Olympics R3 previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Simon, Murray vs. Fognini

August 10, 2016 Ricky Match previews 260

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray will continue their Olympic campaigns when quarterfinal spots are on the line on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro. Nadal’s third-rounder is against Gilles Simon, while Andy Murray is facing Fabio Fognini.

(3) Rafael Nadal vs. (15) Gilles Simon

Nadal and Simon will be squaring off for the ninth time in their careers when they clash in round three of the Rio Olympics on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at a commanding 7-1 in favor of Nadal, who has won five in a row at Simon’s expense since losing to the Frenchman 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(6) on the indoor hard courts of Madrid in 2008. In their last five matches, Nadal has taken 12 of 13 sets. Simon was competitive in a 7-6(1), 6-7(4), 6-2 setback on the red clay of Rome in 2014, but he got crushed 6-2, 6-4 last season in Indian Wells.
Rafa 1
Based on current form, simply making it this far is a decent result for Simon. The world No. 31 is just 21-16 for the year and he had been a mere 2-5 in in his previous seven matches heading into Rio. So far at this event Simon has taken out Borna Coric and Yuichi Sugita in straight sets. Nadal was somewhat of an unknown commodity going into the games, because he had not played since the French Open due to a wrist injury. But like Simon, the Spaniard’s week is off to a flawless start. He has made quick work of Federico Delbonis (6-2, 6-1) and Andreas Seppi (6-3, 6-3) in singles to go along with a trio of doubles victories that already has him–and partner Marc Lopez–in the semifinals. Simon presents an almost identical matchup to what Seppi brought to the table on Tuesday, and Nadal should enjoy a similarly routine day at the office.

Pick: Nadal in 2

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Fabio Fognini vs. (2) Andy Murray

Nobody has ever successfully backed up a singles gold medal by triumphing at the next Olympics, and Serena Williams’ chance went up in smoke on Tuesday. Murray’s bid, however, is alive and well. The 2012 London Games winner is through to the last 16 following straight-set defeats of Viktor Troicki and Juan Monaco. Having recently triumphed at Queen’s Club and for a second time at Wimbledon, Murray is a perfect 14-0 in his last 14 matches.

Up next for the second-ranked Scot on Wednesday is a fifth career contest against Fognini, and the head-to-head series is all tied up at two victories apiece. The Italian has managed to defeat Murray once on a hard court, although that result came nine years ago (6-2, 6-2 at the Rogers Cup). They most recently collided two seasons ago indoors in Valencia, where Murray cruised 6-2, 6-4. Fognini earned another shot at the three-time major champion by beating Victor Estrella Burgos and Benoit Paire–the latter in a third-set tiebreaker on Monday evening. The world No. 40 may not have a ton left in the tank and even if he does, all signs point to a convincing win for Murray.

Pick: Murray in 2

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260 Comments on Olympics R3 previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Simon, Murray vs. Fognini

  6. I think it was VR on another thread who made the interesting observation both Rafa and Andy seem to be prioritising the OGs over the rest of the season. I am inclined to agree. However I have doubts about Rafa/Lopez taking a gold in the doubles. They are good but don’t play together often enough compared with the likes of Popsi and Nestor.
    Having said that to date there has been carnage in the doubles so anything is possible.
    But ouch. Three matches for Rafa today makes me nervous. Hope he can deal with Simon in 2 but suspect it will more likely be in 3

    Reply

  7. Rafa has 3 matches scheduled today and Simon can make you run. Wasn’t it GG who said greed is good? Impressive will it be if he wins all 3.

    Reply

  9. ITF Olympic Tennis: “Due to the wet conditions play has been delayed until 11:30 AM on Centre Court, 12 noon on the outside courts at Rio 2016.”

    Reply

        • Oh, bleep! Rafa’s match will be on at the same time as Del Potro’s and Keys’ (an American) which is going to kill USA tv coverage of Rafa’s match.

          I don’t know about Rafa but I don’t think I can last through rain-delayed livestream coverage of all his matches today! I should add that I saw tweets about his mixed doubles possibly being postponed until tomorrow “if he’s fatigued”.

          Reply

  11. Maybe the rain is a blessing in disguise. Rafa playing 3 matches in one day does give me pause.

    Rafa was asked in his post-match interview after the win over Seppi, about his decision to participate in all three events during this Olympics.

    I thought his answer was revealing. He said that this might be his last Olympics. He said that he doesn’t know for sure, but if it might be his last then he wanted to play in all the events.

    Reply

  12. They are reporting on the weather situation on the Bravo channel. They said that the rain is expected to continue until 4:00 pm Rio time. That is 3:00 pm eastern time in the states.

    Reply

  13. ITF Olympic Tennis ‏1 minute ago: “UPDATE: There will be no play before 2 pm at the Olympic Tennis Event Rio 2016.”

    Reply

    • The last update I heard on the Bravo channel, which is broadcast Olympic tennis, said that the rain should be over by 4:00 pm Rio time.

      So it appears that it’s going to be awhile before play resumes.

      Reply

  16. ITF Olympic Tennis ‏4 minutes ago: “UPDATE: There will be no play before 3:30 pm local time at the Olympic Tennis Event Rio 2016.”

    Reply

  17. ITF Olympic Tennis: “The start time for today’s matches has now been pushed back to not before 4 pm local time at the Olympic Tennis Event Rio 2016.”

    Reply

  18. ITF Olympic Tennis 5 minutes ago: “No matches have been cancelled yet but day session ticket holders are entitled to a full refund at Rio 2016.”

    Reply

  20. For Real Rafans…

    Pau Ferragut ‏@PauFerragut 15m15 minutes ago
    #Nadal won’t play today in #Rio2016. All his matches are cancelled. By @AudiCenterPalma

    (for @B1PR)

    Reply

    • I wished for Rafa to get a “suitable” rest before his match with Simon..,guess one day of rest (thanks dear rain!) should serve the purpose.. ? (Hmm, hope I am ALLOWED to use this emotication?..,ROFL)

      BTW, augusta, please be careful which emotication you use in the future! Apparently some are forbiden on the forums like this! Hahahahaha….

      Reply

        • It’s too bad that do robe else feels the need to join in and laugh about rude emoticons. There shouldn’t be any need to tell someone that certain emoticons are rude. The rolling eye emoticon speaks for itself.

