Rafael Nadal’s difficult section of the Madrid draw pitted him against Fabio Fognini in round two and he will now face Nick Kyrgios on Thursday. Novak Djokovic is also continuing his campaign with a quarterfinal spot at stake against Feliciano Lopez.
(16) Nick Kyrgios vs. (4) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Kyrgios will be facing each other for the third time in their careers when they collide in round three of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday. The head-to-head series is tied at one win apiece, with Kyrgios pulling off a 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3 upset in the 2014 Wimbledon fourth round before Nadal got the job done 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4 last spring in Rome.
Conditions in Madrid should be more neutral–slower than the grass of the All-England Club but faster than in Rome. The result should be another competitive contest, although Nadal would just assume have an easier day at the office after needing two hours and 57 minutes to battle past Fabio Fognini 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4 in his opener on Wednesday. The fifth-ranked Spaniard is now 30-5 this season and 11-0 on clay, with recent titles in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona. Kyrgios missed the start of the clay-court swing due to the death of his grandfather, but he has advanced in Madrid with straight-set defeats of Marcos Baghdatis and Ryan Harrison. The 20th-ranked Australian is a combined 4-2 lifetime against Nadal (1-1), Roger Federer (1-1), and Novak Djokovic (2-0), so he obviously has no fear of taking the toughest tests on the biggest stages. In the end, though, the clay should allow Nadal to withstand Kyrgios’ power to the extent that too many baseline exchanges will be in the cards for the 22-year-old.
Pick: Nadal in 3
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Feliciano Lopez vs. (2) Novak Djokovic
Djokovic also endured a significant scare in his opener on Wednesday, when he recovered from a 3-0 deficit in the third set to beat Spanish wild card Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. It was a much-needed win for the world No. 2, who had been a mere 7-4 in his last four tournaments and split from his entire support team last week.
Up next for Djokovic on Thursday is a 10th career contest against Lopez, who is 1-8 lifetime in the head-to-head series. The 35-year-old Spaniard’s lone victory came via retirement at last year’s Dubai event, where Djokovic dropped the first set 6-3 and then called it quits due to an eye infection. Their only previous clay-court encounter came six years ago in the Belgrade final, with the Serb treating his home fans to a 7-6(4), 6-2 triumph. Lopez also survived a tough one on Wednesday, outlasting Gilles Simon 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(3) after firing 14 aces compared to no double-faults. That was preceded by a more routine 6-4, 6-4 win at the expense of up-and-coming American Ernesto Escobedo, who qualified for the main draw. Lopez can be dangerous in Spain and in relatively fast conditions, but Djokovic’s returning and defensive skills–even though they may not be in peak form right now–should make the difference in his favor.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
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who ya got?
Rafa-Curious match: Don’t care who wins. Hope it won’t be another 3 hour slugfest.
Nole-Lopez: Nole in 2.
Lopez in 3 NK in 2
Rafa in two; Lopez in three.
Novak in 3.
Rafa in 3
If Nole does make it past Lopez ( as I expect him to), he will not lose the 4th round against Ferrer/Nishi.
Rafa on the other hand has two tough rounds ahead before QF: Kyrgios folowed by Raonic/Goffin.
Seeing how particular Rafa is about winning matches, I hope he overcomes all these players and wins Madrid.In his mind, every tournament he plays is important. He wouldn’t want to lose or skip these “important” tournaments to save himself for RG when there is no guarantee that thereby he will win RG. So one thing at a time. If he is fated to win RG, he will.
I mixed up Masters with GS!. The 4th round is the QF here!
So if Rafa gets past Kyrgios, he is in the QF.
I need to do the brain fog exercise.
I remember in 2010 when I saw Isner in Rafa’s Wimbledon draw, I was really scared as Rafa is vulnerable to big hitters in week 1. But when Isner-Mahut happened, suddenly I felt, Rafa is going to win Wimbly for certain. And he did.
Betting against both Nadal and Djokovic in a parlay just for one round for +140
I am sure Rafa will up his game for Kyrgios. I am not sure it will be enough. Obviously Nick’s serve will be hard to break if he is on, but he also really impressed me with his baseline play in Miami. His consistency has improved a lot since last year, I think. Also, I think the ear infection affected Nadal against Fog and I’m not convinced that he’s 100%. Kyrgios in 3.
Novak wasn’t his best, but he didn’t look bad to me. Have to give Almagro some credit; he can hit the cover off the ball and created a lot of forced errors. I just don’t see Djokovic losing to Lopez. Nole in 2.
The only sure thing for me is Djokovic will win. Most likely in 2, but could be 3. Kyrgios – Nadal is a 53-47.
Stan is in a battle with Paire. He lost the first set to him and the second set is very tight.
