Rafael Nadal is one win away from a potential U.S. Open showdown against Roger Federer. Standing in Nadal’s way of the quarterfinals on Monday is Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Rafael Nadal and Philipp Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the 11th time in their careers at the ATP level when they clash in round four of the U.S. Open on Monday night.
Nadal is dominating the head-to-head series 9-1, including 5-0 on hard courts. Kohlschreiber’s lone victory came in their only grass-court encounter last summer in Halle, just after Nadal had captured a seventh French Open title (the German prevailed 6-3, 6-4). They most recently faced each other this spring on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo, where Nadal cruised 6-2, 6-4.
Normally a fast hard court would be thought of as a decent surface for Kohlschreiber in this matchup, but not so at the moment. Nadal is undefeated on hards in 2013 with titles in Indian Wells, Montreal, and Cincinnati. The second-ranked Spaniard is not looking back in New York, with straight-set victories so far this fortnight over Ryan Harrison, Rogerio Dutra Silva, and Ivan Dodig.
Many expected this to be a rematch of the Cincinnati final between Nadal and John Isner, but Kohlschreiber put an end to that talk on Saturday. Following wins over Colin Altamirano and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, the world No. 25 took out Isner in a fourth-set tiebreaker. Kohlschreiber is now a solid 26-17 for the season.
This may be Nadal’s toughest test of the tournament to date given Kohlschreiber’s form, but Nadal’s heavy topspin should wear down his opponent’s one-handed backhand before things get too interesting.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 11-13 games
[polldaddy poll=7364567]
And now this fellow cant miss a single BP š
Murray has got his hands full with Wawa and Berdych still lurking around.
Rafa’s like a bloody python I tell you, you can almost feel him squeezing the life out of Khols.
GSM
Phew…..
I expected Khols to give Rafa a match, I did not count on him giving me multiple heart attacks!
Yes Philipp, that’s the script, you only win one set.
rafa was oozing with confidence by the end of the match. I really liked this win for several reasons. Rafa’s place in the final is almost confirmed, almost ….. Got to see which of the two from djo and andy face him there…
I think the ROS was really good in sets 2,3,4 …it was aggressive…rafa is now comfortably taking balls on the rise with his backhand ROS…forehand aint so comfortable in that department yet….
Still think he can serve better but happy he raised his serving level as the match went on
So who’s spoiling the party now? for the 3rd time, fed loses when he has rafa in his sights
#FearOfRafa
I dont think it was fear of Rafa but how muchever he denies it, I bet it played on his mind a bit
59% return points won in set 4 so the improvement is so visible ! 32%,35%,44%,59% return points won in sets 1,2,3,4 respectively… VAMOS
Oh you people of little faith… Vamos Rafaaa!!
^^^ love it!
FOR
And to think he blamed Rafa for the fact there’s never been a Fedal US final š
I am emotionally exhausted, but I am happy, happy, happy, happy…!!!!
Vamoooossss!!!!
Given the form Fed displayed in his match against T-Rob, I am glad he lost because he would have definitely been humiliated by Rafa
Meanwhile on court 17 the Gasquet-Raonic match is going to the wire.
With each win, Rafa inches closer to #1
That was some match! I predicted a tough one and said that it would either be three close sets or maybe Kohls would get a set. He did get that first set. But Rafa found another gear and started playing some brilliant tennis. That second set was hard on my nerves until Rafa finally got the break. Once he leveled the match, I felt better. But Kohls wouldn’t go away. You could see that Rafa was slowly taking over and wearing him down.
This is what Rafa needed. I knew he had not been tested and needed a real match. This is what brings out the best in Rafa. He rises to the challenge. Then he just blasted Kohls off the court in the fourth set. This match will help him moving forward.
I wonder if Robredo has another great match in him. I didn’t realize that he was ranked 113 or something because of being off with an injury. That makes the loss for Fed even worse. I still find it hard to believe that he beat him in straight sets. I kind of feel bad for the New York fans who were anticipating a Rafa/Fed match. We worried so much over Rafa meeting Fed and it never came to pass.
Ferrer won his match. Raonic and Gasquet are still at it going the distance in a fifth set. One of them will meet Ferrer. So Rafa has a pretty good path to the final.
Finally I can relax! What a night!
NNY. I made the mistake of drinking at dinner last night and didn’t wake up until the start of set 4. Reading this thread I’m rather glad I was spared the nervous tension. We had both been prepared for Kohls to take a set but the reality must have been a nasty shock.
ed,
I don’t think you made a mistake! Maybe you knew something! š
By the way, I don’t know what the commentators were talking about, but Robredo is now ranked a decent 19th in the world. Maybe I misunderstood them. But I think that PMac was the one who corrected his mistake.
So you woke up for the good part! I was ready to tear my hair out when Rafa wasted three set points. Then he did not play a good tb and there went the set. I freaked out a little because I had just watched Robredo to the same thing to Fed in the first set of that match. Then the second set was a battle with Robredo and Fed holding their serves. Finally Robredo got the break and served out the set to get a two set lead.
No way did I want there to be some curse on this rain delayed day! Once Rafa won the second set I felt better but I was still not very calm. Kohls really hung in there and didn’t let up in the third set. I sensed that this is just what Rafa needed, but I also said previously that these matches are so bad for the nerves! Rafa really stepped it up in this match.
It’s really interesting that Rafa ended up not having to play either Isner or Fed. Who would have thought that? As I said when we started, there are no sure things in a slam, take nothing for granted. I bought into the idea that Fed was having some kind of renaissance, but he was really not at his best against Robredo. Of course Robredo deserves all due credit for coming out to try to win against a guy he had never beaten in ten previous matches. He really stayed focused and strong.
I need a day to recover from this match!