          Reply

          • Autocorrect garbled my last comment a bit. I meant to say that it’s too bad that someone else has to join in and make fun of using rude emoticons.

            But it’s to be expected, unfortunately.

          • Says native who always “joins in” to support bashing people she dislikes on this site! The resident echo person! Lol

            So now you attempt to tell me as well what I can say on this forum and when I can comment? You will never learn, whill you?Please, we all are free to discuss and “join in” whenever we want! Live with it!

            And this pathetic habit to involve Rafa In discussions about Novak should definitely stop…that is so rude! But nothing new from the disguised Nole’s fan who pretends to like Rafa…

            ?????
            OMG, jow many disciplinary measures do I get now??! ROFL

          • Never quite understand this: why would anyone work extremely hard, spend 99 percent of their time here posting about a player he/she ‘pretends’ to be a fan of? I mean, if someone does like Djokovic, why would he/she have any shame or whatever in saying that? Djokovic is not as likable as Fedal but ain’t a criminal or something lol!!He has his ownn big fanbase now. Totally escapes logic, these references to being fans of Djokovic and ‘pretending’ to be fans of Rafa as the pretense happens 95-99 percent of the times? LOL! I,too, have been accused of the same but it is so funny actually… I spend 99 pct of my time here talking about nadal , his game and tactics etc and even when I have a very busy schedule. Why on earth would anyone pretend here to this extent? It is not even possible in my view.

            This post is for all posters are who are into this habit of ‘accusing’ fans of players to be actually pretending 24/7? :s
            Speaking from experience, it doesn’t feel nice at all and is counterproductive to any good discussions here.

          • AT 8:36 AM,
            Speaking of pretending, I never quite understand this: constantly accusing RITB, who hasn’t written on GS for months, of pretending now to be someone else on GS.
            This post is for all posters who are into this habit of accusing her.

          • NNY AT 1:11 AM,

            Let me remind you that you are not moderator of this forum and have no right to tell others what they can laugh at.

          • @vr 8:36 am,
            The comment about nny being Nole’s fan has it’s reasons for some time now..it was meant to be ironic…whenever there is a comment about Novak using POD she steps in to bash people and brings in Rafa.,,the same about other posts related to Novak. Someone does not have to like Novak and it sure does not mean he/she should be punished for it! It’s outrageoud to come here and find two posters torturing augusta just because she questioned Novak being injured! If you visit Serbian sites you would find many of his fans thinking Novak is just tired and not really injured! Does that make them less credible fans?

            We are free to think and say what we want! Nobody needs to protect Novak from augusta or any other poster who doubts his current excuses! All she said was that she had not heard about his “recurring wrist injury”! What is wrong with that? It’s the legitimate right of every poster here to say what they think and I hope it stays that way…

          • Natashao (AT 9:05 AM) says:
            “It’s outrageoud to come here and find two posters torturing augusta just because she questioned Novak being injured!”
            ===
            .
            Actually, NNY made up story (!) that I questioned Novak being injured. I’am only surprised (!) that he has a RECURRING left wrist injury, beacuse I’ve never/read that Djoko has had any LEFT wrist injuries before. I haven’t seen any comments of his true fans about it on GS before.
            .
            She has a habit of misconstruing comments of other posters. She twists others’ comments to make her own version and is bashing posters based on her own version. Her shadow joins in and intentionally emphasizes her ‘agenda’. ? Nothing new.

          • Exactly nats, just as I am free to point out the humorously blatant hipocrisy of questioning a player’s honesty regarding pulling out of a tournament with an injury after losing in an important tournament all the while criticizing those who question Rafa when he has done the same.

            Especially one who doesn’t have a single opinion on tennis, just opinions on other posters LOL.

            #BotAndKettle

          • #NothingNew
            #RealRafansTrolling

            Watch out Loyals! Real Rafans will attack you if you say anything remotely negative about Djoko!!!
            And if you haven’t said anything negative, they will attack you anyway claiming you said it!!!
            #LoyalsCannotWin
            #RoyalsRule

          • @Natashao,

            Thanks for the response.

            Don’t you think your post as a whole is contradicting what your are emphasizing the most? The biggest issue you have with Native is that she mentions Rafa a lot and then you say we should respect that people can say what they want etc. I have never seen native ‘bash’ Rafa even 1 pct… to me personally, I fail to understand how mentioning Rafa is so offensive esp when it is not about degrading him? He is one of the biggest stars we have and it is natural to relate things to Rafa ESPECIALLY because the person you are talking to are Rafa fans. It is many times easier to make someone understand your point by referring to something common (which in this case is being Rafa fans). If you are really are in favor of letting people say what they want, I wonder why you never had any issue when I have been labelled as a Rafa detractor and a Novak fan. I actually found it funny but it has been written so many times that it gets absurd.

            I am not here to speak on anyone’s behalf or get approvals for what I am saying. I genuinely feel surprised how can someone (including me) be called fans of other players , only pretending to be Rafans for some unearthly reasons, and posting 99 pct of the times about Rafa :s sorry but doesn’t make ANY sense. Last time I checked, native’a 95 percent posts AT LEAST have been about Rafa.

            Tennis is a sport of rivalries so very common to make comparisons between top players. And, you honestly think that finding some people somewhere posting about Djokovic’s injury fakeness makes it all okay for everyone to do it? That’s a strange criteria because I am sure you will be able to find somewhere, someone posting on spanish websites that Nadal is a doper!!!

            Lastly, try to understand that some people have a different , umm may be a different ethical sense in that they don’t show approval when they see people they ‘respect’ being bashed… I am not even a 1% fan of Federer but I admire and respect him and when some Fed hater Rafan say absurd stuff about him, I normally don’t approve and say show respect to the guy and what he has done for the team.Thay DOES NOT make me any less of a rafa fan!!!

            These players put their heart and soul into their careers and there some people who are not their fans but respect them. I don’t like Fed/Novak winning but I never enjoy haters saying strange ,BS about them. TO ME, it is wrong ethically..just to me! And i am sure Native and some others are like that.

            Sorry but let’s not be silly…it is obvious Augusta loves to put down his rivals (Fed and Djo) and that is no secret…if you think it is fine then let it be but some people sometimes don’t approve that and they express ! Nothing more.

