    I will play for Nole to get his No1 back…”

    these are just a few statements from the press but you can also find these on Lajovic facebook page…sad how this young man made a fool of himself…

    nowhere in the Serbian press it’s described as “mission impossible”… maybe it’s the press which drags him into nonsense…

    • These are different statements from the one above…
      “Ï will beat Nadal and bring Nole back to No1″…”

      I don’t see anything wrong with what he is saying.

      Well, I just hope you don’t compare “will” with “hope”. Don’t you? Or do you. No you did. OK. Good.

      🙂

      #ApplesAndOranges

      • @hawkeye63, what part of “I will beat Nadal and bring Nole back to No1” do you not understand?

        No, “will” is not the same as “hope”…………It is definitive, misguided optimism on the part of the part of the young man. Nothing wrong with what he said, he is entitled to make a fool of himself, especially of he fails to do what he said he would do.

        #CanadianEnglish?

      • the one that I quoted before in which he speaks about beating Rafa and bringing Nole back to No1 is the statement and the title from the Serbian press…the statement Ï will play for Nole”” also appears on his facebook page…the last quote with Ï hope for the best” is again from different newspaper…so you please yourself and compare what you want…I don’t really care…let me just tell you that the BIG title in the press was: “Lajovic will crash Nadal”…hahahahahaha

      • Again “will play for Nole” no problem for me,

        “I will beat Rafa” different story if he said that.

        The headline is just dumb and laughable. Doesn’t say much for Serbian press.

      • He did not beat Nadal like he said he would. He is dumb. The headline is dumb. Both are dumb.

        Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall……………..

  24. Like…..

    RT @jon_wertheim : “No abdication here…. RT @I_Am_Edna: @jon_wertheim This event belongs to Spain”

    #KingOfRG

  25. I am allowed to dream, no?

    Men’s Champion – Rafael Nadal (Esp);
    Women’s Champion – Gabine Muguruza (Esp);
    Men’s Doubles Champions – Marcel Granollers/Marc Lopez (Esp)

  26. Murray vs Verdasco. Umpire just announced the score incorrectly as Verdasco 30-15 when it was Verdasco 15-30. Andy breaks for 2-1 with his serve to come.

    #Just saying

  27. For me:
    Men’s:
    1. Rafa
    2. Rafa
    3. Rafa
    .
    .
    98. Rafa
    99. Rafa
    100. Milos
    101. Tommy-B
    102. Earnie
    103. Muzza
    104. Ferru.
    105. ABD.

    Women’s:

    1. Bouchard
    2. Petko
    3. Muguruza
    4. Navarro
    5. ABS

    • ABS = Anyone but Sugarpova? I actually like her. I love how she doesn’t take sh*t from anyone and competes like it’s her final day on earth. Petko I also like but she’s too inconsistent. I don’t see her winning. I think it will be Maria, Halep, Mugu, or Bouchard. And who is 101 Tommy B? And no love for the Argies??? no JuanMa? Pico? say it aint so.

      • I don’t like Shazza’s shrieking and volume proportional to the scoreline but agree with you on how she handles the press and her will to win.

        Petko is indeed inconsistent and probably won’t get much further. She hasn’t been the same since she had so many injuries.

        I think pico and Argies are out, no? Tommy = Tomas.

      • ahhh…i thought you were listing your favorites in general, not faves for the tournament. which is why i didn’t get the Tommy B reference either …#blameitonmonday

      • In general currently playing?
        ATP: Rafa, Milos (biased), Muzza, Berdych, Gulbis, Delpo, Nole, Popsicle (biased)
        WTA: Petko, Bouchard (Biased), Venus, Serena, Jankovic, Cibulkova

        Retired?
        ATP: Sampras, Connors, Guga
        WTA: Graf, Navratilova

      • Petko Says:
        Q. So much of your tennis in the last two or three years has been trying to get back to where you were.
        ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah.

