On paper, Rafael Nadal did not have overly tough first-round opponent at the French Open. But “lucky loser” certainly does not mean “free pass” at Roland Garros.
Eight lucky losers got into the main draw and four advanced. None was more impressive (even though Marco Trungelliti certainly made more headlines) than Simone Bolelli, and Bolelli didn’t even win. Playing like he had a second lease on life, because he did, the veteran from Italy went for broke at every opportunity and quite often connected. He threw everything he had at Nadal throughout two hours and 57 minutes of play across two days, eventually succumbing 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(9).
Rain delayed the contest on Monday evening with Bolelli 3-0 in the third set, after which Nadal erased the deficit to force a tiebreaker. The 10-time French Open also recovered from a 6-3 deficit in the ‘breaker, saving four set points in total before Bolelli fought off two match points. Finally, the world No. 129 netted a forehand at 8-9.
Highlights:
“He was a very aggressive player, and he was playing very strong,” Nadal said of Bolelli. “I didn’t know that he was going to play so aggressively. I understood that I really had to attack, and I had to have the proper mindset, be positive, and accept how things were unfolding. He was playing very well.
“There were few transition shots where I could manage to pick up my pace. I managed to do it, and that was the important thing today. He played well, playing with lot of risk–but having success with all of the risk that he took. For me, it was difficult to find 100 per cent, the rhythm, because I didn’t have so many points that I could take the advantage and hit three (or) four balls with the right position.”
Next up for the world No. 1 is Guido Pella, a straight-set winner over Joao Sousa.
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good match
Well done to both.
Its interesting to read Rafa’s own take of the match. He said hes surprised by Bolelli’s aggression.
I guess its too much to ask of Rafa to fight fire with fire when his opponent came with such big and strong fire! Rafa was trying to neutralize Bolelli’s aggression throughout the match. The TB was epic when Rafa was able to come from behind 3-6 to save SPs time and again and won 8 more points to win it 11-9, in 17 mins?
That’s right, Lucky. Aggressive tennis has never been Nadal’s strength. His serve isn’t big enough and his shots aren’t flat enough. He has a great FH, of course, but even then he has to really line it up; its loopiness makes timing difficult. His BH has improved, but being a lefty it’s not as effective a shot, CC to most opponents’ FH.
Rafa’s strengths are primarily as a retriever, which is why clay has always been his best surface and why PC court at RG is particularly favourable to him, given its dimensions. For him to try to trade bombs with a big hitter is not a recipe for success, in general.
Joe, the way Bolelli played, not even any of the top four could counter his aggression! Remember Fed vs Sod at FO2010 QF? Or Djoko vs Stan FO2015 final? When an opponent played like that, you’re left to defend more often than not. A guy like Delpo with all his easy power would still need to play his best tennis to fight fire with fire with this Bolelli.
My qualms about Rafa’s play is not about his aggression, but his serving woes and his court position behind the baseline. He slipped a few times, fortunately didn’t hurt himself. In damp conditions like that, it’s better for him not to run so much to cover so much ground; by moving closer to the baseline, he could cut off some of the angles that his opponent would hit to.
Bolelli played the match of his life, aggression with precision, he got the balance right, something very difficult to do. I hope he improves his ranking and plays like that more often, playing like that he should beat most guys and gets a good ranking.
Very strange comment by Joe. Rafa’s serve is good enough and he follows that with his FH; he need not always hit an ace, but good enough for a one two punch.
On quicker surfaces he would shorten points and is good enough to move to the net to finish the point. Even if he has to rally, he has his flatter FH too, and thats how he hits it I/I CC and his BH is a flat shot.
His returns too is good enough on any surface, I dont see why he cant be a good to great attacking player.
The thing is, its a matter of choice, for, Rafa doesnt like playing hard hitting big serving tennis despite all the weapons he has. His game is never about overpowering his opponents with raw power but prefers to play the chess game to trap and suffocate his opponents. He enjoys the cat and mouse game – the fight, the competition; the challenge – and not one two shots and the point is over kind of tennis. The emphasis is not on his serve, if not Toni would get Rafa to work on his serve from a young age, and would not wait till he’s 24 in 2010 to acquire a big serve.
