Arguably the best annual day of tennis will take place on Monday, when all 32 remaining singles players–men and women–will be in action. Among those on the schedule are Rafael Nadal, Gilles Muller, Marin Cilic, and Roberto Bautista Agut.
(4) Rafael Nadal vs. (16) Gilles Muller
Nadal and Muller will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Monday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-1 in favor of Nadal, but his lone loss to Muller has come at none other than the All-England Club. That is where the left-handed Luxembourgian upset the Spaniard 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 during second-round action in 2005, not long after Nadal had captured his first of now 10 French Open titles. Since then, however, Nadal has won three in a row against Muller–including a measure of 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 6-0 revenge at Wimbledon in 2011. The two veterans most recently faced each other at the 2016 Indian Wells Masters, with Nadal getting the job done 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
This, of course, is not the same Nadal whom Muller toppled in 2005. The 15-time Grand Slam champion is now a two-time Wimbledon winner, having triumphed at the AELTC in 2008 and 2010. Although Nadal has struggled on grass in recent seasons, he is armed with a clean bill of health this time around and is coming off a dominant performance at Roland Garros. So far this fortnight he has defeated John Millman, Donald Young, and Karen Khachanov without dropping a set. Muller punched his ticket to the second week by beating Marton Fucsovics, Lukas Rosol (9-7 in the fifth), and Aljaz Bedene. The world No. 26 is a stellar 26-12 this season with the first two titles of his career–including on the grass courts of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Muller may be a particularly dangerous opponent on this surface, but Nadal’s current form is such that the players who have a legitimate shot to beat him at Wimbledon this year can be counted on one hand. And that list should not include anyone other than Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Marin Cilic.
Pick: Nadal in 4
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(18) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (7) Marin Cilic
Cilic already registers at a respectable 11th in the race to the World Tour Finals and his favorite time of year–Wimbledon through the U.S. Open–is just now beginning. The 2014 U.S. Open champion and current Cincinnati title holder has built on a strong clay-court swing with a semifinal showing in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, a runner-up performance at Queen’s Club, and a trio of straight-set victories at the All-England Club (over Philipp Kohlschreiber, Florian Mayer, and Steve Johnson).
Up next for Cilic on Monday is a fourth career showdown against Bautista Agut, who trails the head-to-head series 2-1 but got the best of their most recent encounter via a 6-4, 7-6(5), 7-5 decision at the 2016 Australian Open. The Spaniard, who comes in 13 spots behind Cilic at No. 19 in the world, earned a place in the last 16 by taking out Andreas Haider-Maurer, Peter Gojowyczk, and Kei Nishikori. Bautista Agut is an outstanding 29-11 in 2017, but as usual he has struggled against upper-echelon opponents. Cilic certainly qualifies as such right now–especially on grass.
Pick: Cilic in 3
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who ya got?
Rafa in three; Cilic in four. Agut is good enough to get a set imo.
Nadal and Cilic both in 4
I see you’ve changed your pre-tournament pick for this match (if I remember correctly). That makes sense given Nadal’s form. He commented yesterday that the court conditions (dry, hard) suit him especially well. Muller is playing great and I wouldn’t be shocked to see an upset, but I agree: Rafa in 4.
Rafa in 3, possibly 4. As this tournament goes on, I am liking Rafa’s chances more and more, and Fed’s less and less. Now that we see all the player’s respective levels, I think it will be really difficult for Federer to get through Dimitrov, Raonic, Djokovic, AND Nadal/Murray. I had assumed that most, if not all of those players would not be playing as well as they have so far. Plus, Fed is apparently nursing a cold, so that obviously won’t help matters. I think Rafa looks really great, and I personally don’t see him not making the final. If the big 4 all make the semis, I think that they all have approximately an equal shot at winning it all. However, Fed and Rafa definitely have tougher 4th Round and Quarterfinal opponents than Djokovic and Murray, imo. If Federer hopes to beat Rafa in a potential final, it would certainly be in his best interest for Raonic or Djokovic to lose before he would face them. Anyway, I think that you Rafa fans should feel pretty damn good about your boy’s chances with the way he’s playing! 🙂
Yeah Kevin, Rafa looked the best out of the big four, all through their three rounds so far. Murray looked the worst, esp against Foggy. Both Fed and Djoko didn’t look sharp in their respective R3 matches. Of course things may change come the second week, I think Dimi and Muller are tougher opponents than Paire and Manarino; and Cilic and Raonic would be even worse than any of Querrey/Anderson and Thiem/Berdych.
Berdych has quietly moved through the draw unnoticed but I think he can beat Thiem on grass; neither of whom will give Djoko problem in the QF, where Djoko will get there without much problem with his R4 opponent I think.
I think both Murray and Djoko will be in the SF, Rafa and Fed I’m not so sure.
Rafa 75 64 62
Nadal in 3
Nadal hasn’t dropped a set since Rome. Not sure he knows how to at the moment. Muller has taken sets when Nadal was a teenager and in 2016 during the worst form of his career.
Muller has the game to break his streak but i’ll stick with 3:0.
Cilic in 5
RBA beat Cilic in straight sets in the Australian Open and both are solid grass court players. This match will be close but I give a slight edge to Cilic.
Muller in five and Cilic in three
Benny, hoping? I’ll say Rafa in three and Cilic in four. Rafa is too good for Muller imo. Agut is good enough to take a set from not so sharp Cilic.
Not so sharp Cilic? Cilic hasn’t dropped a set against three extremely high quality opponents. Kohlschreiber is probably one of the toughest unseeded first rounders at slams and Cilic destroyed him, Mayer won in Halle last year and beat Paire and Pouille in Halle this year, and Johnson won in Nottingham last year and made the fourth round of Wimby last year. Yeah many of his sets have been close but it’s grass. All the top guys have had close sets. Cilic is so sharp it’s not even funny. And the dude is Iocked in. From what I’ve seen from Cilic, I am still extremely confident with him going to the final as I picked at the start of the tournament.
Benny, what had Kohl done so far this grass season? Don’t try and talk about what he had done in the past, it’s the present that matters. F Mayer is also not the player he was one year ago when he won Halle. Johnson has a big serve but his ROS isn’t good enough to handle big serves. I notice that American players can serve big but they’re not good at returning serves. It’s the good returning of serves plus the good to great serving that can let you get a win over a player like Cilic on grass.
Also I’m not hoping. The conditions Monday are apparently supposed to be wetter than they have been which I think will help Muller out. Also the guy is brimming with confidence on this surface and has absolutely nothing to lose as he is in his first Wimby round of 16. This leads me to believe Muller will serve fantastic in this match. And as well as Nadal is playing, he has lost early at Wimby to big servers or serve and volleyers so many times in recent years. I doubt that will be out of Nadal’s mind. Maybe he will prove me wrong and props to him if he does, but I stilll think my pick of Muller in the quarters at the start of the tourney is gonna happen, even if Nadal hasn’t dropped a set so far.
Benny, you keep talking about the past but this is now! Do you see a Rafa beaming with confidence, fit and healthy, in the past from 2012-2015 at Wimbledon? Did you see an aggressive Rafa during those years at Wimbledon?
What I saw was a Rafa having health issues (knee, back) and/or confidence issues during those years, playing a grinding style even on grass, doomed to fail.
Muller may serve very well but his lefty serve is not going to hurt Rafa, a fellow lefty, that much than against a righty. We’ll see how things go, I’ll say Rafa will win the R4 match.
You make solid points. Don’t necessarily agree w them all but I understand what you are saying. One thing I will say is that Muller has the serve to either side of the box on both sides. I don’t think Nadal will get back more of Muller’s serves because he’s a lefty. He may get more back than most because he’s just so fast. But still Muller’s serve down the T on the deuce is to Rafa forehand but has insane curve on it. And his serve to Rafa backhand on both ad and deuce are the biggest and most powerful serves for him so he will probably go to those a lot. I think Muller’s serve will trick up Nadal more than most think BUT that’s just what I think and just my opinion.
Benny, Muller doesn’t have a great ROS and you’re forgetting that Rafa also serves well. I’ll say that Rafa will make it difficult for Muller to serve well by returning as many as possible Muller’s big serves with varying return positions.
Rafa won’t be beaten just because his opponent has a great serve, when Rafa is fit and healthy and playing well. You need more than a big serve to beat a Rafa who’s playing well.
I have to add that I feel Cilic played better at Queens than at Wimbledon, perhaps the grass courts at Queens were quicker grass courts than those at Wimbledon?
Cilic like quick surfaces. I was impressed with him beating Isner in straight sets on fast grass of Queens; he’s also playing well to beat Muller in three sets despite him getting frustrated when he couldn’t break Muller’s serves. He had MP vs Feli in the final but faltered and then lost.
I also feel that Muller’s serves were tougher to return at Queens than at Wimbledon due to Queens’ quicker surface.
Maybe. Muller did have four aces in one 40-0 shutout game against Bedene though LOL.
So what? Can he do it in most of his service games? And that’s the question!
Haha I was just messing around lucky I know that’s just one game lol
you were sure about Stan beating Rafa in RG final..you keep saying you dont hope for Rafa to trip but you surely do given your posts 🙂
I am not saying Muller cant beat Rafa..tomorrow will tell that..but it is so obvious here there are 2 Fed fan posters..Benny and Joe Smith who will never lose an opportunity to try to talk up Rafas opponent more than Rafa..its very very visible and no amount of dressing up can escape that.
You’re right Sanju, that’s exactly how I feel.
Certainly no more than Rafa fans like Lucky talk up Rafa as against his opponents. In this case, I’ve called Rafa in 4, which I think is quite reasonable. A quick test: when is the last time Lucky called for Rafa to lose?
Joe, on clay I’ll never call for Rafa to lose, even though he did lose to Thiem at Rome. On grass at Wimbledon, I was cautious the first few rounds, esp vs Khachanov but after seeing how well he played in the first two rounds and his knees holding up, I’m confident that Rafa will play well to win.
