Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will continue their Wimbledon campaigns during third-round action on Saturday. Spots on the second Monday are at stake, with Nadal facing Alex De Minaur and Djokovic going up against Kyle Edmund.
Alex De Minaur vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
Nadal had lost in the first two rounds in three of his last five Wimbledon appearances, but he did not come close to suffering that kind of fate in 2018. The top-ranked Spaniard is No. 1 in the race to London thanks to a 32-2 record and he is showing no signs of slowing down on a more uncomfortable surface following yet another dominant clay-court surge that featured his 11th French Open title. Nadal opened at the All-England Club with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 rout of Dudi Sela before beating Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday.
Up next for the second seed on Saturday is a first-ever showdown against De Minaur. The 19-year-old Australian has stormed onto the ATP scene this season, already up to No. 80 in the world. Eleven of his 13 main-tour wins have come in 2018, with a semifinal showing in Brisbane, a runner-up performance in Sydney, two grass-court Challenger finals (one title, one runner-up), and four-set victories this week over Marco Cecchinato and Pierre-Hugues Herbert. De Minaur is clearly in fine form on the green stuff and his aggressive, early ball-striking will test Nadal, but he does not yet possess the all-around firepower to put a serious scare into the two-time Wimbledon champion.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 11-14 games
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(21) Kyle Edmund vs. (12) Novak Djokovic
Djokovic and Edmund will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers and for the second time in less than two months when they battle for a spot in the second week. After Djokovic won their first three encounters in straight sets (twice on hard courts in 2016 and again on hards at the 2017 Indian Wells Masters), Edmund recently prevailed 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 on the red clay of Madrid. But that was before Djokovic’s comeback had gained momentum, as the loss to Edmund dropped him to 6-6 for the season and 3-6 in the span of nine matches. The 21st-ranked Serb is 14-3 since with a semifinal run in Rome, a quarterfinal performance at the French Open, a runner-up finish at Queen’s Club, and routine Wimbledon wins over Tennys Sandgren and Horacio Zeballos. Djokovic has not surrendered more than three games in any set this week.
Edmund is an impressive 23-12 this year despite cooling off just a bit since a surprising semifinal result at the Australian Open. The 17th-ranked Brit had been a hopeless 1-5 lifetime at Wimbledon prior to this summer, but he is through to the third round for the first time thanks to straight-set victories over Alex Bolt and Bradley Klahn. This is where Edmund’s favorable draw ends, and he will likely get a grass-court lesson from an ever-improving Djokovic.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
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who ya got?
Djoker in five and Nadal in four
I still believe that Rafa will pulled off in 3…BUT..i’m very very certain that he will get a very tough test from ‘The Demon’…Yep!..Hehe…This kid nickname is The Demon…
I fell in love with this kid straight away after seen him defeated B.Paire at Sydney last january in semis & lost his 1st final to Medvedev…God!he’s so tough!..so fast!..And can handle the pressure really really well in front of his own crowd…What’s more,he just captured his maiden title at Challenger event just 2 weeks ago in Nottingham…heh heh…So,i think Rafa will have his hands full tomorrow…But,like i said up there..As impressive as The Demon is,Rafa still win in 3 insyaallah!…Vamos Rafa!!Wooohoooo!!…
Hes ok but I prefer Tsitsipas, Tsitsipas has a beautiful game, beautful footwork and backhand, and he has the patience of Rafa, knows how to construct points and he has a good serve.
Tsitsipas. — top of my list of the young guns
Novak in 3
Rafa in 3
Alright this is just too funny. Kyrgios won the Nottingham challenger in 2014 as well so that’s yet ANOTHER similarity between this matchup and the Kyrgios matchup 😂 19 year old Aussie who just won in Nottingham whose having his best run at a slam playing Nadal right after he beats Mikhail Kukushkin. What are the odds? 😂 Only difference is Rafa will win!!
Oh really Benny??OH MY GOD!!…Ohohohohoho!!…What a coincidence!!
Can’t wait to see the match tomorrow!..Hopefully Rafa will win unlike in the kyrgios match!
Don’t believe in such things! This boy is no Kyrgios! He’s not performing well in BO5 matches since reaching final in Sydney.
People seem to forget that this is a Bof5 set match. Advantage Rafa. He has the mental and physical fitness to outlast this kid. He may have the flat shots and swing for the fences and not have any other pressure, but Rafa has the smarts, experience and variety in his game. I also think Rafa is a man on a mission looking at his body language. He wants to break this cycle of early exits.
I think Rafa will be ready.
Oh!…For amy,Monalisa & other Rafans who want Moya at Wimby…I think u got your wishes guys!…
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/984883/Novak-Djokovic-LATE-Wimbledon-practice-Rafael-Nadal-Kyle-Edmund-injury
Oh fantastic moya is there!!
Ps I hope they have reported it right!the express is a dreadful tabloid full of rubbish!!
Rafa’s hitting partner doesn’t look like Moya:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dha2iUrX0AEy2Tl.jpg
I have big doubts about this story. The express is notorious for making things up!
I wish it was true! I don’t like rafa being at a slam with only roig! If they do the same as last year moya won’t be at the uso either!😕
I know that moya is supposed to want time with his kids but it makes no sense to me that he isn’t at the slams! He was at all the slams when he coached raonic!
In 2017:
¤ C.Moya was at the AO, FO and USO;
¤ F.Roig was at Wimbledon.
Rafa’s team & family arrives in Mallorca after the 2017 USO (Moya’s wife an kids meet them at the airport):
https://youtu.be/TTUmxyyJEQ4
BTW, at the end of last week, the Wimbledon website posted a picture from Rafa’s practice session and wrote that he listens to “his coach Miguel Angel Nadal” during his practice session:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dg9O5K3XkAEiCyC.jpg
LOL
Hahahahha….Yeah!…I heard about that too amy!!
I am glad that Moya is there. I feel better knowing he is with Rafa.
Fake news, apparently. The ATP site has a “Five Takeways by Roig” article that was kind of interesting.
If Rafa feels he needs input from Moya or Toni they’re just a phone call away…
Yes, Tsitsipas wins his match in straight sets and into the fourth round. Well done boy!
I am totally with what NNY said above. I don’t care what kind of a game the kid has- I just don’t see any way that any diminutive little dude is going to take out Rafa in BEST-OF-FIVE! NNY is right that best of five is a completely different animal. If majors were played best of three, I doubt that the Big 3 would have won the last 97% of majors since 2005 of whatever it is. But the majors ARE best-of-five, and I just don’t see a guy that is the size of Rafa’s thumb winning 3 out of 5 sets off of Rafa…
Sure, anything technically can happen. But it would take the kid having by far the greatest day at the office of his life, combined with Rafa just completely not showing up, for the kid to pull it off. And it ain’t 2015 anymore! Rafa just doesn’t lose to anyone at the majors these days who he is heavily favored over. He may have been slightly favored over Muller last year, but if he was, then it was just barely. But Muller has the exact game that hurts Rafa on grass. This De Minaur kid is sneaky good, but I just don’t see how he won’t be absolutely overpowered by Rafa’s supreme physicality and movement. But that’s just me. I will gladly eat my words tomorrow if the unthinkable happens. I actually think it might be more likely that Fed loses to Struff than it is that Rafa loses to De Minaur… And I don’t see Fed losing!
De Minaur over Nadal is definitely more likely than Struff over Fed. But both are unlikely
You think so, Benny? Maybe I missed the memo about De Minaur? I recognize some solid aspects of his game, but I don’t see the level of hype that there seems to be surrounding him… Maybe I went a little overboard with the Fed-Struff comparison haha, but I was just tying to point out how confused I am by people being so certain De Minaur will upset Rafa in a best-of-five match.
If we’re strictly talking about the size of Rafa’s opponent, we have seen a little guy in Davydenko get the better of Rafa on non-clay surfaces, but Davydenko never beat Rafa, or Fed even, in best-of-five because it was just too tall a physical task for someone of his slight build. And I’m getting the same feeling with De Minaur.
