Novak Djokovic took a circuitous route to make it happen, but the highly-anticipated Rome quarterfinal showdown between Djokovic and Rafael Nadal has come to fruition. They will meet again on Friday, with the winner to face either Kei Nishikori or Dominic Thiem.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be squaring off for the 49th time in their careers when they collide again in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Friday afternoon.
Djokovic, who pulled even with Nadal at 23-23 with a World Tour Finals semifinal victory last fall, is now leading the head-to-head series 25-23. He prevailed earlier this season 6-1, 6-2 in the Doha title match and 7-6(5), 6-2 in the Indian Wells semis. Djokovic is on a six-match winning streak at Nadal’s expense and has won 13 consecutive sets, but the last four of those matches (and eight of the sets) have come on hard courts. Clay should give the world No. 5 a much better chance, and he is 13-6 against Djokovic on this surface. Nadal has won three of their five previous Rome encounters, but Djokovic most recently got the job done 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the 2014 final.
The top-ranked Serb made his trek to Friday’s quarterfinal contest more interesting than necessary, but he rebounded from a first-set bagel at the hands of Thomaz Bellucci to survive 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday night. He preceded that result by scraping past qualifier Stephane Robert 7-5, 7-5, so it is safe to say Djokovic has showcased nothing close to his best stuff so far this week. The top seed lost to Jiri Vesely right off the bat in Monte-Carlo last month, but he bounced back from that performance by capturing the Madrid title.
Nadal also dropped the first set of his third-round affair before overcoming Nick Kyrgios 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4. The Spaniard is now 49-4 lifetime at the Rome Masters with seven titles. The recent Monte-Carlo champion, who preceded his defeat of Kyrgios by beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-3, is 27-7 for the season and 15-1 on the current clay-court swing.
Although Djokovic’s form has been less than outstanding in Rome, he can expected to inevitably raise his level against tougher competition. After all, he is 24-1 in his last 25 sets against top-15 competition dating back to his semifinal victory over Roger Federer at the Australian Open. The surface will help Nadal make this one competitive and probably even steal a set, but Djokovic will likely extend his streak to seven against the nine-time French Open champion.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
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Quite sad that we are now hoping that Rafa can win a set against Djoko on clay!
Djoko can even outsmart Rafa at the net at crucial point of the match. Djoko is just so confident now.
I just hope Rafa can avoid Djoko at the FO to win the title. Heck, its just like Fed having to avoid Rafa to win his FO. I never thought it would come to this, that Rafa needing to avoid someone at the FO to win it!
“You can’t be miles above everyone if you get bageled by Bellucci.”
Are you saying Belucci is better than Nadal. Let me help you, Novak gets motivated when he plays Nadal. He has gears to switch to.
I agree with you.
Rafa could, Rafa would, Rafa was better, blah,blah,blah… He lost folks. Again. And he will lose in RG too. Cest la vie.
I want to believe he’ll found a way to beat Novak again, he owes it to himself, can’t retire before and what better scenario than RG, I want to see Novak frustrated and gasping for air like a fish out of water again…. Vamos Rafa!
Amy what’s wrong with foot ? Sorry never saw the match.
If Rafas fh was off and he took Novak so close then imagine if it was clicking ? Still straight sets is disappointing . Novak said though he won straights felt like he played five. Just imagine what he will feel at RG?
VR do you think rafa exposed lot of his tactics to Novak today ahead of RG? Also was fh not gpod ?Also thanks VR and natashao for being optimistic and offering ray of hope to people who did not see unlike 1 person who only sees negative day in and day out.
sanju, rafa had a medical time out and said to his team that he couldn’t feel his foot because it was numb.
i was positive about today because i feel it was a positive performance and he can play much better on chatrier. he was close without the fh working well so if it is on song then surely he can win.
So was he fine or is there cause for worry Amy about foot ?
i think it’s ok sanju. but it might have distracted him as we know he is very fearful about picking up injuries.