Bolelli was hitting 93 mph forehands and 81 mph backhands on average,that’s a huge level of agression,Soderling like when he defeated Rafa there. For Rafa to deal with that levels and pull the win in straights is very good news at all.
Exactly! Rafa played great to fight of those break points! The conditions made it difficult for Rafa, his top spins disappeared and Bolleli played bravely with some great drop shots! Rafa beat the beast in straights and he showed tremendous mental strength in the TB! As of late Rafa playing TBs would make me nervous. However, Rafa proved he is ready to fight hard and to believe in victory even when behind and against an inspired opponent! This struggle somewhat expected in unfavorable conditions helps Rafa further build his confidence and the win in such fashion is good for Rafa!
Vamos!
Yes, I must admire the way Rafa played the TB; he was 3-6 down and I thought he’s going to lose the set. But, I had almost forgotten what made Rafa so special all along – when back against the wall, he would produce his best tennis to save the day!
His recent TB records weren’t anything to talk about so I dreaded TBs in his matches, I was so glad he won this one in epic style!
I think watching Rafa, we can understand why he’s so exciting to watch, whether you’re a fan or not, because, just when you think he’s about to lose (the set or the match), he could come up with unbelievable shots and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, more often than not.
His was/is a roller coaster ride, sometimes exciting, sometimes exasperating, and after an epic win, you may feel so high or just simply let out a sigh of relief! I do miss those early days when Rafa simply swept through almost all his clay court matches with relative ease, that I could just relax, sat on my sofa and watched him swept away his opponents without a doubt that he would surely win. Those were the days!
Hey, Lucky, why are you talking about the easy early days of Rafa? Just last year he went through his matches with such a deceptive ease, that non-fans became bored and fans could relax and enjoy the show! It cannot be so easy everytime. And it may well be that something undisclosed is amiss. But it’s far too early to judge. The way he handled the tie break gave me hope, because he really erased all those set points with terrific shots. Bolelli didn’t make any unforced errors.
Because I get worried for Rafa these days even when he plays on clay! In the past, I did not need to worry.
Last year was a pleasant surprise, for I didnt expect him to play so well at the FO; imo hes even better than his 2008, and at the age of 31!
Im not expecting him to play as well as his 2017, because I know the weather will be a factor, but I think he will win again, provided he doesnt let the weather or court conditions affect him (his focus, his mindset etc).
Many expected Rafa to stroll through the match just losing a few games, so even though he overcame an opponent who played with relentless aggression throughout the match, in straight sets, it still appears that Rafa didn’t play very well. I think we should see it as a good thing that not even Bolelli rolling army tanks over the court, firing grenades all over the place stopped Rafa from overcoming him.
Why can’t Bolelli play like this more? He would have been in the top 10 for most of his career instead of having to play qualifying rounds to get into the main draw. Why would he only bring this level of play against Rafa? He’s obviously got the talent. It beggar’s belief.
Vamos Rafa
Exactly, well said!
Ravi Ubha@raviubha
Isner on Nadal’s clay dominance: “…it’s also tough for Rafa because every time he goes out there, players know that and players swing for the fences and have nothing to lose. That’s what makes him so great is because he’s getting everyone’s best shot.”
12:23 AM – 30 May 2018
True indeed…
Yup l. Well said by isner. How he deals with everyones best shot and nothing to lose attitude is beyond me
Ricky, why do I need to retype my name and email address every time I post a comment? It has never been the case until now?
Nats, I also have to type in my details every time. I thought it was only me.
Same with me. It’s really tiresome!
Yeah!!It happened to me too!
I am having the same problem and I emailed Ricky about this problem.
I have had the same problem for the past week or two. Very tiresome particularly live blogging during the match.