        Q. Does this feel like you’ve achieved that?
        ANDREA PETKOVIC: No, not yet. I feel like I still have a long way to go, and I’m still not as consistent as I used to be. There are still a lot of things that I need to learn and still a lot of things that need to come back that are gone now.
        After all my injuries, it’s been a very long time that I was out. You sort of forget, especially mentally, you sort of forget a lot of things.
        Now it’s a process. It’s a process. I’m still not there where I want to be. It’s a long way to go. Nowhere near the end.

        http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/interviews/2014-06-02/201406021401713090612.html

  28. RT @christophclarey : “So if Monfils wins (looking mighty likely) and plays Murray, does Rafa go back on Lenglen AGAIN for his qf w/Ferrer? h/t @YCochennec”

    Doesn’t matter now where they put Rafa, as long as he wins………….

  29. @hawkeye63, at 3:07 pm
    he did not say “would”, he said “will”…You don’t question the integrity of Serbian press, do you? Don’t you? You DO…ok. Fine with me…the daily press I refer to is called INFORMER…google it and do some reading yourself…easy to google translate though…

    Dusan will certainly keep quiet for a while…at least until such time he learns to speak credibly in public and to show respect to his opponents…Thiem could give him lessons in that regard…didn’t we have the same from Nole at the very beginning of his career? And his mother making statements herself…but they all changed…we shall give Lajovic some time to grow up…

    • He “will” what exactly.

      I can’t read Serbian. 🙂

      Google translate is sketchy at best.

      Did he say “I will beat Nadal” or “I will fight for Nole”. Two very different statements.

      #LostInTranslation

    • Nadam se da ću pobediti i da ću vratiti Novaka na prvo mesto translates to I hope to win and I will return Novak in the first place.
      Which is not true,the literal translation would be i hope to win and then novak would be number 1..
      On the other side the press was playing with him asking him wouldn’t be good to beat Rafa and bring Novak to number one spot on which he gave an ironic answer saying yea right and the press then twisted it as they do usually. If you look at some of other Lajovic’s interview’s you could see that he is most down to earth little shy and very modest person..

      sorry for replying months after but i felt the need to express it

      • LOL..I don’t mind him defending Dusan…

        I myself am pretty disappointed at Dusan’s statements and find it hard to believe that he would go ahead and say such things…but he will grow up, he will…so will hawkeye…:-D

      • Well, I don’t think I’m meaning to defend Dusan, just to try to defend accuracy.

        Not meaning to attack nats at all and sorry if that’s how it comes across but based on what I’ve read and seen about Dusan, I find that quote incredulous and am just interested in seeing the source and context for myself.

    • of course not… 😀 I enjoy reading ALL your posts…you make me laugh! 🙂 and I tend to agree with you most of the time..

      I’ll do some more research on the topic of Lajovic and will sure let you know what was behind those words…believe me it’s not a translation issue…however, the Serbian press can not always be trusted either…
      😛

  30. How was Rafa’s serve today? All his potential opponents in the next 3 rounds have good ROS. So, Rafa’s serve will be very critical for him. This is the time of the tournament Rafa usually heats up. I don’t see any reason why he can’t do it this time. Ferrer will be tough, but Rafa is obviously playing better than when Ferrer played him last time. I expect Rafa to take care of Ferru in 3/4 sets. Needless to say this is the kind of match Nadal needs before facing Djokovic in the final.

      • I had the same impression…Rafa seems far too serious and a bit worried…but seeing Toni Nadal smiling at the beginning of the match today I thought that I was fabricating things and being paranoid… however, those tapes on Rafa’s back create fears that I can not easily drive away…I carefully analyze his every move fearing of what I may find… 🙁

  31. Q. In the last match you mentioned when you were serving you weren’t serving at 100% because you may have felt something with the back. I’m just wondering whether you are 100% now and there is no back problem.

    RAFAEL NADAL: No. I say the other day. You were here in the other press conference? I say I don’t really want to talk much about that. I say I try to don’t to nobody when I am here, but another thing is talk too much. I don’t want to talk too much about this thing today.I have important match to come. Today I won a match in good shape. We’ll see what’s going on in the future.

    I wonder what sanju thinks about this.

    #Ominous

  32. On the brighter side…

    Q. Since the last match you played, your serve is faster 8 kilometers per hour faster. Did you sort of program this?

    RAFAEL NADAL: I’m not a machine. No, I play with the conditions on the court. I play with my feelings on the court. Since the third round I started serving a bit better, a bit faster, and my serve was a bit more fluid.And to continue having these feelings, I need to repeat the same gesture, especially against David, because he returns in a very tough way.So I don’t want to waste the advantage I have with my serve.