Rafa had his foot retaped. That is what they said on the tennis channel.
I am disappointed that Rafa couldn’t get it done today, but I don’t feel terrible. I remember people online saying some of the same things I read here when Rafa lost for the seventh time to Novak at the 2012 AO. But Rafa found the answers in that match and I think that is the case today.
Rafa was changing things up against Novak and using different tactics. He had Novak out of sorts and frustrated in the first set. Unfortunately, Rafa let him back in the set. He had a chance to go up two breaks, but couldn’t get it done. When you have Novak on the ropes, then you have to try to finish him off. But Rafa was ahead in that set. He was in this match and.had his chances. That’s what happened at the 2012 AO.
I remember what I told those who said that Rafa would never beat Novak again. I said – never say never in this sport. I will say it again now. Rafa is getting closer and Novak was pushed hard today. This was a match. That scoreline doesn’t indicate how close it was.
I am looking forward to RG. It’s just the draw I am worried about now. But Rafa stayed in it and fought. It’s a mistake to think this is same old, same old. That is simply not the case.
Anyone who thinks that Rafa will never beat Novak again is living in a fool’s paradise.
I am glad that the poster here whose assessment of Rafa’s level of play is as good as anyone else’s, is on the same page as me! Bravo NNY!
We are dissapointed but hopeful! The bigger battle is still to be fought. I am not sure if the naysayers have played any sport at a competitive level? If playing at club level or uni level, if you keep losing to someone and finally when you get within touching distance and lose, you feel a lot of positive energy! You can’t wait to face your opponent again and you think you can definitely do this! You’ve got the game and it was just a matter of winning a couple of points so all reasons to be motivated!
Rafa is the KING of this mentality! Thanks for mentioning AO 12 again and I remember you saying those words! Rafa too was so calm and positive after that loss because he felt he finally had unlocked the door again.
Funny how nobody is mentioning how Djokovic was feeling the heat in the match! He broke his racket and knew he was up against diff Rafa today. He is so confident these days that he found the answers and was helped with some lack of calmness from Rafa.
You guys can keep putting Rafa down even after this brave performance and the Fed/Novak fans can continue to mock Rafa. DJokovic is well aware of teh reality and he felt it today. He must be like ‘f****K he’s again going to be there at RG’. Novak’s going to feel a lot of pressure and he is well aware of the threat.
@Sanju,
Rafa’s forehand can and will be a lot better in RG. He will have a lot of sets to play himself into top form there.
He made some bad mistakes and lacked a little bit of aggression in some moments. it was surely better than the Rome 2014 final though. WHen it was clicking, he had Novak running all over the place.
Also, Rafa defends and returns better at RG, ALWAYS! The court dimensions also keep him a little boost.
SOmetimes fans forget how damn small the margins are. Rafa needs incremental improvements.
Plus, what makes people think Novak will raise his level more than Rafa at RG? Rafa’s always been the better big match player ! He is second to none in that aspect.
With Kei, Thiem, Murray and Rafa all not being able to beat Djoko on clay this year and Stan no longer The Man, I think its only Djoko who can beat himself at the FO. It all depends on Djoko’s own nerve, how he feels under pressure The FO is his to lose now IMO.
Nopes…disagreed…Rafa has the game , energy, strength, speed, tactcical acumen and the belief to win RG against Novak. He was far worse in 2014 and when picked up his level in RG, he rolled over Djokovic.
That was probably the worst grand slam big 4 final maybe only second to wimby 2013 final!
Sure beat any slam fed win during the weak era.
You cant compare 2014 to 2016. Back then Rafa still had the belief and the game for one last push at the FO, despite his back issues affecting his European clay swing.
He played badly the whole Rome tournament in 2014, playing many long 3 setters, thus was exhausted at the final. He said it himself back then, that he knew how to beat Djoko but just that he couldnt move his legs.