Joe, you’re one of those who big up Fed, even vs Rafa on clay, and yet you’re here pointing fingers at the Rafa fans? Isn’t it ironical? As Sanju mentioned earlier, you’re one of the two Fed fans (the other being Benny) who always big up Rafa’s opponents, hoping for Rafa to lose.
Nah I think I may be talking him up because I’m a Muller fan LOL. Muller is my favorite player behind Fed and Stan. I don’t talk up Rafa’s opponents because I don’t like Rafa and I am an annoying old Fed fan. I think most people on here can agree that I typically am pretty happy for Rafa when he wins big matches and don’t pick against him or talk up his opponents in every match. Example: if he makes semis, Rafa will likely win. Do I think he will get there? No not personally. But if he gets there I think he will be in good enough form that I can’t think of any opponents that will be there that could beat him. Not even the home guy Andy.
Maybe it’s the fact that I am a big fan of Muller or maybe just because I have watched him so much lately. It’s like how all the Rafans are talking about and analyzing all the positive aspects of his game. It makes sense because they are great fans of him and watch him throughout this event. I have personally watched each match of Muller and what I’ve seen from him has impressed me, even in the Rosol match. Just because I am making a case for Muller doesn’t mean I’m talking up Rafa’s opponents because I’m a Fed fan. That honestly annoys me a lot when that is assumed because I truly admire and respect the shit out of Rafa and his game and I had the hugest freaking smile when he won his tenth French even though I was rooting for Stan (WHO I ONLY ROOTED FOR BECAUSE HE IS MY FAVORITE BEHIND FED). Damn I think I just need to rethink my favorite players list. This good lucky? 1) Rafa 2) Marc Lopez 3) Toni Nadal
Benny, you can’t deny it when you’re always doubting Rafa and bigging up his opponents. It’s like you keep repeating it time after time, about how poorly Rafa played on grass for the past few years but you didn’t take into considerations the state of his body, his health and fitness; and why he couldn’t win on grass during all those years after doing well in the five years, prior to that.
You have to look at the form of the player (in this case Rafa); after his first round match here, his words about his knees were reassuring,that coupled with his good aggressive play and good results, make us believe he can handle most of his opponents, including the big servers.
Rafa himself said that as long as he can play at such a high level he is confident he can beat his opponent (in this case Muller).
I know but usually Rafa isn’t as confident when playing big servers on this surface. Maybe I’m wrong maybe he I’ll go out and play super confident and destroy Muller or something. I don’t think it’ll happen but we’ll see.
Also I don’t always big up Rafa opponent. Just “bigging up” Muller maybe to explain why I think he will win. I don’t always do that though. For crying out loud I thought Khachanov would take Nadal to five at start of tournament but once they played I had Rafa in three.
I wasn’t sure about Stan it was just my pick lol. Problem is if I pick an upset and it’s with Rafa losing I get accused of hating Rafa and wanting him to lose and worshipping Fed. I picked freaking Gulbis to beat Djokovic I generally go bold as it is but no one was getting mad at me bout that lol. Also I picked Stan to lose to Rafa in the Rome or Madrid final before the tournament (can’t remember which event exactly). My French Open pick was because Stan hadn’t lost a slam final before and I thought Rafa might falter with a tenth RG on the line. I was wrong but I had reasons why I thought he would win. If it was Stan’s first slam final, I wouldn’t have picked him. I’m doing the same with this match with Muller. I feel like I’ve given quite a few reasons for why I think it will happen. I’m entitled to the opinion I don’t get why you guys have to get so triggered by my reasoning just because you’re Rafans. I didn’t get triggered by people saying Mischa would test Fed which they did even though I knew that would be for sure straight sets because Fed totally owns the H2H with Mischa and just won Halle lol. My pick is totally sensible. For crying out loud, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED picked Muller to make the freaking semis. It’s just so hard for you to deal with it when I pick against Rafa lucky. And don’t respond by saying I always do because I don’t. There isn’t anyone I always pick against. Not even Tomic
Benny, we the Rafa fans are more sensible concerning Fed,certainly we won’t be thinking that Mischa would beat Fed, on Fed’s fave surface. It’s unlike some Fed fans, with total disrespect for Rafa, on Rafa’s fave surface, even after watching how well he played on his fave surface, such is the difference!
You may not be aware about your biased views on Rafa, but we certainly could sense it, hence it’s not only me, but even Sanju, who hardly posts here, could sense it too.
You do make us feel that you’re always hoping someone would beat Rafa, anywhere he plays. Sorry, this is the kind of feeling you’re giving us.
I apologize. It’s just that my favorite players literally are Fed Stan and Muller/Kyrgios probably tied for third. Probably some bias in my picks for this reason but I’m truly sorry I give off the vibe that I want Rafa to lose all his matches. I actually wanted him to win behind Stan at the French. La Decima was insane to see and Rafa was a total beast and all I could do was laugh at how good he was in that final. Rafa is one of the most fair and humble and badass competitors I don’t wish for him to lose a lot. It’s just kind of a bad coincidence that Stan is my favorite player behind Fed and Muller behind Stan. So I picked those two probably with some bias and more explanation than usual for why I thought they would win and “bigging them up” I guess because they’re two of my favorites. I think this Muller pick isn’t a stupid pick though. Maybe Stan pick was kind of dumb and I picked it because I had a feeling he would keep that undefeated slam final streak going and shock everyone. But there is also some bias in people saying they think Nadal will storm to title with no problems. I know you aren’t one of them but you get my point. Anyways this is Muller’s favorite surface and Rafa usually has trouble with big servers at Wimbledon. I know that was in the past but you can’t totally disregard that his recent Wimbledon losses have come against big servers like Rosol, Brown, and Kyrgios. And Rafa hasn’t faced a huge serve or as quality opponent as Muller so far this tournament so I think it’s kind of foolish to say Rafa ripping through Millman, Young, and Khachanov makes him obvious favorite to cruise past Muller. Rafa won’t be able to play that aggressive game as much on the return at least. Gilles won’t let him. And I know you will say I’m wrong and that Rafa will handle Muller serve well and dictate play even on Muller’s serve but I’m sorry I just don’t think that will happen. Props to Rafa if he proves me wrong. But I think these are actual legit reasons to pick Muller. I think the Stan pick at the French was a more stupid reason and just a feeling that he would continue being undefeated at grand slam finals but a reason nonetheless and not just loserishly hoping Rafa loses so Fed has the lead in slam count.
And I mean I wanted Rafa to win behind Stan at start of tournament. Not in final of course ?
I want what you are smoking
If you could like comments on here I would like this one lmao
Benny, when did I say Rafa would cruise past Muller with his aggressive play? Please don’t make things up!
I simply said Rafa to win in three sets, that’s all. Rafa will probably have a 6-4,7-5,6-4(or 7-6) kind of score. As I said, Rafa has a good ROS but Muller doesn’t so I think its more likely that Rafa breaks Muller’s serve than the other way around.
Do note that Rafa usually has no problem with S&V type of players, also it’s not like Rafa hasn’t played against Muller before. It’s unlike Khachanov, whom Rafa met for the first time, and Khachanov was a big server cum hard hitter, the kind of players who could trouble Rafa on grass.
Muller has a great serve but he’s not a hard hitter, Rafa can handle net rusher better than hard hitter from the baseline.
In my opinion 6-4 7-5 6-4 is cruising on grass. But I get what you’re saying. We’ll see. Let’s just hope it’s an entertaining match!! ?
Rafa ftw, but the expected wet conditions will make it tougher than it should……..
I just think Nadal is loving the game and challenge right now. When he’s in this frame of mind its very difficult for opponents to win a set against him.
I give Cilic an edge over RBA because he has the better serve on grass IMO, otherwise there is little separating them.
The grass conditions will make a difference, definitely to the score, possibly to the outcome. As I said, Rafa has commented already the dry conditions suit him, “obviously”. Wetter conditions will not be to his liking, and will help both Muller and/or Cilic (I don’t think RBA would trouble Nadal should they meet).
On the other side, I saw highlights of Novak and he looked very impressive over Gulbis. Roger had shades of great play, but maybe not consistently so. Perhaps Benny is right and he has a cold; if so, a couple days rest will do him good.
Novak was surely not very impressive against Gulbis..he was good but def not very impressive..He was much better than what we saw of him past few months..If he meets Fed in semi..watch out..that could be his turnaround match
That’s an interesting take on Novak’s performance @Sanju. I have not watched any of his matches but have been reading various pundits’ takes and most have been gushing about Novak’s performance against Gulbis. To the extent I have been left with the distinct impression Novak is back to his old devastating self.
I happen to agree with Sanju. Djoko not that impressive, more like Gulbis going for broke all the time and either over hitting or hitting into the net. Djoko just did what he did best, stayed in the rallies, did all the retrievings and forced errors out of Gulbis.
Gulbis was ahead in the first set but couldn’t hold on to the break of serve and Djoko came back from behind to snatch the first set. The third set was a little bit more competitive but that’s not enough for Gulbis to win a set.
If Djoko is meeting Fed in the SF, I’ll give Djoko a slight advantage, as I feel Fed wasn’t hitting his shots too well so far; I think Gulbis, despite his go for broke style, was playing better tennis than Fed’s R2 opponent and Mischa. Mischa playing the S&V game won’t be able to beat Fed even when Fed wasn’t playing that well. Fed’s R2 opponent was good for one set, forced a TB but once he lost the first set, he came back down to earth.
I agree that Novak really did not have to do that much against Gulbis. For a while it seemed as though Gulbis would actually compete in that match. But Novak broke back in the first set and Gulbis did not seem to want to fight. It’s like he lost interest. Novak didn’t have to do anything special to win that match. It showed the problem with Gulbis. He just isn’t willing to make the effort. He doesn’t want it enough. That sums up just whole career. With his natural talent, he should hdve been in the top five competing for slam wins. But he doesn’t have the desire to work hard and be disciplined. He’s thrown away what could have been a promising career.