Again, I know that anything is possible, but I’m confused by people “predicting” the upset. It seems to me to be more of an instance of wishful thinking than it is a prediction. But that’s the way it often is with Fedal fans making “predictions” about the other Fedal guy. It’s funny how often when Fed or Rafa is facing an opponent who may have like a 10% chance of beating them, you’ll see diehard Rafa fans say that Fed “will lose”, or Fed fans say Rafa “will lose”, even though most unbiased people know that if the upset were to happen, it usually is not something that can be “predicted”, but rather a GUESS that they will be upset.
Fed hasn’t been taken to deuce on his serve once in three rounds. That means he hasn’t faced ONE BREAK POINT. The reason I was saying Struff had a lesser chance at the upset than De Minaur is for this exact reason. Fed is Isner with elite movement and groundstrokes right now 😂 So basically I’m giving any of his opponents a lesser chance at a win than anybody else in the draw until further notice.
Benny, that’s a pretty vivid -and accurate!- characterization of Fed right now.
You’re right Kevin, more like wishful thinking by the Fed fans, that Rafa would lose to this kid. Also, I suspect they want Rafa to lose before R4 so that Fed would get back to no.1 when they think Fed wins the title next Sunday.
Kevin,
Thanks for getting where I was coming from! I know there are those who are hoping that Rafa loses to this kid. But I believe that Rafa wants to do well here and will get the win.
Unless Nadal can lift his game significantly, I think he will lose this match, the way deMinaur is playing. Rafa was often pushed around by the weedy Kukushkin, so deMinaur’s small stature doesn’t really matter.
To win, Nadal has to serve better and show consistent aggression. I just don’t see it happening. DeMinaur in 4.
Fat hope! Rafa in three! The kid can’t push Rafa around.
If Kukushkin can push Rafa around, so can de Minaur. Like I said, Nadal needs to be more aggressive to win, but I don’t think he has the confidence that he can do it and still be successful.
Joe, how long Kukushkin could do so? Not for long and so Rafa beat him in straight sets! You think the kid could do that all match long and Rafa allowing him to do that???
Well, like I said, Kukushkin played the big points terribly, 2/13 BPs converted, I think. A few of those were when Rafa came up with a big serve (I can remember two terrific 2nd serves in particular). But most of them, as I saw it, were Kush making unforced errors, sometimes atrociously bad ones.
There were relatively few points where Nadal was dictating, even on his own serve. You just can’t play like that on grass and expect to win, especially if your serve is mediocre, which Nadal’s has been.
I’ll say it again. Rafa has to play more aggressively. To do that, he has to be confident enough that he can do it and succeed. Otherwise, as I see it, he tends to hang back, especially on the ROS. As you’ve said many times, he’s a counter-puncher. On this surface, with reduced foot-speed at his age, I think he needs to go on the attack more often.
Come on Joe, don’t you think it’s something to do with Rafa, that Kukushkin felt the pressure and so he played poorly those big points?? How come Kukushkin could beat De Minaur 6-1, 6-2 on grass at one of the warm up events but lost to Rafa in straight sets??
You talked as if there’s only one player out there! How many times it seemed that Rafa’s opponent was the aggressor and dictated points but still lost the match to Rafa? Many times! Rafa being a counterpuncher would most likely look like the one defending and counter attacking, not the main aggressor, even on grass.
I doubt Hewitt or Murray are attacking players, yet they’re able to win Wimbledon titles.
And, Rafa just played good enough to win, he didnt need to go all out to win unless absolutely necessary. He’s using his slices often in the match, more like honing his skills and those that he hit down the centre of the court needed improvement. If he makes those slices better, keeping them low and not floating high, his opponent would have a hard time returning them, hitting them into the net more likely than not.
Maybe you’re right that Nadal only played good enough to win. He certainly upped his level when he was down 3-1 in the 3rd. I just have my doubts. I guess we’ll soon find out.
no
De Minaur in 5
Djokovic in 4
You joking? The kid won’t last for five sets!
Who’s this D Novak guy? Why is Raonic having problems with him, can’t even shake him off with Raonic’s big serve.
I fancy Tsitsipas over Isner in R4. Who knows, this boy may be meeting Fed in the semifinal! I can dream of course; and Rafa vs Djoko in the other semifinal!
I saw the match and Dennis Novak was playing well. I am expecting at least one more tiebreak between the two.
I think the winner of Isner/Tsitsipas will make the semis. I also want them too 😂
Want them to*
God I hope it’s Tsitsipas. He would be a great match-up with Fed.
I want to see Tsitsipas vs Fed SF, that’ll be interesting. It may be future Wimbledon champ vs current champ. Tsitsipas hits his BH like Fed but better than the younger version of Fed imo. His serve can get better, and he has the footwork like Fed’s, quick and light footed.
He’s patient like Rafa, doesn’t go for broke but constructs points before going for the kill, especially when on clay.
I prefer Tsitsipas over Shapo many times, he has the game to play well on clay and grass; if he learns to pull the trigger at the right time and not being hesitant at times, he’ll save himself from some five setters. The boy may also win the FO one day, a channel slam after Rafa and Fed are done, I can dream.
Raonic’s problem is that he thinks he’s playing Novak D. Maybe someone will clue him in at dinner. Or breakfast.
Aussies know how to play on grass. They’re brought up playing predominantly on synthetic grass. This will be Nadal’s first test but should get through relatively unscathed.
Nadal in 4.
I can’t see Edmund losing in 3 on grass unless it’s Fed at the other end
If Edmund takes some of this chances he should at least win a set and Djokovic has beaten no one the last 2 weeks.
Djokovic in 4 but can see this being a tough match.
Aussie do know how to play grass but nothing to do with synthetic grass courts (which is predominantly an amateur, weekend club player surface here). It’s a very different surface to real grass. This current crop of Aussies more likely bought up on hard courts, or in Di Minuar’s case, clay, as he grew up and trained in Spain most of his life. Aussie’s play Wimby well because they are coached to have all-court game, attacking style, volley well and expose themselves to doubles.
After Hewitt, only Tomic and Kyrgios made one QF each at Wimbledon. I don’t see that many Aussies making it to the later rounds at Wimbledon. It’s more the Europeans – Fed, Rafa, Djoko, Murray, Cilic, Dimi – making the later rounds or winning at Wimbledon.
PS. I’m referring to the current era of course, not in the past eras when the great Australians were dominating.
Edit: De Minaur in 4.
Phew! You had me worried there for a moment.
LOL.
Your track record isn’t great, JC, even worse than mine!
Trust me, ive put a lot of thought into that. De Minaur is a big chance!
I agree with you JC, De Minaur could definitely beat Nadal. However, De Minaur HAS to serve well in order to beat Rafa.
Did you say definitely?
I’ve also picked de Minaur to win, but that’s based on current form, which for Alex has been very good and Nadal (imo) not so good.
Absolutely, for de Minaur to win he will have to serve and play close to his best (and his current form is about the best he’s ever played). Even if that happens, should Nadal manage to lift his game significantly from the first two rounds, then of course Rafa should win.
I want to see a Fed-Djokovic final, so I’m hoping Novak can make it. But I’m just not sold on him yet. I think he’ll take this, but honestly I wouldn’t be surprised to see him upset again. He needs to put on a few pounds. Or something.
rafa and Joker cruise in 3.
Anyone at Wimby this year? Had the opportunity to watch live Radu Albot – J Isner yesterday. Really curious about his next match against Tsitsi. This man is serving bombs.
last 2 years but not this year. have fun!
Be calm, be focused, be confident, be courageous, be strong, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DhfdJvYW4AAPVJY.jpg
Yesss!!Break!!…C’mon Rafa!!…Finish it in 3!
What do you think about the backhand slices mira?!
Too many? He makes a few ues on them
Rafa sweating very heavily. Its hot and humid and forecast remains the same. Focus should be to finish the match quickly.
