After clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking, Rafael Nadal will continue his Paris campaign when he goes up against Pablo Cuevas in the Paris third round on Thursday. Dominic Thiem and Fernando Verdasco are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Pablo Cuevas
The year-end No. 1 ranking has been clinched. Nadal locked it up for the fourth time in his illustrious career when he defeated Hyeon Chung 7-5, 6-3 in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters on Wednesday. The top-seeded Spaniard is 66-10 this season with two Grand Slam titles and four other winners’ trophies (including two at Masters 1000 tournaments) plus a runner-up performance at the Australian Open. He is 17-0 in his last 17 matches against opponents other than Roger Federer.
It is safe to say that Nadal is not facing Federer on Thursday; not even close. Cuevas had not won a single match since the French Open prior to his arrival in Paris, a brutal stretch that saw him compile an 0-10 record. Out of absolutely nowhere, the 36th-ranked Uruguayan has picked up victories this week over Karen Khachanov (6-4, 6-2) and Albert Ramos-Vinolas (6-7(5), 7-6(1), 6-2). Cuevas is 1-3 lifetime against Nadal with a clay-court upset in last year’s Rio de Janeiro semifinals. With Nadal in stellar form and the underdog nothing short of hopeless over the last five months, another upset will not be taking place.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
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(5) Dominic Thiem vs. Fernando Verdasco
Thiem and Verdasco will be going head-to-head for just the second time in their careers on Thursday. Their only previous encounter came two years ago at Wimbledon, where Verdasco prevailed 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. The Spaniard is a bigger underdog now according to the rankings (No. 39 to No. 6), but current form suggests otherwise. Thiem, as usual, has been a borderline disaster since the end of the clay-court swing. The 24-year-old Austrian is 8-9 in his last 17 tournament matches, but he at least managed to hold off lucky loser Peter Gojowyczk 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4 on Tuesday.
Verdasco is coming off a semifinal performance last week in Stockholm and so far in Paris he has taken out Andrey Rublev and Kevin Anderson. The 33-year-old sent Rublev packing for the NextGen ATP Finals in Milan with a 7-6(1), 7-6(6) victory and he eliminated Anderson from World Tour Finals contention by getting the job done 5-7, 6-4, 7-5. This is a good opportunity for a confident Verdasco against a struggling opponent who has admitted that indoor hard courts are a rough surface for his game.
Pick: Verdasco in 3
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Thank God Rafa withdrew from Paris, glad he’s taking care and saving himself.
I really doubt if he’s going to the WTF.
Take you’re more than deserved rest champion β
Thank God he’s already secured his YE No 1!For me,It’s okay if he’s not winning WTF ..YE No 1 is a big prize & very satisfying too…With his troubled knee..to see him play at WTF is just a bonus for me…
Yeah, good decision. It was painful to watch Rafa last night in his match with Cuevas. He was obviously hampered with his knee injury…I hate to see Rafa suffer like that and playing with pain…
I am not optimistic about the WTF and Rafa participating. All it matters is for Rafa to recover and be ready for the AO!
Vamos Champ! Get well! We love you!
Absolutely Mira, the YE οΌ1 is just an amazing achievement and truly well deserved given his overall performance across all surfaces this year, even more special given what Rafa suffered in 2015 and 2016.
It’s really sad if he can’t compete in London because with the field there, he’ll have is chances for sure. Maybe he’s gonna take the risk and go there, we have to wait and see.
He has to skip London. it will be stupid if he does not.
I think Rafa should seriously look to cut down on his playing schedule starting next year.
This year, his schedule is so full, playing 17 events already (was originally 19 with Queens and Basel intended, and 20 if including WTF). It’s crazy, and he played Laver Cup too.
I think he’s pushing his body, knees especially, too far. There’s no need for him to play so many events, just concentrates his efforts in those more important ones, drop those that he’s not going to win anyway. He should learn from Fed, stops pushing his body too far to its limit.
Next year will be the right time for him to do so, when he has fulfilled all exemption requirements; I hope he picks and chooses events to play wisely, no point playing 19-20 events and losing early in some or even many of them, or gets injured and has to retire or withdraw.
Yeah Gaviria…Really disappointed coz we can’t see him display his full form at O2[if he’s playing at all] but…i expect this to happen long before before Shanghai actually…When he decided to play in Rome last May,we discussed here how terrified we were at that time just in case he maybe overplayed & risk of getting injured before FO…But he thrived & gave us a very precious 10th FO & the unbelievable 3rd USO too..So,his knee injury now is due…If we’re to be honest..unconciously we’re already expect this to happen…For me i’m not surprised at all…
Just hope,he will rest as much as his knees & body need & will come back to tour still motivated to play tennis next year…
Rafa was stupid to play Laver Cup, Beijing and Shanghai in less than 20 days. He was all fine after USO which was not very hectic.