    So, like I thought, he’s likely holding back until he needs it. That said, he probably wanted to ramp it up, test and fine tune it prior to meeting Ferru.

  33. TBH I was not pleased with Rafa’s first serve in this match…it was only 50% in the first set…but true it is that he did not need to serve big…his serve definitely needs to improve in the next match…

    I wish Rafa could change his tactics with Davy…I would love to see him doing more S&V if possible…wining free points with his serve would be great otherwise he will end up running for hours as Davy sure can chase every ball…and he should try going to the net more often…and please Rafa don’t be afraid to use your backhand…I think it is clicking well, certainly way better than in MC and Rome…

    Vamos Rafa!

  34. So how confident are we all for Rafa vs Ferru? I sense nerves here already ..Not talking about me, I ofcourse am nervous against both Ferrer and Andy potential matches. I would not have been last year or in 2012 but this year I am because Ferru is playing well, Rafas back is an issue and Ferru beat him in MC, so it will give him confidence.

    Any chance of Milos upsetting Novak? Even 1 in 100 🙂

  35. RITB..I always don’t look forward to a Rafa vs Ferru match because they are grueling and can go very attritional and long. I hope Rafas back holds up for the matcha and even if he wins , does not soften him.

    Someone tweeted that Andy must be hoping Rafa Ferru beat each other up over 5 sets

    Becker applauding Andy on twitter today 🙂

    I am drawing hope from the fact that Rafa was very tired last year after a grueling semi against Nole yet handled Ferrer in straights. In 2012 he had dodgy knees but blew Ferru off the court in semis. I am not sure if Ferru is playing better this year than 2012, 2013 but Rafa surely was playing better in 2012, 2013 than this year

    • I will be at work and will not want to watch anyways. The way for Rafa to win this match is consistency and will be quite gruelling and nerve wrecking to watch. I wouldn’t enjoy it.

      If Rafa wins, I will take a day off to watch the semis.

    • and we all remember that it wasn’t long after the 2013 RG final against Ferrer that Rafa’s knees had had it, for a while. They really were an issue then. It’s true he was playing better, generally. At the same time, he did play pretty well for this first week compared to those years, and given the little resistance he’s gotten so far from his opponents. Surely he will raise his level as much as he can in the quarters, So long as his back does not become an outright showstopper I am simply hoping that he makes it through one way or another to the title, even if it takes three hard matches. If he meets Novak in the final they will both be nervous. It will be Novak’s first final, Rafa’s ninth. Can’t see Novak taken all three sets he needs if Rafa’s back is more of a worry than a real problem.

    • @Sanju, I did not watch the match but I understand Fer was not happy with Pascal over something and he also complained that Lenglen played too differently to Chatrier.

  36. Oddsmakers have Nole as the heavy favourite to win now.

    He is even odds against the field at 2:1.

    Rafa is about 2.35:1.

    Ferru is a 5:1 underdog vs Rafa in the QF.

    Hope they are right. If I was a betting man and not a Rafan….

  37. RT @SI_BTBaseline : “Verdasco: “[Lenglen] is fast compared to Chatrier. I don’t think that one tournament like RG must have two courts that different.” #RG14″

  38. RT @christophclarey : “Tough #FrenchOpen for Pascal Maria. Taking heat from Nadal & now Verdasco: “Lots of years & experiences…Not a chair umpire I like much””

    Like @hawkeye63 asked, “where is Mo?”

  39. Wht did Ferr say RITB? I did not read yet

    I am frankly readying myself for a QF upset . I would have been confident of Rafa but his back and body language is worrying me a bit and Ferru knows whats going on with Rafa exactly as he is his friend and knows about his injuries, he will look to capitalize.

    I just hope if Rafa gets upset, Novak gets too :-). But it more and more looks like it will be Novaks year. Why Rafa- why is yor back acting up?

  40. I may be naive but the idea that Rafa is going to have a long grueling 5 setter with Ferrer has not occurred to me. Not with Rafa in this form. He was clearly out of sorts in MC and unless he is not fit in any way, Ferru stands no chance at all of even taking a set.

