Rafael Nadal will continue his Madrid campaign against Grigor Dimitrov on Friday. Tomas Berdych and John Isner are also gunning for a spot in the semifinals.
(3) Rafael Nadal vs. (10) Grigor Dimitrov
Nadal and Dimitrov will be going head-to-head for the sixth time in their careers when they do battle in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday. All five of their previous encounters have gone the way of Nadal, who last beat the Bulgarian around this time last year via a 6-2, 6-2 semifinal rout at the Rome Masters. Their only other clay-court encounter came at the 2013 Monte-Carlo Masters, where Nadal prevailed 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
The two-time defending champion is showing at least some signs of emerging from a prolonged slump with routine wins this week over Steve Johnson and Simone Bolelli. Progress is also being made by a relatively out-of-form Dimitrov, who has taken out Donald Young, Fabio Fognini, and Stan Wawrinka. The world No. 11 is 17-8 on the season and still in search of his first final appearance. Dimitrov is a second straight opponent for Nadal who will be tested with a one-handed backhand, and past history does not bode well for success in this one. Although the Spaniard may not be in peak shape, he nonetheless presents a much more daunting task than the likes of Young, Fognini, and Wawrinka–especially at home in Spain and on clay.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
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(16) John Isner vs. (6) Tomas Berdych
Nobody outside of Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third rounds of U.S. Opens has owned Isner quite like Berdych. The Czech has won four consecutive meetings between the two players and six of the last seven to improve to 6-2 lifetime against Isner. Since losing the 2012 Winston-Salem final 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(9), Berdych has taken eight consecutive sets from the 6’10” American and not a single one of those eight has progressed to a tiebreaker. They most recently faced each other last fall on the hard courts of Beijing, where Berdych rolled 6-1, 6-4.
Both big hitters are in the midst of outstanding weeks. Berdych has had no trouble disposing of Frenchmen Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Isner snagged the 16th and final seed but unlike Berdych did not get a first-round bye. The world No. 18 booked his place in the last eight by defeating Adrian Mannarino, Thomaz Bellucci, and Nick Kyrgios. Isner needed three sets to get past Bellucci and Kyrgios even though he was one point away from a straight-set victory on each occasion. The extra workload will not help Isner, whose high-kicking serve has never given Berdych any significant problems.
Pick: Berdych in 2
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Nadal might win, but I do not think it will be that easy. we will def. lose more than 5-7 games
Unless Rafa has one of his turns and doesn’t play well as he’s played so far in Madrid, he’ll win losing between 5-7 games.
I am with Atul here. I do think Rafa will lose more than 5-7 games. However, if I am proven wrong then I will be delighted!
I just want Rafa to get the win and advance to the semis.
Go get ’em, Rafa! Vamos!
Show them how it’s done without the need for sports psychologists, voodoo priests, Eastern mystic chants, temporary coaches, fad diets, you-name-the-suggestion-of-the-day, yada yada yada.
#LaDecima
^^^ritb: I 2nd that.
I don’t see Dimitrov causing much trouble for Rafa. He got lucky to run into Foggy on an off day and an out of sorts, sulky WaWa to reach the QF.
Rafa in 2
I am with Rafa on this one…”everything worries me about Dimitrov”…Bulgarian is huge talent but pure talent isn’t enough to beat Rafa…however, I know that like Fogy Dimitrov will want to play his best tennis, will show up with all guns blazing…I am not sure where Rafa is atm and if he will be able to lift his level…I am not sure about Rafa’s confidence to start producing his best…but I hope he will find finally find the way without doubting himself and will emerge victorious today…
Vamos Dr Nadal!
No predicitions, I just want Rafa to win!
Good luck, Dr. Vamos!!
A big thank you to Isner for sending Kyrgios packing 🙂
^^I 2nd you on this sentiment, @ed251137! Have enough trouble dealing with riff-raff in my everyday life, imagine tuning in to one’s favourite sport to see one? Eew……
any prediction is just as good as the other, Rafa is a blank page this year. If Dimitrov plays at his best I don’t think Rafa will win… cause he’s far from his best
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CEeIQHYWYAAzy2V.png
The organisation at Madrid sucks big time.. Murray played his match at 03:00 AM!!
At what time will Ferrer and Nishikori play today ?
Ridiculous…
Thx Augusta for the pic, at first I though Rafa had some sort of contraption in his left knee but it was just the shadow of his racket showing behind… ufff
Not a recent picture from Madrid.
Type b
^^ It’s barbaric !
Santano was there watching till the end. Couldn’t stop myself hoping he suffered sleep deprivation the next day. Making players perform in the wee small hours of the morning is tantamount to torture. Fortunately for Murray he is more of a night person than an early bird so he was able to cope with the late hour. Kohlbi was not so lucky plus he did not have the benefit of a 1st round bye.
Same happened to Rafa in Rio. Somehow don’t think the organisers would dare send Fed out at 03h00……….
Shireling1 (at 10:13 am,
The picture I posted: “Rafael Nadal of Spain plays a forehand in his match against Simone Bolelli of Italy during day six of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 7, 2015 in Madrid, Spain. (Source:Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe).”