Also I keep forgetting to check, type a comment and try to post it. By the time I’ve gone back and filled in my details the conversation has moved on and the comment is irrelevant.
@ ed 10.38 AM,
😂
Ricky should be able to fix this to make our lives easier!
The weather is very unstable over most of France but it looks like they should have sun most of the day. Rain and thunderstorms due a lot later this evening.
If he gets tested by Bolleli, he’s not looking good for the title, that’s for sure.
You wish! 😎
That is utter nonsense! Rafa was not at his best and faced a guy with nothing to lose who played a great match. The guy played like a top ten player, not like someone ranked outside the top 100.
I wonder if some here have watched tennis for very long when I read comments like this. The guy was hitting his shots at over 90 miles per hour and at one point, even over 100 miles per hour. And making them! It is a credit to Rafa that he still found a way to win in straight sets.
PCB on the other hand, only gets out of bed for the majors.
People have to put things in perspective. Rafa played an opponent who played the match of his life and came through in straight sets but some people are making a big deal of it. Edmund beat world #105 De Minaur in straight sets and Pat Cash thinks he can challenge for the RG title.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/44294305
“British number one Kyle Edmund is among the group of younger players who could challenge 10-time champion Rafael Nadal at the French Open, says former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash.”
Getting really sick of the hype around Edmund and the comparisons with Murray. Murray is in a completely different league to Edmund!
Edmund has played Nadal once, on clay, and taken a set off him. *After* he got bageled the first set. How many players can say that? When Edmund’s forehand is on, he has the sort of game that give Rafa heaps of trouble. Cash is absolutely right. There are several young (and old) players who can challenge Nadal in this tournament, given the conditions and Rafa’s reduced level, and Edmund is one of them.
Cash is a cash whore! He will say anything to suck up to his British paymasters!
Lol!
amy,
I agree with you! This bigging up of Edmund is kind of embarrassing. He is not anywhere near Murray at all. He’s done nothing so far to make anyone think he could challenge Rafa for the title here.
If Edmund had played Bolelli playing as he did he would have been out in straights…!
There is a plethora of young players this year who are performing surprisingly well. A case in point is a young Spanish kid Munah who broke Djokovic’s serve and took him to a TB. Djokovic is still very erratic but strutting around with a tiresome air of entitlement like he is still No.1.
ed251137 AT 11:58 AM,
Jaume Munar is an “adult student” of Rafa’s academy:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DeYL6AVXcAACVyk.jpg
🙂
Novak can strut all he wants but he is still outside the top twenty,
I find it irritating when they insist on referring to British players by their National ranking – i.e., ‘the British #1 will mee the world #10’ when the British #1 is actually the world #17.
Finally watched the entire replay of Rafa v Bolelli. That was a good match. I’ve never seen Bolelli play so well in singles and would not have expected him to play Rafa so tight.
Zverev just lost the first set to Lajovic. sheesh
Yeah RC!….I knew from the start that Dusan will give him trouble..And i was sooo tempted to pick Dusan when i was picking my Bracket the other day…Especially since sascha have never passed the 4th Rd in slams before…But,Sascha’s form atm prevented me from doing that…If Dusan play against any other player,i’ll not think twice to pick him…But,let’s see what happen for the next 3,4 or 5 sets…
Goffin going to lose the first set to Moutet as well. I’m only following scores.
MA.!..this could be a seriously bad bracket day!!
But Goffin on the verge to seal the 1 set now RC!…And yeah!….It could potentially be a bad Bracket day!!Hahaha….
Sam Q is all of a sudden decided to find his form after in the loop for weeks!!Urgh!!
Zverev needs to mentally get it together here and deal with the frustration. He has a habit of starting off poorly and failing to rebound much.
Dimi is also in a battle with Donaldson.
Zverev down a break against Lajovic.
Zverev gets the break back.
Dimi in real trouble now. Donaldson just won the third set to go up two sets to one.
I didn’t like they way Nadal played
It’s wishful thinking expecting Nadal to make life easy for himself if an opponent plays an effective aggressive game.
