Rafael Nadal will continue his Shanghai campaign on Friday against Stan Wawrinka. Kevin Anderson and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are also hoping to snag a spot in the semifinals.
(8) Rafael Nadal vs. (4) Stan Wawrinka
Wawrinka and Nadal will be squaring off for the 15th time in their careers when they collide in the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Friday. Nadal is dominating the head-to-head series 12-2, but the tide has begun to turn. Wawrinka captured his first of two Grand Slam titles at the 2014 Australian Open by upsetting a hobbled Spaniard 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. The Swiss won his second in a row at Nadal’s expense by getting the job done 7-6(7), 6-2 earlier this season in Rome. They have faced each other twice in Shanghai, with Nadal coming out on top 6-4, 6-4 in the 2010 second round and 7-6(10), 6-1 in the 2013 quarterfinals.
The world No. 7 has done well to back up a solid runner-up showing in Beijing, although his week almost never got off the ground. Nadal needed in a third-set tiebreaker to survive Ivo Karlovic 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(4) before taking out another huge server–Milos Raonic–via a 6-3, 7-6(3) decision on Thursday. Wawrinka got past Viktor Troicki 7-6(3), 6-3 and Marin Cilic 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-4 to reach the last eight. The fourth seed and recent Tokyo champion is 14-1 in his last 15 matches dating back to the start of the U.S. Open. But so much tennis may be catching up with Wawrinka, who dealt with a shoulder injury against Cilic and will not be helped by spending two hours and 54 minutes on court. This sets up nicely for Nadal to continue his upswing in both form and confidence.
Pick: Nadal in 3
[polldaddy poll=9128553]
(12) Kevin Anderson vs. (16) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Anderson appears to be playing inspired, statement-making tennis after breaking into the top 10 for the first time in his career on Monday. A run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals helped propel him to 10th in the world, although he has been consistent almost the whole season with a 42-20 record. The 6’8” South African has bounced back nicely from an opening-round loss in Tokyo to score straight-set victories in Shanghai over Tommy Haas, Fabio Fognini, and Kei Nishikori.
Up next for Anderson on Friday is a second-ever meeting with Tsonga. Their only previous encounter came last year on the clay courts of Rome, where the Frenchman prevailed 7-6(14), 7-6(5). An otherwise lackluster 2015 campaign saw Tsonga pick up momentum with a quarterfinal showing in New York followed by a title in Metz. The world No. 15 looked lifeless in his Beijing opener last week but he is back on track in Shanghai with defeats of Tommy Robredo, Victor Estrella Burgos, and Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Anderson has enjoyed a more routine week at the office and a confident, well-rested No. 12 seed should maintain his perfect record as a member of the top 10.
Pick: Anderson in 3
[polldaddy poll=9128474]
Video by Letv. Rafa’s post-match press conference / QF Shanghai Masters 2015:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqLZ9Y3WZhA
From the video:
QUESTION: “Rafa, you talked many times about how you control your emotions better on court now. What changed? Did you seek help from a mental coach & sports psychologist or you just changed your own attitude?”
RAFA: “Well, the first thing is, I think that’s a personal thing, so I normally don’t like to talk about personal things. I talk about my public things… But in terms of the work of try to control my emotions, I think, it’s a work of every day…”
[It’s possible that I didn’t understand every word. 🙂 The official transcript will be available on Saturday.]
Thanks for this.
Rafa when asked if working with a sports psychologist (3:15 mark) says he doesn’t want to talk about personal things.
It’s becoming more and more obvious that he’s doing just that by his recent change in words, tactics and body language.
Looks like my meetings earlier in the year with Benny are finally paying off.
#YoureWelcome
#BetterLateThanNever
#MentalInjuryOnTheMend
#Humb1e
i think we all knew that benny would succumb to maestro’s charm and implement his advice….
hope that benny isn’t taking all the credit…..
Yes, I’m almost certain he has sought help from a psychologist otherwise it would have been an outright ‘no’. If that helps, I’m glad he’s gone down that path because the transformation is plain for all to see.
Apparently Rafa isn’t the only one willing to say new things. 🙂
But yes he seems to be much more relaxed or colm.
@ hawkeye,
TBH last time you were arguing about this issue I thought to post my thinking that Rafa maybe did not want to expose every single thing about what he has been doing to improve his game, especially about the possible engagement of the sport psychologist but I decided not to go there…but you were there to articulate what some of us have been thinking…now you see why we need you here… 🙂
Thanks nats! We need you too! 🙂
Whatever gave you the idea that we need hawkeye here? 🙂
Excerpts from Rafa’s post-match interview in Spanish translated by Genny:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CRdJtoSUkAAGOhw.png
‘Automatisms’! I love Rafa’s Spanglish.
Vamos!
nadline10 (at 5:57 pm),
It’s not Rafa’s Spanglish. Rafa gave this interview in Spanish. It’s the translator’s Spanglish. 🙂
I couldn’t post the video in Spanish, it’s currently blocked.
Now the video works.
RN post-QF interview, Shanghai 2015 [In Spanish]:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x39uz4k_rn-post-qf-interview-shanghai-2015_sport