Cilic and Zverev resuming play in the third set.
I cannot believe that Stan is on the verge of losing to Paire! What is going on with him?
The Cilic/Zverev match has been great to watch! Zverev just broke Cilic in the third set!
Go Sasha!
its easy to see close calls for Murray, Novak and Rafa in the next round. surely all three couldnt fall in one fell swoop?!
Stan loses to Paire.
Not that surprising about Stan really. He’s just not as good in best-of-three set matches… Luckily for him his results leading up to a slam very rarely hold any weight to how he will do in a slam. Save for a Rome semifinal showing, he lost early in every tournament between Rotterdam and Roland Garros in 2015, yet still won the tournament playing at a very high level. And if I recall correctly, I’m pretty sure he was slumping leading into the US Open last year as well. It’s obviously no guarantee, but Stan is absolutely capable of flipping the switch as Roland Garros again…
I think he doesn’t waste energy fighting for every point in any tournament other than a grand slam. His 3 setter with Paire lasted just 1hr: 48 mins.
Winning even one slam puts you in the history books above somebody with 10 Masters. Also apart from the huge prize money, the biggest money maker is the sponsorship deals you attract. Having 3 grand slams already, he is sooner or later going to be in the hall of fame. He has his priorities right. He is not going to be year end # 1. Why not be fresh for RG unlike someone we know.
Mary and Kevin sum up Stan very well.
I’m not sure how fit and healthy Nick Kyrgios is. I hope Rafa can win in 2 quick sets because he does have a potentially tricky path to the final.
I have Novak beating F-Lo and losing to Kei the following round.
My expectations for Nole are very low. I’m just happy if he wins a match.
RAfa and Nole in 2
Rafa after today’s match:
“I haven’t played bad : I have played very bad”
“Also I’ve been a little bit nervous today”,
:”From the beginning it wasn’t easy. Altitude, windy conditions and nerves. I didn’t play well but finally I won”.
Against Fognini yes.
Kyrgios in two.
Here’s an interesting take on the outcome http://www.138mph.com/the-big-match-nadal-vs-kyrgios/
⚠️ WARNING: CLICKING ON THE LINK ABOVE WILL INSTALL THE FEDFAWN VIRUS ON YOUR PC OR MOBILE DEVICE!!! ⚠️
Not feeling it for Rafa in this tournament, ear infection, altitude, and he was poor against Fognini, and Madrid is his least favorite CC tournament , although he won it four times, still its Rafa and its clay, but much would depend on which Kyrigios turns up ….
Completely agree with you there, Alison…
Nick gets extra motivated when playing Rafa! It can easily be over in 2 short sets with one break each and Rafa sent packing…but what’s intriguing is Rafa fighting so hard to win against Fog! It may be an indication of Rafa feeling he is in good condition to face Nick and will fight to win. Let’s hope for the best!
I just want Rafa to stay healthy for RG. I really don’t care if he doesn’t win Madrid title…
Hey Al!…I think u forgot to add,which Rafa would turns up as well today…yeah,he played badly yesterday but honestly i don’t think he will have a bad day in the office 2 days in a row…Sure,almost the element point an advantage to Nick but one thing for sure..Nick has a very motivated and determined Rafa on the other side…and i think the difference in mental strength will give Rafa an advantage in the end….So,Rafa in 2 or 3..
Btw…nice to have u here today Al!!
Thanks Nasashao, dont like the term tank, and i dont think Rafa would, but i would prefer he gets out of there, and gets rid of that ear infection, be fit for Rome, but especially RG 🙂 ….
Alison Hodge (AT 12:22 PM),
If Rafa WANTED to ‘get out of there’, he would pull out.
If Rafa did NOT want to play in Madrid, he wouldn’t play there.
Rafa doesn’t have to take part in any ATP Masters tournaments, if he doesn’t want to. (Because he has played over 600 matches during his career, turned pro over 12 years ago and is 30 years old.)
Rafa is in Madrid because HE wants to be there.
I do think that Nik will be very motivated when he faces Rafa. He seems to get up for the challenge of playing the top guys. So I expect him to come out blasting.
I am not sure what to expect from Rafa. It is true that he normally won’t have two bad matches in a row. If he can tough out a match when he’s not playing well and still get the win, he’s shown that he can come out stronger in his next match.
We don’t know if the ear infection is affecting him. The conditions here have never been ideal for him. He will need to serve lights out and hold as though his life depends on it. He had to deal with Nik’s huge serve.
Normally I would like Rafa’s chances on clay, but this is not the normal clay surface. Madrid plays more like a hard court with the balls flying because of the high altitude. So that would be advantage Nik.
Rafa will come out and do his best.
