Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will continue their Wimbledon campaigns on Saturday. Next up for Nadal is Mikhail Kukushkin, while Federer is going up against Santiago Giraldo.
Mikhail Kukushkin vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
With the early-round Wimbledon draw having suddenly opened up for Nadal, fans of the world No. 1 will not be quite as on edge as they were for opening tests against Martin Klizan and Lukas Rosol. Kukushkin–not Ivo Karlovic–awaits Nadal on Saturday and either Nick Kyrgios or Jiri Vesely–not Richard Gasquet or Gael Monfils–is a possible fourth-round opponent. Still, the two-time champion of this event will not have any kind of dip in focus after dropping first sets to both Klizan and Rosol. Nadal recovered both times and he is now 43-7 for the season, which includes a ninth career French Open title just a few weeks ago.
This will be the third career meeting between these to players. Both of their previous encounters have gone Nadal’s way in routine fashion; he prevailed 6-2, 6-3 four years ago in Bangkok and 6-1, 6-1 on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo in 2012. Kukushkin earned his place in the last 32 by taking out both Dudi Sela and Frank Dancevic in easy straight sets. Still, the 63rd-ranked Kazakh is a mere 8-18 at the ATP level this season. This is obviously a massive step up in competition and Kukushkin does not have the huge-hitting game like, for example, Rosol that has been known to trouble Nadal.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 11-14 games
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Santiago Giraldo vs. (4) Roger Federer
Federer and Giraldo will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Saturday. Their only previous meeting came in the first round of the 2011 U.S. Open, with Federer dominating 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. The Swiss is not quite in his prime three years later, but he is at least healthier and playing far better than he had been in 2011. With a 36-7 record this season, Federer suffered a tough fourth-round French Open loss to Ernests Gulbis but he won the Halle title and so far at the All-England Club has cruised past Paolo Lorenzi and Gilles Muller.
Giraldo crushed Daniel Gimeno-Traver in his opener then had a five-setter with Marcel Granollers carry over into Friday. The 35th-ranked Colombian finished off that match by winning the final set 7-5 to book his spot in the Wimbledon third round for the first time in five appearances (he previously had a 1-4 record at this event). With Giraldo likely fatigued and also playing on the worst possible surface for this matchup, Federer should have an especially routine day at the office.
Pick: Federer in 3 losing 8-10 games
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Change of venue- from days to rounds.
I would certainly hope that Rafa will not lose the first set as he did in his previous two matches. I have to believe that getting through to the third round and getting rid of the ghost of Rosol, will give Rafa a clear edge over Kukushkin. It would be great to see a three set match win!
I expect Fed to have an easy time of it with Giraldo.
yeah…it’s time rafa starts making a statement … he shud win this in 3 sets and I think he will. The grass around the baseline has been chewed to a good degree now so rafa will have more stability too
vamosrafa (at 5:14 am),
Yes, the grass has been worn down at the baseline. I made a picture yesterday:
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/482756059938164737/photo/1
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/482752673851400192/photo/1
The weather forecast has been changed: no rain until 10 pm
http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=uk7dayx7;page=2;ct=9616~London%20Borough%20of%20Ealing;sess=#forecast
The forecast for next week is also much more promising than the earlier predictions.
glad..don’t want indoor semis and final…
I was hoping Gasquet or Monfils would be Rafa’s 4th rnd opponents should Rafa get there. I’d much rather he played his tried and tested opponents than young guns out to make a name for themselves. Kyrgios has a big serve and is a very hyper active player.
The BBC weather forecast is rain but they were completely wrong yesterday, so we’ll see.
#Unadulterated Rafan
why this “no respect for rules” Nadal is playing first all the time ? he will take ages to complete his points and matches.
Poor Fed- great ambassador of the game will have to wait till the night, Nadal must be fined heavily as FIFA now doing with Suarez.
But as in Suarez case there are many supporters for this culprit too.
#fangirls prefer badboys
@sabs 10:19 am;
Whine, whine, whine! The Bull is bearing down on the GOAT so it is understandable that you should be this querulous. Wimbledon 2014 the Bull will put to rest the GOAT legend…..for good!
Vamos Bull!
#Rafangirl
calm down @sabs.. Fed got the prime time slot for his matches. Muzza is the only other player to constantly have that honour.
