Top seed Rafael Nadal will resume his Toronto campaign when he goes up against familiar foe Stan Wawrinka on Thursday. Second-seeded Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (WC) Stan Wawrinka
At No. 195 in the world due mostly to inactivity, Wawrinka needed a wild card to get into the Rogers Cup. He did not receive one initially, but Andy Murray’s withdrawal opened the door for Wawrinka to snag a WC and he has made the most of his opportunity so far. The 33-year-old booked a spot in the last 16 by outlasting Nick Kyrgios and Marton Fucsovics in three-set thrillers, improving to just 8-11 for his abbreviated 2018 campaign.
Wawrinka’s reward is a 20th career contest against Nadal, who is dominating the head-to-head series 16-3 heading into Thursday. The two veterans have not faced each other since the 2017 French Open final, in which Nadal cruised 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 for his 10th of 11 titles at Roland Garros. Nothing suggests Wawrinka will be able to turn the tide in Toronto; not even on a surface that is more favorable for him than clay in this particular matchup. Whereas the Swiss is struggling, Nadal is an awesome 36-3 this year and he looked comfortable in his return to hard courts with a 6-2, 6-3 rout of Benoit Paire on Wednesday night. This is a showdown that looks intriguing on paper, but on the court an in-form world No. 1 should completely crush a fatigued Wawrinka.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 8 games or fewer
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Daniil Medvedev vs. (2) Alexander Zverev
Zverev and Medvedev will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers on Thursday. All three of their previous meetings have gone Zverev’s way, but Medvedev was competitive for the first time earlier this season in Miami–where a second-round showdown resulted in a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5) thriller. A third-set tiebreaker is also what befell Medvedev in Toronto on Wednesday night (and into Thursday morning), when he outlasted Canadian hope Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) after trailing 4-1 in the third set and also 4-1 in the ‘breaker. The 22-year-old Russian preceded that success with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 defeat of Jack Sock.
Both players are in the midst of their best seasons on tour. Medevev’s 2018 campaign is highlighted by his first career title in Sydney, while Zverev boasts a 43-11 record that has him up to No. 3 in the world. The 21-year-old German captured a second straight Washington, D.C. title last weekend and he maintained his fine form by disposing of qualifier Bradley Klahn 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday. Zverev is showing no signs of slowing down and Medvedev may not be 100 percent following his second-round slugfest, so this should be straightforward.
Pick: Zverev in 2
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WYG?
Rafa and Sasha in two.
Agree with you and Lucky. Easy wins for the 1 and 2 seeds.
Rafa in a close 2; Sasha in 3
Same picks as ricky
GOAT in two!!!
Stay focused, remain confident, be strong and fight bravely, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DkL5QN3XsAAiRt_.jpg
Yeessss!!….Great start from Rafa!!Wooohooo!!….
Yooohoooo Nny!!….R U THERE???Come on!!We woohoo’ed together!!…
Insyaallah,Rafa will give a Black Widow kiss to Stan today….Sorry Stan!!
MA,
Yes I am here, Stan is playing well. Rafa had the early chands at a break, but did not get it done.
Early chance at a break. *
Hey hey hey Nny!!….Evening to u!!…Oh!…Don’t worry!Rafa will have plenty of chance to break Stan later & he will BREAK him..Insyallah…Rafa is a very patient man…He just waiting a right moment…
Woooohooooo!!3 BP saved!!…That’s our Rafa!!
Is it just me or i feel Rafa respect Stan too much & play a little bit tentatively??Not aggressive enough today….
Yes, but our Rafa blew it by missing three break points to take the first set. That was a big opportunity.
Stan becomes “the man” when seeing Rafa on the other side of the net! Stan is playing well and Rafa did great to save those break points. Very close match so far! Did not forsee this! I thought Stan would have some fitness issues and would come out tired after two three-setters…
Great match so far! Too bad the rain interrupts it…
I don’t think Rafa is playing well compared to yesterday. His shots are short and his ROS isn’t as good. He’s giving Stan so much space to impose his hard hitting game. Well at least Rafa serves well enough to save those BPs when he’s down 0-40 in his service game.
