Rafael Nadal will be back in action on Thursday in Madrid when he takes the court for third-round action against Jarkko Nieminen. The winner will face either Tomas Berdych or Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Jarkko Nieminen
Nadal and Nieminen will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers when they meet in round three of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at a perfect 7-0 in Nadal’s favor, including 5-0 on clay and 17-1 in total sets. They have not faced each other since Monte-Carlo in 2012, when the top-ranked Spaniard prevailed 6-4, 6-3. Nadal kicked off his Madrid campaign on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-0 blowout of Juan Monaco as he looks to erase the demons of quarterfinal losses in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona.
It has already been a productive week for Nieminen, who earned his shot at the world No. 1 by taking out both Robin Haase and Igor Sijsling in easy straight sets. The 32-year-old Finn is 14-12 for the season, which includes a semifinal showing in Montpellier and a third-round performance in Indian Wells. Nieminen’s counter-punching and at times aggressive baseline play can work well on clay, but this surface is obviously the last one on which he wants to battle Nadal.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 3-4 games
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(12) Grigor Dimitrov vs. (6) Tomas Berdych
Dimitrov and Berdych will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Thursday. Both of their previous meetings have gone Dimitrov’s way in three sets; 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam in 2009 and 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 two years ago in Miami. Speaking of three-setters, the 14th-ranked Bulgarian needed a marathon to get past Marius Copil on Wednesday. Dimitrov survived 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(7) after two hours and 10 minutes to improve his record for the season to 22-6. He had previously rolled over Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 6-4.
Berdych could not have asked for a more routine path to the last 16. The sixth-ranked Czech got a first-round bye then faced personal punching bag Kevin Anderson on Wednesday. Berdych improved to 11-0 lifetime against the South African–all 11 since the start of the 2012 season–thanks to a 6-1, 6-4 romp. This will be a much tougher test for the No. 6 seed, who is solid but unspectacular on clay. Dimitrov’s athleticism and defense are more effective on this surface and he is clearly comfortable on the red stuff right now following a title last month in Bucharest.
Pick: Dimitrov in 3
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I am going with Rafa to win in two sets. I don’t see Nieminen troubling him. I think that I voted for 5-7 games. But it could be less.
I am picking Dimitrov to beat Berdy in three sets.
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/464140055490355201/photo/1
Wow, just love that stance…..the focus, the muscles……..what a wonderful specimen he is that Rafa!!!!!
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I hope Rafa gets off to a better start than today when his 1st serve was off in the opening few games giving Pico the chance to break him. Niemenin won’t be as lenient as Pico.
Rafa in 2
Berdych has been struggling a bit this season. Dimitrov should be able to handle him particularly after the wake-up call he received from Copil.
Dimitrov in 3
I voted for Ferrer in three sets over Isner, Gulbis in three sets over Cilic and Thiem over Lopez in three sets. I think Thiem will feel great after beating Stan. Sometimes a player can’t get it done in the next match, but I think he has a good shot at continuing in the tournament.
I don’t know that Ferrer is playing great right now, but I think he will get the win over Isner. While the tennis channel was showing Rafa’s match with Monaco, they kept switching to Isner’s match because it was much more competitive. He had to battle to get by Matosevic and I believe that Ferrer will have enough to get the win. I picked Gulbis, despite my feelings about him. I think it should be a good match with Cilic. I always put in the caveat about Gulbis having a possible meltdown.
Ricky, why no previews on those matches. I wanted to read your picks.
I do agree about Rafa needing a better start against Niemenin than he had against Monaco. He was a bit lucky there, because Monaco wasn’t able to really capitalize. He did get the break back, but then Rafa broke him right back. The commentators on the tennis channel said that Monaco has been dealing with a wrist injury. I didn’t know about that.
I am hoping to see Rafa come out more aggressive in his next match. He appears to have lost a bit of rhythm and timing on his groundstrokes after getting knocked out in the quarterfinals at Barcelona. As he said himself, it’s better to keep winning and playing because the game gets better and so does the confidence. He’s going to be tested in this tournament. I have no doubt about that. But it won’t come from Nieminem.
I repeat my comment.
augusta08 says:
March 19, 2014 at 1:38 pm
Juan Monaco injured his right wrist last year. Reportedly, it has not recovered properly. A couple of months ago, there were rumors that he was going to retire from professional tennis, but he denied that.
The overall view on the net seems to be Pico turned up to give his friend a practice match, a view led by Bodo himself.
Like other Rafans on here, I hope Rafa starts aggressive and does not give Niemenin a chance to breath.
Vamos Rafa!
Berdy;
Izzy;
Ernie;
Thiem
Cristiano Ronaldo is watching Rafa’s match
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/464401811332661248/photo/1
Rafa in his ‘don’t mess with me’ mood. Good to see.
Nieminen breaks
Ha, ha. That’s why I would make a lousy commentator.
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/464417920169562112/photo/1
https://twitter.com/RAFAddicted/status/464418483413872640/photo/1
Shame, shame, shame on them………………lol!!
please Rafa break the quarter final curse and win tomorrow…
^^^^^Why did you even have to mention that 🙁
Now I’ll be worrying the whole way through match until he is over the hurdle.
Ah man, this is the second Rafa match I have missed because real life intruded. Will watch a recording and judge for myself Rafa’s level. Happy that he won though……………
Vamos!
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so Thiem retired?? what is it with players beating a top 4 and then either retiring in the next round or losing badly? Kei beats Roger…Ferru beats Rafa…Almagro beats Rafa…Thiem beats Stan…
I bet Stan is right pissed off.
you know Santiago will lose tomorrow…beating Muzzah will be too much to handle…
Nieminen congratulates Rafa via Twitter. Nice guy, class act.
https://twitter.com/NieminenJarkko/status/464471159699165186
^^Class.
I too missed both of Rafa’s matches…the work is calling and coincides with my tennis “obligations”…but I will be back home tomorrow to watch the recording (if Rafa wins! If not I will just not bother, too painful to live through….)
I notice Rafa’s UEs tally nearly equals his winners tally…he needs to step it up against Berdy…but he apparently plays well at crucial points which is a big improvement…
Vamos Rafa!
Just watched a recording of the Rafa/Neimenen match. Rafa was cruising until the 3rd game in the 2nd set when he lunged for a cross court FH shot from the other side and banged his head with his racquet, winding himself a little bit. He seemed to lose focus a bit but composed himself sufficiently in the end to win comfortably.
Berdy test tomorrow, Vamos!
I have finally watched my recording of the full match. I woke up at about 6:30 am and watched some of it. The thing that has stood out to me is Rafa’s movement on the court. That is so important to his overall game. He is just really gliding well on the court and getting to just about everything. It’s good to see.
My thoughts are that Nieminen gave a good account of himself. This was a good match for Rafa, getting rhythm and an opponent who didn’t quit in the second set. Rafa’s starting to get the feel of his shots now. I still wish that this business with getting the break and then giving it back, would just go away. But the truth is that Niemenin played some great shots. Rafa seemed to lose a bit of concentration in that second set but stayed tough and then got the break for the win.
I do think that it’s going to be more competitive with Berdy. He’s always had the game to trouble Rafa, but never had the belief, didn’t have it between the ears. He may sense that Rafa could be vulnerable now, having lost in the quarterfinals in MC and Barcelona. I will be very nervous for this one, because I worry that Rafa might get psyched out with the whole quarterfinal thing. He can’t let that get into his head.
This one will be Rafa’s first test. A top ten opponent who has never beaten him. I am also hoping that Rafa will raise his level of play. Getting past the quarterfinals would be a really good thing for Rafa now.
Good luck tomorrow, Rafa!