Two clay-loving competitors will finally be facing each other away from their preferred stomping grounds when Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem clash in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Even for the best clay-court player ever and the second-best clay-courter of the present, 10 consecutive encounters on the red stuff without a single one on any other surface is an alarming number. But that is the case with Nadal vs. Thiem, which will be a rematch of this year’s French Open final–won by the Spaniard 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. He leads the head-to-head series 7-3 overall, including 2-1 this season and 5-2 dating back to the start of 2017.
Even when they landed in the same quarter of the draw, another installment of this familiar rivalry could not have been expected due to Thiem’s recent woes. The world No. 9 endured his usual post-Roland Garros slump, compiling a 1-2 record on grass, even falling twice early in clay-court events, and exiting Toronto in his first match with a loss to eventual runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Thiem has suddenly turned it all around in New York, where he is through to the quarters for the first time following wins over Mirza Basic, Steve Johnson, Taylor Fritz, and Kevin Anderson.
Nadal’s U.S. Open title defense has not been completely smooth sailing, as he has has been pushed twice through four matches while also dealing with an apparent minor knee issue. The world No. 1 rolled over David Ferrer and Vasek Pospisil before dropping one set to both Karen Khachanov and Nikoloz Basilashvili, even trailing Khachanov by a set and a break at one point. Nonetheless, Nadal has improved to an awesome 44-3 in 2018 to set up another showdown against an opponent who always looked up to him.
“[My] earliest memories I think was when he beat Roger in the French semis in 2005,” Thiem said of Nadal. “I was 11 back then. Didn’t really think that I would also play him one day, but it’s very nice. It’s going to be the first time on hard court, which is a completely new experience.
“[I’ve had] three very nice experiences and [seven] horrible experiences,” the Austrian joked. “But no, I’m really looking forward to play him on hard court for the first time. On clay, I think it’s one of the biggest challenges in sports to beat this guy or to compete with this guy. I hope that it’s a little bit more comfortable on hard court, but I’m not sure.”
“He’s a fantastic player,” Nadal said of Thiem. “He’s a very powerful player. He’s a great guy; very good relationship with him. Happy for him that he’s in quarterfinals here…. Gonna be a tough one. Yeah, I need to play my best match of the tournament if I want to keep having chances to stay in the tournament.”
The 17-time major champion says that before every match, but he may really mean it this time based on how Thiem played against Anderson (the 24-year-old called it one of the best matches of his career). Still, Thiem’s hard-court history is such that it is difficult to see him turning in that kind of performance twice in succession–especially with Nadal on the other side of the net.
As long as Nadal is at or very close to 100 percent, he should have both the physical and mental edge in a grueling baseline battle.
Pick: Nadal in 4
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Rafa broke a streak by losing the first set 6-0, but going on to win the match. ESPN came up with the stat that no
player ever won after that start. Because there is no one like Rafa!
I just hope Rafa can be ready for the semifinal.
That streak is true for quarter finals only.
Rafa would be ready.
Yes that is true about being for quarterfinals. still very impressive.
Didn’t Rafa lose the first set 0-6 to Fed in the 2006 RG final?
2006 Wimbledon final, not RG. RG2006, he lost the first set 1-6.
2006 French Open Final, Federer also took the first set 6-1 before losing the next three sets 1, 4 and 6(4).
Hey Hawks! All Rafans for that matter…
You know Rafa won because of the positive vibes I promised I’d send, right? 😉😉
Although admittedly, there were a few too many times where I worried that my positive vibes were backfiring! 😂
He raises his game when he needs to. That was the common thread last night.
It’s got him this far but he will have to proactively find that level consistently instead of waiting to fall behind like he did several times last night and previous rounds.
Were you there Kevin? It seemed a little cooler than the night before when Fed lost.
Well Kevin what were you doing the first set?! Where was the diversion you promised then??!
Amy,
The first set was over before I could even prepare to run on court haha. And then once Rafa held serve to start the 2nd, I just knew deep down that a diversion wouldn’t be needed. I know Rafa too well, and I’ve seen the “Lost Gen facing a Big 4 at a Major” movie too many times.
In all seriousness, though, Thiem definitely acquitted himself after choking away the 3rd set. He arguably should have won the match in 4, but what we saw last night is just what happens when you face Rafa at a major, especially with court conditions that favor Rafa so much.
That’s why I still feel confident about Rafa winning this tournament. This might be the most suiting hard court for Rafa I’ve ever seen. It’s just so hard to put him away, and you’re not going to out-grind Rafa on a slow/high bouncing hard court, except for maybe top-form Djokovic.