Right now, Rafa had lost 6 consecutive matches vs Djoko, not even winning a single set; and, he was losing on clay to quite a few players – Fog, Djoko, Murray, Stan, Cuerves, Thiem.
He’s not at a level that he can challenge a top form Djoko now. Unless Djoko is playing like today at the FO, Rafa will have a hard time beating Djoko.
He should have played the BPs and set points better this match, he failed again when it mattered. His FH was atrocious at times; time and again, once Djoko hit his CC BH, Rafa would either shank his FH, or simply too slow to get to the ball. I wonder why after so long, Rafa still couldnt get this problem sorted out, still relying on his running to cover his FH. A more aggressive court position at the centre of the baseline may help solve this problem as he would have less ground to cover whether its FH or BH corner. Djoko was doing that exactly, ie camp on the centre of the baseline and redirecting balls at will.
What I like about Rafa in this match is his varieties – drop shots and when at the net. He seriously needs to adjust his position at the baseline, he’s standing too far back and hence his so many short balls.
Spin is the most fundamental part of his game on clay. Being so close to the baseline when the opponent is hitting deep doesn’t give you the time to take the needed swings to generate loads of topspin. Today I saw that even though Novak has a double handed backhand ,when Rafa got the ball really high to his backhand, Novak had no option but to drift it back and couldn’t power through it. Rafa has to strike a balance. He must try to be close to the baseline. A lot of the times he tries to hit deep, heavily spun forehands by using his big swings and then moves forward to dictate. He has to ensure that he is not defending from deep behind the baseline all time. This was not a problem today…he was doing a good job.
In 2014, he was losing to Almagro, Ferrer,struggling against Murray and his forehand was lacking in power/depth throughout that rome final, let alone the final set. He has had a back injury. I know the positive effects of 2013 were supporting him but 2014 had its own issues ! He was not on the rise at all going into RG.
This time, there is c clear trend. He is improving so much and looks ready to go a step further in RG.
2014 he was just beginning his decent and 2016 he is making is ascent.
Obviously two different years but part of the same long mental problema slump.
Rafa played well today, but couldn’t get over the mental hump.. Djokovic was clearly not at his best, I would say 65-70% of max. He beat Rafa today more from sheer grit and determination than anything else. Imagine if Djokovic’s form today was like that which he had against Fed in the Aussie semi; this would have been a much shorter match.
Imagine Rafa playing like the RG 2014 final….he’ll brush Novak aside…
That was two years ago. I’m talking about a match that happened a few months ago.
And we are talking about two players who have been battling for a decade now! We are not strangers to these players. If you are banking on the fact that Rafa would fade away like he did in 2015 (which was an anomaly), be prepared to be shocked 🙂
My point is that Nole did not play well today, and peak Nole was on display just a few months ago, which means that level of play is at his disposal, if he can figure out how to tap into it consistently. And if he can play anywhere near that level at RG, (which admittedly will be tough, as clay is not his favourite surface) he is nearly impossible to beat.
And believe me, I’m glad Rafa is on his way back, because quite frankly, Nole-Murray and Nole-Kei matches are boring as hell. It’s great that there is someone who serves as a stylistic foil to Djokovic so fans can have more entertaining tennis to watch. When Thiem and Kyrgios gain more experience/maturity, they too will help in this regard.
Djokovic has been winning largely on sheer grit and determination lately – especially on key points. But even as a Djokovic fan, that grind-it-out style wears thin after a while, and it would be nice to see him play at a higher level, which he has within him now, so I (and hopefully others) can see more of, (and appreciate) his game.
Who will win at RG? I have no idea. We all put forth our best guess, and of course we all cheer for our favourites. Hopefully the latter doesn’t impair our effort to objectively determine the former. : )
Could Rafa win RG in a few weeks? You bet. Could Djokovic? Of course. Could someone else? You never know! : ) Good luck to all players, and may all play unencumbered so we can all enjoy some great tennis. : )
But I’m still rooting for Djokovic! : )
Five set points blown and not facing a bp in set two until he served for it is nothing but nerves and is a far cry ahead of where he was last year.