By far the best start for him in terms of level of tennis. And Australian looks like a steady player. He will give Rafa the kind of match he needs at this
Double break!!!😀😀
Oh wow!…The match turning to learning session atm!…I can’t believe it!!
I feel Rafa is practising his slices; slices are useful on grass. It’s just that his execution is not perfect, some slices tend to float and out of control, he needs more practices, more control. To me, Rafa’s slices were terrific during 2010, at Wimbledon and USO that year.
I like what he does in slowing the pace down with slices and then unleashing huge shots on the forehand! But he does make ues on the backhand slice..
I see Rafa has come out focused a d playing well here. The kid looks over matched right now to me.
Rafa serving well so far.
Rafa breaks in the second set. He seems to know exactly what he wants to do and the kid sides not have the answers.
The kid DOES not have the answers. *
Rafa is serving very well! But again, Rafa detractors always look for sometime to hype in hope of taking Rafa out so that Roger can get a free pass to trophy! The kid is good, but the way Monfils is playing even he would give this guy a good schooling!
Rafa is getting a lot of joy on these hot hard courts where the ball bounces higher than usual!
Good signs!
Yeah Nny!…I think the hard match DeMinaur had against cecchinato & Herbert & both won in 4 finally got to him….
What? Oh plz! Hes a young guy! That’s no excuse!!
Monalisa…What i meant was that DeMinaur maybe mentally drained a little bit..Not physically drained..And of coz,facing The Great Rafa Nadal will only add the cause quickly…
Also 1 stand out fact…Rafa loves playing in this condition…Hot weather makes the court harden a little bit & makes the ball bouncing a little bit higher than usual…And his knees certainly will not suffered much…Which is a blessed to us fans!..Woohoo!
But it’s humid out there.
It seems that Rafa is okay with it though. He looks very good and not that bothered by the humidity.
Del Potro beating Paire in 3. Take note, they are the kind of signals I look for.
Did you actually watch the match or not? Delpo wasn’t convincing at all, more to do with Paire being erratic. Paire suffered a fall and was limping for a while.
Delpo looked better playing against Feli Lopez.
Hahaha amy!…I see you’re also talking about ball bouncing higher due to hot weather!…Sorry Boss!…I didn’t see yours when i made mine!..Hehe
Disgraceful mira!!!😀😀
Hahahahaha!….So sorry Your Highness!…I promise,i will not do it again…Please forgive me Your Highness!!
Maybe in a few years i will show you some mercy mira😀
Rafa showing kygrios how it’s done with the between the legs winner!!😀
That tweener shot from Rafa was brilliant!
Rafa just hit a 125 mph serve for a winner.
Just three games won by the kid.
I do think that tough matches could be a problem even though this is a young kid. They don’t always have the fitness to handle tough matches. So it’s not only about being young. You need to work hard to become fit enough to have the stamina required in slam matches. So I think MA’s point is a good one.
But I think overall Rafa just has too much game, too much variety and the kid doesn’t know what to do. Rafa loves the hot conditions with the ball bouncing nice and high.
😁😁 nny!!
Didn’t joe predict de minaur would win?!
Amy,
Not only Joe Smith, but our favorite prognosticator Jim Courier!
😀
Ah yes nny!! Such genius on their part!😉
amy,
😘
Hahaha that forehand from Nadal was SICK!! De Minaur did everything so well on that point, that last shot was just crazy good though. I thought De Minaur would test Nadal for a set or two because of his flat groundstrokes and fighting spirit. I just woke up to see I was clearly mistaken. #RafaRolling
Whooo!…Rafa certainly use his dangerous FH DTL at least twice/thrice more than in Kukushkin match!…THAT IS AWESOME!!…I gotta tell ya guys!…This kind of form that will take Rafa to the final!…Insyaallah!..God!It’s been a long time since i’ve seen ‘this Rafa’…Missed it sooooo very much!!
I meant to say..’This Rafa’ at Wimby!…Now,i dared to hope!..C’mon Rafa!!
Careful mira! One match at a time!
Rafa will almost certainly have a match where he gets very nervous
Some idiot has just held up a placard saying: “1’d rather be watching football. C’mon England” Who dragged him to Centre Court kicking and screaming?
I don’t believe it!
They have switched to the halep match!
Please let me know what’s going on!
It’s on the Red Button on the BBC.
Thanks nadline! Finally worked it out!😀
Ikr!!
Hehehe…yess Boss!!
Oh really amy?Well..DeMinaur decided to play tennis after all at 5 4 on Rafa serve..And Rafa won amy!!Yeessssss!!Woohooo!!
Woohoo!!! High five mira and nny!!!!
F
amy,
Yes! Rafa wins!!!
😁😁😁
Yessss amy!!….High 5 to u & Nny too!!…Whooohooo!!…
Now!On to the next match!!…
GSM, Nadal
61 62 64
Apparently, Halep is about to go out.
Yeah!! Rafa!! Vamos!
Halep is out.
all of the top ten women are gone!! Halep just lost!! Whats going on?!!
Kerber up next! Hope she wins!
No! Hope she loses, lol!
Why mona?! Don’t you like her??
Only # 7 Pliskova is still in it.
This is what I don’t Ike about the women. Too much inconsistency. Halep just won RG and as the #1 player I would have expected a decent result from her. These top ten players are too good to all get knocked out, not good for the game.
Serena really has a golden opportunity now.,
No, not really!
Kerber is for sure my fav WTA player
Halep out!! Are there any seeds left!
Oh!One more thing guys!…Rafa’s NIKE label also RED in colour when he won Wimby 2010…hehehe…Oooppssieeee!!
I’m sure Serena’s name is already engraved on the trophy.
Lol!!!!
YES! Beautiful match, Rafa! Great net play, great volleys, calm at key points, serving well, slices well used, killier forehands! A few more UEs here and there but that’s grass and I’ll take it! Aggressive play paying off! Very nice, very nice! Bravo Rafa!
Vamos Champ!
I’m still surprised that anyone actually thought that Alex De Minaur could actually test Rafael Nadal at a major… People need to realize that it’s just extremely unlikely that anyone who isn’t physically imposing at will never test Rafa at a major. The players that give Rafa trouble
on grass are pretty much always bigger, stronger dudes who can really take it to Rafa. Alex De Minaur is a child.
Petchey was bigging Alex up before the match but I think they’re just trying to whip up some kind of suspense for people who don’t normally watch tennis.
👍Well said Kevin!
Kevin,
Now you know why I said what I did about this kid. I knew he would not be able to hang with Rafa. I was shocked that anyone would pick him to beat Rafa, but they are the ones who want Rafa to lose. Rafa was ready, as I expected him to be.
Nadal has lost sets to Schwartzman both the last two times they’ve played at slams. Schwartzman is the opposite of physically imposing but he fights like a dog and so does De Minaur and this is Rafa at Wimbledon, not the French. So I don’t think it was crazy to think De Minaur can test Nadal for a set or two. To pick De Minaur to actually win the match was very wishful thinking though.
Benny, you want to compare De Minaur to Diego? How long has Diego played in the tour compared to De Minaur and what’s Diego’s ranking? Diego is a more established player on clay than De Minaur is on grass.
De Minaur can only hit flat shots, there’s no variety in the way he hits his shots, perhaps he should add in some or some more spins into his shots and give his opponents different looks (at them).
I’m just saying that a guy can’t be discounted just because of his physicality if he’s got a lot of heart. I didn’t anticipate Rafa playing this well, I mean he was on fire!! I still didn’t think De Minaur would win or anything, I just didn’t think Nadal would crush him so impressively. That last point was awesome by the way, I forgot to mention how big of a smile that put on my face. I loved how Rafa, being the humble guy he is, didn’t want to celebrate too hard after a beatdown like that but still did a slow motion fist pump because his last point was so sick 😆
So happy Rafa is into second week in how long?! I’m so so so happy!!
Vamos!