At this point, it’s hard to gauge where the top four are now. They haven’t faced opponents who could challenge them. Now the competition will get tougher and we will have a better idea of where they are at.
I’m just hoping that Novak makes it to face Federer and vice versa. Hoping it will be a good level testing and raising experience for both of them. I love Fedole’s ?
RITB 3.0
The Southern Jura Massiff is the location of TDF stage 8 today and it’s a beautiful area but the course itself is causing all kinds of havoc, crashes, and there’s some wet roads, if you can call them roads…more like cow-paths. Could be the best stage of the entire TDF! Team Ag2r are based in this area in France and have been animating the race. Mountain after mountain after mountain day.
correction: Stage 9 , I meant.
I am following it @Ratcliff! Bertie has been talking up his chances about this stage saying he can limit his losses here.
I am not too hopeful to be honest……………..he has lost his edge.
well, no. Contador and Quintana touched wheels —guess you could say, fortunately they were going slowly uphill, and crashed. Last I saw of Contador he was bleeding pretty bad from and elbow. But both Quintana and Contador and still racing. Geraint Thomas crashed out of the tour.
Sky still have so many super domestiques: Kwiatkowski, Landa, Nieve, Henao….
Agreed. Gulbis tanked for a lot of that match.
Wimbledon scheduling every Andy Murray match and Fed match on centre court is very unfair to Rafa and Novak.. Arent the CC/Court 1 supposed to rotate between the top 4? I agree Fed Dimitrov surely is centre court match material..but Andy/Paire? Andy is getting too much home advantage…Also azarenka..halep is classic centre court match..why are they scheduled on court 2..to accomodate Konta?
That’s Wimbledon for you. Unashamed bias.
It is clear the Brits are giving Centre Court advantage to Muzza on account of him being a Brit. Apparently this is normal. It has also been obvious for a long while, even before he accumulated his current impressive number of Wimby titles, that the Brits always give Fed Centre Court advantage. This I do not understand. Rafa has more titles at Roland Garros than Fed has at Wimby but the French do not give Rafa the same Cente Court consideration that e Brits give to Fed.
I can totally understand Muzza being given Centre Court advantage, always, he is the home boy. Fed? He should get the same treatment the others get.
Fed is a great player, he does not need a leg-up in any way shape or form. It is actually an insult to his stature. He CAN compete without the added obvious padding………
I remember that I have already written that Fed has played on Court 1, too:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDvfCtpW0AAW6Zm.jpg
To add to my post AT 10:32 AM,
This table contains 4 Fed’s matches on Court 1 (since 2010):
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DEShfdlXgAEcY1p.jpg
That is not my point Gussie, my point is they do not assign him outside of Centre Court regularly like they do everybody else. Case in point, Fed has yet to play outside Centre Cour this year nor is he likely to now that we are in the second week.
Fed’s played all of four matches outside CC in the past 8 years? Yup, that’s bias! Otoh, I don’t think CC vs court 1 makes a difference for Rafa. In fact CC grass is apt to be more slippery since it’s seen less use. Also Rafa is way better off without a roof. The roof gives an advantage to big servers, plus Rafa’s never been a great indoor player. If it rains better he should wait it out – he’s better at that than most of his opponents.
Ramara, I agree. I don’t think at all that there’s a disadvantage for Rafa playing on another court – especially when there are rain delay. But it’s definitely an advantage for Roger to play on CC when the roof is closed
To add to my posts AT 10:32 AM & 11:22 AM,
I missed out 2011. This table contains 5 Fed’s matches on Court 1 (since 2010):
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DETUMpnXYAEp-28.jpg
(I’ll delete the table I posted AT 11:22 AM)
Nadal/Muller and Dimitrov/Fed should be on center imo. But Murray is British so…
I expect this one to be tough for Rafa mainly because big serving opponents make Rafa nervous! It takes one lousy game from Rafa to lose a set and that puts a pressure on Rafa. However, if Rafa serves well the way he is playing right now and his high confidence he will beat Muller in 3! Hope this happens because then Rafa can strive on his confidence to convincingly beat Cilic in the next tound…
Vamos Champ!
Ricky in counselor luck of the die
great pick!
Rafa has been playing the best of the big four so far, in this sort of form I doubt Muller will cause too many problems. Djoko and Murray are still playing around their RG level so far, Djoko I think might be slightly higher, it’s hard to tell from his first three opponents. Both should make their semis (although Querry could spoil the party), the draws aren’t difficult. I think Federer has been playing mediocre tennis so far. He looks like he’s just trying to coast past early opponents, I don’t think he’s playing with that same aggressive freedom that he had earlier in the year. He needs the AO mindset here, if he thinks about Wimbledon as this big golden opportunity he’ll probably play too conservatively, which will get him into trouble. He did beat Zverev without too much fuss, but I watched the 2nd and 3rd sets and Zverev looked far too passive. The draw gets significantly harder from here, too, Dimi usually struggles vs Fed but looks to be in form, and Raonic can definitely cause problems. Nadal’s draw is the 2nd hardest of the four, just because of Cilic. If RBA somehow gets past Cilic then that’ll be good news for Rafa, but I’m not picking it.
Nadal in 3, Cilic in 4
Good points
Good take TWD. Both Murray and Djoko should make the SF, unless they really play like crap. I agree about Dimi, that he’s in good form and looks determined, after his narrow loss at the AO. Fed certainly has to raise his level this time, the H2H doesn’t matter, if you’re not playing well but your opponent is.
Dimi seems more aggressive these days, but, he has to overcome those nerves during tight crucial moments – he has been losing far too many close final sets these days. I think it will be a battle between Fed and Dimi and Fed to win this one based on his big match experiences. I doubt it will be a straight set win.
As for Rafa’s draw, it’s not getting any easier – Muller, then probably Cilic, Murray and then Fed/Djoko/Raonic. He has to serve and return well esp against big servers!
Nadal in 3 and goes onto win the tournament
Like Bill, taking Ricky in “Luck of the die”….and Rafa in 3….Cilic in 4.
Muller in 4; Cilic in 3
Rafa in 5 , Cilic in 4
Keep calm, stay focused, remain confident, be strong and fight fiercely, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DEXbuPvXUAAyMNj.jpg
Nopes,Rafa aint losing here.
Cilic spanked RBA in 3 losing 6 games. Thats a serious statement right there.
Cilic is looking formidable. Assuming Rafa gets past Muller, he’s going to have his hands full with Cilic.
Rafa and Muller warming up now.
Let’s go Rafa!
He is a monster. Precisely why I picked him to make the final.
Please!
Rafa and Muller holding easily so far.
Rafa had done daylight going up 0-30, but Muller served his way out of it.
Rafa had SOME daylight!
The one thing Rafa could not afford was to give up the early break.
The first set is as well over now. Sigh
rafa not playing very well today….not enough pace on his shots..return not as good as it has been either…seems a bit nervous
Is this another Rafa huge let down losing again as a huge favorite against someone who nobody thinks has a chance?
Muller won the first set easily. Rafa is going to have to step it up. Making it way too easy for Muller.
Nobody as in everyone except for me. Thing is most people think Muller is just a one dimensional servebot but he has a good second serve return that he is aggressive with and he is great at finding the angles with both forehand and backhand, particularly forehand. And his net game is one of the top 5 in the world no doubt. His ability to hit angle forehands and come in and drop volley is awesome. He really is a very smart player it just doesn’t seem that way. He did well to break Nadal with that exact play where he hits the angle forehand and comes in off of it and touches the volley. I knew he would have the ability to break Nadal but everyone seems to think Muller is a shitty returner. If he was a shitty returner he wouldn’t be winning so many matches lately.
I don’t think he’s one dimensional, Benny. He’s impressive. I just think Rafa is more impressive. But I don’t pay as much attention to Muller as I do Rafa. And Rafa has been in beast mode. So good on Muller to get a set!
Rafa will figure this out though, I think. It’s not easy against someone as talented as Muller — his serves are very well placed. I just believe Rafa start to read him. But we shall see 😀
Don’t worry I was saying in general I know you haven’t said you think Muller is one dimensional before. And yeah Rafa is a beast so Muller will also have to earn it if he wins. I think Gilles will find a way as I predicted before but we’ll see.
jeez rafa wake up!! he’s not at the races today…he has to get a hold of this quickly …
Somehow Rafa needs to win first two three points. He had his chance as well, just that Muller had a big serve then. He has to hold easy now, somehow start winning free points on serve. Muller is playing solid from baseline, not making too many mistakes.
Yeah Muller knows against a player like Nadal, he has to be solid as heck from the back of the court. He generally has solid groundies but can go too aggressive and misfire but he seems locked in. Nadal is gonna have to earn this if he gets it done.
5 set match, so still some time. but we better wake up quickly
Rafa was so cute on the wait to get on court, he did his usual jumping but he was underneath the door jam and his head hit the ceiling. Muller turned around to see what happened and Rafa was just smiling and laughing about it.
Muller is playing well, and gets the first set, sheesh.
Rafa needs to wake up and make something happen.
Rafa holding easily. So is Muller.
I think this is going to be a real battle if Rafa is going to get the win.
Muller is pushing Nadal to the limit. Nadal will be lucky to get out of this one.
Muller serve so hard to read right now. Such great versatility with his first and second serve. And he has destroyed some serves too. Little 0-30 opportunity for Rafa though. We’ll see if the warrior gets the break here.
Yes, I see that. There are so many good matches on right now that I’m recording one but staying with this one because Vamos Rafa!
Ok Benny, good call, Muller is about to win the second set. I think Rafa will be stopped yet again, in the fourth round here. Muller serves very well, Rafa has no answer. Very disappointing performance by Rafa, can’t even read Muller’s serves or at least adjust his return position, doomed to fail. May be a straight set win for Muller!
Ha, so much for my prediction!
To me, Rafa’s return position is the problem. He’s standing too far back to return, Muller could just make use of the angles and Rafa was too far back to reach the ball; same for the aces down the T by Muller; Rafa was just to far away to even reach them.