He controlled the match and was up a break in both sets until he got tight. The match was on his racquet and Nole knows it.
Rafa has a real shot over five sets now.
Bring on RG so that The King of Clay can receive la Decima.
You are right , Hawkeye.
Rafa really controlled the tempo of the match and this time he also did not make the mistake of starting slow falling behind 0-3 or 1-4 …he meant business.
Novak was more about reacting to Rafa’s aggression tonight and the Serb showed why he is the no.1 player. He was asked very tough questions but answered them due to his ultra high confidence. But let me tell you, this would obv make him feel good also instill fear in his heart…
If people think Novak can play better than this, they have no clue how much better Rafa can play. If the same people think Rafa’s no longer the smae player, I ask them one question: What were their views when Rafa lost to Cuevas in South America? They were trolling Rafa all over the place. Now, we are here talking about rafa not converting set points!
Be practical guys! Come on!
#HawkeyeGetsIt
Provided he can control his nerve.
Completely agree but he had trouble doing just that for most of his points last year.
He is much closer now and may just peak at the right time in Paris where as all pressure will be on Nole.
exactly! Djokovic really felt the heat today and will feel more in Paris! he like Wtf is happening! I am supposed to thrash this guy! In Paris, people will keep calling him the massive favourite and Rafa will continue to enjoy that. Novak will feel the burden a lot more.
he has come a long long way in that regard! Luckystar, you and I have often critiziced rafa for getting into those 0-3 1-4 holes in best of three set matches against Novak as Rafa starts slow and tight. Today, he even managed to control that! He was holding serve with authority.
How confident was MC 2012 Rafa even after the AO 2012 heartbreak! Surely it was a more depressing match to lose and the shot he missed at 4-2 30-15 was wayyyy easier than any he had today. yet, he mentally bounced back with ease.
Amazing how all those people who were expecting a straight sets drubbing are not satisfied with this. I do understand the frustration though but let’s not overthink here.
Here is why I think this was a very very good match for Rafa:
1). Rafa was mentally very strong and did not allow nerves to hold him back. Don’t confuse this with lacking calmness in some moments. He faltered a bit when he had 5 set pnts and it was a case about forgetting the feeling to win those big points against the top players because he has not done that in ages. I am sure poor Rafa had kind of forgotten how that pressure (a different one ) feels like. What impressed me the most is that everyone thought he would fade after losing serve at 5-4. That did not derail him at all and he hit the ball so well after that. Pity he lost in the end.
2. Funny how nobody is pointing how less much less vulnerable rafa’s second serve was today! Somehow, he is able to keep his first serve % above 80 …today he won 69% second serve points against Novak! INCREDIBLE stat even though the number of 2nd serves served were a bit low. Rafa has found a way to make his serve less vulnerable. I had been talking about this since Madrid and I knew it would help him against Djokovic. It sure did.
3. In terms of mini tactical battles these two have always had, I felt Rafa had the edge today! He had obviously been practicing the wide serve on the deuce court a lot in the last 3 weeks and I kept saying he would use it against Nole. He was dominating most of the deuce court points. He had some nice patterns on the ad court but his first serves were not effective enough in key moments and lacked variation. This can easily be fixed…
4. Rafa played two physical matches back to back and held up quite well! He has the energy it takes to beat Novak in best of 5 sets
5. Rafa looked far more helpless in ROme 2014 final even though he won a set. He had no answers to Novak in sets 2 and 3 and in set 1 he relied more on Novak’s sloppy play. His forehand looked kind of helpless against Novak’s defense. I was pleased to see Rafa going for attacking shots on his bachand today and being prepared to open up the court with short angled CC backhands and then taking backhands DTL on the rise to approach the net.
6. Rafa was solid on break points chances today! He pounced on those opportunities.
7. Rafa’s forehand continues to be the most imp shot of this rivalry. Rafa hit it well and aggressively many times and he was able to press djokovic hard. On other occasions, he mistimed his forehand and lacked aggression.
