Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will headline Wednesday’s second-round action in Shanghai. They are set for respective openers against Alexandr Dolgopolov and Andreas Seppi. Hasan Murad previews the action.
Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
Nadal will be looking to extend his perfect 3-0 record over Dolgopolov when they square off in the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Wednesday. Last week saw Nadal’s 26-match win streak on hard courts finally get snapped as Novak Djokovic handed the Spaniard a convincing straight-set loss. Aside from just a few blemishes, Nadal’s comeback season has been perfect. He currently holds a 65-4 record for the year, but there is little doubt that the remainder of 2013 will prove to be the most challenging for him.
Dolgopolov is renowned for his flamboyance and volatile style of play. He is a very talented shot-maker, but his high-risk game has tendencies to be suicidal. The 24-year old is trying to raise his game to the level that saw him reach a career-high ranking of No. 13 in the world. He was able to get two match wins under his belt last week in Tokyo, over Daniel Brands and Janko Tipsarevic, and he crushed Michael Russell 6-1, 6-3 in the Shanghai first round. His overall season has been far from impressive, though, with consistently poor performances on the big stages.
Nadal has more hard-court victories (26) in 2013 than Dolgopolov’s total for the entire season (23). Even though the Ukrainian has a dangerous game that gives little rhythm to opponents, he is very unlikely to match the brilliance of the world’s best player. Nadal will be determined to start well in Shanghai and all odds are heavily in his favor to do so.
Pick: Nadal in 2
[polldaddy poll=7459487]
Andreas Seppi vs. (5) Roger Federer
Much of the tennis world erupted into a burst of excitement when Federer took the court on Monday to play a doubles match that marked his first appearance since the U.S. Open. The charismatic Swiss appeared reinvigorated and poised to take on the upcoming challenges (he teamed up with Zhang Ze to beat Kevin Anderson and Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-1).
To resume his 2013 singles campaign on Wednesday, he will face Seppi–against whom he holds a perfect 9-0 head-to-head record, which includes five matches on hard courts. After a shocking straight-set drubbing at the hands of Spain’s Tommy Robredo in the U.S. Open fourth round, Federer is aiming to rebound and bring some salvation to the most disappointing year of his career since 2003.
Seppi has had a decent season, highlighted by best-ever showing at a Grand slam (tied with Roland Garros 2012) by reaching the fourth rounds at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He is a solid counter-puncher but he has never shown the ferociousness or dexterity to overcome a challenge as mighty as Federer. The Italian can take some hope from their most recent hard-court encounter (last year in Doha), in which he finally won his first set against Federer in their eighth match. This, coupled with Federer’s recent vulnerability on the court, might give Seppi a sniff of hope to cause an upset win. The former world No. 1, though, will be in no mood to taste another bitter defeat.
Pick: Federer in 2
[polldaddy poll=7459483]
—Much of the tennis world erupted into a burst of excitement when Federer took the court on Monday to play a doubles match—
Then I took a break from watching tennis.
hahah…when writing it, I did not have you in mind augusta, SURELY lol
Fed will turn back time in the first round or two and the commies will be excited again!!!
#Cher
if only he could
#turnbacktime
vamosrafa,
Nice preview! Well done! I like your picks. I don’t know about Dolgo. He can be so unpredictable. He can blast big serves and aces all over the place. But his shot selection and mental strength are question marks for me.
Fed should come out like a man on a mission against Seppi. I really want him to get to the quarterfinals and play Djoker. He has been in Rafa’s part of the draw so often. It’s time for him to play Djoker.