^^^Sour grapes that 😛 Fed is now in Rafa’s :razz:shadow. Of course, as World #1, Rafa can choose when 😛 he plays over World #4.
<3 fangirls
Pascal Maria in the chair.
Nadline: I’ve only just tuned in at 4-all. That sounds like the deadly David Mercer in the commentary box. I thought he had been put out to grass. What’s he doing commentating on a Centre Court match!!!!
I thought too the rain was not due till late this evening. 🙁
Rafa is returning well but not doing good enough in rallies. he is slicing too much with the backhand and allowing kukushkin to dictate. He has to win this in 3 sets or he will end of spending too much energy in week 1
@vamosrafa,
I agree with you. It’s unbelievable that Rafa has lost the first set again in a tb. I don’t know what it is with these guys, but once they see Rafa on the other side of the net they just play lights out.
It’s going to be four sets at least. Very surprising
Fed’s going nuclear, saying players, i.e. Nadal, need to speed up play otherwise audiences will switch off.
#LastRollOfTheDice
Rafa again plays a terrible first set, Really boring tennis so far.
What the… loses the first set again.
not sure it can get any worse than losing a set to Kukushkin
Same goes for losing sets to Haase or Petzschner in 2010, and we all know what happened that year…
By the way, Stan Wawrinka – the 2014 AO champion and the hottest player of ATP – also lost the first set to Kukuskin. It was in the Davis Cup QF (hard court) in April.
What the… loses the first set again
Kukushkin is playing extremely well. Some of the winners were mind boggling.. off both wings. Maybe Rafa is a little too passive
^^More of the latter than the former for me, Rafa did not need to lose the TB. Kukushkin is playing ok, not lights out. Rafa needs to step up now………….
Rafa needs to get more aggressive. Defense on grass works up to a point, but you have to step in and take control. Rafa was clearly outplayed in that tb. I thought that this would finally be an easy match. Wrong.
yup..i had thought so too…
Kukushkin is playing really well. Rafa has not stepped up so far but one of the reasons for that happening is Kukushkin’s good level.
He is employing a strategy here. He is hitting all the winners in rafa’s forehand corner but pummels rafa’s backhand(which is not at all aggressive at the moment) to open up the forehand side
Loses the first set again. Hope he loses the second, that is the only way to enjoy the game when he plays on grass.
Come on Rafa!!
See the Rafa haters coming out of he woodwork………..and disappears when Rafa wins………pathetic!!
Federer himself had better stop bitching about Rafa taking time between points bcoz he knows if they meet in the semis Rafa will make him poop on himself again!
Nadal is losing this match a lot more than Kukushkin is winning it. Really poor. Think Nadal can’t get to grips with indoor conditions. It plays so differently when the roof is on.
From the time I saw the closed roof I knew that might affect Rafa, these conditions are not nice to his game. But after he for the break, expecting his game to pick up
@gregs, agree with you, it’s the indoor conditions. Rafa needed time to get used to it. Rights the ship in the 2nd set, feeds Kuku a breadstick……..
Rafa’s ROS was much better to finally get him the break. It’s possible that the roof being closed isn’t helping him.
JMac is really over analyzing Rafa in this match. He can be very annoying at times. He’s saying that Rafa didn’t take Kukushkin seriously and didn’t expect this. On and on with this nonsense. Rafa never takes any opponent for granted.
Rafa has to hold his serve and get this second set. But I hate to see him having to lose the first set in each of his three matches.
I agree Native, I normally like Mac but that annoyed me a bit! I was disappointed that Rafa lost the first set but its good for Rafa to get this work out in these stages. He really needs to be p against it so when it comes to the biz end of the tourney he is march fit and hardened. Easy opponents and matches as history shows never does anyone any good! Let’s see how these easy three setters pay off for those who has had them! At least Rafa can draw from this experience in later matches!
He launched into the second serves in that game in which he broke
Please don’t hand back that hard won break Rafa. Please.
Rafa is returning really well and his ROS stepped up another notch to earn him the break. Now he needs to become more aggressive with his groundies. Ah that was better, delicious forehand DTL winner !
Kukushkin is playing well and with the right tactics
Maybe there aren’t going to be any easy matches for Rafa in the early going. His opponents just seem to come out blasting. It takes Rafa a set to get their measure.