RT @RSoderling: Kyrgios needs to serve and hit 2nd and 3rd shot flawless to even have a chance tonight. Rafa big favorite to me.
Wow, who would thing Soderling of all to say this! Interesting indeed…
I am officially shocked at this comment from Sod. Since when does he have good things to say about Rafa?
Since he retired? 🙂 Actually a couple of years ago during one of Rafa’s iffy periods Soderling did a “Tennis needs you, Rafa!” tweet. Someone responded “you wouldn’t say that if you were still playing”. Soderling: I sure would! So, the Sod’s a Rafa fan. Who knew?
Ramara,
Yes, who knew! He certainly didn’t seem to like Rafa when he was playing!
I am fine with anyone who can appreciate Rafa! If it came after he left the game, then so be it!
?
In his playing days, I think he was just one of those super competitive guy who came off as more of an asshole than he really is. Some people aren’t able to be all friendly in the locker room while maintaining the competitive fire needed to be a top player. He definitely seems to be a different person now that he isn’t competing…
If someone provides you with a meal ticket for life, you’re going to like them, no?
I noticed yesterday that he shook his head several during the match (the way one does if you’ve gotten water in the ear or on take-off in a plane ). The after effects of an infection and antibiotics may still be bothering. Rafa rarely blames a sub-par performance on his health or injury problems.
NNY: Rafa will come out fighting: that we can be sure of.
Hawks: it lends a whole new meaning to your favourite sign off – it’s all between the ears!!
ed,
I saw Rafa do that with his head, but thought that maybe I was looking too closely for something that wasn’t there. I remember him touching his ear between points. Ear infections can be uncomfortable and if you are going all out physically and competing hard, it doesn’t help.
You are right. Rafa would not blame his sub par performance in his health.
I am okay with whatever happens. As long as Rafa is okay, then it’s all good.
?
ed @ 1:24pm
“Hawks: it lends a whole new meaning to your favourite sign off – it’s all between the ears!!”
Great observation!
You should post here more often, ed!
This match has 3-setter written all over it.
Nadal in 3
Raonic goes out in straight sets to Goffin – 64 62.
Sascha time!
Nole won in 2.
Congrats to me!
Coric has just broken Murray in the first set,
Great article! I really think that Kyrgios could pull it out. He’s great against the Big Four, and Nadal has to be exhausted from the amount of time he’s spent on the court.
If you guys wouldn’t mind, could you check out http://www.courtsidewatch.com? It’s a new tennis blog that desires to provide you with high-quality news, and we need all the support we can get to help spread the word about this beautiful game.
Thanks!
Coric broke Murray again. What is up with that?
5-3 Coric with Murray serving.
Unreal! Coric just broke Murray again to win the first set!
Murray goes down to Coric 63 63.
Dammit. I should of bet again at Murray rather than Nadal for +750 coric. These top players like kerber and Murray act like they really don’t care about these satalite tournaments.
Kyrgios is a good bet today at 3:1.
Keep calm, remain focused, stay confident, be strong and show your fighting spirit, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C_jzqWrXgAA-BoW.jpg
You are aware that won’t help Rafa right?
C’mon Hawks! You know good and damn well that Rafa can’t win without Augusta’s prayer…
You are 100% right, Kevin!
Augusta08 i just dont think hes 100% fit right now, which scares me a bit with RG not far off, and i want him to make sure he is for that ….
Thiem broke back to get even in the third set against Dimi. Quite the battle.
A real cliff hanger of a match. Thiem is going from strength to strength but it was good to see Dimi back on form. He’s made a lot of progress this year.
Uncle Toni, his Dad and the rest of his team look anything but relaxed 🙁
NK hitting his backhand CC very smartly. Not necessarily going for outright pace. He is hitting his ROS as well as his rally backhands with a good angle.
Rafa is not doing enough with his forehand.
S***t. Curious breaks straight back.
Mary Carrillo was very happy.
Rafa got the first break with a lucky shot and now this one with a DF. Would be a pity if he can’t win this set now.
Rafa keeps hitting right back at Kygrios allowing Kygrios to hit his DTL shot into the open space for winners, at least that happen twice.
Rafa is playing better than Kygrios hence is leading in the score. This match plays like a HC match, mostly short points.
Rafa’s returned well…
Somehow I have this good feeling about Rafa after he analyzed his match with Fognini and Sod said it is tough to beat Rafa.
Very efficient game to wrap up the set!
After admitting to being nervous in his first match is clearly much ”colmer’ Bodes well as long as he keeps up this level.
Rafa playing really well now and his ROS is amazing right now. NK is not that fired up today but full credit to Rafa
woahhh lazer backhand pass DTL! Rafito showing no mercy now.
ahemmm..
Double break.
Commies on Tennis Channel are not happy.