100 agreed about dolgo ! aces, crazy running forehands, penetrating backhand returns …so much damage he can do ! but yea the shot selection and mental strength are BIG question marks
and thanks 🙂
Yet another past tennis star jumps on the Rafa bandwagon. Must be a Rafatopia Rafanatic I guess (according to some)…
http://www.cityam.com/article/1381187886/unique-nadal-will-eclipse-federer-grand-slam-tally-says-ivanisevic
Vamos Rafa! One by one, past and present tennis players unite.
hmmm very interesting. i think seppi has the power and mentality to win tomorrow. watch this space!
from the prediction master
Seppi certainly doesn’t have the power, but he does have the consistency that could be problem for Roger in his current inconsistent state.
good point..i agree…seppi is a solid counter-puncher with enough consistency to trouble a misfiring federer. A lot depends on which Federer turns up..
Hi guys.. !! long time.. Andy murray is out of action so I was not posting here I was just interested in some big matches.. Fisrt I wanna congratulate rafans Us open 13th major for rafa that was incredible victory over joker 😀
now come to this thread I wanna ASK 1 thing from both rafans & fed fans.. WHY YOU GUYS “HATE” these two players?? I mean obviously their is liking & disliking, I also dislike novak & berdych but I ndver hated them.. but whenever I read the comments here I feel the HATE element , all rafans do comments like fed is a player like a 20th rank player & like he is not a 17 time major winner, all fed fans comments like rafa is a cheater & doper all bullshit :/ what is that??
I laugh when I see both these guys rafa n fed how much they respect each other.. but you guys do comments here like you are the fathers of those & know them better than theirselves.. amazing .. 😀
Now plz ANSWER me I wanna know this secret why their is always an hate element??
why their is no respect both are the greatest players & living legends I believe ..
sana aka Sienna aka seventeen why pretend to be a fan of Muzz?
You so clearly are not. You posted some hate posts about Rafa ( you claimed he was disrespectful because he drank water, you slyly implied you know what by claiming you could not find pics of his girl friend,- a ludicrous claim in the age of google when Rafa is a celebrity). You boldly proclaimed you were seventeen and most of the fans missed the implication thinking you were talking about your age.
You were absent from the Muzz, Delpo, Dimitrov threads but you were on the Fed thread. You posted a picture of Fed in his suit and now once again about Fed.
Really you should answer the Question;Why do you hate Rafa.? Why did you post all garbage on TT?
None of the Rafa fans on this site have made any hate posts about Fed. here.
Surely the hate is in your mind.
Anyway fortunately Ricky is moderating so you won’t be able to get away with your hate posts.
No one here will mind you being a Fed fan if you make decent posts.
yup I did bcoz fed wad handsome .. and I m not a regular poster and cant be active like you guys so and andy was so out of form delpo n dimi too disappointed me alot.. so I was absent but I read almost all comments and I say whats in my mind I never hated any tennis player I already told fed was my first favorite but when he was winning too much I got tired of him watching then rafa came he was my favorite then djoker came but I never liked him but after wimbledon 2012 where fed beat andy and andy was crying there was me also crying & then I become a suppoter of andy
what?
and I have never ever posted a single word on TT okay??
I wrote that rafa was drinking water .. yeah I explained that but when everybody told me that I took it in a wrong way then I watched the tape again & I took my words back and made a post if u remember all my posts then you should remember this one also.. and I just asked a simple question why their is an HATE. element in both fed and rafans?? whats the big deal? dont you have the answer? why you take everything in negative sense? I remember you are always unhappy with my posts , the day I first time posted here u said I was a I was TT poster who write garbage about rafa.. I never did that ever in my life I respect all players and I also like their games specially big 4 and if u remember all my posts then u should remember I was supporinf rafa in montreal I did support rafa in us open as well.. but I love andy now., I was happy for delpo too but I know he is not consistent enough to challenge top 2 still.. yes he can beat them on his day but on consistent basis
calm down.
really I m in tears, Ricky if you guys think I make hate posts I will never post here.. 🙁
i don’t think anyone does. that’s the point.
but holdserve19 clearly said that I post garbage and haye is in my mind..
@sana, you are mistaken about Rafans on this site hating Fed. Could be something’s lost in translation due to cultural differences but nobody here has ever accused Fed of doping, cheating, lying etc, accusations which are levelled at Rafa on OTHER sites.