I personally don’t see Del Po beating Rafa because the conditions are just too slow for that. Rafa will get everything back that Del Po gives him, and Del Po’s lack of backhand equals disaster against Rafa on a slow court.
I’m not suggesting that guys like Thiem, Del Po, Cilic, etc. can’t beat Rafa on a slow hard court- it’s just very unlikely, and Rafa would have to collapse so significantly and we just don’t see that these days.
Ok Kevin you are forgiven!! Only temporarily mind… think of it as being on probation!
I was thinking about the match with Delpo this afternoon and I agree that the slowness of the court won’t suit him. How fast was the court playing in 2009 when he won btw? I never saw that tourney but the court was surely much faster then.
It’s pretty much the case that Delpo was playing with much more favourable court conditions at wimby and rafa won that one. But I feel rafa was playing better then but I still think he will raise his level for Delpo.
The person the court conditions suit the most is Nole! But hell let’s wait and see if rafole actually get to meet. The one person I don’t want in the final is the Nazi hugger!!
Amy-
I don’t want any hugger of Nazis sinning anything! I’m headed back to Ashe in a little bit to watch Kei vs. Cilic. I’m really excited because I am a HUGE fan of Kei! In my opinion, when Kei is on, he is the most exciting player to watch… I just love that ultra-aggressive baseline game that he displays when he’s on. He’s so fast around the court, he hits hard penetrating ground strokes, and he’s smaller which makes it even more incredible. I just believe he’s the most exciting baseliner.
From time to time I love to re-watch the 2014 US Open semi of Kei vs. Novak, and it just BLOWS MY MIND. If Kei were ever able to recapture the form he showed during that run to the Final, and then somehow manage to not be totally drained for the Final, he could win a major. That run was amazing- he beat Raonic in a 5 setter in 4th round. Then beat defending AO champ Stan in 5 setter in the QF. And then beat the defending Wimby champ and world #1 Novak in 4 I’m the semis. And we all know what 3 matches in a row of that caliber does to Kei- he’s too physically fragile. And it makes me sad, because I think he could have at very least competed well with Cilic for that title, but he was completely spent. And I also must admit that the Nazi Hugger was on fire.
Anyway, I am really pulling for Kei today… Cilic should probably be at least slightly favored, but I’m not so sure because Cilic said in his presser that this court just doesn’t suit his game at all compared to how it pre-2017. Kei on the other hand is great on slower courts. So maybe Kei can get the upset? I certainly hope so!
And to answer your question about the court speed in 2009- yes, if would much faster than it is now. The general consensus amongst the players and pundits is that this is the slowest hard court anyone has ever seen at a major, between AO and USO. The courts here were historically slow last year, too, but they took it another step this year. The tournament director was talking about it the other day. He says they packed a lot onto the court, thus making it very slow, because they believe it will be better for actual physical longevity of the court surface.
Kevin i have a sneaky feeling Kei is going to beat the Nazi hugger! I really hope so. He was brilliant against kygrios at wimby getting almost every serve back.it was a great performance on return and I definitely think he can take the NH down today. I am not as big a fan as you are but i completely agree that if he wasn’t so frail physically he would have won a major.
Go Kei!!!☺
Ps have a lovely time Kevin!
Just to let you know that you are forgiven for letting rafa lose the first set!
Kevin your confidence on Rafa is good to hear. Hope it all comes true. God bless Rafa
You all forget about the weather conditions! It’s not just the court but the weather, it’s hot and humid out there that’s why it’s the survival of the fittest.
I actually don’t think they slowed down the court this year, perhaps it’s the humidity in the air that slows down everything. The ball absorbs the moisture in the air, so it’s heavier, bounces higher when being hit hard but travels slower through the air.
The higher bouncing conditions may be favorable to Rafa, but Rafa is affected by the high humidity more than the other players as he’s one who perspires heavily, so may feel fatigue more easily than under normal conditions. Even Fed and Djoko are/were affected by the conditions badly and they are two of the fittest guys around.
Just reading BG. He is saying fifth set was exceptional level of tennis. Rafa just needs to bring that form on friday.
Damn exhausted just following this match this morning. Went to the gym and could barely get my day’s workout done. I have no idea how these guys wake up the next morning and not feel drained. I pray Rafa gets to his 18th and possibly get to 20 soon enough.
They do feel drained. But they also know how to recover. Read Rafa’s book, the part about waking up the next day after his AO 2009 match with Verdasco. He spent a day and a half in recovery mode and was convinced there was no way he could put up any kind of fight in the final vs Federer. Dizzy, cramping, couldn’t run, couldn’t move…
yes. Its unbelievable he would have the heart and mind to get on out there for another grind with Del Potro. Two days should give him better chances and I hope one more recovery takes him through to take the title. As much as I hope and pray Rafa gets to his 18th I am certain each one of these guys deserve it if they got there. Like Thiem would have certainly deserved it too.. But one difference with guys like Rafa or Fed or Djokovic over the rest of the pack is that they follow up with these matchces with wins 9 out of 10 times and thats super impressive.