Justin Gimelstob the misogynist says the match is over and Mary Carrillo is very quiet.
NK totally helpless
Bother. Was looking forward to watching Curious eating a bakery product 🙂
Goffin will get a beating tomorrow.
Rafa’s been UNPLAYABLE this set. He would have destroyed any player
God mode
this was too damn good in set 2. Shows you these players stand no chances against the god of clay when he is playing near his best. It is a lesson for everyone here! Such is the supremacy of this man on clay. take a bow, Rafa Nadal.
Agreed VR. People tend to forget how superb Rafa is/was and still can be on clay! Just because Djoko beat him at the Masters in the last few years doesn’t mean Djoko is superior to Rafa on clay.
Rafa just has so many gears or levels in his clay court game that he can go to, or when he needs to dig deep if the situation calls for it. He’s such a complete player on clay, it’s no wonder he’s so hard to beat on clay.
totally! He is an artist on clay! He is moving toward a level that is more aggressive than it’s ever been for him on clay. He is moving in more now and willing to finish points at the net even on clay.
Barring injury, I don’t see anyone taking him down at RG. If he wins Madrid (very realistic chance of that happening), he would be the hugeee favourite to win Rome. I just hope he doesn’t play long matches.
People also forget that since 2012 Rafa has been coping with one injury after another being sidelined for over 1 year 3 months, that’s why he was lacking form and confidence. Normally, Rafa and Nole are a close match it’s 50/50 between so it’s no surprise that loses when he is not 100% on form.
Looks like the Fognini matched has served the same purpose Kyle Emdunds match did in Monte Carlo! He thrashed Zverev in the next match and today Nick. This was far more impressive because:
(1) Madrid is not that suitable for his game
(2) His level of play was MUCH HIGHER than it was in that match
I really want Djokovic to face Rafa now. It would be really unfair if he doesn’t because in the last two years Rafa he has really benefited from a slumping Nadal. Now it is Rafa’s turn to get some wins but they are not facing off.
Was thinking exactly the same thing after ND’s match against Lopez who I reckon would have got the win if it had been a 5-setter. In fact he’s looked very ragged in most of his matches for a long time.
Rafa is through to QFs!! ✌ ✌ ?
Ha, so I’m right, Rafa wins in 2! Well done Rafa!
Rafa looks serious and determined, not wanting to lose to Kygrios, stamping his authority over his younger opponent. This match reminds me of his MC match vs AZverev; Rafa came out all guns blazing and I like that. I hope he does that often esp when facing an opponent for the first time.
When Rafa is serving and returning this well, it is doomsday for the rest of the field.
I am also glad that he had a quick 1 hr 15 mins match. Just what he needed after yesterday’s marathon.
Very surprised pleasantly surprised, yay Vamos Rafael, off topic but what the hell is up with Murray, has he got one eye on the GC season ? ….
I was out and recorded the match. I decided to watch the match without knowing the score, so no live blogging here for me!
Suffice to say that it was a joy to see Rafa come out and play God-like tennis!
Rafa was in the zone! I was happy and relieved to see him come out and produce this quality of tennis!
I guess Rafa got the one bad match out of his system! So happy for Rafa!
Well done, champ!
Goffin doesn’t stand a chance against this Rafa! Rafa is playing much better than he was in MC when he last faced Goffin.
It’s still one match at a time! I am okay if it comes down to Rafa getting to the semis and playing Novak! I say – bring it on!
But Rafa has to get there first. So does Novak!
OH MY GOODNESS. GET WRECKED KYRGIOS HAHA!! I’m smiling so hard at how much of a badass Rafa is for coming out and completely proving me wrong. Four games? Damn Rafa???????? I am quite shocked I must admit. Not that Rafa won but that he won so easily. That’s just impressive. I dunno if there was something wrong with Nick or if he played badly but that’s either way super impressive. Rafa should win this title for sure in my mind.
Benny G, why does there have to be some reason for Rafa drubbing Nick. Rafa is the King of Clay, after all.
I am just saying I didn’t expect that. I mean come on Rafa played a three hour match yesterday and Kyrgios had been serving lights out and having a great season plus it was a night match which should’ve helped Nick’s serve. There was reason to think Rafa was in for a tough one.