(hawkeye63 is not trustable)
Gosh, I would be the happiest person in the world to see Ricky’s title tomorrow “Madrid semifinal previews and picks: Nadal vs. ….” 🙂
Don’t fret @nats, you will be happy today. Rafa will beat Grisha
Ricky, why are you moderating me??
i’m not
^^Ooops, my bad! Let my cursor wander onto the e-mail line and I mistakenly typed in some letters and bingo……..
ed251137 says:
May 8, 2015 at 11:20 am
I like the word “tantamount”, thx for sharing 🙂
Shriekova and Williams trashed on the same day …
Bye bye to Williams’ 24 match winning streak (27 from last year)!!!
Dummy will lose easily to Nadal
Not if they keep trading breaks like this!!!!
Rafa has gone back into his shell.
Lol!! Well he seems to be coming out of it little by little now!!!! Hoping he would close the set here!!!
Wahoo!!!! Set 1 in the bag!!!!! Vamos!!!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CEfZGOVUgAAUNxL.png
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CEfZKt6UkAAJocl.png
Now here we go!!!
^^Unfortunately not in the right direction Mona 🙁
This is frustrating. Rafa getting broken early in the second set and letting Dimitrov get back in this match.
The tennis channel commentators are going on about how these two have a history of three set matches. I don’t know if I am up for that.
Back on track now. Stay focussed Rafa
The fact that Rafa is able to break back give me a lot more hope….that has been lacking a lot in his game for a while now!
Rafa, now wrap this up in quick time! I wish I could watch this match…pity some of us have to work!
dummy will get broken here and lose
I knew that
Rafa Won 🙂
That was a tricky match; Dimi played better than I expected but not good enough. At least he can do some sight-seeing with Maria who lost this morning.
how did he play today. or was Dimmi playing poorly?
Atul,
Dimi is nowhere near as good as he was last year. He couldn’t get into a good serving rhythm. He showed some flashes of his former self, but not enough to beat Rafa. He had his chances in that second set, but let it get away from him.
Rafa played well enough to win. There is still more work to be done. He was missing some wide open forehands that he would make in his sleep. The stats show that he’s not winning enough first serve points. Late in the second set, the tennis channel put up some serving stats. At that point Rafa was only winning 14% of second serve points! I was kind of hoping it was a mistake. But that is concerning.
It wasn’t a really good match from either guy, but Rafa not at his best is still good enough to beat almost everybody.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CEfmktKUgAE9L2S.png
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CEfmnZZUEAAmrA9.png
Winner to UFEs is still in deficit……needs to work on that ASAP!
Rafa is through to the SFs!!!
Vaaamooosss!!!
http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/happy/cheering-clapping-smiley-emoticon.gif
ricky got it right and my gut feeling was wrong. rafa just lost the 7 games.
Well done Ricky!!
Well done Ricky!!!
That was not vintage Rafa but he is definitely moving in the right direction. He just needs to cut down on those UEs. Dimitrov was up and down and gifted too many easy points to Rafa – thank goodness. He and Maria can console each other over dinner tonight.
“He and Maria can console each other over dinner tonight”…..lol…….my thoughts exactly!!!!
now, one thing I am certain about is that Rafa wasted so much time playing with the new racquet….if he was using the old one by now he would have had the rhythm and the accuracy which he is gaining so quickly…I still see mental lapses and some fear of his opponents but at least this time around he was ready to fight back and he did all to avoid playing the third set…I am so proud of Rafa!
Vamos DR NADAL!!!
I guess if Rafa gets to the final or wins this tourney he will start to feel better about himself and his game!! Lets just hope all goes well!! If he is to meet Isner/Berdych he will have to grease a few of his wheels but at least he is in the semis!!!
Wow!!! Rafa won in straights….did not get to see the end…….vamos!!!!
I think the key to this match was at 4-4 in the second set when Dimitrov had break chances against Rafa. The fact that Rafa was able to hang tough and save his serve, is a very good sign. That is what I take away from this match. Rafa showed that mental strength that has been lacking.
This wasn’t a great match at all. Dimitrov seems to have taken a few steps backward this season. Rafa was not at his best, missing some wide open inside out and inside in forehands. Dimitrov had his chances in the second set but just couldn’t play consistently aggressive enough to get the job done. His serving wasn’t good either.
Rafa couldn’t seem to get a first serve in that critical game at 4-all, but he got the job done. I am relieved that this was a straight sets win. No three set marathon like the one with Ferrer at MC in the quarterfinals.
I also wish that Rafa had not tried out the new racket. That might well have cost him Barcelona. Rafa will need to go up another gear or two for the semis.
Now I can just relax and sit back and watch all the other matches.
Very good assessment Native, but with respect to the racket, I cant fault Rafa too much. Rafa probably felt he needed to try something new to add more elements to his game but it did not work. Nole, Roger and others have all tried new things too. Now that Rafa has returned to his new racket, I am just hoping that he can get it back to doing a whole lot of talking like it once used to!!
