The most recent chapter in the contentious Rafael Nadal vs. Lukas Rosol rivalry took place on Tuesday at the Swiss Indoors Basel. Rosol had a chance of ending things long before they became heated, but he failed to serve out the match at 6-1, 5-4.
Controversy started when Rosol complained that Nadal was taking too long after a changeover before the Czech served. Chair umpire Ali Nili would have none of it, informing Rosol that players have 30 seconds after time is called and that “the game hasn’t even started.”
@jakedavi5 pic.twitter.com/GAt9iLfYhp
— LaWanda (@lawanda50) October 26, 2015
Rosol banged his shoes and tapped the ground “every point” (according to Nili) before Nadal’s serves, prompting the Spaniard to complain late in the third set.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLmivl7r6O4]
Both players hit two of the most shocking volleys you will ever see, including Rosol when he was two points from the match at 6-1, 5-4, 30-15:
Rosol hits the worst volley in tennis history when it would have given him match point vs. Nadal pic.twitter.com/h6wZ6q56aQ
— Ricky Dimon (@BloodDimon) October 26, 2015
Rafa.... pic.twitter.com/wPGpc5yI8Q
— Ricky Dimon (@BloodDimon) October 26, 2015
Nadal wins crucial point in third-set tiebreaker:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqe9Eo0Sma0]
In his post-match press conference, Nadal was asked about Rosol’s antics.
“Well, everybody knows that I was playing against a player who is…….just himself. That’s it. I don’t want to talk more than what I need, but everybody knows him on tour.”
Nadal press conference:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8BbM5VxXrI]
[polldaddy poll=9148341]
[polldaddy poll=9144075]
Ricky!
In the video below (published in March 2015) you can see and hear Rosol banging his shoes (at the 2:37 -2:38 min mark). Probably his opponent can hear it also.
I read in TennisNow that it’s “something Rosol has been known to do with regularity throughout his career.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW2ZqwP3BLY
Rosol suffers from severe nadalitis. A syndrome that causes delusions of grandeur after beating Nadal.
Nole must have a severe case.
Seems like you have chronic noleitis. You have to bring him into every subject.
no
Hawkeye didnt get it. Novak was beating Rafa regularly and Rafa beating him too. Its nothing delusional about it so how’s Novak suffering from nadalitis? Cant compare Rosol to Novak!
DO YOU?
luckystar, you get it. 🙂
Nole certainly gets it though. He had the nadalitis something awful when he started beating Rafa in 2011. You can see he had a fever here having to rip his shirt off for some relief!
Since then though he has built up an immunity as you say having beaten him twice as many times as any other player.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/120129032535-djokovic-shirt-story-top.jpg
Rosie should hang out with Soderling, they would make best pals.
I don’t know why they don’t call this a hindrance. Wouldn’t this kind of thing fall in that category? The fact that he does it a lot, still doesn’t make it okay. Rosol is obviously using this tactic to disrupt his opponent.
The tennis channel showed highlights of this match today, including that brick of a missed volley from Rosol that cost him a match point. Instead of 40-15, it was 30-30. We all know what happened next! 🙂
yeah Nili’s argumet that “he does it every point” was funny
Especially since he didn’t.
If there’s no rule against it he can’t intervene. Proving it a deliberate hindrance well nigh impossible and far too subjective.
Lots of drama in that match…sorry I missed it…thanks for all the mini-videos. Rosol always a bit of a nudge, but he’s got plenty of game.
Game without brain! His game is to serve big and hit as hard as possible, more a ball basher with a good serve. He’ll make plenty of errors doing so and even more when forced to. This kind of ball basher no one can counter directly unless you’re a fellow ball basher. You got to use your guile and other skills and tactics to beat him, which Rafa did three out of four times they met. The other three Big 4 guys were all prepared for this Rosol and so nerver let him had any chances. I would think that on clay, the Rafa of old would beat him handily even though Rosol did win a 250 title on clay during his career.
a poor man’s Soderling
That Wimbledon win was helped by the break to close the roof just when Rafa had the momentum and it was just before he served at 4:4 in the final set. Rafa was upset about the unnecessary break so he wasn’t playing with ‘colm’ when they resumed, consequently dropped his serve which allowed Aerosol to serve it out pounding winners and aces.