There’s a reason Rafa is standing that far back; the pace on the serve. Even it’s slow grass, it’s still grass. Still, you may be right that he should try it. He’s not getting many looks at the Muller serve as things stand.
Muller playing with so much confidence now. To stave off two break points and then come back and break yourself, against Nadal, is not easy. Let’s see if he can hold for a 2-0 lead. He deserves it.
rafa is very jittery today. he started to play better but then after not converting the break points he’s got nervy again….not feeling very good about this.
where is moya?? i want to see him here….
i reckon rafa’s history in the last few years is affecting his game today…
Rafa needed to convert break points to get something going. But it didn’t happen and the pressure got to him and Muller got the break. Now Muller can go up two sets.
Rafa is just not himself. This is where I think the lack of match play is hurting him. He doesn’t have the answers. But no way did I think he would be losing this easily. I thought it would be a battle.
i think his history of going out early the last few years is affecting him today. it was in teh fourth round that he lost against kygrios. he wants to win too badly and is kind of panicking, taking wrong options….
yeah i know lucky. it’s not muller doing the damage it’s rafa’s old nerves resurfacing..
Rafa was even mishitting normal FH shots! Rafa was also too nervy in his own service game, that loss of serve at end of the second set was pathetic!
yeah muller is playing well…but rafa is giving him confidence by handing out freebies at crucial moments…
I love how Nadal wins every match that sports analyst say Nadal has a chance to lose but when Everyone has Nadal to win such as this one, Nadal comes up with ways to give a huge let down.Seems like the big 4 are all currently in poor form. Murrays last few matches are much closer than they should be, Federer also. Now nadal. As for Djoker, im not sure yet.
It would be amazing if Muller can pull off the upset. It’s always fantastic to see a good player at the tail end of his career finally get some glory at a slam.
Rafa not making a battle of it is what bothers me. He’s losing so easily. Not what I expected to see.
This is why I tried not to get my hopes up. Rafa seems to bump up against a hot guy with a big serve every time.
Funnily enough, it’s tail end but still his prime. I knew he would have a great shot at quarters even before the draw came out when he landed the 16 seed. Still lots of work to do. Rafa fightback has commenced.
A Muller vs Cilic match will be a sight to behold, both serving so well!
So you’ve already given up on Rafa?
Well, Rafa is obviously very edgy and Muller is full of confidence, I doubt Rafa can turn things around.
Giving up on Rafa is one of the dumbest things to do in all of tennis history LOL
I won’t be watching if it’s them, I’ll clean my house instead.
Nice one , me too. I won’t be watching both of them.
Rafa’s fans claimed his history of bad knees, but his bigger problem is playing big servers on grass. You bring Murray now and Rafa will win. Its just that Rafa is not able to win at all against big servers on grass.
That seems to be the case. He comes up against a big serving guy who is on a roll and just doesn’t have the answers.
To go down this way is what I find hard to watch. To be so outclassed. Rafa cannot make a dent in Muller’s serve.
Exactly NNY, and he lost serve in the last service game of the second set! What was he thinking? Muller didn’t even need to do much for that break!
That’s exactly why I picked Muller but many were calling me a delusional Fed fan lol
Just unlucky for Rafa to face one breakpoint and lost it at second set. He will come back to win the last three sets.
Yes, grass is always about one two points. But I expect Rafa to fight more. Chnage something on Muller’s return games . He has missed a couple of shots as well which has cost him
Exactly! To me Rafa was nervous facing Muller’s serves, didn’t change much his return positions. The way he lost his serve was pathetic!
I love your belief, Fg. He’s finally got a break; let’s see.
Rafa will get the break here
yess!!! come on rafa!!!
At least Rafa is showing some fight. Don’t make it that easy for Muller.
rafa holds!! some very good backhands…
jeez rafa you better hold here….!
This is going to be nail biting time. Rafa has to hold to at least win this set.
Unfortunate for Muller, Rafa’s got this match now. Muller had to win it in straights. Fatigue and choking gets worse for Muller the longer Rafa draws it out.
PaulP, I’d so love you to be proved right.
Vamos Rafa!
Eh I think Muller will totally lock in on serve come the fourth set. Maybe not though we’ll see.
Pretty bold call after one break. Still very surprising if Rafa wins this match, though it could happen.
Rafa would win this, but against Cilic could be the toughest match if he is going to win this slam.
Rafa hit his head on the door frame doing his routine just before they went on court, I wonder if it was still hurting.
Rafa fans … always looking for any excuse
Rafa fans…always looking for any excuse!
That is NOT an excuse! I read about it I live and that can hurt. It can jolt anyone.
Something was off with Rafa. He also seems to be reading Muller’s serve better now. He was struggling with that for the first two sets.
I meant to say that I read about Rafa hitting his head online!
Yeah, it is an excuse. If Rafa loses, I’d love for some Rafa fan to simply say: he got beat by the better guy on the day. But it almost never happens.
I have to admit, I didn’t expect Rafa to have any trouble beating Muller. I would have bet my house on it.
Vamos Rafa!
If this wasn’t best of 5, Muller would have won in straight sets. But now we get to see who has the best level over 5 sets. Bo5 makes these GS’s special, imo.
Haha that forehand down the line from Muller to save break point was monstrous. Muller’s grass game is just reallly effective. Even if Rafa wins this set, I think Muller’s serve and volleying will become more effective because Muller will need to lock down and really concentrate. Rafa serving very well though. Rafa can still win this match but for now I’m thinking my pick was a good one. We’ll see I guess. I’m gonna pop some popcorn now!!
evidently it helps rafa to know that he has come back several times at wimby from 2 sets to love down. that has to help him…
Seriously, where was this Rafa in the first two sets? Muller just had to serve well to hold serve and Rafa just served or played poorly to lose his twice and lost the first two sets!
That is the question! Where was this Rafa in the first two sets indeed! But I do think that Rafa was having trouble reading Muller’s serve for the first two sets. He seems to be reading it much better right now.
What was it that has been said about Rafa? He makes it harder for himself?
Oh snap Rafa is turning up the heat. Gilles muller is done now
Rafa has to serve it out now.
Rafa wins the third set! Now can he win the fourth set and make a great come back?
At least he’s fighting. I just didn’t want to see him go down without a fight.
Hahahaha
Nadal don’t wanna lose today
I think Nadal is starting to do better because his ability to adapt to losing situations is better than Muller’s ability to change up and adopt. Is this correct?
not always. he changed his return position and started to do damage to muller’s serve. if that continues then all to the good…
The key is that Rafa is reading Muller’s serve now. He has made adjustments. No one is better than Rafa at doing it.
has rafa had one lucky net cord? muller has had plenty…
crowd is with rafa today….that’s good….
It seems he’s still standing too far back to return serves, giving Muller so much time to move forward after his serve.
Break again here
Break chances wasted by Rafa. This could have given him momentum.
Rafa really needs to get the break here.
That was a huge opportunity lost.
goddamn it! feels like rafa should have broken there…i hope he doesn’t suffer a letdown…he is bothering muller a lot more now..
Muller half volley at 15-40 last game may have been the biggest shot he’s hit all day. Huge service game to win there for Gilles
Should have broken Muller. I feel Rafa is the better player after 1st set. Played one bad game though. Its grass, margins are very less
Muller is playing a lot sloppier service games this set than I expected.
Rafa ain’t losing. Mueller is done.
Come on Rafa! Do it now!
Rafa will break Muller by his determination,patience,strong will and his trademark winners in the end..I think this match will go to 5 sets with rafa winning in the end…Insyaallah!!
This is the story of the match – Muller fighting off break points.
hey there mira..good to see you..hope your’e well hon….
Hey amy!!.good to see u too amy!!…hey,u keep your promise to come here more often…woop diddy doo!!i guess i have to thank rc for that!!Haha…ermm…i’m not feeling very well atm…oppss!!nope!not pregnant!mind u!!..but d@#$ flu attack half of my species and turned us all to half alien,half human!hehe..
really sorry to hear you are not well mira. i will leave you some messages on tourneytopia ok? you are farah diba on there right??
take very very good care of yourself honey..
love….xxxxx
Thanks amy!!…Yeah,i am Farah Diba and MissjanMiraElizabeth too but i’m dedicated that beautiful name to my beautiful cow actually…Love u too amy!!Hope you’re okay and healthy over there despite struggling with hot weather…drink a lot of water k?
Gutsy stuff from Muller in this game.
I jinxed it. Double fault again damn
Thiem has played so well vs Berdych. They are in the fifth set and …it’s been very even —
Sascha and Milos match sort of that way too…probably going 5.
Dimitrov is the one who needs to get on it. Looking too easy for Fed atm.
at last!! rafa is now creating loads of break point chances but not converting enough of them….
but he’s outplayign muller now…
I think Muller ate a snack during the changeover and it went down the wrong way. Cuz he’s choking
Playing Rafa just relying on serve. No way.
Don’t just break his serve, Rafa, break his spirit.
Vamos!
Right on! Break him down! Keep fighting Rafa!
Rafa has to hold his serve for two more games to force a fifth set.
Muller will get Nadal in thr 5th. He’ll have nothing to lose and Nadal will tighten up.
Unlike anyone else here I hope you’re right LOL
Benny, you will deserve the biggest “I Told You So” moment if Muller manages to win this somehow haha! I was really surprised to see Rafa down 2-0 when I first turned on the match.
Haha I’ll consider it lol
Nah this is what Rafa needed. It’s tuning him up for things to come.
Nadal hitting his head on door frame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fokZnwSmosw
Mueller blowing away a chance for a big pay check to advance next round.
vamos!
I will be SHOCKED if Rafa loses this match now… He’s got so much momentum and confidence after mounting this comeback! I didn’t see the first two sets, but I certainly did not expect Muller to win 2 sets at all, let alone 2 consecutive sets…
Okay! On to the fifth set!
Way to go Rafa! Let’s do this!
