Rafael Nadal is aiming for a place in the Indian Wells quarterfinals as he goes up against Gilles Simon on Wednesday. Milos Raonic and are also in action.
(13) Gilles Simon vs. (3) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Simon will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers when they clash in round four of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at 6-1 in Nadal’s favor, including 4-1 on hard courts. Their four meetings since 2008 have come with Nadal enjoying a distinct advantage–in terms of either surface or form. Two were contested on clay and the others came at the 2009 Australian Open (Nadal won it) and the 2010 U.S. Open (Nadal won it, as well).
The third-ranked Spaniard has been solid so far in Indian Wells with straight-set victories over Igor Sijsling and Donald Young, but he is still not at his best in the wake of an injury-plagued second half of 2014. He has losses this season to Michael Berrer (Doha), Tomas Berdych (Australian Open), and Fabio Fognini (Rio de Janeiro). Simon has heated up since physical problems slowed him during the Australian summer. Excluding a dead Davis Cup rubber, the 14th-ranked Frenchman is 11-1 in his last 12 matches with a title in Marseille and wins at this event over Malek Jaziri and Michael Berrer. Simon loves hitting his two-handed backhand, especially up high. Thus he is able to counter the heavy topspin of Nadal, who seems to be affected mentally by the type of ball being used in Indian Wells.
Pick: Simon in 3
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(6) Milos Raonic vs. (17) Tommy Robredo
One of themes of this year’s BNP Paribas Open has been players coming from just about out of nowhere to make successful treks through the draw. Among them are Americans Jack Sock (had not played a match in 2015) and John Isner (had been 3-5 this season). Add Robredo to the list after he upset Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 on Tuesday night. The 32-year-old Spaniard, who went into this event with a 2-4 record for his 2015 campaign, opened with a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 victory over Andrey Golubev.
Next up for Robredo is Raonic, against whom the No. 17 seed is 0-2 lifetime. Raonic prevailed 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(2) on the clay courts of Barcelona in 2013 and 6-4, 6-3 last year at the Monte-Carlo Masters. The sixth-ranked Canadian is a decent 13-5 this season following straight-set wins in Indian Wells over Simone Bolelli and Alexandr Dolgopolov. Past history, the physical toll of the tournament so far, and the relatively high-bouncing conditions all point to a relatively routine day at the office for Raonic.
Pick: Raonic in 2
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Rafa seems to have recovered his composure.
Fantastic movement by rafa in that long rally that ending in Simon hitting a forehand volley in the net. Simon has wilted and he is playing reckless tennis now. Rafa still hitting really well and serving well…. 5-2 30-0
BAD game rafa , BAD game !
Another one of those annoying lapses by Rafa :/ This is what Uncle Toni talked about as well before IW started. I hope rafa gets this finished here
This is what frazzles my nerves. Rafa is serving for the match and just plays a poor game. So he gets broken and Simon holds his serve and now Rafa has another chance to serve it out.
Please Rafa get this done now!
he gets it done! phew. So this was a much improved performance today and rafa looked please! there were a couple of lapses in set 2 but overall a very positive win. His forehand had good depth throughout and the key shots (DTL forehand and inside out forehand) were working well. Rafa’s backhand, however, was not tested enough and he is yet to show ready his backhand is. It was solid but I would like to see more.
Raonic will be a challenge but in these conditions, rafa will have his chances. he MUST avoid these frustrating lapses as Raonic’s return game has improved and we know losing your serve to him in a set is usually enough to lose the set.
Getting to the semis by beating Milos will be a strong result already.One match at a time !
Rafa cruised into the QFs!
Vamoooos!!!!
http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/hand-gestures/clapping-hands-above-head-smiley-emoticon.gif
BNP Paribas Open Twitter
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CAatkqKVIAABrh3.jpg
love it…lol!!!
Welcome back, monalisa!
Nice to heard from you again.
thanks Rafa for not serving us another nightmare called “the third set”…Rafa playing much better, serving nicely and making damage with his forehand…yeah, not yet perfect but way better than yesterday…
Rafa’s inability to serve for the match only comes from lack of confidence…but more wins will wipe that away…Rafa is on the right track…
Vamos Rafa!
Rafael Nadal On-court Interview / R4 Indian Wells 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvK_ywNLzBA
Rafa is honest as always. He did say that if he loses his serve with a sloppy game like he did twice in this match, that means losing the set against someone like Raonic. So he knows what he has to do.
It was nice to see Rafa playing better in this match. He seemed more comfortable, more sure about what he wanted to do. He knows Simon well. I think that Simon did not play his best at all. But all credit to Rafa for serving very well and the forehand working well today.
I watched Raonic’s previous match and saw just a bit of today as they were mostly televising Rafa’s match. He is looking good. The tennis channel interviewed his coach, Ljuby yesterday. He was talking about how he has changed Raonic’s move when serving. He is not going as much into the court and it gives his serve more power. They want the serve to be even more dominating. Ugh!
Rafa knows that he has to play even better against Raonic. But it’s good that he is in the quarterfinals!
Ricky, are you @willmw101 in disguise??
I like this Ricky!!
#jinxmeister
Congratulations Rafa, keep it coming!
Raonic next…. good test for a fast improving Rafa 🙂