And to top it off, he remains #1!! Hurray!!
Now rafa stays no 1 till Canada masters? That will take him to 185 weeks right? Augusta?
Go Rafa go!!!
All top 10 women seeds out is a joke. Stars aligning perfectly for Serena.
Good play from Rafa. First serve was bit down and UE were there. But he is improving. Onto second week and he would remain world no. 1 till USO most probably now.
I think he might play Fognini
everyone here is saying he served well and you saying his first serve is down..you mean first serve % not high enough ? or points won on first serve?
yes first serve percentage dropped especially in third set. I think this was a good match for Rafa. Tried slices, vollleys and lot of baseline play.
I think he’s hitting his serves harder so he sacrificed some precision but he won higher % on those first serves that went in. His second serve % won was also higher.
One thing I don’t understand is why he’s making a mess while serving for the sets and then the match? He struggled while serving for each set. His slices still need improvement but overall his level is high.
With this win, he retains his number one ranking for a few more weeks at least, so happy for him.
has rafa played vesley? how does vesley play?
Vesely won’t be easy. Big serving lefty who is at his best on grass. But Nadal should get through. I had him beating Vesely in five at the start of the tournament but if they meet (which isn’t a given yet) then I think Rafa will probably get through easier. Jiri is a tough out though.
Good pick on Vesely, Benny! I agree with you that he can be very good, but he’s also quite inconsistent. However, he’s big and can play an imposing game when he’s on. I didn’t see any of the Fognini match, so don’t know what happened there.
if the 2 rafa haters on this site – joe smith and jim courier could predict everyone beating rafa on clay at french open with their computerised signals :-)…it is no surprise they expect him to be beaten here.
I don’t think Joe Smith hates Rafa – he’s just afraid of him. He’s a threat to Fed’s GOAThood.
I neither hate Rafa nor am afraid of him. I’ve said many times that I like him as a person, as much as anyone could “like” someone they don’t really know. When it comes down to it, I could care less about what happens to any professional athlete, unlike many quasi-religious Nadal fans on this site who take any criticism of him very personally indeed.
Nadal is a potential threat to Fed’s GOAT-hood, but I have no problem with that. I’ve said that if he matches Fed in slams and can win at least one WTF, I will call it a wash. I think neither of those things are likely to happen, but they might.
It would be nice if more Rafa fans here at least had your honesty and insight to call Rafa a “threat” to Fed’s GOAT-hood, tacitly recognizing that Fed is currently the GOAT until proven otherwise.
Sanju…It’s not fair to labeled Joe a hater…I don’t think he’s a hater…He’s just voiced his opinion which is what we’re doing all the time right?It’s just his is contrasted with us Ra fans…I think it’s Stanley who’s more vicious than Joe…
Mira has a point. Joe voices his opinion in a pretty reasonable manner, his pick just was against Rafa and that seems to make many of you dub him a Rafa hater for it. I received a lot of the same negative reception from a few of you last year as many accused me of hating on Nadal (even though I clearly don’t hate Rafa or any player for that matter) when I picked Muller to beat Nadal, which was of course a great pick.
Mira, Benny G- Nothing against Joe picking Minaur to beat Rafa here..but you all have not forgotten that he also picked against Rafa at French if I remember on 2 occasions..
Anyways anyone can pick anyone and its all okay..It is the surity with which they predict that is upsetting..I mean the guy has won 17 slams and people say they don’t think Rafa can get aggressive etc etc..
Most Rafa fans too would not want Fed to win and that is okay and I am perfectly okay Joe not wanting Rafa to win ..but most of us Rafans dont go to Feds threads predicting he will lose most times :-)..That is the difference..
Sanju, go back and look at what Lucky said about Fed’s chances on grass last year after he lost at Stuttgart, and even after his first few matches at Halle and into Wimby. I thought she wasn’t seeing clearly, and I’m sure her bias affected her, but that’s ok. There’s nothing wrong with picking against a player, and my picking deMinaur was a sincere pick based on what I saw in the Kukushin-Nadal match.
Joe, I said Fed sure not to win Wimbledon last year?? I said Sasha didnt play like Khachanov against Fed in the Halle Final and so he lost.
Fed didnt play well at Stuggart and Halle last year, which ever way you want to put it, but he played worse at Halle this year! I didnt see wrongly, the field was weak at Wimbledon last year with Djoko having to retire.
I personally dont think he played that great at Wimbledon last year, its more a weakened field plus a Cilic who couldnt play his best in the final.
If you ask me, I think Fed played and served better this Wimbledon, at least so far in his first three matches.
Its unlike you who said Rafa would lose to his opponent on clay at FO almost in each match he played, last year and this year! You rarely said that about Fed on grass and thats unbiased??
Lucky, find a post where I actually picked against Nadal on clay. As I just said to Sanju, I’ve only picked against him once at RG. I may have picked against him once more at the very beginning of clay season last year, when many people were saying he didn’t look as good (I think he dropped a set to Edmund early at MC).
Fed played brilliantly at wimby last year. Statistically, his match against Cilic was comparable to Rafa’s against Wawrinka. But you’re incapable of admitting you’re wrong when it comes to Fed.
Joe, picking De Minaur is a sincere pick? More like wishful and disrespectful pick, against Rafa.
I mean what did De Minaur have to offer? Hes not a Kyrgios, doesnt have Kyrgio’s talent, power and great serve. His court craft is not exceptional for a guy his age.
Rafa need not play his best to beat Kukushkin, and its obvious to me Rafa could raise his level when needed even during the match . Its strange that you think De Minaur could play better than Kukushkin to beat Rafa.
Please Joe, statistically? Against a Cilic hampered by foot blister?? You’re the biased one who think Fed beat a Cilic who was playing well!
Sanju..I know & i understand how u & other Rafans feelings…But,just think for a second Sanju…Does it matter much what Joe or others think about Rafa’s win or lose?I think Rafa’s result on court already the BEST answer we can get..And Rafa answered brilliantly from last year till now..And he will keep answering & answering until he retires..So,how about we just let Joe keep on give his input?It certainly would not change Rafa’s result on court right?And i’m pretty sure too that Rafa himself would not mind much if he read Joe’s comment…Coz…it’s just a comments… right?
Wise words as usual, Mira. I’m happy for you for Rafa’s impressive win today.
Sanju, I believe I picked against Rafa at RG only once: in the final against Wawrinka last year. Even then it was a qualified pick, dependent on Stan playing near his best tennis (like in 2015), which he certainly did not.
One more thing about this, Sanju. It’s ironic that you casually and wrongly apply the “hater” label to me, when there are several *actual* haters on this site that you never say a word about.
Hawkeye and Augusta seem to actually hate Federer, at least based on the things they say and post, especially the former. Natashao, Nadline, and a few others seem (to me) to genuinely and intensely dislike Fed. People here regularly demean him personally, whereas I have never said a word against Rafa personally.
Last year someone on this site called Federer a “pussy” for not playing RG. That garnered several laughs from a few Fed haters, including some mentioned in the previous paragraph. I pointed out that one can only imagine the reaction here if someone had applied the label to Nadal, for instance, for skipping Queens this year.
Vamos Rafa! I like the Demonator but he’s got a ways to go imo. Anyway, a refreshing change after the latest Aussie prodigies.
My theory is that Rafa’s been keeping himself on a leash, practicing the skills he needs to hone for the later rounds while playing guys he can beat at will. He (and his team) are using his good draw to good purpose and keeping the training sessions short. Loved the way he finished the Kuku match, suddenly running around the backhand and unleashing those wicked forehands. Like, “enough practice, I’m ready for some rest and I need to shop for groceries so I can cook dinner.” (check out his latest post).
Btw, sympathies for the Halep fans.
That Tiafoe guy looks very good!
R. Nadal will lose his next match, who might he play next?😂🤣😂
OK he will lose to Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarterfinals.