WOAAHHHHH whattttt a MONSTER FOREHAND !!
ONLY rafa, I repeat, ONLY rafa can hit a crazy forehand inside out winner like that. majority will not even think of hitting a forehand from that position. Insane footwork and ability to generate power from an awkward position.
Wow, as I type the set is over ! that happened so quickly. that’s more like it , rafa !
@vamosrafa,
JMac called that one of the greatest shots ever. I don’t know how Rafa does it, but I am just so happy that he does! Now that’s our Rafa!
it certainly is one of the greatest shots ever. The reason is that no other player can even get himself in the position to strike an inside out forehand from here. federer is quite nimble with his feet but rafa takes it to an unbelievable level.
Wow! That’s more like it! Rafa woke up! Wins the second set 6-1. I guess it takes Rafa a set against these guys to get himself in the groove.
That inside out forehand to get the second break was truly a thing of beauty! Rafa let out his primal roar when he hit it. I hope that now he can dispense with this guy easily.
it gives me goosebumps when rafa makes that roar ! COME ON !
Rafa is opening up his shoulders now
I wish rafa’s slice was consistently an offensive shot..
6 games in a row for Rafa…..he’s getting warm.
Vamos!!
Kukushkin obviously came to the match with a well prepared game plan. He executed it well in the first set and took advantage of Rafa’s passivity. Rafa did his usual problem solving and has figured it out. Hopefully, Rafa won’t have any more lapses.
Beautiful analogy by the commies: Rafa’s like a python, when he’s got you in his grip, he squeezes, and squeezes………..
7 games in a row……….
haha….good analogy….python or anaconda, whatever you like lol.
Break point ! Rafa is doing NOTHING wrong at the moment
HELLO, i also want to join the part, says rafa’s backhand as he RIPS a backhand DTL winner !
RAF should have really broke again there, hope it does not comeback to hand him
Kuku seems flat now. Better to cash in and put set 3 to bed ASAP
Rafa’s won 92% of his volleys so far………I bet you Djokovic would kill for that volley stat….
^^ Nole would kill for even half of that volley stat.
This is the best grass court tennis rafa has played in 3 years,by quite some margin
^^He’s doing alright…..
Amen!
no
what no?
Another bakery product for Kuku………
1 UE in 2nd set for Rafa. this is the perfect prep for Rafa going into the 2nd week…….
Exactly!! It turns out that this is not going to take too much out of him after all…….bakery products!
I will be very glad to see him having a relaxed match. he is having it easy so far
11 winners to 1 UE in set 3…
Has Muzzard’s ghost struck Rafa too.
How in the world did he lost that 1st set?
Kukushkin was just playing good tennis, not something lights out like Rosol.
Nothing of the sort @abhirf. After Fed’s frantic rain dance last night, the heavens opened up and the rest is history………
#IndoorTennis
Surprising but now I am thinking not too surprising. Rafa was adapting to the indoor conditions. He is not a fan of indoor tennis and he needs some time to adjust. He is playing at a very high level now.
RT @SteveTignor : “Nadal up 2 sets to 1 and hitting well. Was 7 winners behind Kuku after 1st set, now 8 ahead. #Wimbledon2014”
Kukushkin hasn’t seemed right since he fell. But at that point Rafa was already in control. The scoreline reflects what it should have been from the beginning. It just seems to take Rafa a little time to deal with these guys. I also think that the other issue is that these guys can’t keep it up in a best three out of five set match against Rafa. He’s so physical and takes it to them.
Everything is firing now. Forehand, backhand. Rafa is in the groove.
I guess that one could say this is the best Rafa has looked in the last two years. His movement is so much better now. But I do not think he’s at his best yet. He doesn’t have to be. He just has to win and get to the second week. I think he came into this Wimbledon without much grass court preparation, so these four set matches shouldn’t take too much out of him. He needs to play and be pushed a little. It will help him raise his level of play. But Rafa has a few more gears in him. I expect to see it in the second week.
I am also grateful that Rafa was able to get his match played. Other players are waiting because of the rain. So even though they had to use the roof, at least Rafa will be done and off the court.
