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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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.