Serving out the 4th might not be as simple
yesss!!!! go rafa go….!!!
come on rafa get the early break please….
Rafa has to win this now! He’s come back strong and playing much better now.
It would help to erase a lot of demons if Rafa could pull this out. He would hdve his best result in the last few years at Wimby and gain confidence from a comeback win like this.
i am much too nervous to look ahead right now nny!
what a backhand by rafa just then to take the game…!
i do wish rafa wasn’t servign second…
Amy,
Yes, no looking ahead! One game at a time’
so nervewracking when he has to serve second nny…
Amy,
Yes! Nail biting time!
I hope Rafa does not get nervous
Vamos Rafa!
Assuming Rafa comes through this match, I feel like it will only serve to help him, like RC said above. I expect him to be very prepared to take on Cilic, assuming Cilic goes through his match. As nice as it is to see Rafa fight through epic matches, it’s definitely disappointing to see Muller possibly blowing the biggest moment of his career…
It’s even more disappointing when he’s your favorite player aside from Fed and Stan. Come on Gilles!!
A server like Muller ain’t going away. I’m glad I popped porpcorn that’s for sure #FifthSetBaby
Im having a hot dog (all beef Kosher)
Solid choice rc
Benny, your man, Rog, is serving for the match. Grigor has been meh…
how is he playing?
jeez is rafa getting nervous again?? he’s not making inroads into the serve again…i am not enjoying this at all…
NO, it’s nerve-wracking!
Scary times
fuck! 0-30
Hahahaha!!…amy!!U!!…calm down will u??
fuck yes!!!!! rafa serves his way out of disaster….!
sorry mira….i always swera when upset
Hahahahahaha!!….Okay amy!!Swear it away!!…as long as you’re happy and rafa win of coz!
double fault ot give 2 mathc points…
Muller squanders X2 Match Points. Thats why nadal is a champ and muller is not
Nadal saves a matchpoint and holds. He should win now.
Amy,
It’s lovely having you here again! I just wish that we didn’t have to be tearing our hair out!
I feel like I can’t breathe!
am dying out here nny!!
mullre holds to love. why can’t rafa get into his service games now?? it’s such a disadvantage to serve second…
Muller seems to have doubled down now with the serve. No TB!
So much pressure on Rafa serving second. Always comes down to the serve!
Rafa is standing so far behind the baseline, how on earth he’s going to get to all those balls? He’s giving Muller so much space to work with! Come on Rafa, move forward!!!
battle for endurance now. No tie breakers make this more dramatic. PS Im watching this in my work place bathroom. I been taking a crap for like 30+ minutes
this is crazy. too much stress.
We might see something similar to isner against man it in 2010 Wimbledon. Deciding set 70-68 ?
muller cant break nadal. But nadal can break muller. SO guess who wins.
How about two first sets?
Its not fear that audience supporting nadal. Thry should go for underdog
Muller is TIGHT. Come on Rafa take it here!!
oh fuck. i am starting to detest muller…
Rafa standing so far back gives Muller the big advantage of the drop shots…and rafa already spent so much of his energy by running at the end of the world to get to the ball…i’m not hoping much for rafa going forward now even if he survive this match…
Rafa is returning so badly, it’s unbelievable! Why is he still standing so far behind the baseline???
He should try some return DTL instead of going CC all the time, since he’s not winning points going CC!
Sascha looks tired. His serve is tired. He and Raonic just started their 5th set.
Milos looks like a nachine – he could go on and on…
Vamos Rafa!!
It’s going to suck if Sascha loses.
If Rafa wins this match Im betting against him next match because he spent way too much energy here.
cilic will be easy for rafa. if querrey passes andy he’ll be a danger for rafa. i think we’ll have a rafa v raonic final.
Who has more stamina Rafa or Muller? Serious question here
muller. he plyed two five setter already
Muller appears surprisingly fresh. Rafa doesn’t appear tired, he wants this, he’s fighting! They are both marathon men. Muller is still firing bombs.
yessss!!! come on and break…
Rafa serving well but ground game tentative… just keep holding Rafa and you will have your chance.
Wondering if Novak and Mannarino match even going to happen today.
I understand he needs to buy time to return here but standing THAT far back on grass not a great idea perhaps. He is giving his opponent more attacking options.
Just hoping he can find a way out of his somehow.
Looks like this match is going the Isner/Mahut way! I’m truly disappointed with the way Rafa returns serves, very disappointed!
Djoko will be getting impatient to come on. They might put him on CC.
At times like this I wish I had a crystal ball and could see Rafa with the win. My nerves are jangling like crazy.
Shouldn’t they get 1 extra challenge point in the 5th set after every 12 games?
Don’t forget that these lefty serves are unusual for Nadal. Muller serve is extraordinary and Rafa not used to returning these lefty serves. He is trying to find a way to break here.
Rafa’s serving has been great. That is what has allowed him to stay in thia 5th set.
Are we seeing Isner/Mahut all over again? Doesn’t bode well for either, whoever wins.
raonic destroying zveren in fifth set 5-1 and he is serving
still don’t understand why rafa was hammering muller’s serve the last 2 sets and now he’s doing nothing on it….
i think rafa got a brain freeze today..not much variety in his shots…no lobe even Muller standing at the net like a wall..yeah…very disappointed indeed!
MA,
You are usually so optimistic about Rafa. I am surprised. He’s hanging in there. This match could turn now on one or two points.
rafa is still playing like he thinks he can win mira….
muller to me looks fresh. Nadal exausted
rafa easy holds since facing mp. muller with 3 deuce service games since then. muller is the one under pressure.
STUPID miss from Rafa!! ok now another BP ! pleaseeeeeeee
are you kidding me? now he gets a first serve
That was really unlucky!!
Rafa SHOULD have broken here. Muller is there for the taking. Now it is Adv Muller! duh
jeez muller is an unloveable cyborg…hope he busts a fuse…
Nny & amy!!!…sorry!i just want to tease u guys…
if muller had had to face those break points as match points that might have bbeen different
What a nervous forehand now! Rafa kind of choked that game away.
0-30
0-30… Muller’s chance is right now
15-30 phewwww. no challenges left
oh fuck
Match point for Muller. Great read by him on that 30-30 serve
vamoss !!!
MY GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING. deuce!! HEART THUMPING
goog chance muller gets broken next. 2 games where hasn’t converted mp. that’s nearly a guarantee he’ll lose now.
i’ts so much easier for muller cybory playing second
This match is on another level. My word
Another match point for Muller. Nadal’s serve not clicking like it has at times this set
Oh!Rog/Andy/Cilic/Novak must be smiling to their ears now!…
Epic clutch match
I don’t know what to say. Ok that was a good second serve! Deuce! 4 match points saved
lovely drop shot muller hahaha
genius by rafa!
rafa gonna break now i think
WHAT A PICK UP FROM RAFA! VAMOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
genius
muller showing more resilience than usually does
i like this guy Muller. no emotions at all 😀
Quick hold for Muller. Huge for him and his confidence
Is Djoko playing after this? Not much time left for him I’m afraid!
of course not. gonna get dark in one hour
jeez
Rafa gets himself a little break there….
0-30
0-30 …. Here we are again.
Benny,
Whatever the outcome of this match is, I must admit that I thoroughly underestimated your boy’s mental toughness…
Don’t know how Rafa is surviving here. Every game is a torture
rafa playing with so much guts…
112 minutes 5th set so far.
Annnddd, 0-15! GO Rafa!
What a match this is… It’s turned into one of those
matches where I genuinely feel bad for whoever loses.
ok, here we go. danger time for muller again.
Muller has ruined himself this set with these drop shots
what the FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK Rafa!!!
12-11. Rafa holds here and challenges will reset
defunetely the greatest match this wimbledon
Can’t say Rafa hasn’t has his chances… Muller’s played incredibly well in all aspects but Rafa can surely play the big points a bit better. That second serve miss on 15-30 was miserable.
muller’s had 4 mp chances and rafa’s had 5 bp chances now. someone’s going to give it away with a loose service game.
That was a string of some Raggedy shot selections for Muller. I thought for sure the end was near.
Too short from Nadal… not good. Backhand counterpunching below par
muller had a better serve. thats his advantage
great servign by rafa..more please…
That was perhaps the best second serve I’ve ever seen him hit! 103 mph HUGE kicker to corner on the deuce court for an ACE! wow. 12-12!
So rafa gets 3 challenges now?
yeah thei reset. so each got 3 chalenges.
Rafa really dependant on Muller’s first serve dropping
muller doesnt look tired at all. cold face
love hold for muller. sigh. why doesn’t rafa change retrun position now?
He is trying to put more returns back, that’s it.
Muller smart enough to target Rafa’s forehand return
ok thanks vr. tearing my hair out…
okay Rafa is 31 now…. not good to play THAT long a 4th rnd. Anyway, way more pressing concern is to HOLD here and win somehow.
4.40 mins played already
Finally an easy service game for Rafa lol
13-13!!
love hold for rafa!! anyone else think muller is starting to look tired?
Nope, Muller still looks as fresh as ever! Amazing!
They’ll play until 9pm and continues with it tomorrow, the way this match is going.
this pattern on ros for rafa is maddening. endless easy vollies for muller. no way rafa can pass…
rafa knows how to win when the light is fading. he learnt that 9 years back
Muller so comfortable on his service games. S&V-ing his way to game points. Rafa needs to give him a different look and counter. He can try to move closer to the baseline on the ad court perhaps.
This I’d incredible!! Rafa is not doing anything to stave off Muller’s serve, cmon!! Move closer to baseline, geeze!!
40-15 come on muller you are the star!!
Wow huge mishit from Rafa after a awkward return from Muller. 2 MP’s
fuck!! really really pissed off….
Game. Set. Match. Incredible performance from Muller
congrats to rafa & muller for a big drama show. muller was a warrior today
Rafa played badly in the first 2 sets, especially the 2nd set, otherwise the result would have been different.
muller played bad in third and 4th set so whats your point?
rafa is all class….