Come to think of it, I have yet to see a post, by any Fedfan, on this site, accusing Rafa of such. So, please, quit stirring. This is a fun, friendly site (touch wood) and yes, people engage in banter, you know, the playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks. This cannot, and should not, by any stretch of the imagination, be construed as hate.
^^^^ post of the year so far on this site.
not that there was much hate for Fed to begin with, but even the people who did probably don’t anymore. He simply doesn’t win enough at this point in time. I don’t think anyone–even the biggest Rafa and Nole fans–would mind Federer starting to win some matches. Would be good for the sport.
I just asked the question because I afmire both raga n fed and I want no one should be disrespectful to these 2.. both are legends
I just asked the question because I admire both raga n fed and I want no one should be disrespectful to these 2.. both are legends
good post RITB 🙂 and Ricky is right, Fed winning some matches would be good for the sport ! i won’t mind if he wins some important matches as long as he still loses to rafa lol
Ricky @ 4:38 am, am with you there re wanting to see Fed back in the winning circle. I am rooting for Fed in Shanghai, albeit for the more nefarious reason of wanting him to take care of Djoker so Rafa can wrap up YE#1!
But seriously, who else, apart from Fed, has the ability to make up a genuine, strong Big 4? We all saw how the draws were seriously compromised during Rafa’s absence. Muzza will be back soon and then we will be back to the “3-legged beast” unless Fed gets his skates on………….quick.
a healthy Del Potro is the obvious answer.
an unhealthy Del Potro has no chance.
I have my doubts about Delpo being a consistent threat, seriously. He doesn’t seem to have improved his game at all, still relying on the big serve and big forehand. There are players dotted all over the top 50 who, on their day, could take out a top player just like Delpo could, but we need a consistent top 4 otherwise the draw is terribly one sided, which would suit me, only if Rafa always draws the Ferrers and Berdychs in the SF.
well they won’t be one-sided if Federer continues to slump and Murray continues to be hurt. If that happens, it’s just a Big 2 and the draws are even.
Yes, 2 of the Big4 out makes it even.
^^agree with you @nadline, about wanting to see Rafa have soft draws! I want Rafa to also rack up Slams playing “weak” opponents…….
#LevelPlayingField
Rafa thanks fans for their support:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXZbgbCV8Q8
Click Captions (cc) to see subtitles in English.
I would win the Mapfre competition but I will be in Dubai until end of January so will not be able to meet Rafa at the O2 as his #1 fan.
Novak’s new Coaching Consultant, Fibak, is a right ol’d pot-stirrer:
RT @carole_bouchard: “It’s the Nadal/Djoko era even if Federer still can win indoor. Murray ? He still can’t be compared to Rafa or Novak”, Fibak in L’Equipe”
Hahaha! Always suspected Gillou of being a Rafan!
RT @carole_bouchard: “He’s accepting defeat with less issues this year, whereas usually Novak it’s more ”better dying than losing” Gilles Simon dans L’Equipe
I totally agree with Gillou. One big defeat to Rafa (such as AO2014) and Novak will capitulate mentally. This is why he is reaching for the old and tried intimidation tactics, warning that he can reprise 2011!
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2013/10/41/Shanghai-Tuesday-Djokovic-Preview.aspx
No need for warnings ol’ chap, just do it……
There’s a nice friendship between Gillou and Rafa. And no love lost between Gillou and Nole.
Novak should beware of Talking the Talk, or he might find himself Walking the Plank.
One less banana skin has gone in the dustbin!!!!
Isner is out.
that should read
One less banana skin for Rafa. The Isner banana skin has gone in the dustbin.
Just confirmed. Andy has officially withdrawn from WTF.
The surprise would’ve been if he hadn’t.
Nole: “I am aware of the fact that the 2011 season will be very difficult to repeat but knowing that I have done something like that, knowing that I’ve lost only few matches in a whole year, gives me a lot of confidence and also belief that I can do it again,”
That makes 2 of them, because Rafa also knows he can have a season like 2013, and more………..2008 and 2010!