The only two people, aside from Federer, who I see as a true potential threat to Rafa here are Del Po and Kyrgios. I think I might even see Kyrgios as a bigger threat than Del Po. Not only because he has beaten Rafa at Wimbledon before, but more because he doesn’t have a weak backhand for Rafa to break down like Del Po has. Since it’s on grass, Del Po does have the potential to dictate enough with his serve and forehand that he might have an easier time keeping Rafa from just crushing forehands to Del Po’s backhand. But there still is that weakness in Del Po’s game that unfortunately is strictly a result of his surgeries. And Rafa can exploit that better than anyone on tour.
Obviously Novak should be considered at least a threat to Rafa at Wimbledon. But seeing as Novak is no longer the dominant force he once was, I’m not sure if he should be favored in a potential matchup with Rafa. If both of them make the semis, and Novak gets there playing relatively dominantly, I feel like you could call that one a toss-up. Although I would personally pick Rafa to win that one.
If he cares, Kyrgios is the biggest threat to anybody anywhere outside of clay.
Gulbis looks like a dark horse here!
I agree with you there, Benny.
But, by the time Kyrgios gets to the SF, he’ll be running out of steam. He has to get past Kei (not easy), then Sasha/Gulbis and then most likely Djoko, not an easy path.
I watched Delpo vs Paire, tbh, Delpo no doubt is formidable with his hitting and his serve, but he tends to overhit when rushed. I feel Rafa has enough guile and court craft to deal with Delpo. I view a good form Djoko more formidable than anyone else for Rafa.
And Kyrios has never beaten Kei, h2h 3:0
I dont think Del Potro played well today. Paire should have won the second set after a break up. But DelPo is unpredictable, up next Simon who plys decent on grass for some reason
I don’t care if it was on clay- if Rafa was able to beat Vesely in 2015, dude is getting smoked by Rafa in 2018! 😂 Just kidding. 😉
I do think that neither Vesely, nor Fognini, will be able to truly test Rafa. The days of coming back from 2 sets to love down to beat Rafa at a major are long gone. I don’t see Rafa being tested until the QF (If he faces Del Po).
And I don’t see Fed being tested until the SF (If he faces Raonic). People don’t always want to admit it, but Raonic has to be considered at least a threat to Fed at Wimbledon. We keep hearing about how Fed has won how-ever-many consecutive sets at Wimby. Who was the last guy to not only get a set off Fed, but also BEAT him, at Wimby? Milos Raonic. Yes, Fed was not fully fit in 2016, but he was still playing well enough to have at least made the Final. And Milos pulled off the upset in 5. I’m not suggesting at all that Milos should be favored at all against this Fed, but he should not be just brushed off as having no chance. Aside from Stakhovsky, anyone who has ever beaten Fed at Wimbledon should at least be recognized as capable of causing the upset again, even if it’s unlikely.
Same goes for Kyrgios with Rafa. It could be easy to say that that was 4 years ago, and Rafa is better now, so it won’t happen… It absolutely could happen. Same with Milos and Fed. Although I’ll admit that there’s a much better chance of Kyrgios upsetting Rafa again than there is of Raonic upsetting Fed again.
Of course Kevin I knew you would say that, your last sentence!
Plot twist: Raonic isn’t getting past Isner in the quarters.
Even bigger plot twist: Raonic isn’t getting past Mcdonald in the forth round
As I said, by the time Kyrgios get to the SF, he’ll be running out of steam. They won’t meet until the SF, it’s not a R4 match. Kyrgios is not known to be that physically fit.
I give Raonic better chance against Fed than Kyrgios against Rafa, simply because Raonic is still fitter than Kyrgios, more focused and has a relatively easier path to the SF.
Lucky, Raonic is the one who has been constantly injured for the last year. He also just lost a set to Dennis Novak. Federer also hasn’t been taken to deuce on his serve in his first three matches. Kyrgios also hit 64 aces in two matches at Queen’s. He would also have no motivation problem playing against Rafa in a Wimbledon semifinal due to the gravity of that matchup and Nick’s ability to show up for big matches against the best players, particularly on grass. Sorry but do you actually give Raonic a better chance at beating Federer than Kyrgios beating Nadal? Sorry but I sense some bias Lucky…
Benny, it’s not like they’re going to play tomorrow. I repeat for the second time, Kyrgios will be physically spent when he gets to the SF. You think they had not played before in big matches? Remember Beijing final last year? What happened then?
Kyrgios is much better nowadays on this surface, and Nadal is much worse. That’s all I’m saying.
And I mean compared to the Beijing surface, not in comparison to each other as if Rafa is much worse than him because that’s not what I meant but I didn’t really word my comment clearly.
Rafa isnt much worse than 2014 this year or last year: and Kyrgios hasnt reached the QF at Wimbledon since 2014 if Im not wrong.
Benny, Kyrgios is much better on this surface this year yet he couldn’t get past R3, losing to Kei! Such is Kyrgios, as I said, he hasn’t done better on this surface than his 2014.
Kyrgios is also constantly injured.
And Nadal isn’t?
Rafa is physically much fitter than Kyrgios! Are you doubting that? See!
Joe, are you serious? You’re comparing Rafa the no.1 player despite his injury issues to Kyrgios?
Well, off clay Rafa has been injured quite a lot in the last year. Anyway, that’s not important. They both seem to be relatively healthy right now. If they meet, I definitely would give Kygrios the edge based on current form. They both have to get there first.
Looks like Kei is giving this in form Kyrgios plenty of troubles at the moment!
Looks like the Fog is bowing out!
Its Vesley vs Rafa R4, and most likely Djoko vs Khacharnov R4.
Only have scores right now but it appears that Kerber beat Osaka without much fuss. That leaves maybe Karolina Pliskova and Angie Kerber as the only I see left to challenge Serena. Am I overlooking anyone?
And it looks like Sascha better be careful. Gulbis already got a set?
Tiafoe a set away from beating Khachanov!
Come on nole!!! Focus!!!
Don’t like it when Nole goes to the net!
Oh My God!…Kyle is a beast atm!!..Ohohohoho!!…Blasted winners everywhere!!..And his famous big FH is doing damage to Nole’s serve now!
I don’t like kyle! Nole is playing pretty passively!
Don’t think I can watch this!
Oh!Too bad Your Highness!…I like Kyle!..Hehehe…
And i adore Nple’s greatness too!
Hehehe…I meant NOLE!..Urgh!!Typing in the dark is just horrible!!..Urgh!!
Nole is one of my favourite players after Rafa!
Hehe..yes Boss!..I know!
Gulbis breaks Zverev!
Edmund is playing very well. Now he has to consolidate the break. He’s kept his composure so far.
Gulbis on the verge of going up two sets to one. Is Zverev going to have to do it the hard way?
Ridiculous errors by Gulbis!
Zverev levels!
Gulbis making a mess of serving for the set!!
Edmund wins the first set,
😢😢not watching!!
Nole is going to lose!
Nole is a bit too passive and is visibly frustrated about something constantly rumbling..I think the crowd..they are trying to rattle him a lot..
He is absolutely hopeless playing on centre in front of the home crowd!
I remember this from matches against Murray who is of course a far better player than Edmund!
Edmund is being taken to deuce a lot on his games and has faced 5 bps till now..he really cannot be playing with fire so much..Nole is just not landing the final blow and is making errors when he has BP, few ofcourse Edmund served very well and hit good winners.
well but he won 2 Wimby finals against this same crowd and Federer..Thats what Mcenroe said..he used to make the crowd being against him motivate him then..that fire is not seen now..
In the Edmund Nole match you dont need to watch the match..you can figure out who won the point just hearing the sound of applause 🙂
Yeah, this version of Nole really doesn’t bother with fighting against a home crowd. He caves in and gives them what they want. So I was wrong again – my hopes too high and I forgot about home court rooting for Edmund.
Glad I’m not watching.
I haven’t been watching rc! Just tune in to see bits but I have seen this movie before with Nole!😢😢
Oh Nole breaks!😀
Can he serve for the set!?