Cilic or Murray to win the final now.
Muller deserves this
Yep 100%
Ok congrats to Benny, you got this right!
But, I’m truly disappointed with the way Rafa returns serves, not varying his court position at all!
I think I get the other matches right, the winners but not the score though.
I doubt Muller has anything left for Cilic! Poor soul!
yep, looking like he’ll be a two time victim of the rafa curse
Agreed!! So stubborn on the return position!! Its just foes my head in!! At least try something different in one service game. So frustrating!
Rafa did not take his chances, valiant effort but Muller deserved this one. But he’ll lose to cilic
okay.FAAAAAKKKKKKKKK!
I am gutted. Rafa should have taken this 🙁
Wimbledon is cursed for him now :/ Well done to Muller for playing awesome but Rafa was not good. He fought hard but nerves got the better of him.
I think the damage to his confidence done by all the losses to Rosols and Browns also played on his mind.
Reckon he has forgotten what it’s like to be in the last stages at Wimby.
Rafa has himself to blame TBH; he came out edgy, nervous, played like crap to lose serve pathetically! I know Muller was serving unbelievable and credit to him, but Rafa not holding serve when it mattered in the second set was the cause of all evil imo.
He got to fight so hard to win the next two sets; Muller probably taking a breather and then came back strong in the fifth whilst Rafa looked the more exhausted one despite being younger.
Anyway, even if Rafa wins this match, he’ll have nothing left in the QF and will most likely lose meekly in straight sets to Cilic.
With this loss, I think I’ll probably write off Rafa from winning any Wimbledon title from now on; it’s not just because of the big servers/big hitters that he lost; it’s basically he himself that’s the root of the problem.
He has a good enough serve, clutch enough too, the other parts of his game are fine too; it’s his pannicky nature that’s the problem. His ROS left very much to be desired; he refused to change his return positions, or tried something different when all night long, his returns were not working well! He had so many BP chances but let them slipped away! Yes, Muller served well to save some of them but there were sins that were due to Rafa’s poor play! It’s as if Rafa was so pannicky that he couldn’t think of a way out, but just play conservatively and hope for Muller to miss.
Yeah, we should be gutted, for he had his chances but blew so many of them away!
I now really feels that Cilic has a great great chance to reach the final and even winning it! Vamos Cilic, my second fav player!
I do think the losses took a toll on Rafa. If he could have won then it would have helped him erase those demons. He needed to wins match like this to get over the hump.
I am gutted for him. Not in the mood to congratulate his opponent.
I agree with you, Lucky- Cilic has a great shot now.
77 winners, 17 UE from Rafa, 23 acesm 60% second serve pts won and yet he loses.
The BP conversion, 2/16 is obviously the stat that let him down. He had his chances aplenty.
Exactly right, VR. On the whole, it was a high quality match when the loser can post a stat line like that.
Muller played so smart, didnt waste any energy, so mentaly tough. Historical match, win against 100% healty Nadal in absolutely top form.
Congrats to Muller, and he will promptly lose in the next match………..
Nadal would struggle next round as well. Also he was pumping himself with adrenaline very often and drained himself even more. Muller instead was cool as a freezer.
If you have a serve like Muller’s, you’ll also be cool as a freezer, esp when playing on grass!
rafa had 2 games with multiple break points in the last set. shoudl have taken one of them…some were makeable…
That’s what bothers me. Rafa had those break points. I don’t like seeing Rafa lose matches that way. He lost the AO final because he was broken after being up a break.
This is just tough to see. Wimbledon seems done for Rafa. He will bump up against some hot big server and that’s it. He didn’t play his best. But he did fight.
I don’t think either of them had a chance against Cilic. But I wanted to see Rafa get to the quarterfinals at least.
I glad that I kept my expectations in check for Wimbledon.
well it does show partly how hard it is to make a long run from clay to grass. i am very very happy at how much rafa has improved this year and am staying iwth that feelign. a while back many of us feared he would lnever win another slam or get close to number one. he has 15 slams and is close to number one. uso is within his reach imo.
i dont know where moya was this tourney…i feel a lot better when he is around…
roll on uso. that’s better for rafa….
Oh well…credit to Muller for keep his composure and showed his mental strength for 5 hours straight!…not easy to that against rafa…
As for Rafa..he said yesterday,if he keep his level like in the 1st week,he might have a chance to win but his level drop today..so yeah…onto NA HC now rafa!!
Cilic will have an easy time of it with Muller.
I am proud of Rafa for fighting, but he had chances.
Am so proud of Gilles muller, what a match, what a player, his just amazzzzzing!
But he’ll lose his next match, too bad! I doubt he has anything left to fight against the servebot i.e. Cilic!
I was afraid of Muller the minute I saw the draw…still, I am heartbroken Rafa lost this match…I did not see the fifth set but followed the live score and each point…Rafa failed to take his chances, made errors on key points…I never doubted Muller could win long matches… still he may retire against Cilic, probably win’t be able to move…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-4682474/Rafael-Nadal-bumps-head-against-Wimbledon-door-frame.html
This is so embarrassing…Karlovic would die there
Yep, quite embarrassing, I don’t know why he’s jumping at that time, crazy! I wonder whether his head would get swollen after that! Next time better look up to the ceiling first and see how high or low it is before jumping! Crazy!
I have heard from players that its quite intimidating when they see, hear or feel his intense warm up.
This time Muller heard some new move and even broke “dont look” rule 😀
R. Nadal did his best but fell short, to all you rafa fans don’t get discouraged okay!
R. Nadal can’t win it all, his played spectacularly throughout this year, hopefully for you guys he will win one more trophy b4 the year ends.
Which title do you guy’s think he has a real chance of winning b4 the end of the season?
Too soon to talk about that! That guy, he needs time to mend his broken heart first!
I think Rafa should just skip Wimbledon from now on, he can’t cope with the change of surface if he’s going deep or winning the FO. He’s 31, next year he’s 32, no longer the 22/23 year old boy who was able to win the channel slams; just forget about Wimbledon!
Rafa usually has one “bad” match during a Slam and the way the draw was for him, he really did not have much room to maneuver. First 2 matches were really to acclimatize since he did not play any lead up tournaments. From Khachanov it was already serious. I was resigned to this result after he went 2 sets down.
I am disappointed, wanted to watch more Rafa but……….
On the bright side, this gives him more rest to prepare for the NA swing.
Benny, wherever you are, I am happy for you. I gave Gilles no shot to win this match, and he proved me wrong. I feel really bad for Rafa- he fought so hard. Although he did have his chances, I don’t think that losing in 4th round at Wimbledon diminishes the incredible season Rafa has already had. He will still be one of the favorites for just about every big tournament for the rest of the season, and still is in prime position to get to/finish #1. I know that all you Rafa fans are disappointed, but there is so much bright side for you to look on this season. If Rafa played this well on grass, think about how formidable he will be on the NA hardcourts… Let’s just pray he continues to stay healthy.
As for Gilles Muller, he came through arguably the greatest match of his career, and in my opinion, a Wimbledon classic. Big up to him. He is certainly going to have his hands full in the next round, especially considering how drained he will be. Even though Rafa wasn’t Wimbledon-finalist-level Rafa yet in 2005, not too many people can claim to have beaten Rafael Nadal twice at Wimbledon, so good on Muller for that.
All-in-all, that was an insane match. One of the best of the year in terms of suspense.
I’m here and beyond happy Kevin. Can’t stop smiling because my man Muller got the biggest win of his career. I don’t think I’ve ever been more nervous and loud during a match pulling for my guy Gilles. Commiss to Rafans. He fought his guts off as usual, hitting the most aces he’s ever hit in a match. I won’t literally say I told you so but I will say I literally predicted this kind of result because Gilles’ serve and clutch play in general and he literally won off of that. So please don’t assume I’m picking because I’m a Fed fan who wants Rafa to lose lucky. I knew this was very possible from the start of the tournament but you acted like I was just picking it because I’m a fan of Roger and overestimating the grass court prowess of Muller. Anyways that match was epic and one of the greatest I’ve ever watched. Incredible level from both especially in the fifth.
Nah Benny, you certainly won’t have predicted it to be this close! You probably thought it would be 6-4 or 7-5 the last set and not 15-13! Rafa in fact had won more points than Muller, seven more but probably during set three and four.
Rafa had himself to blame, for playing crappy to lose serve in the first two sets; had he played like he did in set three and four, right from the beginning, the first two sets would be more competitive!
And I certainly didn’t foresee him to be so edgy and nervous, I thought he would come out all ready to battle! My mistake, for overlooking Rafa’s nervy nature when playing on grass; on clay he wasn’t like that, la decima at stake notwithstanding.
So, who will hear of Muller after Wimby? Nobody. This is what rankles for me Wimby rewards these one-trick-ponies and they disappear into the shadows after. You don’t hear of them till next grass season. So frustrating. Nxaaaaa……
I honestly do not see Muller giving Cilic any trouble. In fact, I would not be surprised to see him retire mid match…….
You’re obviously butthurt about your guy losing. Muller should do pretty well at the US Open too. He can play ok all surfaces and has at least one ATP final on every surface.
He can play ON all surfaces. My bad
Please name the finals he has made on those surfaces you mention. I do not normally count losses as wins but please do go on…………..
Please check the list of Wimbledon winners, all of them are real champions. Only slam without one-trick-ponies.
Huh? Ivanisevic, Stich, Krajcek, Cash for examples? Sorry to interrupt.
Thank you @Lucky. The list goes on and on. Who can forget Roscoe Tanner, for example?
Each of them have multiple titles, real champions, not 1 match spoilers.
No, you missed my point completely……….
Muller has never won Wimbledon.
His only clay final was Estoril earlier this year where he lost in tight final to Carreno Busta. Has made four hard court finals in 2004 Washington, 2005 Los Angeles, 2012 Atlanta, and 2017 Sydney which is where he got his first title. On grass he made the final at Newport and s’Hertogenbosch last year and made the final in s’Hertogenbosch again this year and won it which was a few weeks ago.