            P.s, it is NOT nice to be called a pretender when you have actually supported a player for as long as you have been watching him play!
            .

          • Hawkeye , you are right, but let’s bury this for now…not worth wasting time on….the instigation has already started.

            Please bring Rafa on the court so that tennis can be discussed.

          • RITB, try asking #BotAndKettle who originally coined the phrase Real Rafans on this site and see if you get an honest answer.

            Too funny.

          • Vamosrafa (AT 12:58 PM) said:
            “Augusta loves to put down his rivals (Fed and Djo) and that is no secret…if you think it is fine then let it be but some people sometimes don’t approve that and they express ! Nothing more.”
            ===
            .
            1) I believe that I have the right to support or not to support whomever – if I so wish.
            .
            2) I believe that I have the right do defend myself agains the posters who twist & distort my comments and attack me (2 posters, if I don’t include you).

  23. Simon can track down a lot of tennis balls,,,,first set will be close…maybe even a tb, then 6-2 0r 3 in the 2nd. Murray in straight.

    Reply

    • I agree about Simon tracking down a lot of balls. He’s known for that. A human backboard.

      Rafa got some rest due to the rain, so that should help if he is feeling any fatigue. I still think that Rafa should get this done in 2 sets, maybe one set being close if Simon is on his game.

      Reply

  24. 3 matches is too much :/ i want him to focus on singles. Would be awesome if he could win all 3 matches though. I think he will bit the Nestor Pospisil one is tough.

    He’ll likely take care of Simon without trouble.

    Reply

  25. Tenis Olímpico ITF: “The mixed doubles Nadal/Muguruza vs Hradecka/Stepanek could be postponed to Thursday depending on Rafa’s fatigue (who plays 2 other matches).”

    https://twitter.com/tenisolimpico/status/763188756367179776

    This was outrageous! How the hell can you postpone a match because a player is fatigued? Only Fedal! Fitness is a part of the sport. If you are too tired withdraw and don’t hold other players up. Who’s fault is it if he bit off more than he can chew? I hope he plays 9 sets today. It might teach him a lesson.

    Reply

    • Filter, they’ve earned this ‘right’ to be given good treatment…they were not gifted with it since childhood. And, protecting Rafa is in the tournament’s interest so they are just fulfilling their motives. Having Rafa in all 3 formats is gold for them.

      Reply

  28. By good you mean unfair to the other players. I agree with the business side of it but it still stinks. If I were the opponent and they postponed match because a player was fatigued I would be livid and I would raise hell to the media.

    Reply

    • Yeah lower ranked players would feel bad and rightly so…. but, it is not the elite players fault because the tournaments are just doing what’s best for business, as you also acknowledged.

      Reply

    • Filter,
      How many other players are scheduled to play THREE matches in one day? I bet none! If there was another case of this I am sure he would be granted the same…

      Reply

    • Bullshit.

      What lower ranked player had to play three matches in a day.

      Moronic thinking from filter as usual. Nothing new.

      Reply

      • So you think if some mid-level player like Sock or Pospisil had this dilemma they would get this favourable treatment?

        BULLSHIT!!!!!!!

        Reply

        • I do! It’s the matter of schedule not treatment! I never saw players being scheduled three matches in one day! They always take care of it and provide enough time for rest! This was exceptional case and i do think it would be the same treatment for any player.,,

          Reply

        • Filter is the one who made unsubstantiated claim about favouritism without proof and is simply a bitter opinion on the matter.

          Reply

  29. Furthermore the Olympics are supposed to be epitomised by good sportsmanship and fair play. That is disgraceful to put out a tweet like that.

    Reply

    • Yet the head of the Olympics allows Russia with systemic government sanctioned doping into the tournament.

      Good luck with that. Words only.

      Reply

    • No tournament has ever, to my knowledge, scheduled matches so that *any* player must play 3 matches in one day. In fact if a player is scheduled to play singles, then doubles, there’s always a note “after suitable rest” attached to the scheduled time. It’s the original schedule, not the corrective tweet, that was outrageous.

      Of course the usual solution would be for a player to pull out of the rather frivolous mixed doubles if he were still live at the business end of a slam. But this is the Olympics. Nadal won’t do that if he can still stand.

      Reply

  30. @vr, 12.58 pm,
    Nny only goes after those she dislikes on this site! She never responds when hawks ridicules Fed and his fans but she is fast to attack me for commenting on Novak using POD and thus making her own convlusions!

    Augusta is right when saying that native constructs her own stories.,,she even went after ed the other day gor no obvious reason and ed is one of the nicest posters here.,,
    i now native is rafan, it was meant to be a joke in response to her post on me how I should not laugh or join in?? Who is she to tell me what i should or shouldn’t do?
    IMO, bringing in Rafa’ s name when POD is discussed which she interprets as our dig on Nole being a doper (again her self-made story) makes no sense to me..,

    Enough of this topic though…but one thing be sure if someone on this site drives away posters like Mary and Augusta and Nadline who make significant contributions in their own way I will react because It is not fair to them…I so miss rafaisthebest as she was full of life, vivid and funny poster but also honest and fair and they managed to get her stop posting…so sad for this site.,,

    Reply

    • Natashao,

      You addressed your comment to vr, but since you felt the need to go after me personally again, then I get to speak for myself.

      Your version of me has nothing whatsoever to do with hue I act and what I say on this site. You and your little clique are the ones who make it so unbearable for those of us who come here to discuss tennis. For those of us who not only live Rafa, but who can appreciate other players as well. Just because you can’t do it, doesn’t mean that I am not allowed to enjoy tennis from all players!

      You twisted and distorted what happened with Ed. I disagreed with her! Since when did that become a crime,except in your rigid little world where everyone has to think like you and say only what you want? I told Ed why I said what I said and also how much I appreciate how she responds. Yet you try to use a simple difference of opinion to propagate your propaganda!

      The intolerance displayed here by Augusta, nadline and yourself makes it difficult for anyone else who wants to have an enlightened discussion about tennis!

      Your comments reveal your own bias against me. The idea that anyone could drive away the likes of Augusta, nadline or you is positively laughable! No one could pry your little clique away from here with a crowbar!

      You can trash me all you like and spout garbage about me, but you are not going to stop me from posting here and participating in this forum. The last time I checked, you and your clique do not run this site.

