The Grandstand’s Ricky Dimon and Joey Hanf of The Tennis Nerds preview and pick the four men’s fourth-round matches on Tuesday at Wimbledon. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are two wins apiece away from a semifinal showdown.
(WC) Nick Kyrgios vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
Ricky: After a substantial early-match scare against 2012 Wimbledon conqueror Lukas Rosol, Nadal has watched his draw open up. He got Mikhail Kukushkin instead of Ivo Karlovic in the third round and now he gets Kyrgios instead of Richard Gasquet. Kyrgios has the game to trouble Nadal with a huge serve and a flat, punishing backhand but he is just 19 years old and has never been anywhere close to this stage of a Grand Slam. This is by far the biggest match of the Australian’s career. Youthful exuberance will not allow him to be afraid and the underdog may take advantage of a slow-starting Nadal, but the world No. 2 will wear Kyrgios down sooner rather than later. Nadal 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Joey: When filling out the draw, very few if any could have predicted this round of 16 match. Nadal dropped the first set in each of his first three matches and was one point away from going down two sets to love against Rosol. But the Spaniard found a way in each of those matches, and is starting to play really good tennis on the grass. However, he will be in for his stiffest test of the tournament when he plays the 19-year-old Kyrgios. The Australian saved nine match points in a five-set epic with Richard Gasquet and then took out fellow young gun Jiri Vesely in four sets. Kyrgios has big weapons; the serve is his greatest asset and the forehand has been praised as a great shot. But the backhand is personally my favorite shot that Kyrgios possesses. He hits it flat and it has a slight resemblance to Marat Safin’s two-handed hammer. Nadal will struggle to break early, but once he get’s one, it’s probably over. Nadal 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
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(5) Stan Wawrinka vs. (19) Feliciano Lopez
Ricky: I had Lopez in the quarterfinals from the start and there is certainly no reason to change it now. The Queen’s Club runner-up and Eastbourne champion has maintained his impeccable ways on grass so far this fortnight. He has been broken only once in three matches, including none during a big win over John Isner on Monday. Wawrinka did not have too much trouble reaching the fourth round, although he struggled through a four-setter against Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round. Lopez 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(6).
Joey: Of the four round of 16 matches to be played Tuesday, this one should be the best. Lopez is a different player on grass. His serve-and-volley game is the most effective in the modern game. His often-criticized backhand is actually effective on grass, because his sharp slice stays very low. Wawrinka has struggled at Wimbledon in the past, but he was impressive in his straight-set win over Denis Istomin in the third round. Wawrinka’s serve is very effective on grass; he really flattens it out more often than he does on clay. We can expect a few tiebreakers and this match will be decided by only a few crucial points. With each guy having to play on back-to-back days, fatigue could be an issue. It really could go either way, but I’ll go with Wawrinka in five. Wawrinka 7-6(7), 6-7(3), 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.
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(23) Tommy Robredo vs. (4) Roger Federer
Ricky: This isn’t 2013 anymore. A resurgent Robredo played some of the best tennis of his career last spring and summer, while Federer was flailing away in his worst-ever form. The result was a stunning fourth-round U.S. Open upset–with relative ease, too–in Robredo’s favor. Still, Federer leads the head-to-head series 10-1 and something along the lines of their first 10 encounters can be expected on Tuesday. The 32-year-old Swiss could not be more comfortable on this surface and he completely thrashed all three of his first-week opponents. Robredo, on the other hand, is coming off a five-setter against Jerzy Janowicz. Federer 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.
Joey: These two last met in the round of 16 at the 2013 U.S. Open, with Robredo pulling off a shocking straight-set upset of Federer. Now on grass, Federer has a chance to get revenge (if he likes that sort of thing). Robredo was impressive in taking out 2013 semifinalist Jerzy Janowicz in the third round, rebounding in the fifth set while just beating out darkness. But things will get much tougher against Federer, who has been at good-but-not-quite-great levels through his first three matches. If you’re a Federer fan, the good news is that he always raises his standard in the second week of Wimbledon. These two have never played on grass, but Federer owns the head-to-head series 10-1, with that lone loss coming just nine months ago. Expect Federer to roll. Federer 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2.
