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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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!