Nole: “I always expect for myself a lot, always have the highest possible ambitions.”
Who doesn’t!
Nole: “Every year brings something different. It’s not possible to always be at your best,to win most of the tournaments that you play.”
So he should stop bleating on when Rafa is not at his best and he beat him.
Nole pronouncements sound more and more like those of Federer.
I’m still puzzling over Roger’s claim ‘my game is coming back’ – on what ground one asks? I think it was even before he’d managed to win (with a lot of help from Zhang) the 1R doubles match.
Well, from what I’m seeing of the 1st set so far, his game may be coming back but he ain’t! At least not for now………….
sana says
October 9, 2013 at 4:24 am
“really I m in tears, Ricky if you guys think I make hate posts I will never post here.”
Is that a threat or a promise?.
Ha Ha. Shades of IAOTT – get it.
#+1
#LOLZ
#Humb1e
Rafa fans, have you looked into the BEST OF THE DAY? There is an awesome GIF tribute to Rafa (GIF of the Day – Rafael Nadal’s 2013 accomplishments). 🙂
Ricky, thank you for posting this!
Rafa’s watching Fed play……..
Vamos!
From what I saw of the Delpo/Khlos match, I am glad Khols is out. Delpo looked poorly, I hope it’s nothing serious, but I expect Rafa would deal with Delpo better than Khols.
RT @SI_BTBaseline: “Poor Rafa. Inundated with autograph requests he’s leaving the court as Fognini, Haas, Lopez are completely ignored and laugh. #shanghai”
If only Seppi would wear his cap the right way round I’m sure he could be a serious threat to Mr. Federer today.
Fed just whipped a cross-court bolo forehand, not too dis-similar from Rafa’s………
Roger far from looking sharp in this match. I think he would barely manage to escape this one.
Good game to break and win the 1st set from Fed. He looked much calmer in that game, was not going for too much……..
Allez Fed!
Yes. But the 1st set mirrored the way he has been playing for whole season.
RT @alex_willis: “Roger follows Rafa on twitter. Then Rafa watches Roger on court. #bestbuds”
meamwhile Stan is fighting for his life against Anderson.
I hope Stan prevails, prefer Rafa to face him than the big-hitting Anderson……..
Federer will probably survive this, but Seppi is making him look vin ordinaries
Just spotted that spell check changed ordinaire to ordinaries. Didn’t even know there was a plural version of ordinary!
Why is Fed persisting with this chip and charge nonsense! This is Annacone’s influence, no?
Can this Fed beat Djoker if they met in the SF? I think he stands a better chance than Seppi.
No, don’t think this Fed can beat Djoker…………………..
So WaWa still clinging by his fingernails to have the chance of getting to O2. Just. Judging by the scoreboard it couldn’t have been closer and have to admit I thought he was done for when it went to a tie-break.
The word that applies to the Federer performance today is ‘adequate’. But one has to make allowance for the fact he’s not played since USO.
It’s time for Rafa to go into battle.
Stay focused, be strong and show your warrior spirit, Rafa!
Robbie Koenig described “Federer at his very best” during the Seppi match.
He’s back!!!
#Cher
So @hawkeye63, how come your “favourite” tennis blog is censoring your hashtags and yet Fed himself is answering questions, in pressers, with hashtags? Does this mean they are now anti-Fed now too?
RT @SI_BTBaseline: “Reporter asked Fed how he came up with #FedZerer. “You’re [just] messing around, right? Hashtag, let’s have some fun.” #letshavesomefun”
ritb, that would require federazzi logic, no?
#Oxymoron
Lol ed @10.53am
You think…..;) Is that why Roddick couldn’t beat Fed either………
You must by now know that I’m exceptionally allergic to baseball caps worn back to front!
Thank goodness Rafa only does it on the practice court but even then I’d prefer he didn’t and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Andy wear his the wrong way round.