^good post NNY ! I agree with your assessment and yes, thank goodness rafa is scheduled on centre court
Rafa always starts slow……..he probably didn’t expect Kush to serve so well and needed time to adjust……….no harm no foul!! Once Rafa gets into second week all bets are off………and he isgaining points too!
https://twitter.com/Wimbledon/status/482894132692942849/photo/1
EUs so far:
Rafa: 7 and Kuku: 30
How is Rafa doing on service time guys, seems faster! Hope Fed.s happy now!
@jon_wertheim
Stat of the day. First shot after serve. Nadal: 85% forehands. Murray: 62%. Fed: 61%. Djokovic: 47%. . Wow (Hat tip, Hawkeye Pete)
this is insane from rafa. This is what i was talking about. His footwork and willingness to play a forehand is just sick
Hahaha! Careful Brad, you might be accused of being a Rafa fanboy……
RT @bgtennisnation: “Umpire might want to issue standing 8 count to Kukushkin of ask can u continue taking this beat down any more”
#TKO
Love it when Rafa makes that primal roar………so sexy!!!!
EXACTYL!!! i get so pumped up lol
How does he do it again and again and again!
Rafa’s ROS I am pleased with! Serve for it Rafa, Vamos!!!
winner: R. Nadal (ESP)
Everytime Rafa’s made it to the 2nd week at Wimbledon, he has gone to the final…………..
Yep! Was why most were hoping that he didn’t make it bcos he is a different beast in the second week!!! Watch out the locker room, Rafa is coming!!!!!!
RT @SI_Tennis: “BBC camera cuts to Beckham applauding and then back to Nadal gleefully stripping off his shirt.”
If you’ve got it, flaunt it………..
Must do that more often……….lol!
If we grade on a curve and remove Rafa’s 1st set in his first 3 matches, he’s cruising! Poor Kuku, felt bad for him at the end. A little bit. Not really.
What was up with Rafa in the 1st set? I think the roof put him off also the fact that he had to warm up on an indoor h/c before coming on because, for him, everything has to be in place. Also Kukushkin had a game plan which worked in the first set.
Vamos, Vamos, Vamos!!!
https://twitter.com/Wimbledon/statuses/482902709264482304
Vamooos!!! Vamooos!!! Vamooos!!!
My weekend has started off so well……….ahhhhhhhh!!!
anatolijs says:
June 28, 2014 at 1:35 pm
Loses the first set again. Hope he loses the second, that is the only way to enjoy the game when he plays on grass.
Hope you 😛 enjoyed the match. 😛
Rafa haters are now really getting soooooooo old and boring!!!
41 Winners by Rafa to Kuku’s 32. Has Rafa ever hit this many winners in a match?
https://twitter.com/Wimbledon/status/482903179118788609/photo/1
Commies are revising their predictions…a second week Nadal is another animal. Et tu Ricky? Still think Roger will win?
^^snap!
Hahaha, does this include our very own intrepid………….. Rickster??
RT @SI_Tennis: “Rafael Nadal is into Week 2 for the first time since 2011. And with that, everyone (read: me) revisiting their predictions…”
They will keep on revisiting their predictions till the final, no.
#EnsuingUnpredictability
Rafa’s serving stats were great in this match. With each win he’s gaining confidence and getting into better form.
Sorry Fed, you didn’t get your wish!
It’s more like Muzza didn’t got his wish!
http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/media/3648140197001.html
Watching this MONSTER forehand again and again.
That. Was an amazing shot. And the scream at the end!!
No, not scream, ROAR!!!
RT @CMCKENDRY_ESPN: “Every year @RafaelNadal makes week 2 @Wimbledon, he reaches the Finals. 2 titles, 3 runner-ups. This is 6th trip to week 2. @ESPNTennis”
Be afraid, be very afraid…………………
every run comes to a halt!
Fed has not lost a SF at Wimbledon.
One record will be broken.. and
IT will be….
First of all, yes, every run does come to an end. For now, rafa looks in great shape but he has to win his next two matches before thinking abt colliding with Fed. Same goes for fed.
It the battle does take place, I certainly think the chances of fed’s run coming to an end will be a lot higher. Not saying he cannot beat rafa here but the chances will be very very slim;extremely unlikely
@vamosrafa,
I agree that Fed’s record is more likely to come to an end, should the 2 play each other in SF.
but the 2 have to get that far. Both of them have not looked convincing so far.
