Shanghai R2 previews and picks: Nadal vs. Karlovic, Nishikori vs. Kyrgios

October 13, 2015 Ricky Match previews 220

Karlovic practiceRafael Nadal and Nishikori may have tough openers on their hands on Wednesday in Shanghai. They are going up against Ivo Karlovic and Nick Kyrgios, respectively.

(8) Rafael Nadal vs. Ivo Karlovic

Nadal and Karlovic will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers and for the first time since 2011 when they meet again in round two of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Wednesday. All four of their previous encounters have gone Nadal’s way, but he has never finished the job in straight sets. Twice the Spaniard has prevailed in a third-set tiebreaker; on the grass courts of Queen’s Club in 2008 and three years later in Indian Wells.

Karlovic is through to the last 32 thanks to a 6-4, 7-6(6) victory over Jeremy Chardy on Monday. The 36-year-old Croat is 34-21 on the season and registers at an impressive 21st in the world. Nadal is coming off a successful campaign in Beijing, where he reached the final before succumbing to Novak Djokovic. The No. 8 seed is 9-5 lifetime in Shanghai and a shocking 5-5 in his last 10 matches. Nothing suggests this will be an easy one for the Nadal, but he should once again survive the Karlovic serve in the end.

Pick: Nadal in 3

[polldaddy poll=9124768]

(6) Kei Nishikori vs. Nick Kyrgios

Nishikori is looking to bounce back from–by his standards–a premature exit in Tokyo, where the defending champion was upset by Benoit Paire in the semifinals. Japan’s top player is a stellar 51-12 for his 2015 campaign, but he has underwhelmed for the most part ever since hammering Nadal in the Montreal quarterfinals. Since reaching the Shanghai semis in 2011, Nishikori is 3-3 at the event and has not advanced past the third round.

Up first for the world No. 6 is a showdown with Kyrgios, whom he has never faced. The 20-year-old Australian punched his ticket to the second round by destroying Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-3, 6-2 on Monday. Thus continued a sudden turnaround in form, as Kyrgios slumped after Wimbledon but made it to the semifinals in Kuala Lumpur and the quarters in Tokyo. This is a good opportunity for one of the world No. 32’s biggest wins, and he may be able to capitalize if he serves like he did in round one–63 percent, 13 aces, and only one double-fault.

Pick: Kyrgios in 3

[polldaddy poll=9124771]

63 Comments on Shanghai R2 previews and picks: Nadal vs. Karlovic, Nishikori vs. Kyrgios

  2. I think this match will be very important for Rafa’s mental strength and his confidence…how many times this year did Rafa end up losing the match that he was supposed to win? This is crucial for Rafa’s belief…Rafa usually fought himself in those matches and this is such a big step forward…

    Of course we can not claim our true Rafa is back! We will claim that when he beats one of the top 4…which he will soon…

    didn’t Karlovic beat Novak in Doha this year in the match where Novak won the first set? So please do not underestimate Rafa’s accomplishment…

    Vamos Rafa!

    Reply

  3. “I think I played a good match,” continued the Manacor native. “The only negative thing was the first game of the match. The real thing is he played so well the first set, the first game, too. He played well.
    “In terms of level of concentration and attitude and control of my emotions, it was a fantastic match. To win 7-6 in the third is a very important victory for me, especially because I believe in the last tie-break I did not lose a single point on my serve. That’s because I was in control again of my emotions. That’s the most important thing for me today.”

    http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/nadal-in-karlovic-battle

    Reply

  5. Rafa is feeling good about his performance in this match! As he should! The way he celebrated after the match was something else! Happy Rafa!

    There’s no question that Rafa has made real strides. It’s true that the big test will be when he faces a top player. But to beat him the way he did, to hold his nerve is a good sign!

    This win has to give Rafa some confidence as he goes up against Raonic. There seems to be a question mark about Raonic’s fitness. He hasn’t looked that great since he came back from the foot injury, but any big serving guy makes me nervous. That’s why I think this win will be such a boost for Rafa. He already beat the ultimate serve bot!

    Reply

  6. I am going back and forth about my prediction. Not having seen Raonic recently, I don’t know what kind of form he’s in. But people are saying he’s not in good form now. I usually make a conservative pick and go for 3 sets, but this time I will go with Rafa winning in 2 sets.