I notice Rafa is slow in running to cover his FH corner, as a result he mistimed his FH and hitting his FH shot into the net often. I don’t know how Rafa can correct that, perhaps it’ll always be a weakness from now on, now that he’s no longer that quick around the court when he gets older.
I had a feeling Stan would come out and see Rafa and play really well. But Rafa needs to take advantage of three break points to win the set.
Who knows when they are going to finish this match.
Exactly! I think the best thing to do is to get the break right at the beginning of the match when the opponent hasn’t settled into the match yet. Rafa didn’t do that in Stan’s first service game when he had BP chances; now he would have a hard time winning the first set when Stan served so well.
I really dislike Rafa’s mentality when he starts his matches, always adopt a wait and see attitude instead of imposing the more aggressive part of his game right from the start. Against hard hitting opponents and against Djoko, he needs to impose his game on them right away instead of doing all the counter punching work!
Against players on the comeback – Djoko and Stan – Rafa is simply giving them ‘encouragement’ to return to form quicker when they play against him! He’s simply not taking advantage of the situation and allows them to play the best they can to beat him! If it’s Fed they’re playing against, I’m sure Fed would hammer them into submission instead of allowing them to boss him around!
When you’re a world no.1, please show us that you’re the world no.1, and you should be bossing players around, esp those on the comeback trail!
Lucky,
You just said exactly what I am thinking! You expressed my frustration. Rafa had the chance to break Stan in his first service game. But he didn’t do it. Then Stan got more confident in the match and played better. If Rafa had broken him early then he would have been playing from behind. He might have had more doubts with his recent losses. Then he has theee set points and does not get it done. He is giving Stan confidence when he cannot convert break points. Now he has to battle it out fir the first set, and the rain delay.
I just do not understand it.
I am so happy to just see Stan actually competing again and looking like his old self. I just want the guy back to his best. I think he’s getting there, he just needs to keep getting these matches in so his body gets used to it. Overall, I would say he is healthy enough to make a run in NYC if he can stay consistent in the early rounds.
This year,multiple times rain break gave Rafa a chance to regrouped & came out on top..i hope today it’s going to be the same…And i also think the toll of playing 2 tough 3 setter B2B will showing for Stan soon…
Rafa leaving a lot of balls short. Not much better than last night tbh.
Worse than yesterday I feel. He played well in the first set yesterday, and had his usual second set wobbles. In this match, he’s simply hitting short and not returning well. He had a few BP chances but as usual he always blew his chances.
Yeessss!!…1st set in hand!!…1 more Rafa!!Wooohoooo!!
Rafa just hit the shit of the match!
That was it! Breaks to win the first set! Now that is more like it!
The SHOT of the match!
that was an amazing BH
I think we have to accept this fact now that Rafa will playing like this till he hangs his racket…i mean,this ups & downs syndrome…It’s part of himself now…maybe bcoz of age factor…
Ok now first set in the bag, Rafa is at least playing a bit more aggressive at start of second set. Please keep this up and break Stan again and wins ASAP. Cilic is waiting and is having a good rest right now.
Yeesss!Break!!..C’mon Rafa!!Whoooo!!
Yes breaks serve! Come on Rafa hold serve from now on no matter what!
Are we going to see a repeat of the second set of yesterday here?
Why is Rafa always hitting to Stan’s BH? It’s not on clay now you know?? Rafa shouldn’t serve to Stan’s FH at deuce court, he should be doing that on Ad court instead!
The second set wobble here we go!
Oh no! Rafa is broken! Why is he hitting to Stan’s backhand?
This is getting on my last nerve.
Exactly! Stan has 7 BH winners! Why is Rafa so stubborn? He has to accept the fact that on non clay surfaces his topspin FH is no longer that effective against SHBH, now that his FH is no longer that lethal!