      Reply

      • Nativenewyorker (AT 2:10 PM) says:
        “The intolerance displayed here by Augusta.”
        ===
        .
        What?! 😯
        YOU are constructing stories about me, not vice versa!

        Reply

    • Lol…you are on a totally different page and you have your biases which are prettu strong so not going to offer counter-arguments. What I do know is that Native is not a perperator/instigator but the innocent posters you are mentioning are pretty skilled at it and I have been a target many times too.

      Nadline making more valuable contributions than Native?!! Are you serious? Let’s not lie that much. Native’s contributions to TENNIS snd Rafa are arguably the highest here! She comments on Rafa’s matches, does some real analysis by breaking his game down and if I miss a match I actually look at her analysis and to be honest it is very reliable. If I come and read Nadline’s one-liners or Augusta’s be brave and be confident, it won’t be of any help lol. So I am shocked to hear how contributions to a tennis website are defined.

      And how you have turned a blind eye to the venom Mary brought to the site when RITB was also there, is also shocking.

      I am also not keen on elongating these uselesa discussions and I intentionally left one of Augusta’s comments unanswered above. And oh, please let’s not be that innocent… Nadline at least never shies away from what she is saying implying… I wonder what the obsession with PODs is then…very clear what was being implied..and no, nobody made any stories up about POD being like doping.

      Good to hear that you are also willing to close this discussion as so am I…

      CAN’T WAIT FOR RAFA TO RESUME HIS MAGIC 🙂 Vamos Rafa!

      Reply

      • nailed it again VR.

        The only thing that could drive augusta from this site is if it went the way of tennistalk (ie., defunct). She has nothing else in her life.

        Reply

        • AT 2:27 PM says:
          “The only thing that could drive augusta from this site is if it went the way of tennistalk (ie., defunct). She has nothing else in her life.”
          ===
          .
          NNY’s shadow, who has been the local Dr.Armchair (and has diagnosed Rafa with several diseases), has become an expert at other posters’ lives (!) too! 😯

          Reply

          • No need to be an expert to come to that conclusion LOL.

            And YOU have been the local D.Armchair trying to convince us that there was nothing wrong with Rafa’s wrist last spring and that Rafa was “only joking” regarding his mental challenges despite Rafa’s many statements otherwise and that he’s been seen recently (by your own account) with a sports psychology.

            Your bot and Kettle inconsistent hypocritical (lack of) thinking is everywhere.

      • vamosrafa,

        Thanks! I came on here to see the latest posts and it was very disconcerting, to say the least!

        But I appreciate your support! I don’t have to say anything because you said it for me. I am grateful. It’s nice to know that some here are aware of what I try to contribute when it comes to actual tennis discussion. You get me and know where I am coming from.

        It’s always a pleasure to told with you and others here who genuinely love this sport and enjoy analyzing the matches and the players. It’s just unfortunate that there are a few who come here with a different agenda.

        That is my last comment on all of this brouhaha. I look forward to seeing Rafa today and hope he continues to do well. 🙂

        Reply

      • Vamosrafa (AT 2:14 PM) says:
        “one-liners or Augusta’s be brave and be confident,”
        ===
        .
        Who are you to tell me HOW I can cheer for Rafa ?!

        Reply

      • Vamosrafa ( AT 2:14 PM) says:
        “I intentionally left one of Augusta’s comments unanswered above.”
        ===
        –
        I don’t know what you are writing about, but it’s a relief if you didn’t defend posters who have been constructing imaginary stories about me. Thank you very much!

        Reply

    • nats, And I miss deucey who made “significant contributions in her (sic) own way I will react because It is not fair to them…I so miss” deucey “as she was full of life, vivid and funny poster but also honest and fair and” the three posters you mention “managed to get her stop posting…so sad for this site.

      Reply

    • Natashao at 1:49 pm: 5 stars!!!
      I miss ritb too.
      Sadly, vr whom I respect has been led astray by his fondness for the trolls,but of late, he has at least distanced himself from Rafa bashing. He is writing wonderful posts highlighting the greatness of Rafa.

      Reply

        • As for deucey, what is hawkeye griping about? She was here as amy, wasn’t she? She must be gnashing her teeth at some of vr’s posts! After all that she had done to brainwash him!!! Tut tut!!!

          Reply

          • hahahahaha what the heck is this about me getting BRAINWASHED?! what do you think I am ?!! hahhaaha

            I have always been the same and nobody here has influenced what I write and everyone knows that.

            And I just found out an amusing off of going after a poster and then cooling it off by saying it was only a joke!!!

            Funny day it has been

            The important thing is that Rafa won his match 😉

      • vamosrafa,

        Oh my goodness! You are now being accused of being led astray by the trolls! Wow! That is quite the insult to someone with your intelligence!

        Coming form the resident troll herself, now that is really something! Yes, this from the very person who prattles on and on about a Murray fan posing as a Rafa fan, Novak fans posing as Rafa fans.

        Oh it’s all just so complicated with all of these bizarre conspiracy theories floating around on this site! You already posted as to the absurdity of people hiding their real preference for a player! Why would anyone do that?

        Where does the strange paranoia come from? One can only wonder! Overactive imagination? Nothing better to do with their life?

        It would be funny if it wasn’t kind of sad! 🙂

        Reply

  31. If you are a Rafan and bash Rafa, you are objective
    If you are a Rafan and bash Djok, you are vile and vicious
    #RealRafanLogic

    Reply

    • Since you define the prime characteristics of ‘Real Rafans’ as bashing Rafa, could you give us some examples please? The way you are putting it, there should be thousands of them lol… please give some Rafa bashing here and expose the Rafa bashers please….let us see !

      *scratching my head* as to when I have ever bashed Rafa…may be I once said his ROS is not the best in the game or may be in some match his forehand was pretty bad?!! LOLLL

      Reply

  32. Would be epic to have some examples here!! Bring on some ‘Rafa Bashing’ examples here or never use the term again? Deal? Lol lol

    Reply

  33. I also might have said Rafa’s backhand slice is far from being great…does that constitute as bashing? If yes? Then I will do similar bashing often because that’s why I come here: to analyze matches and players’ games, esp related to Rafa.