I doubt that Fed will get past Stan should the 2 meet each other. Rafa will probably face a stern test with Milos.
About winning the title, a lot depends on Muzza. He will have to probably face Nole who has the habit of bringing out his best in the SF’s of a slam (if the past slams are anything to go by). If he is going good, I think he will win the crown. (Though I’m not sure about his confidence if he meets Rafa in the final)
Don’t forget, Rafa did say he wanted to do well at Wimby this year. Whenever Rafa commits to a tourney, not much can get in the way of stopping him!!!
DavidLaw @DavidLawTennis
‘Rafael #Nadal has the greatest footwork I’ve ever seen.’ – Pat Cash on @bbc5live
Thank you for testifying, Pat 🙂
Nadal’s 4th round opponent might not play until Monday if the weather continues like this.
Then his opponent will have to play two matches on the same day !
No, his opponent will play their 3rd round on Monday then play the 4th round on Tuesday.
Nick Kyrgios and Jiri Vesely are playing. The score is 3- 6, 6-3, 1 -1.
A few of the matches were cancelled, but most have now resumed. Vesely leads Kyrgios 5/3 in the 1st set. Isner’s match and Stan’s match were cancelled.
The bookies favourite for the ladies’ singles title is out. Alize beat Serena
Eleven out of 12 ESPN so-called experts picked Serena to win the title.
:bear: Whistling in the wind
Rafa/Kyrgios not playing until Tuesday. Same with Fed/Robredo.
The stats of Rafa’s last match are awesome. He’s on a roll. Pity he has two days before his next match. Hope he keeps the momentum going!
Serena says everyone plays the match of their lives against her and the same goes for Rafa.
Thank goodness for the sanity of Peter Fleming in the commentary box with David Mercer yesterday. It reminded me of the days of the Murray Walker/James Hunt combination when Hunt was constantly correcting Murray’s gaffs. At least Walker was enthusiastic: You could die from boredom listening to Mercer droning on.
^^^^^Should explain for the benefit of non motor racing fans, Murray Walker was a much loved F1 racing commentator – famous for his excitable enthusiasm and for his predictions invariably being wrong.
So what is the latest bookies prediction? Who are the current favs?
BTW this Nick Kyrgios guy cant be taken lightly. He is playing well, hits hard. Can give Rafa lot of trouble.
I dont think Fed can be taken lightly on grass at all. If there is a place, he can take it to Rafa in a slam, it is here at Wimby
Neither Rafa or Fed r Novak is looking good to be honest. Murray has won easily but he really was not tested
abhirf – Fed wont get past Stan? Oh come on. Will Stan get past Isner is the question
@Sanju
Lopez will beat Isner (given Lopez’s current form)
Lopez will be tough for Stan to beat, but if he does beat Lopez, then I think he will present Fed a really stern challenge. The thing with Wawa this year has been he has either been really good or either really bad.
I don’t think Lopez will present a challenge to Roger. Feli plays a good grass game, but his lefty backhand slice which is pretty much the majority of his backhands, won’t be that effective against Roger, who is able to play low balls as well as anyone. They’ve met 10 times and he’s never beaten Roger. And Lopez’s lefty forehand, unlike Rafa’s, is not a high bouncer with lots of spin. It’s a flat shot, so even going to Roger’s backhand, doesn’t cause issues.
^^ err… @jpacnw, probably you have got my post completely wrong. I haven’t talked about Lopez presenting a stern test to Roger. I have talked about Stan’s chances in case you couldn’t make it out.
sanju, have you managed to watch all of the Big 4’s matches or are you just going by the scoreline?
watched bits n pieces of all 4 here n there, never a full match of anyone.
I have not watched Mrray at all but I did watch bit of Rafa vs Rosol, Kkushin..a bit of Novak Simons and bit of Fed vs Giraldo..I felt all 3 were not on their top form
All four are playing well I thought.
Movement on grass, serving rhythms etc are good.
Nole is steadily improving, considering his tough opponents and disappointment at RG it is a good progress.
But I agree with you that after the 1st week, Murray should be rated as 1 and Nole as four.
in that case sanju, you are not in a position to draw any conclusions on the form of the Big 4.