Rafa;s forehand in paris ALWAYS shifts a gear and even the clay there is more conducive there to his topspin. He had his forehand DTL today and the Inside out one but needs to be a tad more consistent.
I use the term the ‘average forehand’ and to me his ‘average forehand’ has improved and is doing more damage, including the CC one. I can bet my house on the claim that his average forehadn will be more effective in RG, esp the later stages because I have seen the same happening over and over again.
not a knee-jerk reaction because I said this before IW, Miami, and the clay swing: Nadal’s only hope for RG, from a mental standpoint, was to beat Djokovic at some point beforehand. It didn’t happen. That he didn’t even take a set is especially crippling.
That’s your perspective, I respect it and understand where it’s coming from…has to be given due consideration.
But fortuntately, Nadal is a unique player. He is damn good at taking positives and moving on by using them.
How is it too demotivating for Rafa to think he could not win a set when he had 5 set points??? You think Rafa would believe he is not even good enough to convert a set point against Novak? He would never….he’d think he was just one point away and could very well have won in 2 sets as well. Losing this match in 3 sets might have helped him a bit but not that big a difference.
Losing so many sets in a row and not concerting set points is plain bad if Rafa’s not going to get discouraged like that. He will be very motivated. Nobody was giving him a chance 1 month ago and he is now again Novak’s top rival going into RG.
Also let’s not forget Rafa was a break ahead in each set! This means volume! And he was not broken right away! That’s also a step forward! I set 2 he could have easily gone teo breaks up, but Novak came up with great shots and Rafa was too deffensive. Rafa needed more aggression, a bit more belief and confidence in key moments, and I must say a bit more luck!
I said in one of my posts that Rafa controlled the tempo of the match and this was contrary to most people expected. Most people including me were exepecting Novak to control the tempo of the match more and Rafa to react well and keep fighting till the end to make it competitive. Rather, it was Rafa who controlled the match more and Novak was playing the reaction type of tennis.
This is a big positive!
Ricky doesn’t get it.
Thanks VR.
Do you think he exposed lot of his tactics to Novak today before RG ?
Sanju, may be but that’s not going to matter that much. Yeah, Novak will mentally be prepared for some of them and will practice the wide serve return more but it’s not easy to adjust. For Rafa, it’s easy, he can walk a metre closer to the service line to change his position but for Novak, it is a much bigger change! Rafa’s second serves were a lot less vulnerable in the deuce court. Novak’s punished his second serves with deep backhands CC but now Rafa’s standing there and if the return is not good, forehand DTL is on.
2nd serves in the Ad court**
argh, I meant that Novak has punished his second serves in the ad courts by hitting deep, well-measured backhands CC…now Rafa’s new position allows him to defend that corner well. I am going to say it for the 100th time : It is a very smart tactic. Well done to team Nadal
vr,
You seem to see this match much the same way that I do. I already posted my take on it, but did not mention that key stat with Rafa winning over 60% of second serve points. His serve stood up quite well , although he only win 59% of first serve points.
You went through some of the tactical adjustments, so no need to repeat that.
But suffice to say that Rafa did very well and had his chances. Those who just see another straight set loss are missing the big picture, like in the 2012 AO.
The problem with Rafa is his consistency. He’s just not getting his consistency and precision back, was slow to cover his FH, mistiming the shot, which was why he kept losing the longer rallies.
I think on clay Rafa has the tendency to play more defensively, I hope on other surfaces, he will be more aggressive.
Disagree. His consistency is 1000% improved over last year and continuing to improve at a suddenly faster pace on all but Madrid clay.
With Hawkeye here! The consistency has massively improved. He forehand was a joke in south American and has been a major weapon since MC. I am not even going to look at Madrid…irrelevant!
And remember, Parisian clay suits the most to his forehand.