He’s just always going to take a step back and run left and right. Nevertheless, he still manages to win in straight most of the time (on clay)
Yeah Shireling!…Now i’m worried whether spending over 3 hrs in his 1st match will give an impact to his body going forward…And match against Shapo certainly will be another physical match for him too…Urgh!!
Everyone seems to be in trouble today; Djoko too was pushed by the young Spaniard even though he won in straight sets.
Dimi in real trouble now, down two sets to one; Sasha about to lose the third set, the test now is for Sasha to go the distance to win in five. Kei is also having trouble with Paire, going to lose the third set.
Goffin survives the first set abd well on his way to win the second set, good for him.
Upsets looming for the other seeded players.
Zverev some time back side “he is not next generation”. He is certainly not. Next generation players usually make breakthroughs at very young age.
Right, Zverev isn’t really one of the next-generation crowd anymore. He is the current generation and has to prove himself at the slams sooner rather than later. Today is a good oportunity.
Zverev has to win the next two set now! The real test came earlier than anticipated
Zverev is in real trouble now. He’s going to have to do it in five.
Dimi up a break in the fourth set. He had to do it in five, too.
Zverev got it together and is now up 4-0 in the fifth set.
Dimi still battling it out with Donaldson in the fifth set.
Zverev got it done. Dimi still in a tight battle with Donaldson.
Donaldson is cramping so bad he hits an underhand serve on game point…and it works as Dimitrov overhits the return. Dimi now serving to stay in it, although he does look a lot fitter.
Rafa spent less than 3 hours. That too over 2 days. He should be fine.
It looks like Thiem/Tsitsipas is going three sets.
Make that 4. Or 5, maybe. 🙂
I have only watched spasmodically today but from what I did see several of the seeded players had a tough day at the office. Dimitrov and Zverev were both taken to five sets.
Watching Thiem and Tsitsipas who has just taken the 2nd set. Incidentally Tsitsipas is actually the same age Rafa was when he won his first Slam!!
I like this Tsitsipas boy, he may be the one who will challenge Thiem on clay in future. I think he’s better on clay than the other surfaces, a bit like Thiem.
Sasha OTOH will be good on all surfaces and he may be the dominating one among these youngsters.
Thiem is losing it, he’s just hitting as hard as possible, whilst Tsitsipas could just run down every ball, not unlike young Rafa! The boy runs so fast all over the place!
Thiem not playing intelligent tennis, he should throw in some drop shots instead of just hitting hard from the baseline, since Tsitsipas is playing from so far behind the baseline.
Tsitsipas is so comfortable running behind the baseline, why not make him run forward instead?
We are on the wrong thread Lucky 🙁
Going over to thee match preview now,
Dont know where everybody is but it is academic ‘cos Eurosport have stopped showing the match and I can only get livescores. Have to wait for catch up tomorrow.
Rafa playing at SL court tomorrow, third match. Luckily so, as there’s no carry over match from today for that court so unless there’s rain delay again, Rafa should be able to get his match done within tomorrow.
Pouille/Norre match at PC court not finished today so has to continue tomorrow; unfortunate for those playing at PC tomorrow as their matches may be delayed, depending on how the Pouille match goes.
Littlefoot, Zverev is 21 and has won 3 masters. In this era who can say that? He would be in the next-Gen crowd except he’s currently leading the race to London! He’ll prove himself just fine. Listen to what Nadal said about him; there’s absolutely no reason he can’t start winning slams right now. He may win one this year.
Joe Smith AT 10:14 AM,
Rafa didn’t say that A.Zverev would win slams. He said that AZ would achieve “great results” at slams.
RAFAEL NADAL: “One thing, if he’s [A.Zverev] not playing well in Grand Slams during the next two years, you will — you can come back to me and tell me you know anything about tennis.
If happened that Sascha is not doing great results in the next year in Grand Slams, you can come back to me and say, You were wrong.”
http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=140065