Rafael Nadal goes down to fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in three sets during quarterfinal action in Barcelona on Friday. Almagro is joined in a surprising semifinal lineup by Kei Nishikori and Ernests Gulbis.
For the second time in 44 matches, Rafael Nadal has lost at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
Nadal fell to Nicolas Almagro 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in a quarterfinal stunner on Friday afternoon. Almagro had been 0-10 lifetime on 2-24 in total sets against his heavily-favored countryman, but he finally got over the hump after two hours and 47 minutes of play. For Nadal, it was his second clay-court setback in as many tournaments after losing to David Ferrer in last week’s Monte-Carlo quarterfinals.
The No. 6 seed’s upset breaks the tournament wide open for someone other than Nadal to capture the title for only the second time since 2004 (Fernando Verdasco won it in 2010, when Nadal did not play). Among the contenders is Ernests Gulbis, who took care of Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-1, 6-4. Gulbis faced no break points the entire way before having to come back from 0-40 down in the final game. The Latvian ended up saving five break points while serving out the match.
Gulbis interview:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcy8I8tkqhY]
Next up for the No. 9 seed is Kei Nishikori, who thrashed Marin Cilic 6-1, 6-3. Cilic was coming off a three-set marathon against Tommy Robredo on Thursday and he had almost nothing left for his Japanese opponent. Nishikori won a whopping five of eight return games to dominate in just one hour and 11 minutes.
“Gulbis is a tough opponent,” Nishikori assured. “He has a big serve and forehand, so it will be a really tough match. I have had two good matches and I am confident as well. It will be a good match.”
Nishikori converts a break point against Cilic:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlnIvlFCzxI]
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@vamosrafa,
For what it’s worth, I don’t think you have anything to apologize for. There will be attempts to rationalize what has been going on, but your points are well taken. I can support Rafa without going on a crusade to shout down anyone who may not like him. I have come to accept that not everyone in the world will love Rafa the way I do. I can’t control them or change their minds. All I can do is support Rafa in the best way I know how. I am not going to personally attack someone just because they criticize Rafa. I won’t go there. I don’t presume to run the world.
I used to go after the haters, but now I believe it’s a waste of time. They are not worth it. It’s convenient to justify one’s actions by saying it’s all about protecting. Rafa. But Rafa doesn’t exhibit that kind of vengeful behavior. If Fed says things about him that aren’t nice, you don’t see Rafa responding in kind. He stays true to himself. He won’t lower himself to that level. If Novak is disrespectful to him, you don’t see Rafa behaving in a similar way. Rafa has his values. He lives by them. I think that’s another reason to admire him.
There are many ways to justify bad behavior. People can be very self-righteous in doing so. But that will never make it right.
Round and round the mullberry bush we go……………….
Rafa was in peak form last year in Rome in semis and final against Berdy and Fed , we thought he had hit his stride. We then saw he completely regressed all of a sudden in RG 1st week and played really poorly in the 1st 3 rounds, even lost sets to unknown players. He slowly got it back 4th round and QF against Kei and Stan , with Novak it was up and down in semi (he was mentally solid in 5th set though and just did not relent) and in the final, he demolished Ferrer.
What I am trying to say is you can regress from being in top form all of a sudden and you can also suddenly get your mojo back all of a sudden (eg in 2011 RG, Rafa played horribly in 1st 4 rounds but suddenly got it all back against Soderling in QF). Let us not lose hope. Maybe Rafa can /will turn it around and I hope he does.
I have no much hope from Madrid at all but Rome is the key. If he wins Rome, he is very much in the reckoning for RG.
@ Sanju,
I completely agree…I think that is exactly the kind of player Rafa is…he quickly climbs to the top when you least expect it (after the tough injury) and then drops down when you expect him to shine the most…last year’s Wimby was still a shock for me…I thought Rafa had momentum, he had his game, he had confidence at the high and yet he ended losing to WHOM?! (not even worth mentioning) So, as a result, I said to myself: ok, that’s it; Rafa may still win something till the end of the year, but had no expectations, especially for US swing”…and Rafa surprised me again… 🙂
This is basically why I don’t believe those stories of how Rafa peaked early and his game deteriorating now, or Nole being at his peak at the moment ..bla..bla…makes no sense…they are momentum players, they are in-form or not, depends on many factors…
Finally, I am not saying that I have any expectations for Madrid…I know I would be thrilled if Rafa reached finals, but with the level of play he is at right now I think it’s unlikely…but I would be lying if I said that I don’t have HOPES…I do…I’ll always will…
Vamos Rafa!
natashao2013@April 29, 2014 at 11:01 am
—last year’s Wimby was still a shock for me…I thought Rafa had momentum, he had his game, he had confidence at the high and yet he ended losing to WHOM?! —
Rafa had a bad knee.
An excerpt from Rafa’s interview in Cincinnati on August 14, 2013:
RAFA: “My knee is healed, is working well for the moment. I felt more trouble on GRASS because the movements are less stable and I need to play lower than in the rest of the surfaces.”
sorry, I meant North American swing of 2013… 🙂
Uncle Toni and Rafa both said he had had no time to prepare on grass for Wimbledon. My own feeling was that Rafa was not exactly unhappy about that 1st round loss 😉
It’s true that Rafa struggled during the clay season last year. After losing in the MC final, he did win Barcelona. But I thought that he seemed to start hitting his stride at Madrid. That’s where I felt he played his best clay tennis up to that time. Rafa played his best in Rome. I thought that he was finally ready for RG. He had some good momentum after three wins leading up to the big one.
However, he did seem to regress in that first week. It shows just how hard it is to do what Rafa has done year in and year out during the clay season and RG. But he got better and better as he entered the second week. He couldn’t close it out in the fourth set against Novak, but I think we saw one of his finest hours in that fifth set. Down a break, Rafa just rose to the occasion with some truly brilliant shot making.
I don’t want to set expectations for Madrid, but I still have hope that Rafa can maybe turn it around. It’s a tough ask at Madrid because of the altitude and how the court plays. But I will keep the faith and stay up late if need be to cheer him on.
I absolutely believe that Rome is crucial. If he can get it going and win, then he should have some good feelings heading into RG.
Few articles
http://espn.go.com/blog/espntennis/post/_/id/1243/rafas-losses-raising-questions
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/550151/20140430/rafael-nadal-madrid-open.htm
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/suddenly-anyone-can-beat-rafael-nadal-on-clay/
Few articles
http://espn.go.com/blog/espntennis/post/_/id/1243/rafas-losses-raising-questions
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/550151/20140430/rafael-nadal-madrid-open.htm
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/suddenly-anyone-can-beat-rafael-nadal-on-clay/