There has been a pattern in all three of Rafa’s matches. He knows these guys are all going to come at him full tilt. He has refused to rise to the bait. He has played with caution in the first set, feeling his way and getting the measure of them. He lets them fire everything they’ve got: digests the information; then computes his strategy. Rosol was the trickiest because he kept up the intensity right to the end. You could see the other two wilting has the hope faded.
Rafa’s performance supported what I was saying at the beginning of the tournament to abhirf.
It is not only about the grass being slick and rafa not being able to move that well early on and the ball not bouncing high enough . One of the major reasons rafa stuggles rarly on is that his ROS needs plenty of fine-tuning ! because he is the one who needs to make the massive ROS adjustments on grass (unlike fed and novak and andy), he needs 2-3 matches.
his ROS was so darn good in the three sets he won against Kukushkin. He was hitting big returns from INSIDE the baseline. He has a very aggressive mindset at the moment. he is even taking swings on first serve returns more often than in the past when he used to chip/block many of the returns early on. His backhand return on 2nd serves was deadly. he was taking them on the rise and dictating play from thereon.
His backhand return is more compact so rafa has changed his strategy. On clay he runs around to hit a forehand on just about every return, esp on the ad court. here, he prefers to use his backhand return more ! he takes the returns early and does not lose court positioning either.
It was so great to see him go after 2nd serve returns even with his forehand. Those are signs that rafa is in a very very aggressive mindset. WATCH OUT.
I won’t read too much about Rafa’s ROS for yesterday’s match. Kukukshkin’s serve were not that good as they appeared to be. I did noticed in all 3 matches that Rafa was trying to return standing much closer to the baseline than he normally does.
Kukushkin’s service was too much fragile (maybe he had a bad serving day). That’s why I just didn’t understood how did Rafa managed to lose the 1st set.
I don’t really know that Rafa will be returning this aggressively when he faces players who like to engage in rallies unlike his early round opponents.
I agree that if Rafa faces someone who will engage in rallies, that he will stand back (e.g. the unlikely event that he would meet Robredo in the semis). But I went back and looked at the Rosol match (all of the matches are available on the replay function of ESPN3), and Rafa is committed to not only standing closer, but moving in once the server has struck the ball. Time and again on Rosol’s first serve, Rafa may have been just behind the baseline at the start, but at the time he hit the ball, he was often either on or inside the baseline. He’ll do what he needs to do depending on who he faces. Should he face Roger…well, he knows what to do when he plays Roger.
@abhirf, do you think this was the first time rafa faced someone with not a very good serve? NO! Even when rafa faces an opponent with an average-decent serve, he does not necessarily spank the returns. Yes, his return positioning does get aggressive but his contact is usually NOT that aggressive as it was in his last match.
He was taking the returns on the rise with full commitment….there was no hesitation and tinkering. When rafa is doing something against lower ranked players, he is often perfecting the skill. If he can carry on with his aggressive returning, he can get plenty of advantage against lets say Murray and Djokovic.
Also, keep in mind that even when rafa is taking the returns early on the deuce court, he does not do always do that on the Ad court ! His Ad court return has impressed me the most so far.
@vamosrafa,
If you are trying to point out his willingness to be agrressive on return, then yes that was good to see.
About the quality of ROS, as I said earlier I won’t read much into it. I’ll wait on my judgement till he faces Kyrgios or Raonic.
@vamosrafa,
The commies were talking about Rafa’s second serve returns in the match with Kukushkin. Even they noticed how he was going after second serve returns. The commies also spoke about his grip change from the forehand to the backhand. These are things that I don’t notice.
So far I have been impressed with Rafa’s movement on court, his ROS and overall serving.
Rafa is serving well too. he is stepping up the aggression on his groundies with every passing round. Krygios will not be easy as he has a massive serve and can hit through the court consistently. Rafa will be ready . I would have preferred an opponent like Gasquet or Robredo or Haas for this match but it is not to be.
Krygios and then possibly raonic are not ideal preparations for federer. Anyway, lets just focus on the 4th rnd as both federer and nadal have to win two matches before the dream SF takes place.
@vamosrafa,
I am nervous about this Krygios. That’s all Rafa needs, another big serving guy. He will also come out with no pressure or expectations. He can just blast big serves all over the place. These are the kinds of opponents that make me nervous. But I do think that Rafa will be ready.
I can’t think ahead to a possible semi with Fed. Too early to be discussing that.