You shouldn’t need to explain yourself, Benny… Kyrgios has been playing at a high level, and while most people on here picked Rafa to win, anyone who is honest with themselves did not expect Rafa to blow him off the court THAT badly! 🙂 Everyone knows that Rafa is capable of beating anyone in the world 6-3, 6-1 on any given day. But a 3-1 crushing of Nick Kyrgios was absolutely unexpected by probably 95% of people who are being honest. A more competitive straight-sets loss? That wouldn’t be so surprisingly given he’s the King of Clay. But for a loss of only FOUR GAMES? Definitely unexpected. Even the most die-hard Rafa fans on this site expected at least a tighter straight-sets score line than 3 and 1… If anyone on here predicted Rafa to only lose four games, they are gifted! 🙂
And I know Rafa is the king of clay. I was just saying I didn’t know if Kyrgios played badly because I didn’t see a bit of the match. That’s why I said either way it was impressive whether nick played poorly or not. As in either way Rafa deserves credit for the win and is a beast for coming out and taking Nick to school like that.
Benny,
You don’t have to defend or explain yourself. I understand why you would be surprised at the score line. Some here predicted a tough 3 set match.
I thought Rafa came out ready and focused for this match. It was nothing like his performance against Fog. This was simply a Rafa in the zone. Nik started off strong, but seemed to taper off and in the end was just outplayed.
Rafa was just too good. The tennis channel commies did mention a hip issue with Nik during the match. They also thought he checked out mentally at times. But they were full of praise for Rafa.
I know that you are a true tennis fan. I would never think you were disrespecting Rafa, I have not known you to do that.
And how bout Coric over Murray dang. At first I thought Coric was playing Novak and I was like you know what that could be an upset. But then I saw he was playing Murray and Murray played quite well vs copil so I was like nah no upset for the lucky loser. And then he wins 3 and 3.
You give Murray too much credit for beating someone like Copil that no one had ever heard of then at the same time you are reluctant to give Rafa credit for beating Krygios.
When did Benny show any “reluctance” to give Rafa credit? He described Rafa’s win as “super impressive”, gave applause emojis, and said “Rafa should win this title for sure in my mind”! How could he possibly give any more credit haha? It’s perfectly normal to wonder if an opponent played poorly or not while giving the winner credit. Your reaction makes it sound like Benny said, “Rafa only won because Kyrgios sucked.”
Thanks Kev. I thought I had made it pretty clear I was pumped for Rafa and impressed with his win lol
Kevin and Benny, I wouldn’t give nadline the time of day. You just encourage her.
Besides, she makes excuses for most of Federer’s wins.
In my opinion….
We have heard this song before unfortunately. God forbid anyone dares to even hint that Rafa’s opponent did not play their best and then the whining or is it whinging starts again. Same old, same old!
Like a broken record. Rada played great and won easily against a potentially tough opponent. For myself, I am thrilled and happy for Rafa. I said yesterday that Rafa would have to raise his level of play in this match and he certainly did! He brought the goods.
‘Nuff said!
I give credit to Rafa nadline. Don’t take my post the wrong way I wasn’t trying to play down Rafa’s victory. I’m super impressed that’s all. He bounced back so well from the Fognini match it’s just really impressive. And Copil has a big serve that helped him get quite a few holds and Murray was playing very solid. He wasn’t making bushels of errors at the worst times like Novak against Nico. That’s all I was saying.
Nadline does the same about Federer Benny.
In my opinion.
I could not see the match, but was checking the score and was thrilled about Rafa playing well again! I so admire our Rafa! I knew he was up to something and that he would not give up after fighting so hard with Fog!
I am going to indulge myself now by watching the recording! I am so proud of Rafa!
Vamos Champ! Go get them all! ??
Only saw the first set and bits of the second of Rafa-Nick. I thought Nadal played good, not great in the first. He looked like he upped it in the 2nd. Kygrios got discouraged pretty early and just didn’t play like he can. He easily gives the impression of not trying 100%, and I thought that was true for most of the match that I saw. Best part of Rafa’s game, imo, was the ROS, which was fantastic and (I think) caused Nick to quit going for it as much because it wasn’t getting him free points like usual.
Still, those saying that Goffin has no chance tomorrow are getting carried away. He absolutely does, and Rafa will have to play extremely well to win. David was very impressive against Raonic and has been playing great tennis lately. The key for Goffin will be to believe that he can do it against Nadal. If he can maintain that belief and not lose focus like last time, he has a good chance.
He has a chance but I wouldn’t say a good one.
I don’t agree. For myself I am not one to get carried away. I prefer to be cautious and take it one match st a time.
I think Rafa will not have a tough time because he is playing a lot better than he was when he played Goffin at MC. We all know how that played out. Goffin came out strong and was giving Rafa a battle until the now infamous disputed call. Rafa was not at his best at MC. But as is the case with Rafa, the more he plays, the more he wins especially the two titles he has, the better he gets. Rafa is playing at a higher level now. He did have one bad day with Fog, but Rafa played well at Barcelona and is now facing tougher competition in Madrid.