    Reply

  34. Rafa bashed himself according to the Troll Triad when he admitted to a “mental problema” as being the cause of his poor results in 2015.

    Ironically, BotandKettle was the one who posted that Rafa was seen with a sports psychologist just last week (even though she tried to claim that Rafa was “only kidding” about mental problems).

    #BashersAreEverywhere

    Reply

    • vr,

      I am watching the match and will provide updates.

      I didn’t even realize that the match was on do so early. They are playing catch up today.

      Rafa up 5-1.

      Reply

  36. How is it possible that Rafa already made 18 UEs and it’s only the first set 5:4 for Rafa with Simon breaking back when Rafa was leading 4:2 ☹️

    Reply

  37. There seems to be an issue with the way they classify an error as unforced…. rafa had a very high number that day and I thought no wayyy this is way too many. What is the error count for Simon

    Reply

  42. Steve Tignor ‏@SteveTignor 1m1 minute ago
    Nadal says he’s not feeling the pressure of expectations, but that was a nervy 1st-set breaker. But he survives, 7-5, over Simon.

    #RafaBashing

    Reply

      • Ugh!!! I thought vr was led astray by deucey and native but turns out he is a full fledged troll in his own right. Birds of a feather flock together.
        native doesn’t even know who is winning or losing a point. She made a real mess of keeping the score when she was live blogging. Ha ha ha, no wonder she usually watches match replays so she knows who won!
        Why don’t you geniuses stick to your email circuit? vr can listen whole day to native’s cut and paste ” analysis” , she can squeal with girlish delight when vr appears.. hawkeye can be a broken record endlessly repeating “Rafa is mentally ill” …deucey can be the master puppeteer manipulating her puppets in the play ” Bashing Rafa” and “innocently” asking vr to prove how Rafa is a has-been against whom all have learnt how to win …Rafa poor guy needs a new coach who will teach him new tricks but alas he is mentally weak and held captive by his wicked uncle!
        Sounds like troll paradise no?

        Reply

          • I already gave examples. Your trolling has to end. It is really disgusting the way hawkeye and native harass Gussie and now you seem to have joined in the fun.Ironic you should have accused nadline and augusta of being blind. But I guess your genius team mates’ activities seem normal to you and are a part of every self respecting troll’s routine.

          • You are so right! The way it goes right now those posters enjoy insulting people on this site and feel victorious if people at the end get fed up with it and leave the site…I used to enjoy coming here but all I find now is bashing augusta for just about any post she made and putting down people who stood up for her..,their useless pathetic echo arguments are everywhere.,,

            I have no time to argue endlessly with them as it will lead nowhere..,they ridiculed and drove away fedfan who was not “suitable” and who would defend his point of view.,, I guess all they want is us leaving this site so that the tree of them can lament on Rafa’ s mental issues, Toni’s incompetence etc. I feel sorry for them but I also feel we all are letting Ricky down allowing this site to become a battle field and insult paradise for those who wouln’t know better…

          • What the heck are are you on to? Lol

            Where have I bashed Rafa and where have I bashed and ‘tortured’ posters here?!

            Natashao, now don”t chicken away and tell me how exactly I drove fed fan away…give one example and stop your crap please… disgareeing with someone is not equiivalent to torturing…ehay the heck is wrong here :s

            Don’t be cowards and give me examples. Mary, where have you given them? Copy paste here please.

            Lying with such convenience. And I feel sorry for your dumbness…Fed fan was a man with strong opinions and he was NOT driven away or anything…he stopped posting because Federer pulled out from the entire season! Can’t you see that??? His player pulled out so quite normal for him to not post.

            No point giving these evaluations…. post examples here of my 1). Rafa bashing 2). Torturing of other posters

            Thanks.

          • “The way it goes right now those posters enjoy insulting people on this site and feel victorious if people at the end get fed up with it and leave the site”

            nats, he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

            #John8:7
            #NatsAndKettle

        • Mary, Mary,

          There you go with your delusional rants again! This from the person who pretended to be new, yet we now know you were posting on TT! Who is the one with the agenda? I think you never watch a tennis match and just come on here to attack and troll! You would much rather insult than talk about tennis!

          Then toy play God and decide who is a fan of which player! You are the ultimate paranoid conspiracy theorist with an overactive imagination. Then you effect to Amy as deucey and we all know that is a lie. So you gone on this site to make up imaginary stories out of your rather vivid and distorted imagination!

          You are not fooling anyone!

          Reply

          • NNN AT 4:07 PM,

            If I may ask, why do you let hawk repeat day in day out his imaginary story that RITB = Mary?

          • Augusta,

            That is not on me. I did not say that Mary was RITB. Mary revealed that she posted on TT after pretending to come on here as a new poster. But we know that was a lie.

          • augusta08 AT 4:30 PM,

            If I may ask, why do you question the honesty of Rafans with your imaginary story that they are not his fan?

      • Oh vr! when you are in troll mode you obviously substitute bile duct for brain.Otherwise I cannot imagine how a poster like you who boasted that his comprehension skills are superlative does not know the difference between quoting stats/facts and bashing.To make it clear, if Steve says Rafa made 18 unforced errors he is quoting stats but if, hawkeye style, he claims that Rafa made errors because he is mentally sick, then he is Rafa bashing. And as you know, hawkeye has been going on like a broken record about Rafa being mentally ill.
        When your native and hawkeye comment on Gussie’s posts and on her as a poster they ARE NOT talking about tennis. Are you seriously telling me you have never seen native make nasty comments about other posters and she only makes the kind of post which you claim is typical of native’s posts? Wow that is really an example of you deluding yourself.
        You know what, I am not going to waste my time in providing you with examples as you are in denial and in troll mode. And a troll cannot reason, only hate.
        However for some time at least one hopes your troll mates will leave Gussie alone and talk only about tennis just to prove that you were right when you made that outrageous remark!

        Reply

          • why are these comments allowed? they are utterly ludicrous. ‘substituting bile duct for brain’ is a disgusting thing to write about vr. calling him a hating troll when he is one of the nicest and most thoughtful people you could hope to chat with. given that no-one does hate and trolling like mary it’s hypocrisy of the highest order. not even that, it’s so extreme and disordered as to be beyond hypocrisy. disordered is the right word about this person and their obsessive desire to stir up trouble.
            mary was moderated on tennis-x for far less than this for heaven’s sake! that’s why she left there and it’s probably one of many sites she has had to leave or been thrown out of.so why not here?
            calling deucey hawks chloro and nny a troll lynch mob who bullied people on tennistalk is way way beyond the pale. but it’s only one of many vile comments.

