Rafael Nadal won the last 14 points of his match against Diego Schwartzman to reach the semifinals of an otherwise upset-riddled Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Friday. Nadal trailed 4-2 in the second set and was serving at 30-30 when he started his emphatic surge toward the finish line.
The nine-time Monte-Carlo champion ended up prevailing in one hour and 39 minutes.
“It wasn’t easy to find a real way to win, but I played much better in the last three-and-a-half games–more aggressive with my forehand,” Nadal commented. “I finally found the way to create damage on the opponent. I am in the semifinals; that’s what I’m looking for: a great start to the clay-court season.”
The Serb had previously defeated Simon 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 and Carreno Busta 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, and for a moment it looked like something similar would transpire against Goffin. Djokovic survived a service game at 3-2 in the deciding set that lasted more than 10 minutes, but he soon dropped serve at 4-3. Another tough service effort at 5-6 proved to be Djokovic’s undoing, as he saved four match points but failed to fight off a fifth when a groundstroke by Goffin that skidded off the baseline was too much to handle.
Friday highlights:
“I don’t know why, but the atmosphere on the court was really nice,” Goffin noted. “It was a really special match and the best win of my career. It doesn’t matter how you played before against (Djokovic), you just have to do your best and give everything on the court. Maybe once, like today, it goes well.”
“I started slowly, probably because I played two long matches,” Djokovic assessed. “But I thought as the match progressed I was feeling okay. You know, I was physically fine. We had a lot of exchanges, a lot of rallies. David is playing very quick. He’s a fast player. I thought I played very, very well for a set and a half–from the start of the second set. Then that unfortunate game when I dropped my serve, the match turned around.
“I had my chances; I definitely did. I just didn’t use them.”
Goffin is far from the only surprise semifinalist in Monte-Carlo. In fact, he owns the second-highest ranking of the four remaining competitors. The top-half semi features Lucas Pouille and Albert Ramos-Vinolas after they won respective three-setters over Pablo Cuevas and Marin Cilic.
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who ya got?
Hehe…Rrrrafa of coz!!!..I think in 2..
Nadal is obviously the favourite for the match and now for the tournament. More than that, the match is on his racket insofar as Goffin doesn’t really have weapons in the traditional tennis sense of the word. If Rafa plays like he did against Zverev and at the end of the match against Diego, I don’t see him losing. If he plays at a lower level, then he could well lose.
Goffin is playing extremely well, and it is hard to believe that this guy was playing (voluntarily, of course) on the Challenger tour not long ago. I was amazed at how he pushed Novak around from the baseline in that last set. But the thing that most impressed me was the mental step he took in coming back from a break down in the last set against Djokovic, in a Masters 1000. If a player like Goffin -already mentally very steady -starts believing he can beat the top guys, then that can be enough to push him over the top. I expect a great match. Nadal in 3.
Well said Joe.
Not sure how Goffin will bounce back after that long match but Rafa will have to play well regardless but it is on his racquet obviously.
Don’t know Nole’s level as I still need to “watch the tape “. 🙂
Yeah, I think Rafa should be fresher; he’s had the easier road. A bigger problem for Goffin, apart from Rafa’s play, might be the mental let-down after beating two top-10 players in a row.
Nole is clearly not where he was a year ago, or he would be in the semifinal, obviously. But I didn’t think he played badly overall (and he seemed to think he played pretty well; at least he said he felt good and had his chances). I thought Goffin’s ball placement and court coverage was incredible. Let me know what you think after you watch the tape!