Andy doesn’t like caps, full stop. Us fans spend the whole time stressing about the sun on that pale Scottish skin….well what else would we stress about?….;)
sana, you claimed you are seventeen in one of your posts here. If that is your age and not a proclamation of your identity as the poster from hell on TT, then you were aged 7 in 2003. Wow , Fed was your favorite at age 7 and then you got tired of watching him win? And you liked it when Rafa came and introduced some competition?
I must say you started remarkably young as a fan. And quite a mature fan at that, wanting to see some real competition!
I think Tennis-X might start moderating my posts again soon…
hawkeye Says:
Beyond The Baseline @SI_BTBaseline 14m
Reporter asked Fed how he came up with #FedZerer. “You’re [just] messing around, right? Hashtag, let’s have some fun.”
Good thing Fed didn’t try this on Tennis-X!!!!
Hashtag, FrownedUpon.
October 9th, 2013 at 8:44 am
koenig: there _is_ an alternate universe
We like these serving stats. A lot, no?
Fed is rusty maybe. Anyway, I honestly wouldn’t mind him going on a tear now. Although I am not his fan, I admire his genius so it is hard to see the great man slumping.
A defeat of any of the top 4 is palatable when against each other. A loss to any of the little four is bearable. Anything else is heartbreaking..
I could never understand the desperation of the Fed fans rejoicing when Rafa lost to journeyman Rosol. Their eager celebration of Rafa’s loss to Darcis was cut short by Fed’s loss to Stakhovsky followed by a humiliating loss to Robredo. Even in their fake Nole fan identity, they had little cause to rejoice with Nole getting thumped in 2 GS by Rafa! However the nasty Nole fans have made a come back on some sites (though not here).trumpeting that Nole is back and how glad they are to see real tennis at last!
I am definitely not missing the likes of Jamesdjokovicfan!!!
Rafa looks good. I think we are headed for another Rafa-Nole final!
4-0
hawkeye, Sean’s objection to hashtags makes no sense. Unless it is to mollify the regular posters like skeezer..
tell some Nole-Muzz-Fed fans to come over here if they can’t use hashtags there!
Oh Ricky, there’s only me and ONE other on there at the mo., and I am here 🙂
The lovely thing about using hashtags the way Conspirator does is it’s possible to say the sometimes unsayable with impunity. That’s what gets up their noses and why, I guess, they are trying to put a stop to it.
^^Problem is, they use their noses for stuffing other stuff, that’s why they cannot smell jokes anymore………
#GasquetKiss
Yowzah! It’s raining aces, Hallelujah! It’s raining aces……………..
Vamos Rafa!
2nd set stats
7 aces, no DFs, 84% lst serves, and 87% points won on lst serve.
As Federer might say ‘pas mal.’
Except zare and danica, there aren’t any Nole fans I would like to see here.
glad to hear, reading comments at work with no access… is it looking like Rafa’s form of the last week has been replaced to a better one this week? and is the surface allowing somewhat higher bounces?
Koenig belongs to the Anybody But Rafa school of commentators. Not until the writing is on the wall does he start to be grudgingly complimentary about Rafa: until then he is fulsome in his praise of the opponents.
GSM
ed251137@October 9, 2013 at 1:14 pm
He who pays the piper calls the tune! Commentators have to remember at all times who they’re working for.
isn’t he the one who coined that AWFUL “Phenomenadal” phrase???
I don’t mind RK – he’s such a tennis geek.
Dolgo red-lined his game for the first 20 minutes but couldn’t keep it up…….
Rafa looked good, played well within himself.
One down!
Next up for Rafa is Carlos Berlocq (who defeated Big John 6-4, 7-6).
Rafa and Berlocq have met twice before, both on clay but I do not expect Rafa to have much trouble disposing of him…..
Would have liked Rafa to bagel Dolgo. Just to let Nole know that he (Rafa) is back in business and Beijing is in the past..