My sister texted me that Rafa retired from Paris. Despite what he said after his match with Cuevas, I had a feeling when I went to bed last night that Rafa might withdraw.
I could see him waking up today feeling the knee more. I am glad that he did what was best for his health.
I am concerned about the knee. I am sure he wants to play in London, but even that is not certain at this point. Just seeing him having trouble with his serve in the match with Cuevas, was enough to make me realize that the knee was bothering him.
I just hope Rafa takes it easy and gets treatment. Whatever will be, will be. He did so well to get almost to the end of this tennis year without any injury.
Any time the knee flares up it makes me worry.
I dont expect him to play WTF. He had this injury in Shanghai, rested for 1.5 week and played Paris and the injury again resurfaced. WTF will not be any different if he plays.
He really needs to pick and choose next year. Strictly play not more than 13-14 events per year. Choose AO, IW, all 5 clay, Queens, Wimby, Montreal, USO, Shanghai, WTF
that is all he should play.
Yeah heβs crazy! IMO, he should drop one of IW or Miami, drops Acapulco, drops Rome. If he plays Laver cup, then skips the Asian swing and then plays Basel and WTF.
We should now in hindsight thank him for playing Paris and wrapping the YE No 1. Had he practised on HC and turned up directly for WTF, he could have injured himself during practice too.
Rafa was done till Shanghai. He had played a year’s tennis or even more than that till Shanghai. I think he should skip WTF , anything less than a win won’t satisfy him. He has full two months to rest. He should be well OK and rested. AO should be priority over WTF.
Paris and WTF both being low bounce courts are not easy to body.
an interesting thought
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/875108/Rafael-Nadal-Paris-Masters-injury
In hindsight he made a real smart move to pull out.
I think its a precautionary pullout. Knee is bad, but Rafa has played and won with knees in worse situation.
I wont be surprised that he turned fit for London. He can take 5-6 days off and start to practice again.
If he cant win it or is hampered to win it , no point playing. He does not need to turn up just to participate.
I think he has given sufficient hint that he does not know about LOndon for now.
I think he can play at London and pulls out after one or two matches. I think he wonβt skip it totally unless his knee is really in bad condition. I doubt he wants to miss it when he can play, win or lose.
Lucky my take is..if you just want to play 1 or 2..give someone else a chance and dont eat the slot away
Sanju, he still can give the slot away after one or two matches, thatβs the beauty of WTF. As I said, if his knee isnβt that bad, my guess is he will play. He will want to take part regardless of win or lose. In 2009, he went to WTF despite in bad shape and lost all his RR matches; itβs not about winning,itβs about participating in a prestigious event for the to eight.
Fed did the same in 2008 with a bad back; played all three RR matches winning only one.
No, I dont think he should play WTF if he thinks that he cant last 5 matches. But I still think that he would play.
He was unsure about Paris in Shanghai but he played here. remember all top players keep secrets. They keep rivals guessing. Fed would be interested to know about Rafa’s participation in WTF just like Rafa was interested to know about Fed’s participation in Paris.
why would Fed care now? He has lost the No 1..I think he is more busy getting himself back in shape. He himself is bit tired.
“I’m not thinking about London, I’m thinking long term, to be able to continue playing tennis.”
Isnt there enough hint in this statement?
WTF is jinxed for Rafa.
Yep! Rafa will most likely skip the whole tourney! Itβs not in Rafaβs blood just to show up and play one match or two knowing he would not be fit and healthy to win it and risking larger injury.,,no way…
You missed the point too; if Rafaβs knee is only good for two matches, that means itβs not ok so he wonβt play at all! Itβs not like heβs forcing himself to play for two matches and then withdraws.
He will play when he feels heβs good enough to play, just like at Paris Masters, but he wonβt know beforehand how his knee will react. To not try when he feels heβs good enough to play is not his style.
Sanju you missed the point. If his knee is ok he will play, simple as that. At this point he is not sure yet so he canβt give any promise.
Rafa doesn’t know if he’ll play WTF so we don’t know either. He’ll get treatment for his knee, talk to his doctor and then decide. We’ll just have to wait and see, too.
Yes, Sanju, I don’t think Rafa will play WTF. There’s really no point if he’s not playing to win it, and I don’t think his knee will allow it right now. Better to rest and try to come back 100% for AO. He’ll have a few more chances to win a WTF title.
You’re right fellow Rafa fans. His schedule should be rethought by is team all over again.
Starting with Brisbane, why sould he play there ? Two weeks before AO,he should go earlier to Melbourne, getting ready and adjusting himself, than tiring himself at a minor tournament, plus the lineup there is looking seems no easy for 2018.