God i hate my own home crowd at times! Go Nole!
they’re especially enthused thanks to the soccer result
Nole takes the second set!!😁😁
That is completely true!
Gulbis falling apart!
Although Edmund has taken the first set, he needs to keep his focus, any slight slip in concentration and a 70% Djokovic will take control.
Gulbis really let Zverev off the hook.
Yes indeed nny!
Gulbis really is a basket case!
If Nole wants to win he has to start hitting his bhdtl!
Edmund has to take the first 2 sets to win this match. Not that Djoker is playing that well but at 70% he is better than Edmund. Edmund is playing Djoker’s game from the baseline instead of forcing errors from him.
So Gulbis was up 5-2! Now 5-3!
Nole playing better now! He should just accept the crowd is against him and say f*** you!
And he breaks!😀
Don’t think Edmund stands any chance against this Nole! Nole is serving decent, winning points onbhis second serve as well, moving and retrieving well! Once they go into rallies Nole is in advance…I am surprised the way they play on grass with long rallies as it was a clay court match! Nole will win this in 4 and the crowd only motivates him more…
Gulbis takes the fourth set!
What’s happened to all these weapons Edmund is supposed to have, according to the British experts. Edmund is doing no more than keeping the ball in play which is right up Djokovic’s street.
Edmund’s weapons are pretty easily tamed on grass. This is why Edmund’s game is much more effective on clay. He has more time to set up his huge forehand, and the ball sits up more nicely for him. On grass, if you can dictate play against him, you can make it really hard for him to use that forehand weapon by hitting deep to that wing.
People compare Edmund to Courier a lot due to his big forehand and serve, not to mention the ginger complexion. 🙂 Although Courier was WAY better than Edmund in his prime, as he was a much smarter player than Edmund. Courier’s prime was short lived, but there was a two year period (mid ‘91 to mid ‘93) where he was unquestionably the best player in the world. He defended both his RG and AO titles, and he beat Stefan Edberg in both AO Finals, knocking Edberg out of the world #1 spot in the process.
So I understand the comparison there, but Courier was the best player in the world when he was Edmund’s age, so the comparison isn’t THAT good…
I didn’t get to see Nadal-de Minaur until 4-2 in the 3rd set; they didn’t broadcast it, unfortunately. I assume that Nadal played a lot better than the previous round, at least from what I saw. His serve still didn’t look that good to me, but de Minaur was terrible at ROS; that seemed to be the difference in the games I saw.
Anyway, good win for Rafa. Although I think his competition has been generally weak, the fact that he is yet to drop a set here. And I was obviously badly wrong about this match.
Joe Smith, which country do you live in that didn’t show Rafa’s match?
Nope, he served very well in the first two sets and De Minaur had no answer; Rafa won easily at 6-1, 6-2 the first two sets.
If Rafa continues to play like this, he’ll beat whoever to reach the SF.
Joe, you could say the same for Fed, his competition is even weaker when they couldn’t even generate a BP!
There is really no comparison between Fed’s serve and Rafa’s, based on the stats and on what I’ve seen.
How do you think this dry and hot weather would play/influence the game should Fedal meet in the final? How much of an advantage/disadvantage would it be for Rafa and Roger?
Can’t believe Zverev will let Gulbis beat him! Not surprised with Gulbis though! He has always been the spoiler and dangerous when he decided to actually play his game! But Zverev should be better than this!
Disappointed to see Tiafoe losing a two set lead to Khachanov. Would love to see Gulbis win against Zverev, though.
Watching Nole right now. Imo, the biggest technical difference between his peak two years ago and now is his forehand. He’s not driving it like he used to, hitting with it with a bit more topspin but less penetration. His serve and BH look good, but I think the elbow injury has affected his FH.
Gosh Gulbis is up 3-0 in the fifth and is serving!!
Gulbis up 4-0!!
Apparently Zverev has won 5 points in this set!
Gulbis up 5-0!
I’m baffled that Gulbis is still having to play qualies for the main draw. he’s better than that.
I like Sasha but he has had a few close calls this tourney so i had the feeling it would catch up with him. Good win for Gulbis!
Like i said before, seems to be dark horse in tourney!
is he?
lol, well we will c!
Gulbis wins !
Zverev so overrated!! No fight whatsoever!
Zverev is still so weak at slams. This is like the Chung match in Melbourne when he got bageled in the fifth and won like a game’s worth of points. The dude just goes away in too many of these matches. #MrMasters1000
Benny, he’s like Murray, winning the Masters but losing at the slams to not only the big three but to lower ranked players at times. The slams will come, it’s a matter of time. He needs to get fitter, improve his game further and improve tactically too.
Wow! Zverev going 5 with Gulbis! I know Gulbis can be a tough customer, but it will be VERY disappointing if Zverev loses this match. I don’t understand why Zverev struggles so much at the majors when he is so good everywhere else. If you’re Top 3 in the world, you should have more than just ONE QF appearance to your name. Luckily he is so young, so he should be able to figure it out eventually. But I don’t care how old you are in this sense- if in about the last year a dude has won 3 Masters titles and is #3 in the world, you cannot be always losing, or almost losing, to inferior players at the majors.
I am not writing him off completely because we have seen players in the past take a little while to break through at the majors. Federer didnt break through at the majors right away. However, Fed wasn’t Top 3 in the world, had only won 1 Masters title, and he at least had a massive potential-proving win at the Majors when he ended the 30-something match/4 straight title winning streak of arguably the greatest grass court player of all-time…
Zverev just has not had that potential-realizing moment at the majors yet. Sure, he’s got big wins at Masters tournies, but that means nothing if you haven’t done it at the majors- where it REALLY matters.
He’s got the game to win majors, but he’s still just too immature to me, and his game doesn’t have enough variety, to be able to win Wimbledon. Obviously I could end up eating my words on Sunday, but I highly doubt it… The truth is that, if Zverev is going to take that next step, he’s likely going to have to either knock off Fed or Rafa, or he’ll have to just wait until the Big 3 (or at least just Fed and Rafa) are all too old and washed up.
Does Zverev really have the hunger? Maybe he’s too much of a “good boy”? Federer, Nadal and Djokovic were all desperately *hungry* by his age. They wanted to win and believed they could. When Rafa was 21 he believed he could beat Federer at Wimbledon. He was a Spanish clay court player whose dream was to win Wimbledon and he had to go through what he had to have known was one of the best grass court players ever to do it, and when he failed in the 5th set he was totally miserable and it hurt for a year until he came back told himself he was going to win it this time and did! That’s the kind of hunger you need and when you lose it’s got to feel really awful. I don’t think you can wait and expect to inherit a crown when the top guys age out. Someone hungry WILL come along and grab it from you.
I think Sasha had an injury during Halle and lost early there. I think he’s not really at 100% yet. He slipped and fell so often that I feel it’s not normal. He wasn’t this bad last year.
His big serve should be working well on grass but it doesn’t seem the case so I think there’s something wrong with him.
I don’t think he doesn’t have the hunger to win a slam, it’s just that he’s not ready yet.
stamina also an issue
Give home a break, remember Novak remaining at #3 for years before breaking through
He reminded me of Murray when he was top four making breakthrough at the slams. He’s not only blocked by the big three at the slams but sometimes fell to guys like Haase/Stan or Tsonga/Verdasco in the early rounds. Murray was also poor on clay losing to Ferrer and Berdych at FO.
Sasha may need a few more years to be ready, physically and tactically, to win a slam.
Don’t you think he’s like a younger Murray in the making? Maybe he’s like Murray and will win his first slam at age 25?
it’ll be sooner
Big reality check for Zverev. He thinks he is much better than he really is!
amy,
This is my problem with Zverev. I think it’s gone to his head. Rising up the rankings and winning Masters tournaments and all the attention that comes with it. I thought he was one to watch when I first saw him. I saw a great deal of potential. I also liked him a lot. But he is getting that diva attitude that I really dislike. He should not get too full of himself because he still has not done anything at slams.