Good sign. Draw is opening up. Vamos Rafa!!! Go and get your 6th Masters of the year!!!
Fed looked pretty good other than that early double-fault on BP
Fed has to clean up that FH if he wants to get far……
Seppi played like the Washington Generals (or Wawa when he plays Fed).
With hindsight, the loss at Monte Carlo was a costly loss. Rafa would have had 9 consecutive titles at Monte Carlo, a clay court slam, hard court slam, 6 Masters by now, . Also the year end no. 1 ranking would have been virtually in the bag as he would have needed to get less than 300 points here ( I don’t expect Nole to add any ATP 250 or ATP 500 to his schedule). And winning Shanghai would have made it 7 Masters!!!
What a season it could have been!!!
I guess I am greedy. I remember when Rafa lost Monte Carlo, I was just happy to see Rafa playing. and did not expect anything from him after Wimbledon. The more he started winning, the greedier I became and now I look back and mourn the loss of Monte Carlo!!!
holdserve,
and to think Rafa came so close to it (one final match), in this year of all years… Rafa does surprise me every year even though I expect him to, and surprises himself, his team, his supporters and his detractors… every year
#hashtag
chloro@October 9, 2013 at 2:07 pm
Rafa is determined to prove his doubters wrong. 🙂
—Nadal has continually defied dire predictions that the wear and tear from his intense, physical style would end his career early.
And he said he hoped to prove the doubters wrong again by playing on to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, when he will be 30.
“For the last five years, it seems like lot of people were saying I will not be able to play long the way that I play,” said Nadal, Olympic singles champion in 2008.
“But I am here again at 27-and-a-half years old and I really hope to have the chance to be here for a lot of more years.
“So still in my mind Olympics in Brazil. I really want to arrive there in good condition. It’s a real goal for me.”—-
[Yahoo. Sports]
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/miracle-recovery-im-still-pain-says-nadal-072852969–ten.html
I think Rafa has taught us not to expect anything and take everything one day at a time. A wonderful philosophy but really hard for his fans!!!
How much easier it must have been for a Fed fan between 2003 and 2007!!!!!
Fed and Nole have perfect bodies so they can swank around and say that the match is on their rackets. But Rafa has an imperfect body and no matter how much he is otherwise prepared, his knee or foot could trip him up! And no matter that the media blithely talks of Rafa’s “healthy” knees, we know that the knee is the elephant in the room.
If Nole wins Shanghai (or if Rafa loses early), I fully expect him to take a WC into Basel or Valencia. The former would allow him an opportunity to minimize Rafa’s points there and the latter would provide an easy draw/points.
If not, he’ll probably conceed No. 1 and not bother.
No. 1 is very important to him (I believe more than DC). He has two consecutive YE No. 1’s and would surely want to keep that streak intact. No one has tied or beaten Sampras’ six consecutive YE No. 1’s.
Rafa talked about his (left) knee in Shanghai.
—Nadal said his team was working constantly to find solutions to manage his knee, which he admitted was “not 100 percent perfect”.
“But the feeling on the knee is very good for me because even if I have pain a lot of days, the pain is not limiting my movements,” he said.
“That’s the most important thing. I am playing with no limitations. I am free when I am playing.
“Even if I have pain, I am ABLE TO CONTROL that pain.
In the past I was not able to control the pain, so I couldn’t play. But the feeling is I would like to improve a little bit more.”—
[Yahoo. Sports]
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/miracle-recovery-im-still-pain-says-nadal-072852969–ten.html
On Thursday, Rafa will play again not before 20:00 PM (Shanghai time).
Cincinnati redux
,
holdserve I wrote a very long post for you but unfortunately it disappeared I dont know why
(rest of comment deleted; reason- personal insult)
i can probably find it
Hawkeye, yes if Nole wins Shanghai and Rafa loses early, Nole may take a WC to Basel or Valencia. But if Rafa makes it to the Shanghai final, then Nole may not consider it worthwhile to add a ATP 500. But though unlikely it is possible. Nole could be desperate to keep hopes alive till WTF..
or, not and.such as if Nole beat Rafa in the final thereby closing the gap another 400 pts then he’d seek a WC. We will see, no?
