It will be a rematch of the 2015 Madrid final when Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal square off during semifinal action on Saturday. They winner will go up against either Novak Djokovic or Kei Nishikori for the title.
Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray will be facing each other for the 24th time in their careers when they clash in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday afternoon.
Nadal is dominating the head-to-head series 17-6, including 8-1 on clay. Murray’s lone victory on the red stuff, however, came last spring in the title match of this same Madrid event (the Scot triumphed 6-3, 6-2). Still, Nadal has won four of their last five encounters after most recently prevailing 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the Monte-Carlo semis.
It is safe to say this is not the Nadal whom Murray defeated in last year’s final. The fifth-ranked Spaniard dug himself out of a prolonged slump by restoring order to his old stomping grounds in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona. Nadal followed up his recent win over Murray by beating Gael Monfils for the Monte-Carlo title and he came back out the next week to steamroll through Barcelona without dropping a single set. So far in Madrid the 14-time major champion has fought past Andrey Kuznetsov, Sam Querrey, and Joao Sousa, donating one set to Sousa in the process.
Murray’s title defense got off to a bit of a rocky start when he surrendered a set to Radek Stepanek in round two, but the second seed promptly destroyed both Gilles Simon and Tomas Berdych. He is now 16-4 for the season and in confident form on clay after struggling in both Indian Wells and Miami.
“Andy played the semifinals in Monte-Carlo, winning good matches, and was close to beating me,” Nadal reflected. “Last year he won [this title], so he knows how to play very well here. That’s a great level that he’s playing. He’s a player that can win against everybody.”
Murray certainly has the capability of picking up a win on Saturday, but life would be easier on him with a closed roof. Such was the unfortunate case for Nadal against Sousa, who bounced back from a first-set bagel to steal the second amidst indoor conditions after the roof was shut because of rain. Rain is not in the Madrid forecast again until Sunday. This should be another competitive Murray-Nadal contest, but the four-time champion is likely to raise his level with one of the toughest opponents on the other side of the net.
Pick: Nadal in 3
[polldaddy poll=9410151]
who ya got?
rafa over murray in 3
djoker over nishi in 2
I can’t get to sleep so here I am, I say Murray in 2, idk why.
Keep your mind focused and sharp like a laser beam, stay confident and be strong like steel, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ch0tZwfXAAETcg7.jpg
Looked at the odds for this one too and they are giving Rafa the edge, despite the fact Murray is defending champion and has a higher ranking. But, it’s Rafa on clay and I’ll go with Rafa in 3.
defending champion is mostly irrelevant. Everyone knows he played a much different Nadal in 2015.
Forget the defending champion; as for Murray’s higher ranking, it hasn’t stopped Rafa beating him the last 2 times they’ve played. Once Rafa got his grip on the match in MC, Murray was at sea; all he could do was moan and argue with the umpire, complaining at the top of his voice that players like Rafa get special treatment, behaving like a ginger step-child because he had run out of ideas.
Rafa is not 17-6 against Murray for nothing and some of Murray’s wins have asterisks against them.
I think this one is going 3 sets. Rafa played what I believe was his best match of the year against Murray in the MC semifinals. I believe that he will have to come out playing that well again.
I am expecting Rafa to raise his level of play and get the win.
Hope Rafa in 2 🙂
I so wish Rafa to win this in 2! I do not want another 3 setter for Rafa to waste his energy and get challenged in that mental & confidence department…but if it has to go to 3 with Rafa winning I’ll take it!
These Madrid conditions are suitable for Andy! Rafa was not convincing in his last to matches forced to work harder than expected. Moreover, it’s 99.9% probability that Novak will be in the finals which does not help Rafa’s mental stability….he is under pressure already…
I hope for nice sunny weather today, hope for confident Rafa with the right game from the start, hope for Rafa to lift his level and beat Murray with style! And I cheer for Rafa in 2!
I am invited to a wedding today and won’t be able to see the match 🙁 Hope everything goes well for my boy! I’ll drink for it! 🙂
Vamos Champ!
Vamos Rafa. He will raise his level. Hope its sunny dry conditions too. All un all hoping for a great match with a Nadal vs Nole final
No rain in today’s match so good! This looks like it will go to 3 sets. Rafa’s match yesterday was disappointing but he keeps finding a way to win. It is now time he starts to win matches without making life too difficult for himself.
Murray is playinf well again and the conditions suit him more.
I am not totally ruling out the possibility of a two set win for Rafa but the only way for that to happen is that Rafa starts very well! He has started slowly so many times now and ends of playing catch up. If he is to take Novak down or Andy in 2 sets, he MUST come out like a brave man firing his forehand like there is no tomorrow.
The 13 match win streak will help him in terms of confidence. I am also keen to see how the serve position on the ad court plays out there. Murray goes CC with his backhand return MOST of the times so Rafa should be able to protect his forehand corner better! Pressure will be on Murray to change the direction of his backhand return on the ad court.
I have not been happy with Rafa’s backhand this week. He has been giving it too much air and the penetration has been lacking. He will have to improve that today.Also, in the ad court, he is leaving is backhand corner way more open because of a different positioning so his CC backhand has to be really good on the stretch because Muzz and Nole will start hitting DTL backhand returns if things are not going their way.
This new serving position also means he will not be able to play the forehand as his first shot after the serve as frequently as he has in the past. In his WTF match against Wawrinka last year, he played a forehand after a first serve 88% of the times! that’s SICK. So, his backhand will really have to be a weapon to compensate for the loss of that percentage.
On the deuce court, he has been practicing the wide serve to the forehand of a righty, which is a very good sign. That serve is so effective for him if struck well. I hope he has the confidence to do that today.
I hope the chair umpire is Carlos Bernardes and not one of the Rafa-fan-boys like Damien what’s his face.
I just turned the tv on and my wish was granted. This should be a cracker.
Rafa’s striking the forehand well!
What a return by Rafa.
Had so many second serves and could not take Adv
That was an unlucky one on the final break point :/ the ball stayed a bit too low!
Rafa must take the initiative …
So he can’t be in the lead even against Murray :/
Rafa’s forehand lacking in depth now
Murray beating him even on second serve points….clearly the better player so far
That was quite a backhand by Rafa on the last break point.
the ball stayed low….
murray’s stats are WAY better than rafa’s right now.
Coz he’s playing better