Great job, Rafa, hold tight…you seem to be finally getting there!!!! Vamos!!!!
Native, who would you rather see Rafa play in the semis….Isner or Berdy? Dont want either but just to know your thougts!
I’d prefer Berdych.
The sooner Isner is eliminated, the better it is for tennis.
Berdych seems well out of sorts!!!
Stats:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CEf2NWNUMAEuvx4.png
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CEf2QERVIAAX1Wr.png
Isner had match point in the 2nd set, Berdych won the set.
Berdych wins 2nd set 7-6 (9-7 ) in tiebreak
Isner should be banned for making tennis so boring.
27 Izzy aces so far.
And still loses the match!!!!…..with tiebreaks!!
Yes! Amen! It’s virtually unwatchable! I had to go out this afternoon, but decided to record the rest of the match as they were late in the third set. I just wanted to know the outcome. But it says something when I am using my iPhone during a tennis match!
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RT @bgtennisnation : “The shot that really sets the tone for Rafa is his serv when he is hitting his spots opens up his entire game”
Totally agree.
RT @bgtennisnation : “The shot that really sets the tone for Rafa is his serv when he is hitting his spots opens up his entire game”
Totally agree.
Berdych wins 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-1)
Berdych Raced against 29 aces
Isner is a 1 tricky pony, Serving aces and doing nothing else doesn’t win too many matches against top players.
Glad Isner is out. Hurray for tennis.
Last time Berdych and Nadal played in Madrid, Berdych shushed the Madrid crowd after he beat Rafa.
On another note, more than a few empty seats during the Rafa match today.
#CrosstownTraffic
Correction: Rafa beat him last year in the Madrid quarters 4 and 2.
Doubt that it will be that easy tomorrow.
My thinking is that beating Dimitrov means a lot to Rafa…at least he is in the semis…now, I am glad it’s not Isner…I just hate watching big hitters and really see no beauty in their tennis…serving only does not make tennis at all…
Berdy will be tough for Rafa who is still working towards his best form…however, for some reason I am more relaxed about the match with Berdy…it should have been Fed though.. 🙂
Three down two to go!
Vamos DR Nadal!
http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2015/416/mds.pdf
Main draw: Rome
Isner in Rafa’s quarter and Roger in Rafa’s half!
Mona,
I just wanted to say that I did not ignore your question earlier here about who I wanted Rafa to face in the semis. I had to go out for the afternoon and finally got back on here. For the record, my wish would have been Berdy. Anybody but Isner!
I also do not think this is going to be an easy match for Rafa. This is not the same Berdy who lost to him 17 straight times. Berdy always had the game, but never the mental strength and belief. But he does now. He fought through a tight second set tb and also at least one match point that I recall, to ultimately take that set. Then he went on to win in three sets. Having beaten Rafa at the AO, this time Berdy will go into the match with some real belief and confidence. It’s up to Rafa to wipe that out.
I would love to see Rafa come out and play even better. Go up another level!
Oh and thanks for the info about the Rome draw. I never like to see Isner in Rafa’s quarter! But first he has to get through Madrid.
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Berdy is 0-6 vs Rafa on clay and has only taken a single set in 15 tries from Rafa (the very first set they played back in 2005.
However, Berdy ’15 is the 2nd best player on tour ATM.
Here’s hoping Berdy won’t be the second player to be 2-0 vs Rafa this year.
Correction: 3rd best. Muzza passed him last weekend with his win in Munich.
The way Berdych played Isner having to to 3 sets, I still give Rafa a slight edge!
That’s taking into consideration Rafa’s hard way back, right 🙂 ?
On a normal year in the past we would be predicting a 2 set win easily.
Raonic playing injured vs Muzza. Has already pulled out of Rome.
@TennisTV 21 minutes ago
#Raonic holds… but a couple of times he’s pulled up and checked his bad foot. Just saying. #MMOPEN15
Roanic is toast against Andy in this situation!
I am looking forward to Murray and Nishi. That should be a good one. Nishi got it done against Ferrer in two sets. He was looking exceptionally good.
It’s true that in a normal year we would definitely be predicting an easy two set win for Rafa over Berdy. But this has been anything but a normal year!
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I agree that it was not the best of performances by rafa but let’s admit that he is improving and making real progress now. He definitely seems more calm out there and very importantly, more assured on his service games. He has been serving well too in this week.
Dimitrov was not able to play his best tennis and that allowed rafa to win this one rather comfortably. However, there are some significant positives to take from this match,
Rafa was down 1-3 in set 2 and that happened mainly because he lost intensity. But, he was able bounce back immediately get the break back. He looked determined and controlled his fears well.
Saving break point at 4-4 and then closing the match out by breaking at 5-4 were also good for his confidence and I am sure he is gaining confidence.
He is using his backhand just to spread the court at the moment and the length/aggression on backhand counterpunching needs improvement. It is , however, part of the process and he normally gets these weapons when he has built some nice momentum.
Rafa will avenge his loss to berdych and then the final will be tough. I hope murray can somehow win!