Rafael Nadal is back in action at the U.S. Open on Saturday as he faces Ivan Dodig. A place in the fourth round and a possible showdown with John Isner is at stake.
Rafael Nadal and Ivan Dodig will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in round three of the U.S. Open on Saturday afternoon. Dodig is one of the few players on tour without a losing record against Nadal. He toppled the Spaniard 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in their most recent meeting at the 2011 Toronto Masters. They had previously squared off a few months earlier on the clay courts of Barcelona, where Nadal rolled 6-3, 6-2.
Another Dodig upset would, of course, be even more shocking right now. After all, Nadal is the undisputed best player in the world at the moment and the run-away 2013 race leader. The 12-time Grand Slam champion dominated the clay-court swing and he is even undefeated on the hard stuff with titles in Indian Wells, Montreal, and Cincinnati. So far in New York, Nadal has made mincemeat out of Ryan Harrison and Rogerio Dutra Silva.
Dodig may be more consistent in doubles than he is on the singles circuit, but he has posted some decent results of late. In fact, the veteran Croat registers just six spots off his career-high ranking at No. 38 in the world thanks in part to a semifinal showing in Eastbourne and a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon. Dodig, clearly a dangerous player on fast surfaces, booked his spot in the last 32 with defeats of Fernando Verdasco (in five sets) and Nikolay Davydenko (in straights).
This could be competitive for a while with Dodig in relatively confident form and armed with belief from his past performance against Nadal. However, the underdog had not been stellar on American hard courts prior to this fortnight and there is no reason to think he will serve well enough from start to finish in order to seriously scare Nadal–and serving unbelievably well is Dodig’s only hope of truly making this interesting.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games
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Keep calm, stay concentrated, remain strong and be consistent, Rafa!
Dodig’s serve is the key if it’s on Rafa will have to work harder. If Dodig plays like he did against Nandasco then Rafa will have no worries.
Vamos Rafa, looking forward to you amazing us iwith your winning ways!!!!!
Oh boy, you did amaze me!!!!
Rafa serving really well
rafa somehow drops his level!!!
seems he is proving me wrong again 😀
Gussie: He’s doing all four as you requested 🙂
Please keep me updated. I’m in NYC and CBS is blacked out due to its dispute with Time Warner. Urgh… US Open’s website said last night that ESPN2 would carry this game. Wrong!
Kohli about to serve for the set
Is there a live stream online?
rafa is holding respectively hard!
I find the live stream on US Open’s official site. Yipee!
now there is this commentator who is giving advice to the player how to beat rafa by taking balls early and target wide on rafa’s forehand side
Phew, that was no gimme for Rafa but Rafa won with flying colours! Dodig hung tough, his serve was awesome but Rafa showed his class. Rafa’s serve was unbelievable today…
Vamos Rafa!!
game set and match! mr. rafael nadal 🙂
Game, set and match – Nadal!
I am thankful that Rafa didn’t create any dramas (didn’t get broken)! Well done, Rafa! 🙂
Vamooosss!!!
Love Rafa’s pink jacket………….
#RealMenWearPink
Rafa is playing well. He seems to have all his shots and all were very crisp and clean. I like that he now runs his opponent around the court while he runs less. Most of his shots have a purpose rather than just hitting defensive shots. He really shortens the point. Vamos, Rafa! Roll on to your 13th GS!
so far rafa is the best among the big 4!
Rich’s prediction was right. Dodig got 10 games.
Not sure whether this article has been posted. This talks about Rafa’s changing his playing style:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324324404579045151909110182.html
Snap, JCKNY!