    Reply

  8. Congrats rafito and rafitofantos!

    Wonderful.

    And yes, it _is_ meaningful his forehands were clicking in a pressure match and at pressure moments.

    I’ll say it again. Given that rafito said he ain’t making changes to his team and not going to a sports therapist or the like… he is busy working out how to improve his game and fitness where needed and also how to deal with his ‘a’ (forbidden word perhaps 🙂 ) the best ways he and his team knows how. He just might pull off reducing the ‘a’ enough to have a much better 2016…. I’m eager to see. I’d still prefer him to seek a bit of treatment but that’s the way he’s chosen to go.

    We do know that he always identifies what needs work next and then works at that intelligently and with much dedication. And every year for many years he manages to surprise us by surpassing expectations. I don’t remember what he did in this vein in 2014 but there must have been some of these surprises even if smaller than usual. This late season is perhaps that for 2015. Let his 2016 defy common sense of the tennisrati again (rafito is too this or that, the younger guns now are too this way and that…).

    Reply

      • quote: I can’t produce one off the top of my head.

        Someone posted at least once an interview where Rafito said so, or something in that vein (e.g. perhaps didn’t exactly use those two words), here a couple of months ago…

        This is the item Rafito said in any interview in 2015 that most stuck in my noggin’.

        Reply

      • Rafa used the term “mental injury”, but he said: “…is LIKE (!)…injury, too…”

        Quotes from Rafa’s pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday (I posted them on Rafa’s page yesterday):
        ¤¤ “Sometimes I recover from injuries. This time what I had, with my not having the control of my nerves or my emotion, is like coming back from an injury, too,” he told reporters.
        “It’s not a physical injury, but it’s a mental injury. And this for me is another challenge.” ¤¤

        Reply

  10. Federer is something like 12:1 against Karlovic and Rafa is 5:0 now; I’m not sure he’s ever beaten Murray, yet everyone is so scared of him. Despite is 10k+ aces he’s never been in the top 10.

    Reply

    • He’s still very dangerous to anyone even in the top 4 … e.g. if they don’t keep it together for most of the match.

      I always try to imagine having those fast serves come at you from such a steep angle. The extra long arm swatting the ball above the extra high shoulders.

      Reply

      • chloro,

        I agree! It’s not about his ranking or not being the top ten or having lopsided negative H2H records against the top players. It’s the challenge that he presents being a human ace machine who can stand at the baseline and blast big serves all over the place. He puts tremendous pressure on his opponents to hold their serves. There is a lot of mental pressure while playing him. This match went down to the wire with a third set TB. Rafa did well not to lose a point on his serve. That’s what it takes. It was Karlovic who blinked when that famous serve let him down and he double faulted late in the third set. That gave Rafa the chance to serve it out. He took full advantage of Karlovic’s mistake.

        I could not imagine having to stand there and watch those serves blasting at you one after another.

        Reply

      • naldine:

        Yes and no.

        Since he often enough beats ‘better’ players due to his serves…. he would on average get less dee[ in draws if he didn’t have that serve, of course.

        But he’s not useless either at the rest of tennis outside the serves (and s&v’s). It shows in some of his matches.

        Reply

    • Nadal won in a 3rd set tiebreak and we shouldn’t have been worried about Karlovic.

      Really?

      It’s not strange at all that he rarely goes deep.

      He’s like a coin toss. Good chance to come up heads on each flip but much smaller chance to do so several times consecutively.

      Reply

  11. chloro, don’t get me wrong. In never want to see him anywhere near Rafa in any draw and I was nervous about the match, still for someone who instils so much dread, you’d expect him to go deep in a draw a few times. A

    Reply

  13. I absolutely agree! I always get nervous when he plays this guy. I remember Fed playing him sometime this year and it was a tight one. Fed was really happy when he won! That’s the way it is with Karlovic. You end up getting the win but it’s always tough.

    I don’t think the fact that Karlovic rarely goes deep is relevant. It’s the tough challenge that he presents even to the top players. They are good enough to get the win, but it’s a always tense and usually close.

    Reply

  14. I wanted to share a comment from Rafa that was posted on VB by forum member cliffsiders –

    “Carole Bouchard on Twitter:

    Nadal calls this return game at 4-5, “one of the best of my career. Almost a miracle”.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.




Copyright © 2024 | MH Magazine WordPress Theme by MH Themes