PK, good point about Rafa, Fed and Djoko. I doubt Thiem could put up a good fight against Delpo in the SF had he won this QF. He had not proven that he could do that whilst the big three had done it time and again.
That semi-final between Rafa and Verdasco will live forever in my mind as the most tense, nerve racking match I think I’v ever sat through. And I’ve endured plenty of those in the 15 years I’ve been a Rafan 😉
Hey kev am at the open too. Watching keu cilic😁
Nishikori levels it😁 coming to yesterdays match, there was a nice candid moment when rafa mentioned that the three missed bp chances in the fifth set “broked” his heart😁
It was an absolute delight, sitting here in Mallorca, to witness this man grab another victory when he was under the cosh. Rafa’s been shaky and inconsistent but he has played some awesome tennis too. First serve is in my opinion the biggest liability and the potential roadblock to a 4th USO title.
The two days’ rest is a huge blessing and he’ll be recovered for a huge battle against Delpo. I pick Rafa to win in 4 sets again but totally aware of Delpo’s potential here.
Good luck to Rafa and a shout out to all the tenngranders who know me (esp LS and NNY who left messages on the previous page).
Hey VR. You’re missed heee buddy!
Don’t know where his first serve went. Might be physical.
Also his confidence is all over the place.
Djoko looking really good. His to win unless Rafa can raise his consistency.
Slow court advantage Nole.
VR,
I love hearing from you. I know I keep saying it, but I do miss our tennis discussions. I love my fellow posters here who I have gotten to know in cyberspace and respect so much.
Without saying more, I think you know what I mean. Your good common sense about dealing with the pettiness that sometimes comes up on a forum, having my back when I was up against it. You are the best.
Loved hearing your thoughts on Rafa. I tried to stay up, but when it went to a fifth set I had to turn in. But I did wake up a little later to see that they were still playing! I saw the end sbd just could not believe it.
I do agree about Rafa’s serve. It is a real liability and is hurting him in these kinds of tough matches. Shaky and inconsistent for sure! But also some truly brilliant shot making.
Two days rest is s Godsend.
Lucky: just thinking,on this hypothetical fast grass,a lot of players might be able to serve very well but what about the rest of their game ?Most of them would struggle on their groundstrokes with the low bounce.How many titles would the likes of Nadal,Djoko etc have?
Big Al, watch Stith and Krajchek, did they really need too much of their ground strokes when they’d their big serve?
Anti Rafa or anti Djoko Fed supporters always argue that Rafa and Djoko won’t be able to win Wimbledon should the grass there be fast and low bouncing. They forget that the two are all time greats, highly adaptable, so low bouncing or high bouncing grass, fast or slow grass, they will adapt to win.
So is Fed.
Fed v Djoko or Rafa on fast 90s grass , who would win,I wonder?
Then,whoever won that ,would still have to beat the likes of Roddick or Berdych who are nowhere near as adaptable as the all time greats and not great returners of serve ,as they’d need to be…
Big Al, they all could win, it’s a matter of more or less. And Roddick, Berdych or Cilic might have won one or two too. With their serves, they didn’t need to rely on their ROS, whilst the big three might need their ROS more dealing with the big servers, so it’s advantage big servers/hitters.
Not to mention Ivo who won on serve alone in 2001, but of course everybody knows that 2001 marked the beginning of the Weak Era.
Bien sur!
I think Rafa will beat Delpo. The 2 days rest is golddust. Delpo has had easy opponents thus far. Rafa will be a big step up in class for him.
Though, I just don’t see how Rafa will possibly beat Novak with his current serve. Novak will hit a lot of return winners.
He won’t get past Delpo if he doesn’t improve his serve AND play consistently well, not just when he’s behind.
He can’t donate the first set or let his level drop when he has a lead like he’s done throughout the tournament, particularly vs Thiem.
That said, I think he’ll make it to the Final.
test
DelPo has been sailing thru .Somehow Rafa needs to start well. I thought Theim was a 50-50 match. But if DelPo match turns out to be a 50-50 match then Delpo would be favored as he is more fresh.
I liked Rafa do S&V . I think he can float an outwide serve to DelPo BH on Adcourt and try this tactic out. Also, I guess drop shot will be out against DelPo to test his movement. One thing I did not see from Rafa was the variety he showd in Wimby.
With everything said, I think DelPo is slight favorite as he loves playing in New York. Hope I am proved wrong here.