Barcelona
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (6) Nicolas Almagro: Nadal in 2. Nadal is 24-2 lifetime in total sets against Almagro (10-0 overall).
Santiago Giraldo vs. (10) Philipp Kohlschreiber: Kohlschreiber in 3. Giraldo saved multiple match points against Dominic Thiem on Thursday while Kohlschreiber cruised.
(12) Marin Cilic vs. (4) Nei Nishikori: Nishikori in 3. Cilic is coming off a three-set marathon against Tommy Robredo and clay may give Nishikori an additional edge.
(9) Ernests Gulbis vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili: Gabashvili in 3. Gabashvili is red hot and clay will help him handle Gulbis’ power.
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Bucharest
(1) Grigor Dimitrov vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky: Dimitrov in 2. Only if Dimitrov comes out uninterested will this be competitive.
(3) Gael Monfils vs. (Q) Paul-Henri Mathieu: Monfils in 2. The discrepancy in talent between these two Frenchmen is too great.
Lukas Rosol vs. (4) Gilles Simon: Rosol in 3. The defending champion is in better form than Simon and also more comfortable on clay.
Denis Istomin vs. Robin Haase: Haase in 2. This is one of the tournaments that just feels like it’s waiting to be won by a player like Haase.
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Gulbis currently doing a good impersonation of…………..Gulbis on fire.
Sooo, is Gulbis on fire or is Gaba stone cold today??
at the end it was both bad and Gaba worse
Well, I hope this trend continues especially if it’s Gulbis left standing from the bottom half of the draw…………….
Because we know how this story goes, don’t we? Kei will beat Cilic today and then give Gulbis a w/o…………leaving Gulbis licking his chops lying in wait for Rafa in the final……
very likely
I’m surprised Gulbis held after that game
what did Gulbis go crazy about?
#Rhetorical
I couldn’t tell. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a match where he doesn’t go crazy about something though so he was just probably paying his dues.
actually, I am surprised at Gabash.. putting up a fight like that…too bad he got broken…I begin to like him…
I think something’s wrong with Gabashvili in the head. The last time I saw him play was his match against Roddick at the 2010 French Open. He was beating him handily but suddenly flew off the handle and started screaming like nothing I’d ever seen (not even close to the typical outburst or racquet smash) over something that was completely nothing. Just a guess though.
@snowdevil, looks like it’s just you and I who are the “no avatar” hold-outs on this site…………
^^
+ @chloro
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2006 called. It wants its time back.
and although I never like to think to much ahead, as soon as I saw Ferrer losing to Gabash I had this picture in my head for the finals: Rafa vs Gulbis…huh…
Watching him the past two weeks one does wonder why his career stalled the way it did.
With the right coach I can’t help feeling he could have gone a lot further than he has.
Natashao, please don’t air thoughts like that ?
who? Gaba?
Am so allergic to Gulbis.
squeaker. I’m also hoping for that final, though with a different result than most here 🙂
#Shocker
#TypicalFedfan
#HoppRoger
Which part? The wanting Gulbis to win part? Or wanting Nadal to lose part? You have to help me connie, I’m just learning how to be a proper fedfan thanks to you. Also, can I have your phone number? I need to call you in case of an emergency and I don’t know how else to show my support of Roger.
LOL, you’re so easy. Calm down.
Personal attacks. Yes, last resort of a desperate troll.
I just hope our moderator can watch out for that sort of thing.
On ‘other’ supposed tennis sites, one is banned unless they are a “proper” Nadal fan.
#Hilarious
Mathieu HAHAHAHAHA
Gesundheit.
#RickyDontLoseThatNumber
Gaba out……………..
i’m 0 for 3 on Gulbis this week!
how did Cilic lose to Stan 6-0, 6-2?
Because Cilic does not have a clay game, look him now against Kei, he does not move well at all on the stuff! The thing that bails him out is his good serve but if that goes South………………woodshed city.
he played great against Robredo
he has nothing left in the tank
You hardly see Cilic sliding on clay. Compare that to Kei, Kei looks like a natural on the stuff……….
Kei is mediocre at best on clay
Ricky, are you saying if Robredo hadn’t tired him out, Cilic would be better than Kei on clay?
I did not watch the Cilic/Robredo match but what I have seen of Cilic on clay is summed up in 2 words: poor movement. On the other hand, for me, Kei can slide, he can change direction quickly (very important on clay) and he can grind.
Cilic has ZERO career wins against Top 10 on clay.
Clay is the best surfrace of the history of the tennis for sure.
Coach Mouratoglou agrees with you, @hawkeye63:
RT @pmouratoglou: “Such a great feeling to be back on red clay. One of my favorite moment of the year.”
I’m sure Cilic would disagree down 1-6, 2-4 to clay master Kei.
for sure to say on other sites, no?
for sure this was for to comment on hawkeye @ 1:21 pm, no?
hawkeye63@April 25, 2014 at 1:21 pm
Wow! You uses ‘surfrace’ – this word is in Rafa’s vocabulary. 🙂
Correction:
…use…
Yes, I say this on “other” sites and now I am banned for it, no?
for sure
you do
Jeez Ricky, if Kei is mediocre on clay, what adjective would you use for Cilic then?
mediocre
clay had nothing to do with this. Nishikori would have destroyed Cilic on any surface, at any time, anywhere in the world today, and probably even in any sport except giraffe-feeding.
Oh, now you exaggerate Ricky. Cilic is quite good on the hard stuff, you know. Yep, Kei would probably grind him out on HC too but not as dismally as on clay…….
Cilic had nothing left. He played for 4 hours yesterday.
(Cilic should be Nishi on a hard court, with all other things being equal)
Rafa’s backhand is insanely good today !!
Grigor Dimitrov defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky, who crushed Federer at Wimbledon in 2013!