Nik had every reason not to check out of this match. I think it had a lot to do with how Rafa was playing. If Rafa comes out playing like this against Goffin then I think he will win in routine fashion. I am not taking anything away from Goffin. But when Rafa is on his game on clay, we have seen how hard it is to beat him,
This win will only give Rafa even more confidence. He’s on a winning streak right now and getting into better form.
I don’t think it will be as easy as it was against Nik, but I think just think Rafa is getting momentum that is going to be tough to stop.
I thought that Rafa played great after the bad call in the Goffin match, as well as I’ve seen him play in Madrid. He will need to play near that level to win, if Goffin plays as he can.
No doubt Rafa had a lot to do with Nick’s level of play. Still, there wasn’t (often isn’t) something right about his commitment. He gets discouraged pretty easily and when he’s down often looks (to me) like he just wants to get out of there pretty quickly. I think he had that look a bit today.
Did you see the Goffin v Raonic match? I didn’t and was surprised that Raonic lost that badly in Madrid.
If Rafa beats Goffin, commies will blame it on the point that he was “supposed” to give to Goffin.
Exactly my thought!
LOL!! What surprised me about that whole situation was that Rafa asked to have the mark checked when it was that far out but if I’m Rafa I’m not giving him the point after that. Rafa obviously thought it may have been in and even though it wasn’t, it happened and Goffin should’ve handled it so much better. Rafa obviously thought it was in, but if I was Rafa and I knew it was out but the ump said it was in, I’m still taking that point LOL
Exactly. No player has ever done otherwise in my considerable experience yet Mary Carrillo and Jon Wertheim both thought that Rafa should have overruled the umpire from the other side of the net and given the point to Goffin.
Morons.
Manly Carrillo is beyond annoying
Benny G says AT 10:37 PM: “…What surprised me about that whole situation was that Rafa asked to have the mark checked when it was that far out…
if I was Rafa and I knew it was out but the ump said it was in…”
Rafa did not ask the chair umpire to check the ball mark at Goffin’s baseline. The chair umpire checked it and made the decision. Rafa couldn’t argue with the umpire because it was impossible for him to see the ball mark from a distance of 25 metres better than the umpire, who closely inspected the mark, did. Rafa couldn’t be sure where the ball landed without checking the mark. The chair umpire makes the final decision, not players!
According to Rafa haters’ theory they spread everywhere (on TV and online), a player should know without checking the ball mark that he hit a ball out.
I wonder why Fed challenged the call when his ball landed THAT far out and he should have known (according to Rafa haters’ theory!) that it was out:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-QIi_kW0AAmpBS.jpg
?well said Augusta!
Rafa wasn’t the one who asked for the ball mark to be checked. And, he couldn’t cross over to the other side of the court to look at the mark, the rule didn’t allow him to.
Dimi during one point in his match vs Thiem, had questioned the umpire’s decision about a ball mark at Thiem’s end of the court but the umpire forbid Dimi from crossing over to look at the mark, saying it’s against the rule. Dimi had to accept the umpire’s final call on the point.
To add to my post AT 5:43 AM:
Benny G says AT 10:37 PM: “…if I was Rafa and I knew it was out but the ump said it was in, I’m still taking that point.”
But Rafa did NOT take ‘that’ point, it was replayed! Goffin had still a game point after the controversial call. The game went to deuce, and after that Goffin had three (!) more game points, but he couldn’t win the game.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-D8jruXkAEAq8t.jpg
Benny G: “What surprised me about that whole situation was that Rafa asked to have the mark checked ….”
Don’t make things up. Everyone knows that Rafa did not challenge the call, even Goffin acknowledges that.
If Goffin beats Rafa, what will Rafa fans here say?
Why should Rafa fans say anything? It is Fedfawns who constantly complain about something or the other if Rafa wins. Like why was the match postponed ( although as far as I know, a match can be postponed only after it is scheduled but of course Fedfawns know better), why did Rafa not give some point to x….
I have yet to see a Fedfawn complain if Fed gets some accommodation in scheduling ( which he gets all the time) or benefit of bad calls.
Mary (AT 12:25 AM),
You are correct, Rafa was NOT officially scheduled to play on Tuesday.
I like ‘Fedfawns’. Good one.
By the way, that was one of the best matches I’ve seen Rafa play thIs year.
So impressive to do that after the epic physical and mental struggle he had to endure against Fognini. That’s how a true champ comes back.
Even if Rafa beats Goffin, beats Djoko or even beats Fed, there are always people who find reasons to tell us Rafa isn’t/wasn’t playing all that well but rather his opponents are playing poorly. There are always excuses (for these people) why Rafa’s opponents are losing to him, and it’s got nothing to do with how Rafa plays!