RT @TennisReporters: “Apparently Del Potro has a high fever, managed to d Kohlschreiber 76 in 3rd anyway, but then had to pull out of dubs with Berlocq”
Don’t know what his goals are for the rest of the season but I would pull out if I was him, he might do himself long term damage. Remember when Rafa went to AO carrying a fever and he ended up losing to Ferru with a torn thigh muscle.
Haas would have won anyway
https://mobile.twitter.com/RafaelNadalFC/status/387949881806970880/photo/1?screen_name=RafaelNadalFC
rafa watching fed match.. cute expression ^_^
Did anyone else catch Goodall’s post-match comment about Rafa’s routines when Rafa was donning his jacket and putting his racquets away? Goodall said, “He’s like an exceptionally high maintenance good looking woman, isn’t he?” Had to laugh at that one.
As for the match, Rafa served exceptionally well. The placement on his serves was incredible. He was also standing closer to the baseline and trying to play an aggressive game. He knows what he needs to do to win this tournament and he’s obviously implementing some of that strategy early. I’m glad he doesn’t have to face Isner next. Against Berlocq, he should be able to control more of the match and hone his “getting ready to meet Novak in the final” skills.
Jpacnw,
Thanks for observations about Rafa’s match. I am pleased to hear that Rafa served very well! Good news!
I am also happy that he won’t have to face Isner. His draw has opened up a little. I did see the Delpo/Kohls match. I thought that Delpo might lose because the commies said he had a fever. The trainer gave him some pills. They said it was either Tylenol or ibuprofen. Kohls took it to a third set tb, but Delpo pulled it out.
It sounds like Rafa has stepped up his game.
“The court is fast, faster than the previous years,” said Nadal. “I think I played a good match. To win against Dolgopolov the way I did is because I did a lot of things well. The serve worked great. Something that didn’t happen last week. That’s a very important thing.”
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2013/10/41/Shanghai-Wednesday-Nadal-Ferrer.aspx
#WhatFedWantsFedGets
#FasterCourts
Rumour has it that they also gave Fed his own personal remote control for the roof.
🙂
I didn’t get to see Rafa’s match, but checked online and the score indicates that he must have played well. I also saw the good news that Isner is out. I will wait for the replay of Rafa’s match a bit later on the tennis channel.
NNY7: Dolgopolov started the match in a form very reminiscent of Fognini last week in Beijing…high level, very fast, aggressive tennis. Then, like Fognini, he was not able to maintain it. Rafa was also matching the intensity and trying to mirror the aggression. Rafa’s 1st serve percentage for the match was an incredible 83 percent and he had 9 aces. If he continues to serve like he did today, it seems unlikely that he would not make it to the finals. I missed a few points here and there because I kept nodding off (I’d been up most of the night watching the various matches), but from midway in the 1st set to the end of the match, I managed to stay completely awake.
Jpacnw,
Thanks for that info. Since Rafa’s was the last match of the day, it’s going to be a bit longer before I get to see it. The tennis channel shows the matches live from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am my time. Then they replay the matches again during the day.
I would have expected Dolgo to start off that way. It’s really the only way you can have a chance against Rafa. I did go to the ATP website and check out the stats for the match. I was pleasantly surprised to see Rafa’s 1st serve percentage at 83%! That is wonderful! Nine aces! Brilliant!
I am very encouraged by these stats. I am not worried about Rafa getting through to the semis at this point. I don’t see either Wawa or Raonic taking him out. I am wondering if Delpo will be able to hang on, given that he is fighting a fever. I think it’s between Delpo and Berdy in that section of the draw.
Now I feel better about Rafa’s prospects for making it to the finals.
Again, I appreciate your thoughts about the match.