Finally! A DTL forehand winner!
Yep!Lost 3 games in a row!….Ups & downs syndrome indeedy!Urgh!!
This is not good. Stan breaks. Rafa had the lead 2-0. Now it’s 3-2 Stan.
Stan is playing more like his old self and Rafa is not responding. They could be out there all night if this goes three sets. Meanwhile Cilic is taking it easy.
backhand on fire
Rafa needs to be more aggressive…Please!!
What’s Rafa doing? Judging standing there watching while Stan retrieved the ball and hit it back to his court?
I so do not want this to go three sets.
Even if Rafa somehow wins this match, he’s not going to survive in the later rounds if he keeps having these second set wobbles!! What’s he and his team doing? Not going to address this issue, and allowing it to linger on?
somehow??? LOL
So much for your two routine sets prediction.
#Herbert
Well I didn’t foresee Rafa playing so poorly and encouraging Stan to play so well against him.
At least I get that Sasha match right.
Rafa is throwing Stan the lifeline time and again! Why is he so merciful to his main rivals?
We are going three sets I feel, and things not looking good for Rafa as Stan keeps winning three setters these days.
Yeessss!!Like that!!…Now,don’t go & brain@#$% again Rafa!!U hear!!
Ok Rafa breaks again, come on now please hold serve for goodness sake!
Okay please Rafa – HOLD YOUR SERVE!!
Yeesss!….Now Rafa start to play aggressive!!…And I LIKE IT!!!!
Oh God, I cannot watch this.
Yeessss!!…That’s how to play Rafa!!..Now..close it out the match u hear??
Come on Rafa! Break him and win this thing!
I can’t watch this TB.
I can’t breathe.
Come on Rafa!
YESSSSS!!…WOOHOOOO!!That’s it Rafa!!…On to 4th we go!!…Alhamdullillah!!
Hehehe..R u alright Nny?
MA,
Well I am breathing now!
Well earned win for Rafa. Anyways I am very very glad to see Stan playing like this again. I think the stanimal is back 🙂 And what a tiebreak from Rafa!! Great composure and a couple of incredible shots (particularly the backhand angle at 2-2 and the last forehand winner)
Benny,
I know you are a Stan fan and this is good news for him. I actually was a bit nervous for this one because I just had this feeling that Stan might come out and play some good tennis. He is a former top four player and a three time slam winner. This place s a huge step up from Paire!
I was not that surprised at how well Stan played. This should give him a boost of confidence moving forward in the NA hardcourt season. Well done!
Yes, what a return of serve winner at MP! Vamos!
So Rafa avoids the third set and my prediction is correct. Rafa really has to cut down on those second set wobbles! He could’ve finished the match earlier if he didn’t have those wobbles!
Stan is close to getting back to his good level. Everyone on the comeback trail after playing Rafa will be well on his way back to his previous good level, Rafa is such a merciful and helpful world no.1!
Winners not much difference between them…Rafa 25,Stan 32..UE’s..Rafa 23,Stan 29…Tho,UE’s for Rafa a little bit higher than usual i think…
Rafa qualified for the WTF.
Vamos Rafa!
Yes!!! Great news!!!
I thought Rafa played a great second set. Stan was playing at a high level and Rafa upped his level to beat him. I don’t think there was any wobble from Rafa in set 2. Stan was hitting winners and making all first serves.
Yes there were wobbles when Rafa inexplicably lost his serve after breaking serve, when he started hitting short and allowing Stan to pounce on them. It’s typical of him here at Canada, it happened against Paire too.
And Rafa becomes the first player to qualify for the WTF 🙂
Congrats to Nadal on a tough win. Obviously the best Stan has played in quite awhile. Had a lead late in both sets, but Rafa was clutch when it counted and just played the big points better.
Still, has to be encouraging for Wawrinka. If he can play a bit better, which he can, he has to be considered a contender for USO.
