Madrid crowd favorite Rafael Nadal will be in third-round action on Thursday against David Goffin. Youngsters Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime are also squaring off as they aim for a place in the quarterfinals.
(3) Rafael Nadal vs. (Q) David Goffin
As he does with most opponents, Rafael Nadal owns the head-to-head against David Goffin on clay. Both of the Belgian’s win over the 21-time Grand Slam champion have come on hard courts. The four clay encounters have all gone Nadal’s way.
While neither man is particularly known for pot-stirring, their first meeting was mired in controversy. It was at the 2017 Monte-Carlo Masters. Goffin was seeded 10th and ran into Nadal in the semifinals. The Belgian was serving up a break in the first set when a close shot of Nadal’s was ruled good by chair umpire Cedric Mourier. The Hawkeye system showed that the ball was just out, but Hawkeye wasn’t used officially in Monte-Carlo at that time. They replayed the point, which Nadal won and eventually broke back. Goffin won just one more game the entire match and refused to shake hands with Mourier.
This time around Goffin is ranked 60th in the world and Nadal comes into the tournament off a six-week injury layoff due to a cracked rib he sustained at the Indian Wells Masters. The Spaniard, adored by the home crowd in Madrid, was in fine form in his second-round match on Wednesday. He dispatched an in-form Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 7-6(4). The No. 3 seed had a few moments of rust in the second set, as he dumped served twice after earning service breaks.
Nadal is capable–perhaps more than any other ATP player in history–of returning from an injury and immediately finding his form well enough to win. Goffin shouldn’t count on his opponent’s rust to get him through this one.
Cheryl pick: Nadal in 2
Ricky pick: Nadal in 2
(8) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. (10) Jannik Sinner
This will be first career meeting between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner. It feels like this match should have happened some time ago, because they are two of the most promising of the next generation of players. Unfortunately for tennis fans, they won’t meet while they are both in good form.
Sinner, one of Italy’s best and brightest, was riding a 19-4 record for 2022 coming into Madrid. He hasn’t won any events in 2022, but the No. 10 seed finds himself in the business end of tournaments most of the time. Conversely, Auger-Aliassime has won an event but has been on a miserable run since February.
The Canadian scored a nice win over Cristian Garin in the second round on Wednesday and Sinner did the same over Alex de Minaur, but their respective form suggests that this one is going to go to Sinner in a fairly straightforward fashion.
Cheryl pick: Sinner in 2
Ricky pick: Sinner in 2
Arrrrrrggghhhh!!!!! Y does RaFa DO that?!!!! This is not funny anymore!!!! Serve the match our Rafa!!! Fit Christ sake!!!!!! Damn it!!!
No it’s not funny any more.
He won’t go much further like this. Now Rafa has to get to a tb! Unbelievable!
It’s just so annoying !!
I’m getting very irritated with Rafa not being able to serve out a match a second time running in as many matches played!
What’s he thinking? What’s there to be nervous about, that he has to make all those errors? Just concentrates, stays focused and finishes the job for goodness sake! He has to tell himself that even if he loses his serve, he’s not losing the match, so why feel nervous when serving for it??
Can’t stand it!
This is jus bad.
Oh God! Rafa lost the second set! This is panic time.
Something must be wrong!!! Has to be!!! Serving from 40:15 to losing the whole set?!!! Gosh this is unreal!!!!
I am wondering if something is wrong with Rafa. To get broken two times in a row? He even had match point against Goffin when he was serving. This is beyond belief.
He playing like this may soon loses this match! And even if he wins in the end, he’s not going to beat that young guy in the QF (if that young guy gets there)!
What kind of mentality is that, when you’re a point or two away from a win, you start doubting yourself??
It was hard to watch it. He couldn’t serve. He just lost the plot. He was in complete control of this match. Then he serves for the match and it all falls apart.
I don’t know if it’s mental or physical. To see it fall apart is just shocking. Goffin played well but Rafa knows him and what he has to do.
This is the price of an injury. How on earth is he supposed to move on and play Alcazar? If he even wins this match.
I think I am done watching.
He has just come back from an injury and he has to play a three set match? Against Goffin? When was the last time he did anything?
So now he has to stay on court and gut it out. Rafa loves to give his opponents gifts. Now Goffin can think he has a shit to win.
Both Tsitsipas and FAA are about to win their respective matches and they started their matches much later than Rafa’s! Rafa is making a mess out of a straight set winnable match when he has two MPs but squanders them away!
He’s throwing a lifeline to Goffin and Goffin gladly takes it!
I think it’s Nadal’s ugly postal carrier outfit that’s to blame. Nike needs to go back to the hot pink.
Well, I liked the purple he wore in Oz, but I’m cool with the blue.
Good news is, Rafa *finally* won. Bad news is he has to play Alcaraz next. Well, I guess it will show him exactly where his game is atm. Anyway, I’m happy he got to the quarters. Didn’t really expect more.
It’s a superman outfit in blue.
3 hour match.. He did it in 2009.. Now, I wish Alcarez to win the QF, so Rafa can get some rest before Rome.
Nail biting match! Goffin came soooooo close and Rafa made far too many errors, but he did try to manage our expectations because he hasn’t had much preparation time.
Vamos!
I have to give both guys credit for fighting it out so hard in the TB.
Well, Rafa fights hard to win in the end, so congrats to him for the win. At least he retains his QF points.
He really has to go back and analyse what’s wrong with him when he’s serving out a match! He can’t afford to do this so often if he wants to carry on winning matches and titles.
I actually like Rafa’s outfit although I agree that he looks much better in warm colours, they suit him.
Rafa said it quite plainly that he has ups and downs. He was close to playing three sets yesterday so I always feared a complicated match today. Especially since I’m sure that Goffin holds a (misplaced) grudge against Nadal so it was expected that he’s extra motivated.
The good news is that Rafa’s never say die attitude is still there and he keeps refusing to lose! The bad one is that he probably doesn’t stand a chance tomorrow, if Alcaraz wins today. He should retire due to fatigue and leave Alcaraz take care of good ole Nole on Saturday.
For sure Nadal is on the right track, but going too far in Madrid would only delay his adjustments to sea level clay court conditions. Although I hate to see him losing, I think it would be better for him to lose or ideally not even play tomorrow.
The superman outfit helped him to get the win in the end.