Really happy with his backhand today. Went for his shots and made few mistakes. It will also go a notch up in RG.
For Rafa prescription is simple, crush his early round opponents and impose his game. He will be ready semi final onward.
Whoa, just look at how many mishits from his FH today and you still say he has consistency??
To me, his FH is so up and down even when it has improved over last year and the SA swing. His FH is his main weapon and in this match it failed him big time as Djoko was able to attack it and forced errors out of it.
Rafa’s main concern is still Djoko so it matters the most how his FH stands against Djoko, not any other lesser opponent.
Im with you about finishing his early round opponents asap to conserve energy – play like FO2012 not FO2013 where dealing with early round opponents is concerned.
apologies to fed fans as i don’t mean this meanly about him, but it would be spiffing if fed does withdraw from rg because of the back. there is talk he may do so.
then rafa gets the #4 ranking.
fed can’t win rg anyway and he can practise on grass…
seeding
Fed will play
LOL
#HerbertWillWin
Federer SHOULD have skipped the entire clay swing. Now it’s too late. Might as well play the French.
why risk his back if it’s bad when wimby is his #1 goal?? also with olympics just afterwards.
he can go play some grass tournaments to warm up..
sorry meant #4 seeding..makes a big difference for rafa…
Amy Fed will not skip RG even if he knows he has 0 chance to win it.
why do you think that sanju? why risk wimby??
i expect he doesn’t want rafa to have the #4 seeding..
It doesn’t really has anything to do with Rafa.
Roger can’t withdraw from a slam. That’s against his legacy
@abhirf, he would never put his health on the line just before Wimbledon and in my eyes his legacy would not get hurt at all.
Amy, i hope Fed does not play and Rafa gets the no.4 seed lol
agreed vr!
Also keep in mind that the longer Rafa plays in a tournament, the better he gets. RG is a slam and allows Rafa to build huge momentum by the time he reaches the Qtrs and semis….
I wish they don’t meet before the QTr
If there was ever a time for Fed to withdraw from a major, it is now. But he doesn’t work like the grass courters before him did. He will press for more ‘information’ as he calls it and see if there are any positives heading into Wimbledon. That said, he’s been perhaps the most pessimistic I’ve ever seen him. Which means the back is a pretty serious problem. If it aggravates ever so slightly between now and the French, I think he’ll pull out.
Depends on his health…he is totally in his right to withdraw.
fedfan and abhirf. i wasn’t meaning to attack fed. but wimby is his priority so why risk it with the olympics afterwards? he’s not going to win rg…
And the claims that Rafa no longer has the power to challenge Novak are totally baseless. He can still overpower Novak…clear to me at least.
And, people here know I call things as I see them and I criticize Rafa when he does a poor job. This time, there is a lot more hope than gloom.
“I was not disappointed,” Nadal said. “Overall, I am playing well. … I have been competing at the highest level against the best player.”
Please keep posting quotes from both players….
Also, there was a mistimed , framed return from Novak in that 5-4 game and Rafa shanked an easy forehand because of that. Novak mentioned in his presser that he had his luck and gave that example.
Novak clearly knows Rafa can take him down…
have to say that the negativity here is somewhat ironic given that over on tennis x where there are very few rafa fans people are seeing this as very positive for rafa saying he can take nole down at rg. hell, some nole fans are saying that nole was lucky today and rafa should have won!!!
“I am so happy to be in a close match, and I have to congratulate him. He played great,” Nadal said. “We played a beautiful match. I was a bit unlucky today. I had so many chances in the first set.
But when somebody is winning as much as him for the past years, it’s so important to [be opportunistic]. He hit great shots in important moments. That’s it.”
“I’ve been playing well during the whole clay court season,” Nadal said. “It’s true that in Madrid I didn’t play well in the last two matches [against Joao Sousa and Andy Murray], but in general I’m playing well in most of the matches most of the time. Today I was mentally fighting for every point, hitting good shots. I was very, very, very close this afternoon, and that’s positive.