But Benny G, those are 250 and maybe one or two 500 tourneys, no? Not very difficult going deep there, no?
Making the quarters at Wimby is a big deal, that’s my point, or the quarters of a Masters tourney. That is what I am talking about. You hardly see Muller’s head above the parapet at these tourneys, that is what I mean.
Yeah I see what you mean. He hasn’t had glory at slams and masters much. I personally classify a journeyman as someone who spends most of their career toiling at the challenger level or having very little success at the tour level at all. That’s why I kind of disagreed with calling him a journeyman but I see what you’re saying now.
Of course he can play on all surfaces, that is why he is ranked #26 but that dos not make him a contender on all surfaces. You are obviously very happy he beat Rafa today, good for him but please do not exaggerate. He is a superb grass court player, a journeyman on the rest.
Quarters of US Open in 2008. But ok. Just saying he ain’t going away after this run. Muller has good shot at top 15 by end of the year.
2017 appears to be a break-out season for him, let’s see how he does against Cilic, that will give us a good idea on whether this is truly a break-out season for him.
If he beats Cilic then I will agree with you, he will be dangerous rest of the season on HC. Until then, I am erring on the side of caution…………
I am not ready to say if Muller is anything but a journeyman player. Let’s see what happens with Cilic. I don’t know about a breakout season at the age of 34!
Well, I’m being charitable here to Gilles. His 2 career titles came in 2017 and today’s result is a big deal. He will get massive ranking points, a tidy payout and the notoriety of besting Rafa Nadal.
Let’s see if he capitalists on that……….
“Capitalises”
He’s won two titles and made the Wimbledon QF at age 34 and is approaching top 20 and has more grass court wins than anyone right now. In my opinion, this is already a breakthrough season for him. Maybe not a humongous one but still a breakthrough imo.
Well actually he’s arguably had more success in his career on hard courts. He’s just become a fantastic grass courter the last couple of years. Before 2014 or so he mostly had success on hard courts, making 2008 US Open quarters and 500 event semis and final on hard courts. He is a formidable opponent on grass especially now and still dangerous on hard courts. Clay obviously not as much of a threat.
Rafa needs to skip the grass season from now on just as Fed is slipping clay. Play to your strengths and avoid the weaker surfaces. Listen rafa please.
All of you saying good NA hc season but I frankly don’t know what to exoect to be honest. It can end just like 12 n 14 or go on to become like 2013.
Agreed Sanju! After today’s loss, I really think that Rafa just can’t win on grass anymore. He usually goes deep in all those clay events, and so he will have a hard time adjusting to grass. He’s not going to forego any clay events, so its better that he skips grass completely, like Fed skipping clay.
He’ll be 32 next year, his body just can’t cope with the change of surface so soon after the clay season. His confidence playing on grass has long been dented, so it’s getting harder for him to overcome his nerve when playing on grass. Rafa is not a confident person to begin with!
I am of following your argument here, he should skip 4 matches, why? To avoid losing? To avoid big servers? I don’t get it, losing is part of the game. I can understand Fed skipping the clay season, it’s made up of 5 tournaments and clay is gruelling. You cannot say the same about grass.
Rafa is not the only one facing a sharp turnaround from clay. Wawa lost early, should he also skip Wimby?
Agree, Rafa does not have enough preparation because of the quick turnaround from clay to grass but it’s just that he has been unlucky to draw big servers, he has to find a way to counter them, I think.
Nah, so he’s been unlucky for five years now! Don’t blame the big servers/big hitters, blame himself! He had his chances but didn’t take them.
All players, including the other big four guys, have to face big servers/big hitters during all those years they played at Wimbledon. Fed had to face Cilic and Raonic for examples; Djoko had to face Cilic and Anderson; Murray had Jerzy and Raonic; they did beat these big servers most of the times.
The problem lies with Rafa, not with the draw or the big servers. He has his chances but couldn’t take them. I say he should skip Wimbledon because, one reason of which is also to avoid injury esp to his knees. The change of surface so soon after clay season may do more harm to his body as he gets older. He slipped and fell a few times today, I hope he didn’t hurt himself, as the US HC season is just three weeks away.
Why risk injury playing on a surface you won’t win on, and has so little time to adjust to?
Totally agree with you on who should shoulder the blame: Rafa. That is why I said he needs to figure out how to deal with the big servers who appear to give hi so much trouble. Running away a will not solve the problem, he has to solve his return game problem.
I did not watch the match today, what was the precipitation like? Was it damp? If it was then that would explain the slips and stuff.
Muller was always going to be a tough match for him. Not taking anything from Muller but Rafa did not do himself any favors by going 2 sets down, that was not smart playing a guy like Muller whose specialty is grass.
If he’d drawn Mannariano, Paire or even the Fog, do you think Rafa would have lost today’s? I don’t. It’s tough luck for him but I do not think that is a reason to bail. Regarding the other years he lost early, we all know the reasons and they did not apply today. Today Rafa was healthy, he was just beaten by the better player on the day.
Well, who knows, he may lose to Foggy or Paire too! Don’t blame the luck of the draw, as I said, the other guys also have their fair share of not so lucky draw too. The problem lies with him, can he solve the problem? Well it looks like he’s not going to!
Nothing could help him if he continues to play such nervy game, I mean, who ask him to play so poorly in the first two sets? In his after match presser, he himself admitted he played poorly to lose his serves in the first two sets and so had to play from behind in the score the whole match, and that gave him pressure. When he’s always 0-15, 0-30 in his service game(in the fifth set), he had to fight so hard to hold serve and then what happened in the end happened.
I mean who ask him not to play the way he played in the third and fourth sets right from the beginning, but had to wait till back against the wall, then he raised his level? He had the game, but was too nervous from the get go to play it and that’s the problem. Muller could play his best tennis from the get go, cool as a cucumber, Rafa couldn’t and to me that’s the difference.
The problem to solve? Calm his nerve; if he can’t, sorry whatever good game that he can have, he just can’t execute it.
I didn’t think he played significantly better in the third and fourth sets. Muller started to miss a lot more first serves and was giving Rafa a lot more looks in his own service games with more double faults and sloppy play which then allowed Rafa to play with more confidence and freedom in his own return games. Only at the start of the fifth did Muller start to rekindle that automatic serving rhythm he had going in the first two sets. I think he started to think about the finish line and tighten up once he got the two set to love lead.
Agreed Rafa’s draw was tough . He can’t lose against Paire and the lefty frenchman. But Rafa needs to improve his serve a bit more. Even more than that, heneeds to improve his returns.
Seriously, I do not think he would lose to Foggy or Paire. I agree with @Fedexal, Rafa’s draw was loaded. No way we can compare Paire or Mannarino to Muller.
Having said that, Rafa had plenty of chances to win yesterday, he did not take them. Strategically, it was a bad move to go down 2 sets because that guaranteed a 5th if he was going to win. To play 5 sets and then expect to win against Cilic, possibly Muzza next and then Fed or Djokovic, not smart, especially at his age. Rafa should have come out all guns blazing like he did against Khachanov, plant some doubt in Muller early on. 3 sets, that is what he should target, with a 5-setter maybe in a final.
Rafa is only 31, he has plenty of Wimby campaigns in him. I disagree that he should boycott Wimby because he loses there so much. If that is the argument then he should boycott the WTF’s and Miami for the same reason.
I’ll tell you what though, I wish he would skip the indoor season except WTF. He should concentrate on outdoor HC and make a tilt for USOPEN.
Should have, could have, doesn’t matter now. Important thing is he is healthy.
Oh no Novak match pushed to tomorrow ..this is bad. He will now have to play 2 consecutive days. Advantage Federer.
easy match for him tomorow. less than 2 hours
This loss will not and should not diminish his( rafa’s) achievements this year, i don’t think R. Nadal can reach number 1 again, even if he does he won’t last long.
But i know that he will remain competitive and will win some trophies along line that’s what makes great player and R. Nadal is a great player.
#Don’tgetdiscouraged
Muller played extremely well, cool and collected, even though he made several stupid drop shot decisions, in the final few games he changed his approach to what had worked.
Had Nadal been serving first it’s pretty clear he would have won. I think he served to stay in the match 8 or 9 times. Incredibly clutch from both. About his serving position, he moved further back for the 3rd and 4th sets and this helped him win. He hit some great returns. In fact Nadal only lost the 2nd set because Muller got a lucky net cord to break him at the end of the set. Nadal could have won in 4 had things been a bit different.
I have to say that Nadal was extremely classy in defeat even signing autrographs.
I meant Nadal’s ‘serving position’ in the post.
service RETURN position…argh I’ve been watching tennis too long…
Anyway good prediction Benny G.
Stop puting G. Muller down, he was incredible.
If the decide to replay the match again he( muller) would still defeat nadal, Gilles was GILLICIOUSLY amazing, period.
Give honor to whom honor is due.
I’m not putting him down, he showed incredible cool and courage and grass court ability to win this. But the fact is he was fortunate to be serving first in the 5th as Nadal was under constant pressure to hold.
yes i agree with that. all through the final set i kept saying that muller had a huge advantage and that definitely helped him win. would he have saved all those break points if they were match points? i doubt it. he was getting very tight at one stage.
I agree. Serving first in the fifth set was a huge advantage and there is no way to deny it.
I don’t know if Rafa should skip Wimbledon or not in the future. That’s for him and his team to decide. I think it’s tough after today’s result. There is a pattern here. The other top players have had to deal with big servers and have berm able to handle them on grass. But for Rafa it’s more of a problem on this surface. His knees held up and he was playing well. Playing Muller and Cilic back-to-back was always going to be difficult.
Rafa also came into Wimbledon with very little match play. Both Muller and Cilic have played a lot on grass.
Rafa made life tough for himself by going down two sets. It’s never an easy task to come back from that. It took him two sets to read Muller’s serve. He did well to make a match of it.
