Both Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray will be taking the court for the first time this week in Shanghai on Wednesday. Nadal is set for a second-round test against Viktor Troicki, while Murray is facing familiar foe Steve Johnson.
(4) Rafael Nadal vs. Viktor Troicki
Nadal and Troicki will be going head-to-head for the sixth time in their careers when they meet in the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Wednesday. All five of their previous encounters have gone the way of Nadal, who has won four times on hard courts and is 12-1 in total sets at Troicki’s expense. Their most competitive contest came on the Asian swing six years ago, when the Spaniard survived 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(7) in the Tokyo semifinals. They have faced each other only once since then–Nadal triumphed 7-6(3), 6-3 to lift a winner’s trophy last summer on the grass courts of Stuttgart.
This year has been a tough one for the 14-time Grand Slam champion, who has not yet locked up a berth in the World Tour Finals. Following a fourth-round U.S. Open loss to Lucas Pouille, Nadal’s Asian swing began with a quarterfinal setback at the hands of Grigor Dimitrov in Beijing. Troicki advanced through his Shanghai opener on Monday with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of qualifier Lukas Rosol. The 31st-ranked Serb has been extremely active already this fall, with a quarterfinal showing in St. Petersburg, a semifinal finish in Chengdu, and a first-round loss to Fabio Fognini in Beijing. Troicki may be in decent form, but not to the extent that he can be expected to reverse the course of such poor results against Nadal.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 8 games or fewer
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Steve Johnson vs. (2) Andy Murray
Murray and Johnson will be squaring off for the third time in their careers on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at a perfect 2-0 in favor of Murray, who prevailed 6-2, 6-4 at this same event last fall (also in the second round) and 6-0, 4-6, 7-6(2) at this summer’s Rio Olympics. The second-ranked Scot went on to capture gold in Rio, highlighting a current stretch in which he has won four of six tournaments–Queen’s Club, Wimbledon, the Olympics, and Beijing. He hopes to continue the hot streak in Shanghai, where he is 17-3 lifetime with two titles and one runner-up finish.
Although Johnson’s 2016 record stands at a modest 29-24, he has undoubtedly been playing the best tennis of his career throughout the second half of the season. Among the 24th-ranked American’s results are a title in Nottingham, a fourth-round showing at Wimbledon, quarterfinal finishes in Newport, Rio, and Cincinnati, and a semifinal run in Washington, D.C. Johnson kicked off his Shanghai campaign on Monday by rolling over Martin Klizan 6-4, 6-3. Murray, of course, presents a much tougher test and this has to be considered one of the No. 2 seed’s favorite tournaments.
Pick: Murray in 2
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who ya got?
“Troicki may be in decent form, but not to the extent that he can be expected to reverse the course of such poor results against Nadal.”
Why not? Dimitrov’s record was even worse with a dismal 0-8 when he beat Rafa last week.
Depends on Rafa.
Yeah, totally agree! Rafa’s records of the past mean nothing at this point, because he always beats himself..it’s not the opponent who is dangerous for Rafa…Rafa is so good at losing from the winning position that Troicki will most certainly try to take advantage of it, meaning he will believe he can win this match. If Rafa of late shows up trouble is granted.
No more predictions of Rafa’s matches from my side…with all the disappointments and losses that should have been victories, my view is that Rafa is facing serious issues and given the time of the year when he is mentally and physically exhausted, it”s unlikely he will be able to solve it….I hope Rafa proves me wrong though…
nats,
I feel much the same way that you and hawkeye feel. Rafa is vulnerable on these courts. He is not coming into this part of the tennis year with any momentum or real confidence.
I would like to see him get a decent result and gain points for the WTF, but it’s hard to predict how he will do. I am just hoping for a victory here.
Nadal is extremely inconsistent right now and I think it’s best not to try to predict his matches right now.
Is this THE Daniel (usually with all of the mobile device typos)????
Apologies if I’m mistaken.
But yeah, almost completely unpredictable (except I predicted Dimitrov to beat him last week).
well I just hope you aren’t comparing Troicki to Dimitrov. Don’t you? Or do you?
Yes I did. I say they are both opponents on the other side of the net like any other who can accept a gift when handed to them.
OK. Good.
#Pouille
#Dzumhur
#Cuevas
#Verdasco
#Fognini
#Lopez
But not exactly.
While I picked Dum Dum to beat Rafa last week, I won’t be picking Troicki, But I’m not picking Rafa either.
Rafa and Andy in 2, easy!
I’ve forwarded this to Benny (Rafa Nadal’s PR Manager) so all should be fixed in time for tomorrows match!!!
Vamos!!!
https://twitter.com/TennisChannel/status/785895576239878144
Rafa to win in 3
Andy in 3
Paire in 3
Sock in 2
Murray in three and Rafa in two losing more than eight games
Yep…Rafa and Murray, both in straight.
Be focused, be confident, be strong and enjoy the game, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CuiwLzLXgAE1ZeL.jpg
I agree… I don’t foresee an easy Rafa match. And that’s not just from laSt week… he is struggling in serve… netting so many back hands and is a stretch from an even 90% Nadal… I say he will win but won’t be a cake walk
Murray in two… guy is just playing great tennis… even when it serving well he wins and really seems to have it going for him now
Rafa looking very tense – bad sign
Not helped by giving Troicki the first break of serve 🙁
Well I just hope that Ricky doesn’t confuse Rafa beating himself to someone never have beaten him in the past beating him. Dont you? Or do you.
#HerbertWillWin
#AnxietyIsEverywhere
getting manhandled 🙁
OMG. Please pull yourself together Rafa.
Poor Rafa, looks like the disaster continues for him. He just can’t handle aggressive players on the Hcs anymore.
Looks like Rafa may have only 3300 race points after Shanghai if he continues playing like this. He’s not willing to step inside the court and prefers to rally even though he’s losing most of those.
Rafa clearly being outplayed out there…just about anyone feels confident against Rafa nowadays…this is such a good match to watch if one is a Troicki fan…
give it a rest Nadal…no one is even scared of playing him anymore….all this players turn up now and expect to beat him…u look at him and he doesnt have the fire in him anymore….just a lost soul…back Nadal at your own risk
Hate to say it but Rafa really looking one dimensional these days; other than rallying and trying to outrun his opponents, he seems to run out of ideas how to play winning tennis out there. It’s only with a partner playing doubles that he’s able to win. Perhaps he needs his partner to cover one side of the court for him as he no longer can cover the full half of the court!
Not sure I can bear to watch much more of this 🙁
just come on site to see what was going on. not watching as working thank god. if i was watching i would probably explode with rage!!
just get out of your denial rafa!! make some changes and get some helpt!
rafa has mostly been humiliating himself on the tennis courts these last 2 years. this has to stop! ie practice, practice practice..endless excuses…