“I’m not disappointed. I was competing at the highest level against the best player. Playing a match like this gives me confidence,” Nadal, who is now winless against Djokovic in their past seven FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, added. “I’m happy to be part of this rivalry. We’ll talk about this when we finish our career, hopefully a long time from now.
“I feel lucky and unlucky at the same time, to be playing in the same era as [Novak].”
Rafa’s on the same page… vamos!
Rafa said it himself – it’s important to be opportunistic! He also knows that he missed some opportunities. He was in control of that first set. But he just couldn’t finish it off. Novak has won so much and has tons of confidence and belief. It served him well in this match.
I really love how Rafa gives all due credit to Novak. I think he is pleased that he had the opportunity to play Novak and measure his game against him.
I think there can be moments of luck in matches, but that is not why Novak won. Rafa said it best – he made the shots when he had to.
Considering where Rafa was a month or two ago, he has come far. I think Rafa will come out of this match with some positives. We should remember how easily Novak was beating Rafa last year. It was no contest. But this was a battle. Today Rafa lost the battle, but he has a chance to win the war.
Preach it, Rafa! I was saying exactly the same thing about Madrid and on today’s match! So glad to learn Rafa is on the same page!
And I so agree with Rafa that this was a beautiful match to watch with two great players fighting for every point and displaying amazing tennis! Just compare this match with other (dull) qtrfinal matches…
Rafa gets it.
As expected, Rafa keeps saying the same thing in his presser. He’s close but cant reach the finishing line, time and again.
Im disappointed not because he lost, but the way he lost it without getting a set when he clearly had the upperhand in both sets. If he won the second set after the 5 set points, went into a tussle in the 3rd set and lost, I would say Djoko was too good. Not in this case, when Rafa was the better player and yet still lost it in straight sets when he got tight serving to get the set or to stay in the match.
I know when Rafa plays well ( in current context) he can get close to Djoko on clay – SF at MC last year Rafa played well in set one even though his level back then wasnt as high as it is now. Its a matter of getting to win at least a set ( on clay) even if he cant win the match. He had the upperhand yet allowed Djoko back into the set and to me that’s concerning.
His BP conversion is also a joke, against Murray and Kygrios. Yes, they did serve well on BPs but there were 2nd serves which Rafa time and again mishit the returns and let opportunities slipped away! Had Rafa pushed harder for a second break in each set against Djoko, he would be winning at least one of the sets.
At least he used his varieties in this match, should carry on doing so against Djoko as Djoko likes rhythm and predictability.
Yeah I’m actually thinking the same thing Amy. As a huge fed fan I don’t want him to withdraw from Roland Garros but I also really want him to be better for Wimbledon and the Olympics. What I hope happens is he plays FO and does pretty well (well I hope he wins it but that seems very unlikely at this point) and is healthy for Wimbledon and Olympics too.
surely it makes more sense to withdraw and concentrate on wimby and olympics benny? he could go out early in rg otherwise which wouldn’t help his confidence…
Rooting for Kei and Murray. Kei has a night match with Djo tomorrow so will get a little help. He will likely lose in 2 sets…
I hope Kei and Muzz make novak play long 3 setters …lol….Come on Muzz get the win. Novak spent loads of emotional energy on the court today. Could be a little bit flat tomorrow.
Still can’t get over this. Rafa sud have won in straights. Yet he lost in straights. He is playing well..yes. But he needs some clutch serves in big points. He sud have won the match against Murray and Djokovix both.
Me neither atul. Its one thing if you get blown off the court like what happened in doha. In this match he played well was ahead in both sets, served for the set 5 times and still managed to lose in straight sets on one of his most favorite courts against a djoko who had got bagelled yesterday. So clearly there is a match up problem and a mental problem. I for one cannot see rafa winning any tournament if the route is through djoko
be ready to get surprised very soon 😉
Aapke muh main ghee shakkar. If it happens, nothing like it but i am not holding my breath