When Wimbledon quarterfinal action wraps up on Wednesday there will be one all-seeded showdown and one all-unseeded matchup. Rafael Nadal is going up against a red-hot opponent in Taylor Fritz, while Nick Kyrgios faces Cristian Garin.
(11) Taylor Fritz vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
It will be a rematch of the Indian Wells final when Nadal and Fritz square off in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon. Fritz took down Nadal 6-3, 7-6(5) for his first-ever Masters 1000 title, tying up the head-to-head series 1-1 following a 6-3, 6-2 loss in the 2020 Acapulco championship match. Now they collide in a slam, where Nadal is undefeated this season. The 36-year-old Spaniard triumphed in both Melbourne and Paris, and so far at the All-England Club he has defeated Francisco Cerundolo, Ricardas Berankis, Lorenzo Sonego, and Botic van de Zandschulp. Nadal dropped a set to both Cerundolo and Berankis before raising his level in rounds three and four.
Fritz has been dominant all fortnight. The world No. 14 and recent Eastbourne champion has not lost a single set; everyone else in the field has lost at least two. He booked his place in the last eight by coasting past Lorenzo Musetti, Alastair Gray, Alex Molcan, and Jason Kubler. Sure the competition level has been underwhelming, but 12-0 in total sets is impressive no matter the circumstances. Fritz is one of the few members of the younger generation who actually have belief when they face Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Indian Wells result can’t really be taken into account since both guys–especially Nadal–were less than 100 percent, but nonetheless it can’t hurt Fritz’s confidence level. This is another winnable match for the American.
Pick: Fritz in 5
Cristian Garin vs. Nick Kyrgios
Kyrgios vs. Garin is a rare all-unseeded affair in the quarterfinals of a major. Of course, based on talent alone–especially on the grass courts of Wimbledon–Kyrgios was always a title contender regardless of what his No. 40 ranking suggests. The 27-year-old reached the quarterfinals back in 2014 and now he is through to the semis following victories over Paul Jubb, Filip Krajinovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Brandon Nakashima.
Garin was supposed to face 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini in round one, but the Italian was forced out by a positive Covid-19 test and it’s safe to say that the 43rd-ranked Chilean has made the most of his opportunity. He has advanced by taking out Elias Ymer, Hugo Grenier, Jenson Brooksby, and Alex de Minaur. Garin is coming off a five-set battle with de Minaur, but his first three matches were routine so he should have plenty left in the tank for the biggest match of his career. Kyrgios made only one of his first four matches straightforward, so another roller-coaster ride can be expected against an in-form opponent–but the Aussie’s serve will likely bail him out in the pressure-packed moments.
Pick: Kyrgios in 5
WWW?
Told you so!
That is really just too much!
Read the names of the players Fritz has beaten! Underwhelming? I think so!
Its very hard to see Kyrgios his match go to 5 sets with that ridiculous serve.
Rafa in 4; Kyrios in 3.
I bet for the semi-final Ricky is going to pick kyrgios over Nadal in 4. Then for the final he is going to pick Djokovic over Nadal in 4. I wonder how many times ricky has picked Nadal to win quater fimal or better in a non-clay match. I bet the % is lower than 10%
Exactly. What a joke!
The good news is, Ricky picks are hardly ever right.
is it not all matter of opinion? why is it that you people always cry every time you someone pick against Nadal. Personally i think rafa would win but jeez the way you people go on on this blog can be soo jarring.
C’mon Rafa! C’mon Garin! And well done Cam!
Kyrios match may go five sets or it may be three sets with Kyrios losing IF his shoulder is giving him problems.
Otherwise, can’t see Garin winning it.
Selective memory, hey Ricky or did you not know that Fritz lost on grass to Rijthoven in Holland and in straight sets to Draper at Queens just before Wimbledon?
Y all of a sudden out of no where in the clear blue sky Fritz is Rafa’s kryptonite?!! And in five sets? If Fritz is to beat Rafa it has to be in less than five to begin with!!