    Their last 2 meetings at RG:

    2013 Roland Garros
    France Clay F Nadal, Rafael
    6-3, 6-2, 6-3 Stats

    2012 Roland Garros
    France Clay S Nadal, Rafael
    6-2, 6-2, 6-1 Stats

  41. Last year, Ferrer nearly beat Rafa in Madrid before Rafa took the 3rd set 6-0 and Rafa still dispatched him like a fly at RG.

  42. On his way to the final last year Ferrer had bulldozed his opponents without dropping a set, handing out breadsticks like it was going out of fashion, still, he was no match for the king.

  43. I was not able to match rafa’s last match. Just watched those brief highlights and rafa looked pretty aggressive from the baseline. His serve is more potent now and I am happy he is stepping up the court to hit backhands.

    Have you guys noticed how much more efficient rafa is at RG in terms of converting break points as well saving them? He has crazy BP statistics at RG and he escalates to a whole new level QF onwards. I am expecting more of the same.

    Rafa will dispatch ferrer in 3 sets or 4 sets at max. I don’t think this will be a grueling battle or something. Rafa is playing much much better than he did in MC.

    I pick Rafa in 3 sets.

  44. Well, I am taking comfort from @nadline10’s and @vamosrafa’s optimism here. I will try to look on the bright side henceforth.

    I try my best, no?

  45. now, you see, this is exactly why I come here…I need to see optimistic views from the likes of nadline or vamosrafa… 🙂 I am so discouraged with Rafa’s back acting up again that I really don’t see anything in perspective…I am stuck with fear… Gosh, when did I become like Sanju? 😀 Even Sanju ATM seems more optimistic …

    deep inside I wish Rafa dispatched Ferry in three sets…I believe I am anxious mostly because I am surrounded by Nole’s fans who are so upbeat and so pleased with how this RG unfolds…I must agree that this year is the best chance ever for Nole to lift the trophy…with Fed out (although I was not at all convinced that Fed could do any damage to Nole this year, I still kept my hopes) and with Rafa being injured Nole is clear favorite…

    only couple of months ago I would say that meeting Ferry placed no danger for Rafa…Rafa owned him before…the injury is what stops Rafa from being on the top of his game, or let’s say the fear of worsening the current condition…now, I see why Rafa wouldn’t push hard against Nole in the Rome finals…

    ok, now people, feed me with optimism, I desperately need it…Ricky used to do it so well in the past, but his predictions failed in the last couple of instances so I don’t really ‘trust’ his optimism any more 🙂

    • nats, The Bleacher Report is full of fans promoting their favourite players. They are always inviting people to write for them. If Rafa is ageing so are Djoker and Andy who are only a year behind.

      • I cannot stand the BR site. All the articles smack of people who have attended a creative writing course and want to see their efforts in print: all content and no substance.

        Years ago I took one of their ‘contributors’ to task for plagiarising entire chunks from TT blogs without acknowledging the source. She didn’t get published again.

  46. Andy is the one I think could stretch Rafa after his performance in Rome. There again, I watched that match yesterday and the 1st set was not so much Andy playing lights out tennis as Rafa making UEs. Still I wouldn’t take Andy for granted.

    • I’m interested you say Andy could stretch Rafa if they meet. He is far better on clay than most people give him credit for and many of their encounters have been closer than the H2H suggests. A SF between these two would be the best possible preparation for Rafa in what looks increasingly like an impending confrontation with Djokovic.

  47. nats, in 2009, they said Rafa had the knees of a 30 year old and when he came back last year they said he would never be able to compete on h/c again that he would concentrate on clay……..last year, he won IW, Canada, Cincy and the USO and made the finals of Beijing and the WTF.

    All the noise they made about Thiem being a challenge for Rafa after he beat the ‘great’ Wawrinka, Rafa swatted him away like a fly.

    nats, what is the Serbian press saying about the Rafa/Dusan encounter?

    • Lajovic: Ï will get revenge on Nadal”…
      New Hope of Serbian tennis Dusan Lajovic in Paris convincingly defeated by Spaniard

      This was a great match for me, and maybe I went into it with too much respect for the rival, so I could not show everything I know. I’m sorry I could not provide more resistance to Nadal.