At least that’s how I remember it. Correct me if I’m wrong.
And about as popular in the locker room as each other. There are other parallels although Rosol has way to go before matching Soderling’s epic meltdown in Rome ’09. Interestingly that was followed immediately by his shock defeat of Rafa the next time they met. I wrote that Rosol’s pride had been wounded by the Monfils encounter – it was not surprising he came at Rafa with all guns blazing and came perilouslty close to pulling off the upset. As Ricky says ‘a poor man’s Soderling’
Dead wrong nadline. The roof closed at the end of the 4th set and Rafa was broken early in the fifth.
I’ve got selective memory. 🙂 I have done my best to forget that match and naturally I haven’t watched a recording of it.
… or a poor man’s Haase.
lucky,
I agree about Rosol. A ball basher if ever there was one. For a set and a half Rafa let him do it, too. Then he regrouped and changed tactics and outwitted Rosol with his great tennis brain! Rafa did what he needed to do.
“nudge”
Ricky,
I compared Rosol to Sod on VB and some disagreed with me. They thought that Sod had mellowed somewhat and wasn’t anywhere near as bad on court as Rosol. But I think calling Roso a “poor man’s Soderling” is spot on!
NNY: I said above ‘Rosol has way to go before matching Soderling’s epic meltdown in Rome ’09’ Your friends on VB must have forgotten this effort by the Sod:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=YouTube+Soderling+v.+Nadal+Rome+2009&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=F344018496E259BE40A0F344018496E259BE40A0
There was already bad blood between them after he mocked and imitated Rafa at Wimbledon the year before. True he never reached such heights again.
Rosol and Kyrgios suffer from cronic nadalitis; Coric caught the virus but recovered once he realised that he is neither Andy Murray when playing badly nor Djokovic when playing well. Darcis is old enough and wise enough to avoid it and though Stan had a couple of days in bed with it, I think he has now been cured. Brown is a maverick, these things don’t matter to him that much. Almagro didn’t catch it because he knows better having been around the block a few times being knocked about by Rafa.
In Sod’s defence, people did their best to get him to catch the virus but he always maintained that beating Nadal was nothing special although it didn’t stop him from claiming his meal ticket.
This disease is also known as rafaitis.
Claasic!
You get nadalitis by beating him once. The only cure is by beating him again so, yes, Stan is feeling better now.
I don’t think we are on the same wavelength. As I explained, nadalitis is a syndrome causing delusions of grandeur. If you think Nole suffers from delusions of grandeur by beating Rafa then you are putting him in the same category as Rosol and Kyrgios whose only claim to fame is beating Rafa. Suits me.
1) it’s being content with your career once you beat him just once. 2) that’s enough of this discussion.
OK. But I disagree.
Oh, Coric also knows deep down that he only beat a Nadal crippled with appendicitis.
Highlights of the match:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwumC_2Vsds
That is a great highlight video. Superbly edited. Well done you for finding it.
I particularly enjoyed being able to hear the French commentary. A welcome change from Koenig and friends on TennisTV lol.
If you speak French, lucky you:) I’ve tried getting by in France with my schoolgirl french but it doesn’t really cut it.
I only had French TV for years – listening to tennis commentaries in French did wonders for my comprehension skills. I still prefer most of their commentators to all the others with the exception of Forget who has verbal diarrhoea.
For a start the Frenchies were blatantly pro Rafa and became more so as the match progressed, ooh la la-ling at every point he won. Rosol was clearly not the flavour of the month and they vascillated between respect for his good shots and disapproval of his general behaviour and bad sportsmanship.