But anyway, this is y they play. Let’s just wait and see. Rafa tends to always show up when ppl discount him like this! Vamos, Champ!!!
Super nervous abt this one. It is going to be tough and hard fought given that it’s qf the crossover round and fritz has a great serve n fh n can take rafa out of position
Sanju, are you ever not nervous about Rafa’s chances? 😉 I’m sure that if Rafa was playing Jo Bloggs next door, you’d be nervous.
Nadline, yes! So far Sanju has been frazzled and was a bunch of nerves before every single match of Rafa. Every player morphs into the most dangerous opponent ever and grows at least 10 inches while Rafa shrinks until he is as short as Goffin.
Sure, Fritz might well turn out to be very dangerous. But we should remember that Rafa has a pretty good record against tall players who serve huge. I am mostly worried about Rafa’s body.
Anyway – “the future’s not ours to see. Whatever will be, will be” 😀😃🙂
Now I have that song stuck in my head, littlefoot.
I am sorry I can’t remember what I wrote to you the other night/day; it was a good post, and I worked hard to correct my grammar. At the time, there was a barrage of posts, and mine disappeared.
Imagine if Wee Wizard was 6’3″ 😇
Vamos, Rafa!
This year I’m crazier than before. God knows why ..maybe as I know it’s amongst rafas last year’s and the chances will dry up soon
Garin vs NK is hard to predict. As far as innate talent is concerned, NK should win in three and most experts picked him over Garin. But with NK it’s never just about talent, and he is not known for his stamina. Shoulder trouble could also derail NK. I expect him to win, but I would be only mildly surprised if he implodes and loses.
As far as Rafa vs Fritz is concerned, Ricky might be one of very few experts who picked Fritz for the win. It’s not impossible of course, since these days Rafa has not only to play against his opponents but also against his ailing body. And his uncooperative body was probably the main reason why Rafa lost against Fritz in IW. Interestingly Ricky had picked Rafa for the win back then 😉 But if his body hasn’t deteriorated even further within the last 48 hours – which is unfortunately a very unpleasant possibility – he should be the favorite in the upcoming quarterfinal. But if Fritz should win, I don’t think it will take 5 sets. If the match will last that long, Rafa’s vast experience and sheer determination should carry him over the finish line. In thìs season he has won all three five-set matches against formidable opponents: Shapo, Medvedev and FAA. Why would he lose against Fritz who has so far only played against low-ranked players? That said, Fritz is so far the biggest threat for Rafa’s Wimby campaign.
I checked out a few expert picks, and Ricky is not the only one who picked Fritz for the win. The majority predicted that Rafa will win, but they acknowledged that Fritz might cause trouble. Most of them think that Rafa’s body might not fully co-operate.
Btw, I hate betting sites and their cryptic lingo! Why can’t they just say: player X will win in 3,4 or 5 sets??? 😉
I have zero interest in predictions. I realise it’s fun for some people but pointless as far as I am concerned.
I can’t remember the last time ESPN picked Rafa to win anything including RG.
Ricky:
“(11) Taylor Fritz vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
It will be a rematch of the Indian Wells final when Nadal and Fritz square off in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon.”
This is so laughable. Ricky never gives Rafa credit on other surfaces based on what he’s done on clay, but here he is, using a hardcourt tournament to make a case for grass. How is this a rematch of a BO3 on hardcourt? Forgetting about the circumstances surrounding the IW final.
Nadline, normally I never look at betting sites. I was just interested to see if there were others besides Ricky who picked Fritz ftw. And every single one pointed at Fritz’s win in IW without acknowledging that Rafa was compromised by a broken rib!!!
Rafa wins this and the semis I think. Hopefully the ab is okay, but it would have showed up in his game if it was not. In the finals, it’s hard to pick Nadal over Djokovic. Rafa’s level is not at 2018 level and Djokovic is playing better than 2018. And even then that result in 2018 was in Novak’s favor.