Bruh…Rafans haven’t given Fed enough credit after his wins this year I’m just saying. People were talking bout how Rafa blew that 3-1 lead and how awful that was even though Fed simply played more aggressive down the stretch and deserved the win. I’m not saying there aren’t Fed fans who don’t give Rafa enough credit but after Fed totally crushed Rafa in IW, there was a lot more focus on how badly Rafa played even though he didn’t play that bad and Fed was literally ripping backhand winners galore. Sorry but I find that statement a little hypocritical or I should say that the statement can be used in regards to pretty much all players. I mean I honestly find that a lot of the time Rafans find a lot of excuses and reasons for why Rafa lost like A LOT of speculation following his losses and analyzing stuff he did wrong and not enough focus on how his opponents played well to beat him. I may only feel this way because I am not one of the Fed fans who finds excuses for why players lose to Rafa or makes a lot of excuses for Fed losing. Yeah I’ll maybe think about a few key moments Roger could’ve done better in that may have altered the result but that’s tennis. My point is that there are excuses made for losses for all players it’s not just Fed fans making excuses for Roger when he loses to Rafa. It’s vice versa a lot of the time.
Benny, I agree with some of what you say. I think the Rafa-majority fans here definitely are disposed to find reasons/excuses for when Rafa isn’t winning (or winning as convincingly as they think he should), and generally not disposed to give enough credit to his opponents outside the big four. That is understandable, and maybe justified (especially on clay, where it is reasonable to think that almost all opponents come into a match against Rafa as the big underdog).
I should say, though, that I was surprised to see a lot of fulsome praise for Federer after his wins this year. There’s a lot of grousing about the preferential treatment he receives (some real, some imagined, I suspect), but I think there is genuine admiration and respect for his play, even from die-hard Rafa fans here.
As someone who I’m sure is thought (by Lucky and others) not to give enough credit to Rafa after his wins, all I can is: I try, consistent with recognizing that I have my biases, as everyone does. It’s impossible not to admire his accomplishments this year, and his record on clay speaks for itself. He’s the man to beat. That said, I do find myself thinking in many of his matches that his opponent hasn’t, for one reason or another, played as he could have. I know -even if it doesn’t always seem that way to me- that his play has a lot to do with that, and his opponents often say as much. I still have a lingering feeling that he’s not playing at the level he’s been at in the past, and that there hasn’t yet been the competition to show that. But I admit that with each passing match it becomes harder to maintain that attitude.
And Benny, who’s talking about Fed?? I’m talking about Rafa; he wasn’t given enough credit for beating his opponents. It’s always because of this or that about his opponent that Rafa won. Go look at some of those posts that questioned his wins!
PS. You mentioned Fed beating Rafa, are you equating Rafa to any other player?? And, these any other players (not Djoko, not Murray) whom Rafa beat handily on clay, people still doubt Rafa’s ability on CLAY! I mean what have Kygrios, A Zverev, Goffin done on clay all these while, and what have they won on clay??
Hypocrisy is to pretend that only Fed could play well to beat anyone including Rafa, regardless of how his opponents played. But, when it come to Rafa, whoever Rafa beats, it’s always his opponents not playing well, not the Rafa is/was playing well to beat them!!
I see what you’re saying but I personally give Rafa credit for his wins and admire his fighting and success no matter who he beats. I feel that others do too I don’t think that Rafa gets as little credit from fans of other players for his wins as you think.
Benny, it’s not only some here who didn’t give Rafa credit; even the commentators were not giving him enough credit. They mentioned that Rafa didn’t beat top ten players at MC – only top 20 there, and beat top 16 players at Barcelona. They forget that Thiem was no. 9 in ranking when he played at Barcelona and was beaten by Rafa in the final.
There is always someone they think Rafa has to beat, even on clay but I don’t remember them saying Fed had to beat Djoko at the AO to validate his win there, nor at IW/Miami.
I was using Fed beating Nadal and not getting enough credit to make a point that Rafa isn’t the only one who doesn’t always receive full credit for his wins. I used Roger beating Rafa as an example but I’m talking about matches and other players in general. I just don’t think Rafa is like specifically a player that many give less credit to when he wins.
Nny!…Here’s an article for u..hope you’re still not read it…
http://www.tennisworldusa.org/news/news/Rafael_Nadal/43279/rafael-nadal-it-s-not-normal-to-win-like-this-against-nick-kyrgios-/
MA,
Thanks so much for posting that link! I love hearing Rafa’s thoughts on his matches. It’s great to hear him so positive and pleased with how he played! He knows he played really well!
I love his attitude. He wants to just keep getting better!
It was a joy to see him come out and play such high quality tennis. I thought his DTL backhand was brilliant. The forehand was working well, movement was great, aggressive tennis and superb net play!