          • Somebody like amy-deucey, who actively reads everything on tennis-x and tenngrand, seriously expects anyone to believe she was not on the internet till last year? ha ha ha, the fib of the millenium, deucey.

          • Good the hate rants of the trolls are now focused on me and you are leaving Gussie alone! Hope this continues but as I do not post as often as Gussie, you might feel a little restless!!!

          • You know what? To keep you guys occupied and also get the pleasure of ” discombobulating” me, I have a suggestion. Calling me scoretracker or ritb isn’t effective as they aren’t posting here so you cannot harass or hound them as you did to ritb when she was here. See next post.

    • @vr 10.43 AM,
      Where did I ever say it was you who harassed Fedfan??? I don’t even include you in these three I mentioned! They know exactly who they are!

      And please stop engaging in arguments! I did not even adress you in the first place when this whole arguing started! You were the one who engaged to defend nny and started insulting me.,,

      I highly appreciate your posts and love your analysis! Sorry but I don’t find nny posts useful as you do especially her echoing and making her own assumptions of what people meant to say…I am also tired to read about constant attacks on augusta..,after all she is Rafan and she deserves better…If someone does not like her or mine posts for that matter they are free to skip and ignore it..,this site is no longer civilised one because of people constantly accusing each other and fighting for no obvious reason…

      Reply

      • Sorry you do not see a two way street nats.

        I used to have good conversations with augusta until I started seeing frequent snide remarks about other Rafans of the “I’m wondering/curious why…” questioning their allegiance to Rafa.

        I got tired of her judging who real Rafans were when disregarding her own advice for others and I called her on it.

        That’s where this all began whether you realize it or not.

        Reply

        • What a poor excuse for hounding and harassing Gussie. If you do not like her posts, you can just ignore them. Instead you and native attack every one of her posts with native instigating or joining in with remarks like you crack me up, you took the words out of my mouth…
          You have the gall to justify the abuse??

          Reply

          • Mary (AT 3:00 PM),

            Hawk created yet another false story AT 2:49 PM! Vice versa, HE has been a self-appointed judge on this site for a very long time. Evidence is available on the Internet.
            .
            The truth is that I became a persona non grata on hawk’s computer/device screen because I posted some negative FACTS about his beloved players – Djoko and Fed.

            https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CpqwGGZWcAAtpWU.jpg

            ?

          • Mary (AT 3:00 PM),

            augusta created yet another false story AT 3:41 PM! Vice versa, SHE has been a self-appointed judge on this site for a very long time judging other Rafan’s prior to the date of her example. Evidence is available on the Internet (already provided).

          • ” If you do not like her posts, you can just ignore them. ”

            Glad to. When she ignores Rafans’ posts she dislikes and stops questioning who they are fans of.

          • Gussie doesn’t harass other Rafans. You do. Who are you to lay down the rules? You don’t like Gussie’s views, just leave her alone.

          • “Gussie doesn’t harass other Rafans.”

            Wrong.

            “You do.”

            As do you, nadline augusta, filter and fedfan among others (with the difference that you all instigate).

            “Who are you to lay down the rules?”

            Strawman argument. Who is gussie to lay down the rules? Or you?

            “You don’t like Gussie’s views, just leave her alone.”

            When gussie doesn’t like someone’s views, she doesn’t leave them alone. (Nor do you.) Happy to stop when you/she stops. I’ve stopped before but it always continues.

      • Natashao,

        Your rudeness about me has reached a new low. You keep posting these self-Indulgent rants, making increasingly bizarre and outlandish accusations about me. You are not fooling anyone. You team up with your little clique and then you back up rack other’s trash talk about those you don’t like. Anyone reading your hysterical rants can see that you have an agenda.

        It doesn’t take guts to join up and attack someone because you want them off this site. We have seen it too many times n the past. You and your clique want this site all to yourselves, with only the chosen people who you want here.

        You continue to attack me while addressing other posters. Anyone can team up with others to character assassinate someone else. You said that I drive away Fed fan! Since when do you care about someone who hates Rafa? Or did you forget the trash he posted about Rafa! Some Rafa fan you are!

        As vr said, he left because Fed pulled out for the rest of the year. Your pathetic attempts to make me responsible for the toxic atmosphere that you and your clique have crated here, is transparent.

        You are embarrassing yourself!

        Reply

          • Natashao,

            No! You proved my point! You know, there was a time when you did not attack me. You enjoyed my comments. But somewhere along he way you teamed up with the clique who has created such disharmony and rancor by questioning some here as not real Rafans!

            It’s a shame that tou felt the need to join in with the rabble. You used to have something to say, but now you are going along with the propaganda. That is a real shame.

            I don’t know where any of you get the fall to question who I am or am not a fan of! Who died and made you God? I didn’t start it, as Hawkeye pointed out. It was Augusta. Nadline and Mary and now you who make up these rather bizarre allegations of people coming on here pretending to be fans of Rafa, while being fans of someone else.

            That is illogical and makes no sense. But Augusta has done quite a bit if her own harassing of others on this site, telling them the rules even as she flouts them herself. That is harassment of the very worst kind.

            She posts info when it has already been posted. Yet she called me and others out for doing exactly that! This shows hypocrisy and a total lack of self-awareness.

            So please spare me the poor little Gussie being harassed argument. She has gone after others too many times to be painted as some kind of victim.

            But I must say that I am really disappointed to see you buy into the trash talk and character assassination directed at me. You didn’t buy into it in the past.

            Your faux concern about Ricky is also self-serving and phony. If you really cared about him and this site, then you would not be joining up with the toxic clique!

          • Nativenewyorker AUGUST 12, 2016 AT 5:52 PM says:
            “..who I am or am not a fan of! …I didn’t start it, as Hawkeye pointed out. It was Augusta.”
            ===
            .
            WHAT did hawk point out? I saw he posted a link to his old comment (on April 3, 2015; see below ) saying it was hilarious that so many of Rafa’s own fans were quick to write Rafa off. I replied to him that I hadn’t seen that.
            If I may ask, what’s the connection between my reply to hawk in April 3 2015 and your sentence I quoted above (your post AT 5:53 PM)?