I am very happy to see Stan playing so much better, but WHY is it always Rafa who seems to inspire his opponents?? I have some health issues and couldn’t stay up for this one. Gave it up when Stan broke for a lead in the 2nd but woke up a couple hours later and had to check the score. Really delighted that Rafa managed to raise his level and win in 2!!!
I did not see the match..just saw highlights of Djoko Tsitsipas and Rafa Stan..why did I feel that the courts were very slow..the ball was barely coming off the racquet..I thought Canada has faster courts(faster than USO).. Rafa I felt was a bit slow and his shots lacked explosiveness..He has to really step it up against Cilic..
Djoko looked also very slow and his returns were poor landing always mid court. Tsitsipas has a more patient game rather than an explosive game.
Cincy faster. Canada a tad slower than USO.
Montreal quicker than Cincy these days; both quicker than New York; Toronto is the slowest. Rafa said that Montreal played quick; Djoko mentioned that the ball bounce higher here at Toronto.
Rafa had won twice at Montreal (2005/2013), once at Cincy (2013) and once at Toronto (2008). Toronto looked slow to me all along even when Rafa won it in 2008.
The tennis channel commies said that Toronto plays slower than the AO, when Rafa last played against Cilic. They think these courts are more favorable to Rafa.
I did not make a prediction for Rafa’s match with Stan, but privately I just had a gut feeling that it could be tough. At some point a player is going to find their game again coming back from injury. Even though Stan had to grind out wins here, the key was that he was getting wins. Even tough matches against lower ranked players like Fucsovics can give a player confidence. Then Stan saw Rafa on the other side of the net and seemed to be inspired. I don’t think Rafa was entirely responsible for Stan playing well. He should get a good deal with of the credit.
I think Stan pushing Rafa was a good thing. I noticed in the latter half of the second set that as Stan played well, Rafa had to raise his level of play. He did it and came up with the shots when it mattered. I don’t think it was a second set slump from Rafa. I just think he came into the tournament not looking that sharp and Paire was never going to be able to challenge Rafa. Rafa had been off for a while and playing a guy like Stan was jumping up a big step in class. Rafa finished the match strong and that is what counts.
It was good preparation for Cilic.
Great post, NNY! Agreed on all counts!
Stan played really well amd has to be given a credit for it! I am also happy to see Stan playing his best tennis! Not good news for Djoko though, since Stan is hus nemesis! Stan has no fear from anyone except Fed I think! This is mainly why he is able to produce his very best when it matters! Beating Kyrgios was already a sign of his comeback!
Rafa played better on key points and that’s the most important thing for the win! How many times did we witness Rafa losing the close match cause he faltered in key moments! Glad to see Rafa fighting and believing! Great preface for the Cilic match!
Vamos Rafa!
I haven’t been able to watch any tennis this week.
Nny, Natashao, lucky , Hawkbert how do you see the match with cilic playing out?! Don’t want rafa to lose this one after what happened at the ao!!
Amy,
My posts are disappearing. I don’t know why. But I don’t feel like rewriting the whole thing. Suffice to say that after Rafa’s match with Stan, I am liking his chances to beat Cilic.
Hello Native!
How are you?
Don’t worry Amy, rafa might win.
Amy, it’s on Rafas racquet. I think he will raise his game to take out Cilic.
Agreed, Hawks. If this were Cinci, I might think differently. Not today, though. I believe that when Rafa is in the form he’s been in lately, guys tend to need that extra bit of court quickness to successfully take time away from Rafa. Not sure if this court is playing quick enough for Cilic to successfully implement his all out blitzkrieg against Rafa…
Don’t get me wrong, Cilic is obviously capable of beating Rafa on any hardcourt. And maybe he will today. I just doubt it, given the form Rafa has been in, as well as the relatively slower court speed.
I’ll guess something similar to the scoreline against Stan. 7-5, 7-6 to Rafa.