I remember you saying that Rafa doesn’t play two bad matches in a row after the Fog match. You were right! I also think that Rafa actually benefited from knowing that he did not play well and still won. There is no way that even a great player can have his best in every match. But the ability to find a way to win is so important.
Rafa did exactly what he needed to do – raised his level of play for Kyrgios. He cane out knowing what he had to do.
He wants to play even better against Goffin! Love the attitude!
Most of all, I am really happy for Rafa!
?♥️?
Hey Nny!I think you’re in rafaland somewhere atm[zzzzzzzz!]…hehe..i knew you’re going to love this article Nny!Ermm…bout Rafa,from the comments from dear posters here[i didn’t see the match]..it sounds he play great!Urgh!Thank God for that!!
To be honest Nny…i’m not worried about his play anymore..after almost 6 months into the 2017,the rafa of 2015 almost like a phantom now,shadowed by the brilliance of the old warrior who’s been sleeping restlessly for the past 2 1/2 years…even if he’s struggled sometimes,he managed to find his way back…his famous mental strength is coming back full force now and that’s the most comforting and precious fact that we have to cherish and celebrate Nny…
So….what r u waiting for Nny!!!…Let’s Vamosing and woooohooooing together!!!!!Woooohooo!!…Vamos Rafa!!…Hey!I can’t hear u??Ohohohoho!…forgot!you’re asleep!hehehe…oh!Nny…this is another good article for u….about Rafa of coz!!
http://www.tennisworldusa.org/news/news/Rafael_Nadal/43266/todd-woodbridge-explains-the-reasons-behind-rafa-nadal-s-dominance-on-clay/
So Joe you still haven’t produced any proof that you ever complained about Fed being accommodated in scheduling or that you raised a hue and cry when Fed benefited from a bad call in the Miami open at a critical stage in 2005.
Mary: are you serious? I never claimed to have done such a thing. For one, I’ve only been on this site for a few months. But second, I hardly raised a “hue and cry” about the recent Rafa-Fabio match. As I said, I merely pointed out, in response to *Lucky* saying that the organizers hadn’t done much for Rafa, that they had in fact done quite a bit. Why don’t you respond to that?
To be perfectly clear, I think all favouritism of this sort is unfair. The 2016 Brisbane case Augusta linked to seems exactly like the Rafa-Fabio case, and should never have happened, imo. Of course, I understand (in both cases) why the organizers wanted to accommodate the two biggest names in the sport. That doesn’t make it less unfair to the other players.
But why did you not complain about Brisbane when it happened? Obviously you did not even register the favoritism shown to Fed because it is so normal.
Honestly, I didn’t know about it at the time (and I was not yet aware of this site; didn’t become so until the AO). I accept that Federer probably receives more preferential treatment than anyone else. The only such treatment I’ve been aware of/suspected in the past has been the frequent night scheduling, and I’ve often thought to myself that he’s very lucky to receive that.
Do you accept that *if* Rafa’s match was delayed at his request and against Fabio’s wishes, that it was unfair to Fabio?
The organizers are free to schedule it on Tue or Wed and they set it for Wed as Rafa had a valid reason for his request and Fognini had no valid reason for demanding a Tuesday match.
Fognini had no right to complain as the match was not scheduled for Tuesday so unless a match is scheduled, you cannot claim it is postponed. Secondly there were other 2nd round matches on Wed so Fognini cannot say only his match was scheduled for Wednesday.
Thirdly other players are also accommodated for their first match. I don’t recall particular cases but I know when a player is in the final on a Sunday and he is scheduled to play another tournament starting that week, he is given the latest starting day. Just because moronic Fedfawns like Mary Carillo do not keep track of such accommodation, it doesn’t mean ATP never takes the convenience or preference of other players into account. One can only complain about favoritism shown to Fed because he is shown favoritism as the general rule as seen in his never having to play back to back matches when schedules at grand slams are disrupted due to rain or as seen in the number of night matches he gets.
So you think there is only unfair favouritism shown to Federer, never to Nadal? That seems rather incredible.
It is not me who thinks so. It is a fact. Despite Fed’s longer career, isn’t it a fact that when rain disrupts schedules, there is no instance of Fed playing back to back matches in grand slams after 2003? But in case of Nole and Muzz, I can cite at least one. In case of Rafa, at least two, Wimbledon 2007 and USO 2011. Blatant favoritism. And how about the night matches which even you have not disputed?
FWIW, my view is that all of the top players receive unfair favourable treatment, even if Federer receives the most. Tennis is too top-heavy in many ways (starting with prize money allocation) and would be better without such favouritism.
You again pretend not to notice the point I am making. Despite,in your own opinion, Fed receiving more favoritism, you never complained when it happened. But just because the start match was scheduled for Rafa on the latest starting day, an accommodation given to other players too in deserving cases, you complained.