      However, I have no reason to be upset because I managed for the first time in my career to get this far. This is a totally new experience for me and I hope to have more opportunities in the future to get revenge on Spaniard – Dusan said.”

      but the comments of Serbian fans on Lajovic statements yesterday and today are really spot on:
      it’s time you make use of the “good vibes” and do something in tennis…stop making foolish statements”
      yeah, his pants were shaking, how do you think you’re going to go with the shovel on the excavator?”
      ÿeah, you will get revenge in some other life if you make silly statements like you did…you better keep quiet and practice, that’s the only way to success…”

      and my favorite one:
      you should wish him a happy birthday first and then thank him for donating you those 4 games and for being generous enough not to give you bagels…and those ‘valuable advises’ you got from Novak…Novak would have beaten him himself at RG if it was that easy… 🙂

      • nats, thanks. Was that really the Serbian press. OMG 😀 😀 😀 😀

        He sounds just like Novak after his first meeting with Rafa at RG……………’I was in control of the Match’. Have another laugh:

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plbomcLe1rI

        When I saw them walking out onto the court yesterday, I thought, when Rafa was 23 he was walking out as the boss against anyone with several titles under his belt and #1 in the world. There is a gulf between them.

      • Oh, thank you @natashao! Really enjoyed reading the sane comments from the Serbian posters! Proves that the general public, no matter where they come from, are not stupid.

  48. ^^^^^ That’s a tough call Natashao to be alone amongst Nole fans at such a critical stage.

    I am too full of trepidation to be of any help to you 🙁 The only thing that keeps me going is to think of all the times Rafa has pulled the white rabbit out of the hat in the
    past and to blank completely the memory of the one occasion it didn’t happen at RG.

    The meeting with Ferru hold less fear. Good as he is at the moment, as many people have said, I doubt very much he is capable of replicating his performance at Monte Carlo over five sets in Paris.

    #CourageMyFriend

  49. It’s not about Ferru replicating his MC performance here , it is about rafa not replicating his RG performance here. The latter is what will control the match

    • I get those bleacher report articles regularly via email…I signed up for those a long time ago and sometimes I read them (when it concerns Rafa) but most of the time I just skip them…

    • Nadline@10:04 am
      I never ever get tired of watching that interview. Even with his limited English at that time, his expressions and shoulder shrugging spoke volumes 😀

      Up until that moment I’d quite liked Djokovic but I lost all respect for him when he opened his big mouth like that. That match was also the second time he’d retired at RG – in fact retirements at the Slams were to become quite a habit of his!

      • Wow ed I’m impressed. That match was 2006 when Nole was 19 and ranked just 63 in the world! You were familiar with him well before that? You are a serious tennis fan!

        I have to admit I wasn’t following tennis quite as closely during the weak era as I do today. I still watched the majors (plus coverage for Masters was not as great as it is today. I wasn’t familiar with him until he won in Canada in 2007 when he beat the Top 3 seeds in succession.

  50. sorry guys, but I just can’t resist. Here are more comments from the fans on Dusan’s statements:
    “Dusan, stop telling jokes…I don’t see the way to get revenge on Nadal other than to take him out to the dinner or to buy him a present…you are such a joke..
    Now, if you’ll ever be able to get revenge on Nadal??? I really doubt it, Nadal is a minimum three classes ahead of you …..
    you want beat him even if you hit him with the shovel on the head before each service game…
    Congratulations LAJOVIC…and the only way you may be able to beat Rafa in the future is at some charity tournament of veterans… 😀

  51. No natashao, I aam worried for Ferrer, Andy, Djokovic.

    I just want Rafa to win his 9th RG this year so that he ties with Martina in holding the maximum GS at an event at both ATP/WTA in open era. I promise I wont bother next year onwards 😉

    All I ask from Rafa is bare minimum 1 RG (2014) and 1 AO (2015) so that

    He iss 2nd in all time GS tally list
    He wins 1 slam/year for 11 years in a row, that will be an unbreakable record
    He holds record for max GS at an event
    He has double career slam.

    Catching Rogers 17 is a far shot for now. Let us get step by step.

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