            Old comments via the link hawk posted:
            hawkeye63 APRIL 3, 2015 AT 7:20 PM says:”…Hilarious that so many particularly many of his own fans are so quick to write him [Rafa] off…”
            augusta08 APRIL 3, 2015 AT 8:04 PM says: “I haven’t seen (!) any real Rafans writing Rafa off.”

          • natashao
            but you don’t care when mary attacks abhirf, a great long term poster do you? i haven’t been posting here for a long while but i’ve read here off and on and i saw her doing that and abhi calling her out for it. nor do you care when she writes a spiteful vindictive poem about alyssa. nor did you ever say anything when she first came on this site and called nny, hawks and vr trolls virtually from the beginning. i have just read back and seen that vr called you out for your never ever saying anything about mary’s bullying and malice and he is dead right. or perhaps you agree with it? your acquiescence in it is shameful as is the fact that you have actually used mary’s nasty and personal language to attack nny in the past. one of those times ricky deleted your post and you still went back and wrote something silly and inflammatory with a devil emoticon to boot.
            i was only here a very short while and posters such as littlefoot came back momentarily and said they had been driven away by augusta and nadline and ritb. yet you talk about these people as if they were blameless not agents of their own unpopularity both here and on other sites where they are disliked intensely by excellent and fair posters.
            oh and i have never attacked fedfan or any of the others. lucky gets into it with him a lot but that’s ok i suppose. and stop using self-contradictory arguments all the time ie saying augusta is free to interrupt any conversation she wants (as she always does often destroying it)but vr shouldn’t join in because your remarks were not addressed to him. everything you write lacks logic and rationality.
            if you are defined by the company you keep then you don’t look too good to me or any dispassionate observer.

          • amy (AT 5:55 PM) says:
            “as littlefoot came back momentarily and said they had been driven away by augusta and nadline and ritb.”
            “saying augusta is free to interrupt any conversation she wants (as she always does often destroying it)”
            .
            If I may ask, do you use hawk’s script to make up stories or it’s all your own imagination? 😯

            Did I destroy your conversation’ when you encouraged hawk to post Djoko’s pictures on Rafa’s page or when? I don’t remember.

          • Troll on Augusta. Be nice if you had a single opinion on tennis as opposed to criticizing rafans. It’s the only original thought you have here.

            #BotnKettle

          • @hawkeye, dead right. Commentary on posters here and critiquing their comments rather than tennis matches. Sadly, even posters like Natashao somehow seem to see that as leading to being ‘tortured’ by other posters somehow :s I am still waiting for examples where I bashed Rafa…LOL

          • Amy,
            I never approved any harassments here! Show me where I did it! Moreover, I do not engage in those silly arguments because I believe every poster is capable of defending themselves! I am not a moderator and will never pretend to be! I couldn’t care less! I also do not have time for it but it’s good that you do! Lol

            If you were able to judge with no bias and if you read carefully you would see that I was called by nny to not comment! Typical! That’s why I responded in the first place!

            I never said augusta should feel free to interrupt any conversation! I said that she should feel free to SAY what she thinks and if someone disliked her posts should just skip it!

            I said VR should not join in the latest argument because he thought I made reference to him, which I didn’t! That is all! Other than that he can comment on anything and so does everyone else…
            I love the fact that Rafa is wining and I feel so happy now that nobody can spoil that! I wish you the same!

          • of course I had to respond like that because Mary’s typical instigative post directed at me was given a ‘you are so right’ comment by you so it was totally reasonable to assume you agreed with her lies. Now that you have clarified you didn’t, I also don’t have any further comments on it.

            So much better to focus on tennis and Rafa, esp when it is about winning gold medals!!!

          • Amy,

            I just wanted to say how sorry I am that you have been so viciously attacked and accused of being deucey. I have tried to ignore Mary’s trolling and vindictive personal attacks, but as you pointed out it has continued unabated with people like natashao conveniently ignoring it.

            I know for a certainty, given our email correspondence, that you are NOT deucey! Yet Mary has continued to go on and on with this falsehood. She presumes to question who is a real fan of rafa. Well, I say who questions her? Why not question her when she says that you are deucey and then states that you are a Murray fan pretending to be a Rafa fan! The truth is that Mary is a fan of no player! Not a fan of tennis either! Just someone with an axe to grind, who hides behind another user name on her computer as she vents her spleen on selected people. She throws around the word “troll” at others when her own accusations and attacks on people here are the very definition of the word “troll”!

            I just wanted to state publicly that I know you are not deucey, never have been and never will be. You are not a Murray fan. You are s Rafa fan through and through and also a Novak fan. You have not even been posting here, yet you have been cruelly attacked for no reason. If someone can attack you even when you are not even here posting, then they are capable if saying anything just to create turmoil.

            I second Hawkeye in saying that you have been missed. For all this talk about some of us driving away people on this site, it’s the good people like you and deucey and rc who are gone. Yet the same old few are still here going after people like myself, Hawkeye and vr.

            Some things never change.

          • The big troll has landed!!! so deucey you have decided to brazen it out with the help of your troll gang? There was this troll gang on TT: Conspirator, native,chlorostoma and deuce: attacking fans lynch mob style. How did you quickly reassemble the team in the reincarnation of Peter Proud ….oops deucey deuce? It is really uncanny! Does troll nation issue some kind of ID which you guys can flash subliminally so others can instantly recognize fellow trolls?

          • vamosrafa AUGUST 12, 2016 AT 9:27 PM says:
            “Commentary on posters here and critiquing their comments rather than tennis matches.”
            ===
            .
            Rigth you are! NNY & hawk are constantly fabricating stories about other posters.

          • Do you even realize you make zero sense ? Lol

            It is so funny that the comment below this comment of mine is a comment by NNY about Rafa’s game!! Thousands of them by Hawkeye can be easily found as well Hahahahhahaha

            Yeah yeah yeah you’re again going to post something weird just to have the last say….you can have it 😀

          • Nativenewyorker AUGUST 12, 2016 AT 11:02 PM says:
            ” Amy,I just wanted to say how sorry I am that you have been so viciously attacked and accused of being deucey.”
            ===
            .
            If I may ask (again) why don’t you want to say you are sorry that RITB (who hasn’t written on GS for months) has been viciously attacked and accused of being someone else now (= writing under another user name on GS). Hawk and vr have been doing this (= trolling RITB) for months. Why do you let them trolling ???

