Rafael Nadal will look to maintain grass-court momentum when he begins at Queen’s Club on Tuesday against Alexandr Dolgopolov. Stan Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios are also set for a tough first-round matchup.
(5) Rafael Nadal vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov
Nadal and Dolgopolov will be facing each other for the seventh time in their careers when they clash in round one of the AEGON Championships on Tuesday. The head-to-head series stands at 5-1 in favor of Nadal, but plenty of entertainment has taken place since the Spaniard dominated their first four encounters. Nadal triumphed 6-3, 7-6(3) in the 2014 Rio de Janeiro final before Dolgopolov pulled off a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) upset a month later at the Indian Wells Masters.
If Nadal was expected to emerge from a season-long slump on his old stomping grounds of European clay, he may be in line to deliver a big surprise on a more unlikely surface. The world No. 10 captured just his second title of 2015 last week on the grass courts of Stuttgart. It is a surface on which Nadal has never played Dolgopolov, who has also been in lackluster form this year. The 79th-ranked Ukrainian has lost three matches in a row and has not been past the second round of a tournament since Miami. Dolgopolov is coming off a routine setback against Philipp Kohlschreiber in his Stuttgart opener, so his confidence cannot be high at the moment.
Pick: Nadal in 2
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Nick Kyrgios vs. (2) Stan Wawrinka
Wawrinka will play for the first time as a French Open champion when he takes the court on Tuesday at Queen’s Club. The fourth-ranked Swiss began the season on fire but was in completely mediocre form heading into Roland Garros. Out of almost nowhere, he lifted his second Grand Slam winner’s trophy by upsetting Novak Djokovic in the final to cap off a run that also included defeats of Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Solid but unspectacular on grass, Wawrinka is up against an opponent who is especially dangerous on fast surfaces. Kyrgios, who has never faced the No. 2 seed, reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in his first appearance at the tournament last summer. The 28th-ranked Australian has not been great of late, but he generally loves the limelight–and a showdown against Wawrinka at a 500-point event certainly qualifies. Although Kyrgios will make this competitive, the favorite’s serve and backhand will be the difference.
Pick: Wawrinka in 3
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I guess Rafa is not the only mental case on tour…Stan-the-clay-master just lost the easiest point in the tie-break and then went on to lose the match…well, at least he should be loaded with confidence, shouldn’t he?he should not have any doubts… Some of you even proclaimed him the future Wimby champ… yet he missed an easy point that he would have otherwise hit with his eyes closed…strange that is…
I always thought he is due for a letdown after winning RG just like NOvak had last year after Wimby running into US Open series.
Any player can lose to a giant servebot like Anderson on any given day. Especially in best of three.
yep, but Stan missed the opportunity on 11:10 serving for the set, having the easiest possible shot…that is so unusual…he saved match points with huge serves and then made such an error…you should have heard the loud sighs of the crowd…crazy thing…
…and especially on grass where it’s next to impossible to break serve. One more reason why grass is my least favorite surface.
I was not proclaiming Stan the winner of Wimbledon. In fact, I said that many seem to be jumping on the bandwagon now that he won RG. I am not shocked that he lost early now. There can be letdowns. Also, Stan has not shown that he can back up his slam wins. He wasn’t able to do much after he “won” the 2014 AO. So it’s not at all surprising that he had a bit of a letdown. I do not consider him even one of the favorites at Wimbledon.
I do believe that winning titles instills confidence. That has always been so for Rafa. Winning breeds winning. Stan losing early in a warm up tournament doesn’t mean all that much in the grand scheme of things. It remains to be seen if he can do something at Wimbledon after winning RG. But history tells us that it’s very difficult to win the channel slam. Borg did it three consecutive years. Rafa has done it three times, but not in consecutive years. If it was easy then more would have done it. Fed did it in 2009. So I don’t expect Stan to win Wimbledon. But that doesn’t mean that he won’t do anything else this year. He’s back to #4 in the world. That in itself, is an accomplishment.
What happened to Stan has precisely nothing to do with what is going on with Rafa.
Rafa’s loss doesn’t look so bad now. I’m still hurting though, especially as Rafa would eaten Garcia-Lopez for dinner.
true indeed…it does hurt a lot…I’ve no idea why…it’s not that we are not used to it… 🙁
I’m personally very down about Rafa’s chances from here on. If he were constantly on a downhill path then it would be, in a way, easier to accept; a normal decline.
But, this playing brilliantly one match, serving many aces even, and then melting down in another is very disheartening. If he’s only going to win the matches where he feels comfortable then he might as well retire and play shows… I know I’m being very negative (as usual) but it’s hard to be otherwise these days.