Wher is this Fedfan who used to post on TT, @brothdog? He never missed an opportunity to throw in a dig at Rafa at being beaten by a player outside the top 100 in the rankings (Rosol). No wonder some of these pathetic Fedfans do not dare show their faces.
Commies to sensible Fedfans like @abhirf………
ritb,
I think PMac made a mistake about Robredo’s ranking. Right next to his name there was the number 19, so I got confused when he said that he was ranked outside the top 100. As I said in my reply to ed, PMac did correct himself later on.
But the fact is that Fed lost to a guy who had never beaten him and had a 10-0 record! No one thought that Robredo could beat Fed. Including me!
I have been thinking about chr18. Remember how he was taunting us with that business of the golden swing of South American clay court matches? That Rafa could always count on that? Well, what would he say now!
Gasquet serving for the match
Rafa’s on-court interview.
—Rafa: āIt was very tough tonight with the humid conditions, I was sweating too much.
āI had chances in the first set but couldnāt take them. I feel lucky to be through as it was physically tough.
āBut as the match went on I felt more comfortable on my serve.”
…
āHe [Robredo] is playing great and he has had similar circumstances like me in coming back from injury.
āHe [Robredo] has come back and is having an amazing tournament. He has beaten Federer so he will bring that confidence into the match [against Rafa].ā—-
I was at the match tonight…or l should say last night. Rafa made me a nervous wreck for the first 2 sets. Rafa’s serves dipped in the later part of the 1st set and the first part of the 2nd set. He couldnāt get a 1st serve in during that time span and his energy was down too. He might be frustrated because he just couldnāt break Kohls. Heck, I was frustrated that he gave away so many bp chances. He kept mishitting on all those bp chances. He was pumped after he fiiiiiinnnnaaaally broke in the 2nd set. After that, his energy started picking up and his serve started falling in and picking up pace.
Rafaās serves were good after that aforementioned down period and got really great by the 4th set. He wasnāt really threatened much during his service games. He even picked up many free points on his 2nd serve. He got really aggressive in the last two sets. He let quite a few wide angle shots and even drop shots go in the first few sets. I donāt know whether itās strategic due to his knee. But he started chasing every shot in the 4th.
Kohls hit some incredible angle shots that hit the line and some great DTL shots that I wish Rafa could hit. (After a couple great fh dtl shots, Rafa kept mishitting it long so he didnāt try that shot in the last two sets IIRC.) Kohls also hit many wide serves perfectly early and some dtl serves in the last few sets that Rafa couldnāt return. Rafa also had a tough time to drop shot against him. He won several of those drop shot exchanges. He won some fans tonight by the 2nd set. The crowds were overwhelmingly pro ā Rafa at the beginning. The only shot he mishit often was the overhead volley. He hit two into the net. He even mishit it during the warm-up. But Kohls seemed to run out of gas by the 3rd set. I donāt remember he hit any crazy angle shots after that.
I forgot to mention those two drop shots Rafa hit were ridiculous. I had no idea how he made the ball drop like a stone right after flying past the net.
I saw a report saying the humidity was 90% tonight. I sat on the 2nd level and it was breezy and very comfortable. It must be a lot more humid on the court. Rafa changed shirts after every set. Whenever he got caught shirtless on the Supertron, there were lots of whistles/cheers. š
I got great sight line behind the baseline, but the usher didn’t block people from getting in and out during points. I missed several key shots because people walked down to the seats and blocked my view. It was quite annoying.
I was expecting schedule delays. I didn’t expect them to keep the evening schedule on time and move the day matches. I didn’t get the chance to enjoy Chase’s hospitality center or the food court. This is the first time I saw US Open live. I have to say the transportation was easier than I thought. They even ran special express 7 train at the end of the night to Manhattan to get people back into the city fast.
Overall, it’s been an enjoyable experience, if only Rafa didn’t make me so nervous.
JCKNY
Great to have your bird’s eye view comments. It’s even more stressful watching Rafa live isn’t it – particularly if he starts off by losing the first set !! And how sensible of them
to organise transport back into the city.
Yes, that boy needs to be spanked for making me a nervous wreck. š Ha, now I sound like all those women (or men?) who cheered on shirtless Rafa. š
Most people went to that match just to see Rafa. There were overwhelming cheers for Rafa throughout and most of us left right after Rafaās match. But NY crowds do appreciate efforts and great shots. They applauded Kohls loudly after he fought so hard to save BPs after BPs in the first 2 sets.
Yes, itās very considerate for the MTA to run special express 7 trains on a holiday for just the US Open crowds. It cut the train ride from 45 min to 30 min. Itās much appreciated because the match didnāt end until 10:40 PM.
There was a sense of disbelief after the 1st set because we knew Fed lost his match. So everyone’s unspoken thought was: “Not Nadal too!”
Nadal vs. Robredo preview – https://tenngrand.com/2013/09/03/u-s-open-qf-preview-and-pick-nadal-vs-robredo/
Brad Gilbert said that the humid conditions were making the balls heavy and damp. He said that the balls weren’t kicking up as high and that was causing problems with Rafa’s shots. That may be why he seemed to have some trouble in the first set. They said that it was 81% humidity that night. All of the players were sweating buckets. Robredo left a puddle of sweat on the court after he served. I think he even slipped and fell on his sweat when he was trying to get to a shot. Fed’s hair was completely wet and I never remember seeing him sweat so much. It was the same in the Raonic/Gasquet match. They were both sweating buckets. At the end of the fifth set despite his big serve, Raonic was out of gas.
Rafa mentioned in his on court interview with Brad Gilbert that the conditions weren’t good during the match. So that may have been part of his problem. But Kohls did come out and play very well. Rafa had to go to an extra gear tonight and that’s a good thing! He will feel good and have confidence after this well earned victory.