Three have challenged Rafael Nadal so far during this clay-court swing; three have bowed out in listless fashion. And that includes Nadal’s No. 1 clay-court rival from the 2017 season, Dominic Thiem.
Will Grigor Dimitrov fare any better? We will find out when Nadal and Dimitrov square off for the 12th time in their careers in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Saturday afternoon. Nothing is more ominous for Dimitrov than the surface under his feet, but his head-to-head history against the Spaniard also does not bode well for his chances in this one. Nadal is a dominant 10-1 lifetime, including 3-0 on clay and 3-0 last season (all three of their 2017 meetings required final sets, but they were played on hard courts).
Looking at top seed’s Monte-Carlo record would only further demoralize Dimitrov before the underdog even takes the court. Nadal is a 10-time champion and has improved to 66-4 lifetime in the principality following beatdowns of Aljaz Bedene, Karen Khachanov, and Thiem. Bedene got four games, Khachanov managed five, and Thiem–a two-time French Open semifinalist–suffered a brutal 6-0, 6-2 defeat.
Dimitrov took a much different route to the semis, needing three sets to get past Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Philipp Kohlschreiber before coming back from a 5-1 second-set deficit against David Goffin to prevail 6-4, 7-6(5) on Friday. Goffin, Dimitrov’s doubles partner this week (they withdrew from their quarterfinal match later in the day), held three set points on his own serve before collapsing. The fifth-ranked Bulgarian had been 1-4 in his last five matches prior to arriving in Monte-Carlo, but he is now a respectable 14-6 for the season overall.
“I felt I did a lot of things better than the previous days,” Dimitrov commented after defeating Goffin. “I started the match better and I served better…. There were a lot of positives from today’s match. That’s all I can say.”
But it only gets tougher–and that’s an understatement.
“For sure he’s the favorite,” the fourth seed said of Nadal. “Yes, he has a great record. Yes, he’s the best player on clay. That definitely doesn’t discourage me. That excites me to get out on Saturday and play my match; simple as that. I think one of the wrong things you can do is really focus on his side. I always said that. Whoever you play, you always [have] to focus on your end, the way you structure yourself to go out and play, be creative on the court. That’s just how it is.”
Unfortunately for Dimitrov, nothing he brings to the table will have a real impact on Saturday’s outcome. If Nadal continues to play at or even near his current clay-court level, this will be over in two quick sets.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
[polldaddy poll=9985840]
who ya got?
Federer .
Federer 🤣.
GOAT in two!!!
GOAT= R. Federer, period.
Rafa is playing really well and might win this tournament.
Novak Djokovic would have played better vs R. Nadal, he always comes alive when he faces good players.
We agree at last!
that was to Hawk
Here’s my prediction, and I’m not kidding:
Rafael Nadal will win every tournament he plays this clay season…. without dropping a set! Yes, you heard it here first! That’s right- I believe he will win Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, AND Roland Garros, all without dropping a single set. If the ONE guy who has managed to beat Rafa on clay since Rome 2016 can’t even get more than 2 games off him, then it really isn’t out of the question for him to literally sweep the whole clay swing. Sets, Matches, Tournaments. Since this is my prediction, then that also means that he will go into the grass season as #1 still. I’m sticking to it! 🙂
(Disclaimer: If Rafa loses due to retirement, this does not count against my prediction! 🙂
Nadal in 2. He’s going to win every clay court tournament he plays
King in 2.
grigor nation
Rafa in two losing 5-7 games
61 60 🙂
Someone know about dimitrov shoulder injury?
He got out from doubles do that injury
Plz if someone got information about it and what his condition
Rafael Nadal handed boost as Grigor Dimitrov QUITS Monte Carlo Masters doubles
GRIGOR DIMITROV has pulled out of the Monte Carlo Masters doubles but has insisted there is no problem with his shoulder ahead of a clash with Rafael Nadal.
By JAMES GRAY
PUBLISHED: 18:29, Fri, Apr 20, 2018 | UPDATED: 18:29, Fri, Apr 20, 2018
Dimitrov, who enjoyed a breakout year in 2017 which culminated in winning the ATP World Tour Finals in London, beat David Goffin in the quarter-finals in Monaco today, triumphing 6-4, 7-6.
But the Bulgarian was then due to team up with Goffin in the doubles this afternoon, only for him to pull out.
However, Dimitrov shrugged off concerns about a shoulder problem and instead claimed to be trying to save energy in the early part of the summer season.
“Obviously this is the first tournament on clay and one-handers [backhands] is not the easiest thing on clay. I had to save myself a little bit,” Dimitrov told Sky Sports.
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/949037/Rafael-Nadal-Grigor-Dimitrov-PULLS-OUT-Monte-Carlo-Masters-doubles
Not sure if it’s just an excuse for not playing the doubles. He probably doesn’t want Goffin to feel he’s abandoned him because he is in the SF.
Keep your mind focused, remain confident, be strong and show off your fighting spirit, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbTDHc6X0AArM-R.jpg
Nothing against Grigor, but hes been a bit unfair here to Goffin, he pulls out through injury cant play doubles, yet hhes still playing singles against Rafa WTF ?
He doesn’t want to be fatigued that’s why he pulled out.
He shouldn’t have played doubles, there should be a rule against that.
Some players play doubles just in case they are knocked out early in singles.
There should also be a fair scheduling of singles and doubles matches, sometimes a player has to play both matches on the same day & that’s not fair.
It’s not uncommon and since Goffin is primarily a singles player he won’t mind.
This often happens. They all know that the singles matches come first.
Rafa making a mess out of the match; he has too much respect for Dimi I feel, as Dimi always manages to get a set in their matches.
Dimitrov can often be a flaky player but right now he’s making Rafa work hard for this match 🙁
It’s the prospect of Nishikori who worries me a lot more……. when he’s on form (which he is at the moment) he has caused Rafa problems in the past.
Nope, Kei not as dangerous as Dimi imo; Kei not mentally tough vs top guys, and Dimi physically very fit to go into war of attrition with Rafa, and I hate that Rafa has to play attritional tennis these days.
Time for Rafa to bring the hammer down.
Does anyone else feel the GOAT is not upto his usual self today? He somehow sneaked the set thanks to the DF’s
not a great performance
Scary first set by Rafa, i mean scary in the negative way. Rafa making more errors in this match becauce Dimi is hitting so well today; Rafa better be more ruthless in the second set and wins the match asap.
I feel Rafa always tend not to be ruthless enough when playing against players hes friendly with.
Do you think he heard me?
lol