Like how Lopez dealt with Isner, the big serving man! Rafa will be ready…..he may drop the first set again as he has never played this young gun……..but Rafa should be able to put him away!!!
The qualtiy of rafa’s returning was so high today that I am having a hard timing recalling when was the last time he went after second serves like that. I had to go back to the AO 2012 QF against berdych …the last set featured sick returns from rafa. He did not carry on with the aggressive returning in the next matches then but he is going to do that this time because it is grass. It will be against federer that he will change his strategy a little
vamosrafa: I’m glad to see you mention the quality of Rafa’s returns. I rewatched the match again last night trying to pay more attention to the technical aspects. It was unbelievable how close in he was standing on some of those second serve returns. He shortened his swing on ROS on both his forehand and backhand. Even on 1st serves, he was standing close to the baseline. That’s a huge adjustment for him from clay to grass, since on clay he basically stands in the next stadium for ROS. The swing itself is also a major adjustment. His normal topspin requires more arm movement, so to go to the flat short swing is another significant change. It’ll be interesting to see where he stands for ROS in the next match. The young Aussie has a massive serve and it’ll probably take Rafa at least a few games to figure it out.
You are right JPACNW ! Rafa’s return off first serves is also something that is different in this tournament. As I said, in his earlier wimbledons , including 2008 and 2010, he was chipping/blocking more returns off 1st serves in the earlier rnds. This time he is taking more aggressive swings and hitting through the ball more…
Rosol was a high quality server and even though it was rafa’s 2nd match only, he did a pretty fine job returning in the last two sets. His returning in the game he broke in the second set was also outstanding.
As i said earlier, he’l likely change this against federer. because he likes to keep things a little ‘slow’ against federer and because he can replicate his usual patterns more consistently by returning from a little deep behind the baseline.
rafa’s return positioning in the 2006 and 2007 finals was more aggressive but he stepped back somewhat in the 2008 final even when he was standing on the baseline against many other opponents in that tournament.
Rafa adjusts the most against opponents. When opponents have a crazy kick serve , that is when rafa’s return can struggle so won’t be surprised to see him step back to adjust in case things don’t work out perfectly. I am just very happy that he has this aggressive returning as a weapon now. He can deploy it when needed !
My take is that rafa will now start returning with a similar position against every opponent. If he struggles at any stage, he’l adapt accordingly.
@vamosrafa,
It’s funny but I was thinking about that 2012 AO quarterfinal match with Berdy while watching Rafa’s match with Rosol. I remember that Rafa was already down a set to Berdy and was battling in a second set tb. I think Berdy even had a set point to go up two sets. But as he always does, Rafa found a way to win.
I remember Cheryl Murray live blogging with the rest of us and being ecstatic to see Rafa standing at the baseline blasting backhand ROS winners. That was something to see from Rafa. On hardcourt no less!
haha..yes I remember. That was quite a display. It’s interesting to notice that the first point played between rafa and fed in the AO 2012 SF saw rafa stepping in to crank a second serve forehand return inside-out ! Federer almost half-volleyed a flicked forehand from the baseline . I thought rafa was going to continue what he did to finish Berdych off but then he changed ! His average return positioning was more like it usually is against fed !
Rafa’s return positioning in montreal against djokovic was also quite aggressive, but in the Ad court usually. He usually likes to run around his backhand to hit forehand returns on clay and hard courts but he has not been doing that on grass so far this event
Verily tennis Gods, does Djokovic vs Tsonga need to take place? Imo, not. How about we deal: I’ll take a Djokovic w/o into the next round if you give me Rafa in the final. Deal? Just spare us Djokovic/Tsonga!
RT @RD_Tennistalk: “Djokovic has won 15 straight sets against Tsonga, including 8 in a row without even going to a tiebreaker”
Stanford needs help…….seriously.
https://twitter.com/ChiaraGamTWI/status/483246210476941312/photo/1
#TheT-Shirt
A classic example of the Peter Principle at work.