Stan’s loss today makes Rafa loss yesterday even more heartbreaking. He would have had a great chance to make the final. Dolgopolov didn’t win the match. Rafa lost it. That is what I am having a hard time reconciling. Rafa did not get blown off the court or got outplayed. He choked. It used to be that his confidence and ability to close matches was one of his strengths. I miss that Rafa.
spot on!
^+1 This! So well said! Yes, Rafa’s draw would have opened up. Another lost opportunity.
You said what I am feeling. I would be okay if Rafa lost fighting to the end and playing his best. That is a loss that I could accept. But to choke it away, give it away in the end, that is what I cannot accept.
I also miss that Rafa a lot.
I want to clarify that my post @ 3:40 pm was in response to Jeu Nadal.
I think it’s normal to feel negative now. Fans are human, too. We have emotions. I do think that this rollercoaster ride of ups and downs is harder than a straightforward downhill decline.
Rafa’s consistency has kept him at the top in this sport. But that quality is now missing. There is reason to be concerned and reason to feel down about it.
I also take no solace any time another player loses early in a tournament. Stan will be fine because he just won RG for the first time. He had a mental blip and that cost him. When he starts doing it on a regular basis or has a lot of ups and downs, then he can start to worry. He and Rafa are not in the same situation at all.
If we are to derive some comfort from the losses of other players, that really says it all about where we are now.
TBH nothing can comfort me right now…and I really do not care if other players are losing…I have enough to worry about with Rafa…
I am concerned about the social identity…we all tend to take personal pride or offense for the accomplishments of Rafa thus these emotional reactions to his failures…I personally do not know how much longer I can take this…it is really depressing…and then we read Rafa’s statement: I played well…I was not lucky, etc…such a bummer…
It’s difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Rafa was up a break in the final set and ended up losing the match. That hardly ever happened before. The nerves are still there and he wasn’t confident enough to play attacking tennis after he broke Dolgo and Dolgo went for it and won.
I hope we see happy days again but right now, I’m a little bit dubious as to when that will be. Too many letdowns and too many highs and lows.
It’s nightmarish for us fans trying to figure out how Rafa can come from winning a tournament, win the 2nd set against Dolgo and when everything is going his way in the deciding 3rd start having doubts again. Had he done badly at Stuttgart then it would have been very normal to choke but it wasn’t the case. logic suggests that he would have been able to convincing close out the match without any nagging doubts but whatever is suppressed in there isn’t going away…
Yes, this is true. I absolutely felt that with the win at Stuttgart, Rafa would come into Queens with more confidence and belief. Finally another title! But that was not the case. The title did not cure his problems.
Whatever it is appears to be deep seated. It is definitely not going away. That’s why I have no expectations for Wimbledon. I have no idea what will happen with Rafa when he is at Wimbledon.
I thought Ross Hutchinson was appointed Tournament Director last year; now Stephen is the new Tournament Director.
a propos of nothing:
Oestridae
^Ross Hutchins is now Vice President of the ATP Player Relations.
It is sad to see some Rafa fans disrespect Rafa so much. Is Rafa such an idiot that he is content to lose and find excuses for his losses? He obviously has real issues with his FH. A back or a wrist issue can never be taken lightly. Back issues ended Lendl and Agassi’s careers, wrist injuries are threatening to end Delpo’s. Real physical issues cannot magically disappear by changing the coach or seeking psychological help. I trust Rafa’s wisdom and honesty.
you may not agree with some our views about ‘deeper’ issues rafa has, but I haven’t seen any posts here at tt that disrespect rafa. It might appear to some we are disrespecting, but believe me, that is not the case.
No, better trust God Mary…
Rafa and Marc are trailing a set and break down
Rafa/Marc lost 67 46 🙁
Good. Now Rafa can go back home to Mallorca, get some much needed R & R and come back re-juvenated for Wimby………….
Another game for Daniel!!!
#GoCanada
Andrew Castle has a man crush on Rafa.
So do I.
Ditto 🙂
Lol
Andrew Castle says when Rafa is on court he is so attractive it’s impossible to take your eyes off him. That coming from a hetro. man is quite something. Is it that bad with you hawkeye? 🙂
No comment.
A hetro man will never make such a comment :-). What is shown may not necessarily always be true 🙂
Many hetros find members of the same sex attractive but it doesn’t mean they are sexually attracted to them. Hetro women emulate other women they admire by trying to dress and be like them.
Nice to see that we have man crushes on Rafa here! Not surprising! 🙂
wasn’t it obvious from the unending river of words we’ve been typing here and on pre-tenngrand over the years ? 🙂
Yes! Absolutely! 🙂
What can I say! Rafa gets both women and man crushes! He’s pretty special! 🙂
Best seats in the house:
https://twitter.com/TheQueensClub/status/611592741408129024/photo/1