He plays to the crowd and preens when he makes a good shot and urges and expects the crowd to acknowkedge it. That is not appealing to me. He needs to keep working on his game, also his fitness and stamina. Then maybe he can do something at a slam. Don’t get carried away with yourself until you have done something that merits it.
has djoko got time violation for bouncing ball 20 times? Its very annoying to be honest..as I write this he just got it..Djokos FH is weak..he is hitting it too passively..maybe the elbow injury..but edmund is just such a bad mover on court..he will not even beat 75% Djokovic
This TV warning is wrong without a timer. Imagine if cars did not have a speedometer but you are penalised for not keeping within the time limit.
Xcuuusssee me!…Crowd cheered when Nole got TV??I thought Wimby crowd wayyyyy better than NY @ Miami??Urgh!!
Annoying aren’t they! And I am English!
Double break Nole!😀😀
Probably brexiteers in there! (Ugh;!)
Nole is taking WAY too long, her deserved that!!
Why can’t they cheer for their own player? It’s clear they think that’ll help Edmund. They are not in a place of worship to be all quiet and hushed.
I wonder if Fed who got cheered & whistled like that,your answer still the same?
Odd. Rafa has always praised the Wimbledon fans for their “fairness”. They cheer for Andy, (Rafa being Rafa he’d be totally shocked if they didn’t) but he says they’re always fair with him.
A lot of the wimby crowd cheers for Rafa!
I don’t care about that and your childish responses to bring up Fed because of my username are laughable. Shows your intellect. If you are a professional player you are expected to play in hostile environments. As long as there is no yelling while a point is played it’s fair game. And fyi, Fed has reacted stupidly when the crowd has been hostile. That’s his problem to figure out.
Omg Gulbis pulled it off?! Zverev really is perplexing…
Gulbis was in 2014 mode
Yes!!!!!!!!!
Grass is too slow and high bouncing.
I like Sasha but he has had a few close calls this tourney so i had the feeling it would catch up with him. Good win for Gulbis!
Like i said before, seems to be dark horse in tourney!
Gulbis Kyrgios would be great to watch! Too spoiled brats might kill each other out there 😀
😀😀
I believe Kyrgios will be shocked when he will realize how good Gulbis is at his own game.
looks like that match wont happen
^ LOL!
Very true!
My last comment was in response to nats @ 6:18 pm.
Another ugly result for Zverev at a slam. But I thought that Gulbis might be tough if he decided to play the way he is capable of playing. He used to be dangerous back when it seemed he might do something in this sport.
Kygrios playing poorly!
Nishi up 4-1!
Kygrios looks mentally disengaged!
Nishi is going to win this!
5-1 to nishi
Kygrios tanking now!
He will get it together for the second set though. Wish he wouldn’t do this but he’s just blowing it to save energy for the rest of the match.
Nishi breaks first game!!
Uh oh. Yeah now it’s time to paNICK #I’llBeHereAllDay
we don’t deserve a Nick-Ernie fourth round match at a slam anyway
Haha good one Benny!
Nishi in total control!
What kind of umpire is this?! Djokovic just got robbed in THREE different ways in one point!! First, Edmund got to the ball only after two bounces but it wasn’t called, AND Edmund’s shot was out! AND EDMUND RAN INTO THE NET! WHAT?! 😂 😂 #laughable
If Edmund is such a gent maybe he should have conceded the point?!
Benny!…Jack Garner is the disgraceful one!!…If it happen to Rafa,i will go & kick his a@# myself!!Urgh!!
Novak is super testy today. No applauding the opponents shots. Blowing sarcastic kisses at the audience.
He probably thought that he will receive more encouragement from the crowd in view of his recent struggles.
And Novak robbed of a point. Kyle hits on double bounce and sends the ball out and the umpire awards the point to Edmund
Worst treatment against GOAT #2
Go Nole!!
Just checked Kyrgios playing in a self-destructive mode! Nishi wins the first set in an easy fashion! I know it’s a bad matchup and Kyrgios had no answers for Nishi in the past but this is grass and Nishi is not ROS virtuous to be able to break Nick’s big serve two times…and as I write this Nishi breaks him again in the second! This will be over soon! Nick obviously doesn’t want to be on court this late…
It looks like Kyrgios is not willing to grind, with the possibility of having to play twice on Monday given how late they started this match and it may not end today.
My god… If Kyrgios loses this match…. I love Kei. He is one my favorite players to watch when he is healthy and fresh. But he is just not the same player he was a couple years ago. And he has NEVER been any good on grass, at least not compared to his Hard court and clay pedigree.
So the fact that it’s on grass, combined with the fact that Kei is still struggling with his health, combined with the fact that Kyrgios should be beating just about everyone on grass, there is just no excuse for Kyrgios to lose to Kei. If this were on clay or Hard court, maybe then it would be acceptable. But on grass? No way.
I expect Kyrgios to win this in 4, and he has had really poor starts before in this Wimby and been fine in the end.
All in all, I’m getting really sick of these young dudes, who should be contending for majors every single Slam, losing to dudes they should not be losing to. I want to see most of the best players in the QF/SF of most majors, like it should be. But it just hasn’t been the case. These dudes like Zverev, Kyrgios, Dimitrov, Raonic, etc., it’s not like they’re losing every time to the Big 4. They constantly lose to LESSER opponents. And it’s so incredibly disappointing for the future of men’s tennis.
he is taking Nick to the woodshed right now
I mean, am I not giving Kei enough credit? I’ve always been under the assumption that Kei was awful on grass. I also thought he was still not fit? Now that I look at their H2H, I didn’t realize that their matchup is lopsided.
Kyrgios did lose on grass, its not like hes winning all the grass events!
The golden era of tennis had passed; those days where the top eight (big four plus Ferrer, Berdych, Tsonga, Stan or Delpo) occupied almost all the QF positions were long gone!
Cilic of the old generation isnt even consistently reaching the QFs of tournaments, he’s not much better than the younger generations.
He lost to an unbreakable Cilic and Roger freaking Federer. Those were probably the top two favorites to win the event lucky. And he lost to them very close
He’s losing to unbelievable Special Kei now! See?
Yeah but there was absolutely no reason to think he was gonna lose this one. And Cilic has made three QFs (including two finals) in the last four slams, so he has been pretty consistent at majors. He and Kyrgios were both major and quite shocking disappointments here at Wimbledon.
Cilic is still by far the most shocking loss
The loss of Cilic is the most unexplicable result of the last few years!
Kyrgios’ loss however isn’t that astonishing, since he is prone to these kind of losses.
Right now I wouldn’t be surprised if Gulbis makes the quarters…
Actually one of the wasted talent is Berdych. He may not be as talented as some of the ‘waste’ but at least he worked hard to be in top ten for many years and reached QF at least at slams in so many years, had beaten all big four at the slams but he’s yet to win a slam. Berdych has the luck of playing during the golden age of the big four, couldn’t get past Fed, Djoko and then Rafa to win at Wimbledon; to me Cilic a bit more fortunate in that he’s three years younger, and won the USO having to beat only one big four member (Fed).
Nick so disappointing 🙁 Get your head on straight and you can easily come back!!
Sorry, Benny, I think NK is a hopeless case. He’s too old to act like a sulky child. And he’s lazy as sin. Likes Wimbledon because it’s where he has to do the least work to win.
I’ll be happy to eat my words if he ever does win a major. Or even make a major final.
he still has some time
a final is not enough. He is too talented. Same with Gulbis.
look we have to accept that some ppl r happy with mediocre!!
and Kyrgios has decided that he will go back to his nutcase self now that there is no big 4 opponent across the net.
Nick breaks!
Nick did break back!
Look what happens when you start to look focused and lock in Kyrgios! You break back! Cmon guys give him a chance 😂
I mean, how many times have we seen him lose the first set handily, and look like he’s tanking, only to turn it around and win in 4? I don’t know the exact number, but I know I’ve seen it multiple times!