The same goes for Acapulco, despite being a 500 points event, it’s unnecessary, has the main goal should be to save himself for the big stages.
About the american hard court swing, he probably should play IW and Miami only if physically fit and rested.
There’s not much to say about the clay season, as it’s the most important part of the year for Rafa, so I don’t see him pulling a tournament. However, if he has a physically demanding clay season prior to Rome, he should skip it.
It’s not only about grinding himself before the FO, but also the accumulate of fatigue due to so many clay matches that could be reflected post FO and bring injuries for himself.
Playing Queens or Halle, should be on his run at FO. If tired, Rafa should look forward to Wimbledon.
Posteriorly, he should play the Canada Masters and skip Cinci, for the obvious reasons we all know.
After playing the USO, I agree that he should only play Shanghai and WTF.
He wonβt skip Beijing but plays only Shanghai once heβs in China. So, he should skip the Asian swing totally and plays Basel or Paris and then WTF. In years when he plays the Asian swing, he should skip the rest until WTF. He had done that in 2010 and 2011.
Oh thatΒ΄s absolutely true Lucky, I completely forgot about that huge detail. You’ve been such a role model as a Rafa fan for me, always sharing great stuff here, pointing out with precision so many things about our champion. What a fan you are π
Thanks for the compliment Gaviria!
Sorry everyone for the language mistakes, thinking in portuguese and writing in english it’s a bit confusing sometimes π
It’s all good Gaviria. English is not my mother tongue either. And nobody complained about it π You’re new here, right? Welcome!
Thank you so much Eugene, I’ve been following the Grandstand for some time, thought it was more than time to join here. Sorry, I just presented myself at the Rafa fans page. By the way, who is your favourite player ?
Federer. I hope we can be friends π
Gaviria- I should have welcomed you a long time ago, myself… So welcome!
My condolences to the Rafans, as it obviously puts his WTF chances in question. Maybe he’ll be fine by then? In my opinion, I think he would be giving himself the best chance of getting that second AO tile if he were to skip WTF completely and be as fresh as possible going into AO. However, my opinion doesn’t matter because only Rafa knows what is best for him. Since he said that he is looking further ahead than WTF, that would make me think that he is most interested in doing whatever it takes to be as healthy as possible for the AO. But who knows, really?
Thanks a lot guys!
For sure we could be friends Eugene, seems like you have a very good taste π
Congratulations for the Maestro season, it has been great at so many levels!
What a pleasure and a joy has been to see the GOATS playing amazing level of tennis again, right when many people believed they were finished!
Hope both guys can kick in high gear in 2018 πͺ
Thanks Gaviria. It has been an amazing season for both Greats. I don’t feel the need to overanalyze who’s better. There are so many factors implied that I think no computer software or human brain can give an accurate verdict. I also think the law of averages plays an important role and where Fed or Rafa have done good/bad in their careers there is always a counter effect that was positive/negative. For example Rafa pays the price for playing a lot this season unfortunately, and he is yet uncertain for WTF. Federer had to skip clay and focus on Wimbledon. Had he played RG, he might not have win Wimby. And there are dozens of examples. The mental factor between Fedal took different forms and shapes during their careers; furthermore the equipment, coaches, schedules, style of play, age and their inner feeling towards each other ( which can’t be measured by anyone, neither them) personality etc make it less desirable to choose ‘one winner’ especially when neither of them deserves to be a ‘loser’ for various reasons.
In conclusion Gaviria, I respect both guys and enjoy their tennis and I find a little annoying and ride to compare them. It’s like trying to figure out the reason rainbow’s colors are in that specific order and which one is longer or more curved. Just enjoy it the beauty !
You said it very well, Eugene. These guys both had incredible seasons in their own unique ways. Same can be said about their careers thus far. So how can we really say one of them is “greater” when they have both achieved so much and been so great, often for different reasons? I don’t think we can, objectively or definitively. One thing is for sure- when these two guys are done for good, there will be a considerable hole left behind that may take a while to fill. And when all 4 of the Big 4 are gone, I fear that the ATP will be downright screwed, but that’s just me…
Kevin, when the big 4 are gone, I just hope I’ll continue to have interest in watching tennis. I guess I’ll feel quite ’empty’ for a while with no players like Fed and Rafa in action, but I deeply hope we’ll have some interesting rivalries rising. Of course they will not fill that empty gap, neither the should.
It’s funny when Fed wins a tournament or has a great achievement, some people congratulate you, assuming you are a Fed fan, rather than a Nadal fan. I enjoy reading your comments, you are being less subjective than most of us here, and I know your favorite player is Agassi. SO, why some posters here assume you support Fed?