          • i have only just read this thread. ricky this whole business of mary’s saying i am deucey and was a leader of a gang on tennistalk (a site i have never posted on, i only ever began to post on the internet full stop last year) is becoming really creepy and ridiculous. i am sure that you know that i have never posted here before last year and it would be nice if you could verify that please (when you have time). as far as i am concerned, mary is nothing but a troll and breaks site rules both against myself and others, most notably nny, who she has attacked in personal terms right from the beginning. i don’t see how her posts are anything except harassment.

          • ok i have now read back mary’s troll vitriol. it seems to be a feature of trolls that they accuse others of being what they are. so she says that deucey, chloro, nny and hawks ( i am assuming that hawks was conspirator) went around as a lynch mob on tennistalk trolling people. (her words). these are disgusting allegations and i am sure they are false.

          • I haven’t posted here for more than half a year, with one brief exception. But since I’ve been reading lately on account of Rafa and some other players and Rio… let me just say three things…

            Ricky has never done very much, with few exceptions, to get rid of trolling, here or on TT (how hard could it be?).

            And Mary, Augusta and the occasional other troll here are not worth anyone’s time responding to. Unless you do have a good time doing so, a la hawkeye. Their immature behaviours, let alone lies, will not change.

            The third thing? The one that matters: congrats Rafa and Lopez on the gold medal, and congrats Rafa for coming back to fight so hard in Rio after not just the wrist injury but a couple of years like 2014 / 2015.

          • Chloro,

            It’s nice to see you here posting your thoughts. I think you make three excellent points. However, as someone who has continued to post on this site, I do have to say that there comes a time when a line has to be drawn regarding inflammatory and inappropriate language. Mary’s comment at 4:59 am, making reference to myself and others such as Hawkeye and vr as a “lynch mob” has gone too far.

            There are some words or phrases that have no place being thrown around carelessly and recklessly. That term is highly offensive to anyone who has grown up in the U.S. It has no place being used, especially on a forum which is supposed to be about all things tennis,

            The problem with ignoring hatespeak, is that the ante is upped and it escalates. Cyber bullying is a serious problem on the Internet, if there hasn’t been consistent moderation, then this is the time when it need to be enforced. People who want to participate in good faith on thus site should do so without fear of being viciously attacked and lied about over and over.

            Anyone who presumes to abuse the privilege of participating on a tennis forum, or any forum for that matter, should be dealt with immediately.

            These are my thoughts on the matter. Thanks again for coming on and contributing done words of wisdom.

          • chloro AUGUST 14, 2016 AT 1:23 PM says:
            “I haven’t posted here for more than half a year.”
            “…Augusta…not worth anyone’s time responding to.”
            ===
            .
            During your “vacation” from GS, the only resident troll on GS has been hawk. Before that you paired with hawk to troll me, you were mocking (almost?) every my post, according to eyewitnesses.
            It’s the great idea from you that you suggest to stop trolling my posts! I hope you “doubles partner” – hawk – will listen to you!

          • Nativenewyorker AUGUST 14, 2016 AT 3:30 PM says:
            Chloro,
            “There are some words or phrases that have no place being thrown around carelessly and recklessly.”
            “Cyber bullying is a serious problem on the Internet.”
            ===
            .
            It’s probably not difficult to find chloro’s cyber bullying in the archive (before he took a vacation from GS.) I don’t remember now the name of the desease he diagnosed me with…

          • Augusta says:
            “. Hawk and vr have been doing this (= trolling RITB) for months.”

            Looks like Gussie let slip that she also knows “Mary” is ritb.

            Too funny.

  44. Wicked cc backhand winner from rafa! Rafa with a chance for the early break!

    So good to see Rafa hitting his backhand well!

    Reply

    • I am trying to look at Rafa’s shot making patterns in this match with his forehand. I want to check out the use of the cc forehand and then the DTL forehand.

      Reply

      • Break point for Rafa!

        Rafa gets the second break. Simon seems to have lost the plot with a careless error, but Rafa also dictating more.

        Reply

  52. The backhand DTL was sweet from Rafa and so was the intention do close down the net but Simon’s passing shot was high quality and Rafa couldn’t do enough with the volley

    Reply

  54. NNY, thanks again for all the updates! What I read earlier about you seems even funnier now. Look at you, covering the match like a commentator and mentioning some gooood points! You really are a real Rafa fan but your fault is you happen to be a tennis fan too lol. Don’t want to further that discussion anymore but just wanted to say this.

    EPIC backhand pass from Rafa!!

    HE HAS DONE IT ! 6-3!!!

    Reply

    • Hawkeye,

      Thanks for the link! So easy to get the complete match stats! Rafa still not winning enough second serve points., but first serve stats were good.

      I don’t know how they are counting the UE’s.

      You are a true blue Rafan for sure! 🙂

      Reply

  57. Rafa’s backhand is RIDICULOUS at the moment! He is going to crush opponents with his backhands I am telling ya. The problem is that his forehand lacks control for now…he is going for aggressive shots (THANK GOD) but misfiring. The wrist might be causing some hesitation but he’ll keep getting better.

    Delpo serving for the match! Goffin locked at 3-3 in a first set TB with Belucci.

    Reply

  61. Rafa with 7 forehand winners and 10 backhand winners!!! LOLLLL

    His backhand is at its peak aggression at the moment, I am telling you. The backhand DTL is better than ever !!! Yes, better than ever!

    Reply

  64. Rafa just said in his interview on court that the rain yesterday was bad for the fans, but good for him. He feels good for his next two matches. He said that the next match is very important because it’s for a medal with one of his best friends.

    Good luck in the doubles, Rafa!

    Reply

  70. Murray now has lost eight games in a row. To Fog.

    When is the last time Murray lost eight straight games.

    For that matter, when is the last time Fog won eight games in a row.

    Reply

  73. Delighted that Murray won . I think it will be him in the final but don’t know whether his opponent will be Del Potro or Nadal. On balance, maybe Nadal.

    Reply

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