He’s talented enough to get away with it. That’s why I can’t help come back to watch him when he plays. So much skill and potential. If he can really turn this around and lock in like he always does when he plays Djokovic, he could be in for a huge breakthrough tournament.
After seeing Taylor Fritz murder zverev in that tiebreak maybe he not Zverev is the next star!
Fritz would’ve won if there hadn’t been a suspension. That annoyed me to be honest. It was like Cilic/Pella part two.
He was playing amazing! I reckon he will do better than Zverev!
Amy, don’t get too excited about Fritz. Zverev was very sick with a stomach flue when he played Fritz.
I’m not overly surprised that Sasha now lost to the multiple Ernests. Gulbis is as talented as Zverev, but could never make the long predicted breakthrough. In the past many blamed his playboy attitude. But he also fought many injuries in the past years. But he’s apparently in bullish form right now and unusually tenacious. He made it through the qualies in Paris and also here in London, where he now won three five setters in a row. Respect! Reaching the forth round is very good news for him, and will earn him well deserved ranking points. I’m very happy for him, and Ernests winning matches normally translates into highly entertaining pressers. Gulbis is the king of pressers, but there have been only a very few lately because he was flying on such a low level.
Crowd shouldn’t have booed in the end after Edmund couldn’t challenge. He’s the one that used them up. Anyways, Djokovic is still a badass (loved that roar on the second to last point). I’ve never been a huge fan of him but I respect him a lot and have to acknowledge that he is quite dangerous here. Edmund played really well!!
So he won!!!😀😀
Hooray!!
Didn’t know crowd booed! As I said before probably brexiteers!
When is nadals 4th rd match. Monday or Tuesday?
If I’m not mistaken, every fourth rounder is on Monday from both halves of the draw, which is why they do famously call it Manic Monday.
That’s right Benny!
That means there is a chance that rafa is pushed to court 1 to accomodate fed and serena. Oh no court 1 was where rafa lost to muller last year.
Why should they push Rafa to court one for Serena? Serena is neither the defending champion nor the no.1.
They can accommodate both Fed and Rafa at CC for R4, now that Edmund is gone. Or even with Serena. They usually have three matches at CC and at Court 1.
Thanks Benny
What a pick-up by nishi to take the second set!!
That shot was unreal! Nishi up two sets against Kyrgios!
😁😁nny!
amy,
Kyrgios is having a breakdown!
😀
Just when I think Nick can’t behave any worse he surprises me with more rude and childish acts! Unbelievable!!! What a waste of talent!
It’s quite disturbing watching him sometimes!
That was disgraceful to see Kygrios hit that ball into the crowd. He could hurt someone. What an idiot!
Shapovalov did it not too long ago. Players do that out of frustration more often than you’d think.
Shapo was 17 when he did it. NK is plenty old enough to know better.
Nishi in a hurry to win this match, doesnt want it delayed to another day. Hes really focused and plays well.
Damnit Nick. You actually played like you cared in that set but still let your temper get the best of you. The miss at 3-2 in the breaker after a well played point really frustrated him…and me!!
Wow, Nishi playing paint the line tennis like a young Djoko! He’s hardly missing anything; impressive!
I dont how can anyone support this idiot named kyrgios. He clearly has one of the worst behavior on the tour. He even insults the tennis as a whole by tanking. I am sick of this brat. He may have talent but he does not respect the game. De Minaur on the other hand seemed a focussed kid wanting to fight and learn till the last point. He is clearly a boon to austealian tennis after some shamless players like tomic and kyrgios.
* australian
Oh wow nishikori is on course to beat both those shamless players in one tournament. I love it. Tennis does not need players like them.
Kyrgios you idiot. So much talent. It really made me sad to see these last few sets because he actually put forth a legit effort and just couldn’t find his rhythm. That’s what he gets for tanking the opener though.
Sensational by nishi!!!
Nishikori plays so well, unbelievable! Of course Kyrgios could play better than this but Kei really is just so good today! Very well done Kei!
How far can nishi go??
Probably quarters. He will be favored against Gulbis but not in a likely QF matchup with Djokovic.
More disciplined, more diligent, more serious guy wins! Kyrgios once again underperformed and failing to live up to expectations! Kei played great match! He is such a nice guy! Nick OTOH major disappointment! I expected a great match but Kei hardly had any opposition out there…
So much expectations I had for him here. He looked consistently motivated before the tournament. And although he tried to get his mojo back in the second and third sets here, he was too frustrated with himself to focus. Now see that I can deal with, he just needs to work on staying more positive out there. My problem is that first set. Ridiculous 🤦♂️
Apparently it may not look like this but indeed nadal has lost 1 game less than fed. So level of nadal is not as bad as many people say. I suppose nadal has lost least no. of games in the first three rds among them who are still alive in the draw.
I finally saw the highlights of nole’s match!
That double bounce point was ridiculous! Edmund should have conceded that one.
I cannot believe 2018 Nishikori best Kyrgios on grass… If this were any other major aside from Wimbledon, I wouldn’t be as surprised, as Kei is one of the best players on tour when healthy. In addition to his US Open 2014 run, has big slam wins over Djokovic, Murray, Stan, etc., so he is a proven great player. Kyrgios has beaten Rafa and Stan at Wimbledon, but that’s really all he’s done in the way of major wins. Maybe Kyrgios isn’t as destined for a major title as I thought? I keep thinking he will get his head on straight and eventually care enough to contend for big titles, but maybe it will never come? Ugh, so disappointed in the younger generations…
His problem is he only started to care in the second set and by then, Nishi was in a rhythm and Nick was not. He’s gotta cut out these mental lapses early in these matches.
Y r so many ppl so disappointed with Kyrios?! Really? Im just glad he is not facing Rafa bcos he only gets inspired when Rafa is on the other side of the net! Good riddance!
MONDAY’S ORDER OF PLAY (Centre Court, from 13:00 BST):
Roger Federer vs Adrian Mannarino
Serena Williams vs Evgeniya Rodina
Jiri Vesely vs Rafael Nadal
Yes, Kei will be the favorite against Gulbis, but Gulbis won’t be a push over on grass – if he isn’t too exhausted after playing the qualies and then three five-setters in a row. But Ernests has a good serve and grass is a good surface for him.
Gulbis is the essence of an all-court player. Clay is actually his best surface.
Always gave Nadal a run for his money on any surface. Wimby about ten years ago.
But he’s yet to get a win over Rafa; he had beaten the rest of the big four though.
Gulbis’ temperament is different too. I actually think he might beat Kei
very winnable match with Kei on his worst surface (despite Kei’s great performance today)
If Kei plays like he did vs Kyrgios, hard to see Gulbis beating him. Gulbis mishit so many of his shots, he could have beaten Zverev in four instead of in five sets imo. Zverev wasn’t performing at his best too imo, slipping and falling so often on grass.
Hard for me not to like Gulbis. Whereas Kyrgios is lazy and boorish, Gulbis is just lazy. It’s kind of understandable given his billionaire family. Plus, he’s funny and he’s been pretty open about enjoying the playboy lifestyle.
Still, you’d have to say he’s one of the bigger cases of waste of tennis talent in the last 10 years or so. Much more talented than, e.g. Tomic, imo. Maybe he’s start pulling things together as he approaches 30.
he’s the No. 1 in the waste department. Biggest since Safin, who at least won 2 slams to prevent from being in the waste category.
still time for Gulbis?
Late bloomer? Maybe.
Yeah no 1 in the Waste Department (Kyrgios a close second)_,there should be a recycle bin for all that talent
Even though it hasn’t been the biggest thing holding him back, Gulbis’s forehand is kind of a technical atrocity. I can’t think of a weirder looking FH possessed by a top 100 player.
I don’t think Gulbis is more talented than Kyrgios. Nick is several years younger, however, so I don’t think we can say he has wasted his talent to the same degree. On the other side, Gulbis seems to enjoy his life more.