If I’m honest, Rafa has played his best match against Sonego so far. He was far from freat against Botic. I think he’s got room for improvement if he is to get to go all the way and lift the trophy.
Vamos!
Djoko playing better than 2018? Er..no, Djoko has already lost a few sets here, and against some low ranked players (except Sinner). In fact Djoko isn’t playing well in 2022 on any surface, comparing to his past levels.
I don’t think Rafa is playing poorly this year at Wimbledon (have to take into consideration the fact that he’s back from injury treatment hence there’s not much time for practicing on grass). His game is more complete now than in 2018, having a better serve, a better BH slice, more willing to move to the net etc.
I hope Rafa beats his opponents asap in his matches ( to conserve energy), to reach the final.
Luckystar, you’ve lifted my spirits as you the technical expert here. I’m just watching the replay of Rafa vs Botic and Rafa was making too many errors he wouldn’t normally make so I hope he irons them out from his next match onwards.
“12-0 in total sets is impressive no matter the circumstances”. Really now?
Fritz looks like the kind of guy which gets ahead of himself, he’s likely to be overconfident going into this match. Their last match result is much more likely to help Nadal than the American. No matter how much you try to fool yourself, deep down you know that your opponent was so hurt that he shouldn’t even have played.
Rafa hasn’t produced his best tennis since injuring his rib; that’s totally understandable considering what he’s been through. He can be back to his best anytime now, but it may not happen in time for this tournament.
It’s totally possible that Nadal loses to Fritz today, but I much doubt that the American will have the mental strength to win a 5th set (assuming that no injury is involved).
Hopefully Rafa wins this one in 4.
Not produced his best tennis since the rib? Set 1,3 of rg qf , set 2,3,5 of 4tg round vs FAA were all very good rafa.
I see you are not confident Cristian this wimby
He’s played at a very high level during RG. It’s been a bit patchy but the level is there. His willingness to play aggressive tennis has always been the highest on grass. The mindset is just different. You’ll see him getting more and more aggressive now. The bigger second serve is a big asset too. One feels so much more secure now when he is delivering those. Even Novak was finding it hard to take them on.
Being able to play a few very good sets here and there doe not mean that he produced his best tennis overall – that means very good sets on average with several exceptional sets and a few average ones here and there.
The only reason why I’m not very confident in Rafa’s results is precisely the fact that I feel that he hasn’t hit top form just yet.
However, Nadal also proved this year that, when healthy enough, he is almost impossible to beat even when not being at his best. He probably wouldn’t get past Novax if not playing really well, but others may not be able to beat him anyway.
That being said, the grass is trickier. If you meet a serve bot, a bad service game can cost you a set and a few of them can cost you the match. Fritz serves well enough to be dangerous here.
Cristian P, I agree with your assessments. I actually think that Rafa has not reached his very best level during the whole season, although he produced patches of brilliance when it mattered. But at the AO he managed to hang on until his game was good enough for facing the top seeded player in the final – and in the final he managed to stay alive by sheer will power, and he produced moments of great tennis when it mattered.
Things looked great for a while after the AO – and then Rafa got hurt again in IW, and the clay season was in jeopardy. And then the foot became much worse again. Rafa has spent the whole season coming back from multiple injuries. He even contemplated to retire a few weeks ago. He simply did not have time to reach his best level, and it is a miracle and testament to his willpower, greatness and vast experience that he managed to win two slams! Personally I think that it is unrealistic to expect from him to produce another miracle and win another slam title on a surface which has been so difficult for him. There might not be enough time for reaching a level which is good enough for beating Fritz, Kyrgios and then the biggest obstacle, the Djoker – whom he has not beaten on non-clay surfaces since 2013. Rafa wasn’t in real danger in the last four matches, but the level will be higher from now on.
Come on Simona!
I’m incredibly nervous n reading not very confident takes here is making me more nervous . I see on Twitter many hard rafans are nervous too
How many times r they going to go on about IW?!
He had a broken rib!