https://twitter.com/Wimbledon/status/483249314072784898/photo/1
Vamos Rafa!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152319868666026
Brain Game: Rafa’s Brilliance On Backhand Return by Craig O’Shannessy 29.06.2014 (match against Kukushkin)
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/06/26/Wimbledon-Brain-Game-Saturday-Nadal-Federer.aspx
Brain Game: Rafa Goes Back To Basics by Craig O’Shannessy 26.06.2014 (match against Rosol)
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/06/26/Wimbledon-Brain-Game-Thursday-Nadal-Federer-Tsonga.aspx
Brain Game: Rafa Shelves Favourite Pattern by Craig O’Shannessy 24.06.2014 (match against Klizan)
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/06/26/Wimbledon-Brain-Game-Tuesday-Nadal-Federer-Wawrinka.aspx
#ManAtWork
Kyrgious seems all hipped about playing Rafa…I have never seen him play but as far as I can see he is another big hitter…Rafa may have trouble in the first few games or the first set (nothing new there… 😉 ) but I just don’t see this youngster troubling Rafa even on his least favorite surface -the green stuff…The kid doesn’t have experience, knowledge or mental strength to keep it up with Rafa…so, while it may take Rafa a few games to learn this fellow’s game and to get into it, I have no doubts that Rafa will be able to dispatch him without trouble…
Serbian commentators are already dragging about Rafa losing first set becoming a pattern and how Rafa is likely to lose to Raonic… I don’t read much into Rafa’s losing first sets especially when knowing that he experienced the same sort of lapses in the RG and won the title at the end…as long as Rafa is fit and serves well and as long as he believes he can beat the guy in front of him I have no fears about his game because his forehand seems stronger every day and his BH is improving…
With each match Rafa is getting better and better on this grass while the green stuff is significantly deteriorating to soon disappear and be fully replaced with lovely dirt 😀
Vamos Rafa!
I think those Serbian commentators are making a mistake in thinking that Rafa’s early round matches are an indication of how he will play in the second week. I also think it’s patently absurd for them or anyone else to be predicting Rafa losing to Raonic. That is not going to happen. If Raonic gets there.
These challenging early round matches have helped Rafa get match play and confidence as he moves into the second week. I don’t care how Rafa wins, as long as he keeps on doing it!
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/nick-kyrgios-believes-he-can-beat-rafael-nadal-in-round-of-16-at-wimbledon-20140629-zspsu.html
This gu Kyrgios is sounding confident and dangerous (:-. I fear him more than Raonic as no Top 10 player just hits the ball and takes huge cuts/swings at it, they are all measured.
How I wish Rafa had Robredo in 4th or Gasquet 🙂
yeah…kyrgiois is going to come and shorten the rallies as much as possible. This is what Rosol said . They want to keep rallies as short as possible. Kyrgios on average does not hit that hard but he has all the fire power to do that if needed ! His serve is his biggest weapon
“His serve is his biggest weapon”………………….that’s good, but that can also be very bad! Re; Isner! It took Kyrgios five sets to get through to Gasquest, though Gasquest had it in the bag, but he blew it. Cant see him troubling Rafa too much!
@Sanju,
Talk is cheap. I always say that because it’s true. This guy can blab on all he wants, but playing Rafa in a slam in a best three out of five set match is a whole other thing. Young guys can be brimming with arrogance and cockiness, but actually doing it on the court is something else entirely.
Rafa has had three challenging matches in which he has found the answers, raised his level of play when necessary and has some real confidence. He will be ready. I never like seeing him play big serving guys, but Rafa will know how to neutralize this kid.
He frankly does not appear as cocky on couurt. I found his disposition balanced. Ofcourse compared to Rosol, everyone behaves like a saint. That guy is the height of arrogance and cockiness. I hope Rafa cuts him to size once and for all, he needs a monmental thrashing on court from Rafa. He strangely reminds me on Robin Soderlings arrogance after he beat Rafa and the cold behaviour from Soderling always towards Rafa post that eve after his losses in 2010, 2011.
Kyrgios feeds on crowd support and there are many loud boisterous Aussie fans in the stadium. Thank God the match is not played in Australia
NNY has a very valid point. The most recent example is that of that serbian guy lajovic claiming he can beat nadal at the french open !
Kyrgios will hit the ground hard… he does not have a clue what it’s like facing Rafa in a slam.
kyrgios has one of the biggest 2nd serves in the game. he will test rafa’s return and prepare him well for Raonic (if Raonic makes it there)
@vamosrafa “he will test rafa’s return and prepare him well for Raonic (if Raonic makes it there)”……you put things in great perspective there!