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(8) Milos Raonic vs. (10) Kei Nishikori
Ricky: Nishikori leads the head-to-head series 2-0 after beating Raonic in a pair of tiebreakers earlier this season in Madrid, but they have never faced each other on grass. Raonic had been surprisingly poor on the slick stuff prior to this Wimbledon, but he has cruised in straight sets in all three of his matches without dropping serve a single time. Nishikori, on the other hand, needed five sets to get past Simone Bolelli in the third round. Of course, the No. 10 seed’s form hardly matters because Raonic will take the match completely out of his opponent’s hands. Raonic 7-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Joey: For a good two and half hours, it didn’t look like we would get this matchup. Nishikori trailed Bolelli two sets to one and was down match point, but he recovered to win in five. Raonic has been imperious on serve, having only faced one break point through three matches while hitting 73 aces. The Canadian had struggled with his movement on grass in the past, but it looks like he’s getting comfortable on the surface where he could do the most damage. Grass is definitely Nishikori’s worst surface, but he’s still capable of hanging with Raonic, at least on his own serve. Unfortunately for Nishikori, he won’t get many looks on the Raonic serve. Count on at least one tiebreak, with the Canadian prevailing and setting up a potential quarterfinal against Nadal. Raonic 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-7(5), 6-4.
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@Sanju,
As I have said before, I defend your right to your feelings and thoughts. I can understand your disappointment. I try to put losses in perspective but sometimes it can take a while. You and I both thought that Rafa could win Wimbledon. So it’s natural to feel disappointment.
It’s true that Rafa is getting older now. That’s just the way it is in this sport. I also want to see him capitalize on his opportunities as much as possible.
I waited until today to post my thoughts. I try to hold back and process my feelings for a day. But it’s certainly your right to say what you think. I appreciate and respect your honesty and being true to your feelings. You love Rafa and want to see him have more great victories. But sometimes it’s just not meant to be.
NNY..dont worry..I am going to speak for myself and say exactly what I feel. I dont care if people like it or not, I am entitled to my opinions and will say it. If I feel Rafa has underperformed for me this year, it will stay that way irrespective of what others on this forum say. This site is meant to have diversity of opinions, it is not a Rafa fanboy/fangirl site to see nothing wrong in whatever he does or to paint a rosy picture always . It is good to look at the positive side but it is not always easy to look at eveything in a positive way after a bitter loss.
I definately dont think Rafa played well enough against Nick, he faulted on critical points. He was fearful and scared in my opinion. He is always vulnerable to big hitters on fast surfaces
What does not change though is that just coz I am disappointed by his season and others are not, does not mean they like him more than me or viceversa. Finally if he scales greater heights, we will be all equally happy.
Sanju (at 10:08 am),
—He was fearful and scared in my opinion—
And WHAT was he scared of?
Fearful of The big hitter in front of him and the fear of losing . He knows he is vulnerable to big hitters on grass.
How could you all not see the body language and face expressions. Its because he was fearful of losing, he played the big points bad.
Sanju (at 10:32 am),
Aren’t your extrapolating from your own feelings to his? I remember that you have been stressed before his matches.
silly me, I was posting my thoughts and frustration on the previous post, not realising that this one had been put up….
Well…. I say VAMOS NADAL for as long as he’s on tour but this loss is quite hard to understand… his 2nd serve was such a liability yesterday, Kyrgios just toyed with it… as for Kyrgious expected career.. he plays and moves better than Philipoussis but he’s got a frail frame .. let’s see how he performs on other surfaces
I could be wrong but I did not see as much animation from Rafa in the match against Kyrgios than against Klizan, Rosol and Kukushkin, even from Uncle Toni. I think Rafa expended so much emotional energy in those matches he was a little flat in yesterday’s match. He could have done with an opponent who gave him more rhythm, not demanded that much more concentration from him, which is needed for players he plays for the first time.
@Shireling,
I agree with your frustration regarding this loss. That’s why I didn’t post yesterday. I wanted some time to process it. The truth is that Rafa’s second serve has been a liability for a while now. That just puts more pressure on him to make his first serves. The serve is so much more important on grass, and that’s where I think Rafa has some issues.
I am certainly not going to get on the Kyrgios bandwagon yet. That happened with Janowicz last year and what has happened to him since? We will have to see if this guy can back up this kind of result.
The other point that I wanted to make, is that some here are conveniently forgetting that Rafa did get a break in not having to face Karlovic in the third round. Ricky had Rafa losing to him. Why? Because that’s exactly the kind of early round opponent on grass who is most dangerous for Rafa.
So for those who choose to complain about rigged draws again, the simple fact is that no one predicted this young guy to get through to the fourth round. There were other players who were expected to meet Rafa in the fourth round. The idea that anyone could have set it up for this guy to get through and wreck Rafa’s chances, is absolutely absurd. This was an unknown that could not have been planned.
There may be instances were the top four meet each other on a regular basis, such as to raise suspicions. But that is something else entirely than a young kid like this somehow getting through the first three rounds.
I also think that Rafa continuously losing the first set made it even tougher for him. He’s a great fighter and can come from behind, but against this kid I think he needed to win that first set. That would have put some pressure on his opponent for once.
So it wasn’t Karlovic, but an known guy with a similar type of game who was Rafa’s undoing.
Don’t know whether it was Rafa being flat or just that he had no answer to Kyrgios.
Rafa is used to bossing around and not only he wasn’t able to do that much but he was the one being bossed. I think losing the 3rd set, the way it happened (Kyrgios punishing his 2nd serve) affected him quite a lot.. from that moment on Kyrgios just got bolder whereas Rafa diminished… but, let’s not count our man out just yet, I’m sure he still has some battles to fight and win.
Well, maybe he had no answer because he was flat, at least flatter than normal! Or you could say, he became flat because he could not find an answer to Kyrgios……….
Having now watched the game I do not see the animation Rafa had in his previous games, that is where my flat description is coming from……….
My sense is that Rafa had no answer to Kyrgios. You mentioned how he lost the third set. That is the part of the match that I was able to watch. His second serve just couldn’t stand up to Kyrgios. Maybe at that point he felt that there was just not much more he could do.
No way am I counting out Rafa! He has shown resilience and an ability to bounce back from losses like this. The one thing that I do regret, is that he wasn’t able to take advantage of this opportunity to gain a nick chunk of points. Given what he is defending in the North American summer season, that would have been a good thing.
Sorry, meant to say NICE chunk of points!
No, Rafa missed many opportunities in the 3rd set. Didn’t take them. He had answers, ones that he normally makes, just couldn’t say them yesterday.
Young Bouchard is the real deal…………..she got game.
Interesting what the youngsters in the game say these days:
Dimitrov:
“I want to be great”
Kyrgios:
“I want to be #1”
I do not recall such statements from Rafa when he was starting out. He just went about his business and the rest followed. I prefer Rafa’s approach.
Rafael Nadal: “We’re leaving Wimbledon. I want to thank your incredible support, both when things work out and when they don’t.”
Vamos Rafa! Your true fans are always with you, when things work out and when they don’t……….
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152326043276026
It’s good for tennis that somebody else wins, new blood and all but, I just wish it was Novak or Fed doing the losing ….
^^Have you been watching tennis lately? These 2 have been a lot of that recently………losing, that is. 🙂
^^ should read, “have been doing a lot of that lately……….”
Great article by Simon Cambers about Rafa’s chances at Wimby, touches pretty much everything we have discussed on this board:
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/jul/02/rafael-nadal-wimbledon-defeat-world-no1-decline-grass
Even though Rafa had lost early the last couple of years, his loss to Krygios still rocks Wimbledon. Just goes to show that Rafa is still great despite these setbacks.
Vamos Rafa
Ooooh, the “flat” word! Commies saying Muzza is a little flat, Dimi currently leading at 5-1.
Have a funny feeling Andy is going down the same path. He is on the brink of losing the first set. The commies are all saying he is very ‘flat’ today.
^^Or maybe he has no answer to Dimi! 😉
#TakeYourPick
Thx for the article ristb,
True that nobody can count Rafa out of anything, even another final at Wimby but I for one would be surprised. It’s as unlikely as Fed playing another FO final, I’d say
I’m not watching the match ed251137 but 6 – 1 on the first set says it all :(.. damn, I was cheering for Andy now… c’mon Andy, snap out of it!
For Novak it seems to be another day at the office…
I hadn’t seen there was a Day 9 thread. Moving over there.