Rafa did have break chances throughout the match and struggled to convert them. He had chances to break Muller late in the fifth set.
This was a match that came down to a few points. It could have gone either way. Both guys deserved to win. They put it out there.
I felt that Cilic would be too much for Rafa. He’s looking very good now. But I hoped that Rafa would beat Muller and reach the quarterfinals. I wanted him to go past the fourth round. But I just don’t know at this point in his career if he can do it.
I feel for Rafa after battling well over four hours. It’s hard to lose a match like that. But he pushed it to the limit.
NNY, it’s not like he was reading Muller’s serves in the third and fourth sets; to me it’s Rafa raising his game, served better to hold serve and moved inside the court more often to finish the points.
Muller’ s level gone down partly because of Rafa giving him pressure, he didn’t serve that well in these two sets and made more errors. The third and fourth sets had gone by rather quickly. Muller regrouped and started to serve well again in the fifth and Rafa had no answer to Muller’s serves for the whole 135 mins (or thereabout) of the fifth set.
I do feel that if Rafa could play better in the first two sets, he would at least cast some doubts in Muller’s mind, not unlike the third and fourth sets, and then Rafa might have a chance to win one of the two sets. Rafa let Muller won the first two sets too easily I feel, and so he had a hard time chasing from behind the whole match.
NNY, it’s rather upsetting to see Rafa lost in this manner. He looked rather disappointed during his presser, and I can understand why.
He’s playing well this Wimbledon, fit and healthy with no knee issue. He played well to beat his first three round opponents, obviously he and us were happy and I’m sure he and us were thinking he had a good chance of winning the title.
Imo, he has the game to win on grass and wins the title, the problem lies with him not being able to produce his best tennis on grass when he needs to. It’s still his nerve, and confidence issue. He had conquered that on clay but on grass he still had doubts.
I do feel that had he avoided those losses by not playing at Wimbledon when he had injury issues, and so won’t have so many scars (from his losses) he perhaps could have done better on grass, who knows? And so come 2017 when he’s fit and healthy and playing well, he won’t have to deal with nerve and confidence issues!
I’m of the opinion that Rafa will never win on grass again. It’s a pity, that this year he’s fit and healthy yet still can’t go on to win the title, even when he has the game to win it. Who knows how his body/knees will be come next year? He couldn’t make hay while the sun shines this year, really upsetting.
You look at previous history of Nadal’s results, he had trouble against big servers in 2010 as well. Yesterday, losing the second set was terminal, played a lose forehand and was unlucky with one net cord at 30-30. Prior to this he missed 2 BP chances.
Singlehander,
I apologize, i wasn’t referring to your comment, don’t get twisted okay.
I like your name singlehander, is it your real name or nickname?
It sounds cool, if it’s your nickname why did you pick it?
Can you help me pick a cool nickname?
Who is your favourite player in ATP and WTA?
And who do you think will win wimbledon in ATP & in WTA?
Forgive me for asking so many questions, this is the first time am meeting you.
Hey no problem Stanley, no offence taken. I just like players with a single handed backhand, even though I think it’s a less effective shot, there’s something nice about it…I’d say my favourite player is Wawrinka even though he can be very frustrating since he disappears sometimes, but then is clutch the rest of the time. I don’t follow the WTA too closely, although I have nothing against women’s tennis, but men’s tennis really is very competitive right now.
RIght now I still think Murray will win Wimbledon with the crowd behind him, and I think it will be against Djokovic. Federer is not quite playing well enough yet and Djokovic is quietly under the radar with no preessure…
Muller can beat Cilic.
Felicitations to good Rafa fans…..consolation is: his ranking points have increased. He’ll definitely be at the O2 in Nov.
Benny, Rafa did play better in the third and fourth sets; he served better, was more aggressive and that put pressure on Muller, hence Muller started missing his first serves etc. Muller won’t for nothing suddenly served poorly when he only needed one more set to win; even if he couldn’t sustain the level for another set, he could take a breather and then came back to win the fourth; its more to do with Rafa’s high level of play in those two sets.
Come on, you think if Rafa playing the third and fourth set like he did the first and second, he could win the two sets so comfortably??
Rafa spent all his energy chasing from behind to win the third and fourth sets, no wonder he looked more exhausted than Muller was in the fifth set. Muller was smart enough to conserve energy for the fifth, knowing well Rafa had spent much energy chasing from behind to level the match.
Pressure more and more on Nadal to hold serve in the fifth.
I had to stop watching at 10-10 but Muller looked the winner a that stage.
The thing that struck me was that Muller was much more than a tricky serve.He was equal to Nadal in most departments.
So Nadals ‘dismal’ Wimby record since 2012 continues.
Good pick whoever predicted it.
Benny, I should have said.
Acutally , I think that’s a 2-0 H2H Muller has at Wimby over Nadal.
Nope, it’s 2-1, you forgot that Rafa did best Muller at Wimbledon 2011 in straight sets.
Benny, Rafa began the third set by serving well and playing more aggressively, putting pressure on Muller; it’s not like Rafa had seen Muller’s level dropped and so up his own. Rafa was the aggressor in the third and fourth sets; Rafa usually would up his level when his back was against the wall. I mean do you expect him to play mediocre tennis like in the first two sets and lost meekly in straight sets??
Nny!!….Do u know you’re 1st on TDC BRacket atm??
MA,
Really? How? I am in the bottom in the women’s bracket! If it’s the ATP then it won’t last. I went with heart over head and picked Rafa to win. So there goes that one. My head was thinking he could get to the quarterfinals. I think I did two brackets for the men.
I know – it’s just a tennis match! I just feel for Rafa because he played his heart out.
Nny!…Yeah baby!!..you’re the 1st!…On TDC[ATP]… not Tourneytopia k?…but,yeah..don’t know whether it’s going to last or not but ToMMo just 1 point behind u..and d@#$ ToMMo[hehe,sorry ToMMo!]..he picked Andy and u picked wawa…but,he picked Roger and u picked Novak in semis…i guess that also will give an impact for u both..BUT,i’m sure things will change multiple times more come Sunday…But,congrats for now Nny!!!Woohooo!!Love u!!
Also Nny!…don’t think too much about rafa’s loss okay?..it was not meant to be…it’s simple as that…besides,think about the amazing and incredible things that he just gave to us fans only a month ago….Yeah!!…a 10th FO Nny!!…and multiples other winnings on clay too…isn’t that something?When u feel so letdown and frustrated…just think about how amazing he pulled himself from the unknown abyss that he lost himself into last year and the year before…to see him lost at wimby can’t take the joy from seeing him in this form again Nny!!..Nope!…
Besides,just think about how he’s going to tear the NA HC in this hot form when he’s much more comfortable playing there than on grass Nny!…Oh,he’s going to surprise us again Nny!!..believe me!
I still think Rafa was a better player than Muller in 2nd 3rd and 4th set. Just that unlucky netcord game cost him the match. I think Rafa was playing well, but I dont think he could get thru all players and win Wimbledon. He had the most difficult draw out of top 4 . Muller and Cilic were form players unlike Dimitrov and Raonic.
Rafa won’t be able to beat Cilic anyway, if he continues to play with nerve. To me, he really played poorly in the first two sets, quite disappointing, when in his previous rounds, he certainly came out all guns blazing, esp vs Khachanov, another big server, and hard hitter. Had Rafa exert more authority in his game and his serve, he might at least hold serve for a TB or two, and perhaps could have a chance to win a set in the first two. Instead, he played like he had so many things to lose. Muller, otoh, played freely with calm, perhaps he’s really confident about his serve and his grass court game.
Rafa’s problem was his ROS. I mean against a hard hitting baseliner who served big, yes, he could return a bit further behind the baseline, but against a S&V net rushing big server, he should return from close to the baseline, so that he’s not giving the S&V server much space and time to work on his next point when he’s at the net.
Rafa camping so far behind to return serves, had given Muller so much time to position himself well at the net after his serve! Rafa had to run so much to cover such a big area behind the baseline from left to right or vice versus! Such was the poor return strategy from Rafa, no wonder he had problems returning Muller’s serves whole match long!
He returning from so far behind the baseline had enabled Muller to serve out wide so successfully; its like when Rafa was returning Fed’s serves at AO this year; he camping so far back had allowed Fed to serve out wide with successes too.
He playing too much on clay had influenced the way he returned serves, and he couldn’t break away from that mode of play, sad to say. Djoko doesn’t have Rafa’s problems as he basically camped on the baseline to return serves, which is why he’s more successful than Rafa is on grass (and HCs too).
What I don’t understand is why Rafa did not change his ROS position. Rafa should have recognized the need to stand closer. He’s usually good at making adjustments.
I am interested in hearing Rafa’s thoughts on the match. Maybe augusts will post it.
For what it’s worth, I did not think Rafa would beat Cilic if he got through to the quarterfinals. Even before the match I felt that way. But after a tough four plus hour battle, Rafa really would not have been able to do it. But I did want him to get to the quarterfinals.
Oh sorry, into previous post I meant to say – augusta!
Brain freeze by Rafa. It’s obvious that he’s rather nervous, he had too much respect for Muller’s serve, and, it’s at this stage of the tournament where he failed to take the next leap, having failed time and again and never able to cross over this barrier.
He’d rather played it safe, than changed things around when things didn’t go according to plan. It’s sad that after playing more aggressively to win the third and fourth sets, he then reverted back to safer play once Muller started serving well again. He had his chances but he playing from so far back had cost him big time.
Lucky!….I said Rafa had a brain freeze last nite and it did not sit well with my beloved Nny and amy!!hahaha…But,i honestly think that is the case actually…when he lost the 1st 2 sets…he already give us the sign…we just too hopeful to accept it…
Doesn’t matter now….i’m not too disappointed with this loss…his incredible of bagging 10th FO is still lingering sweetly in my mind and soul…this loss CANNOT dampened my wonderful feelings about that…besides i believe Rafa will once again make his march on NA HC pretty soon where he’s much more comfortable playing on it…
That’s the right attitude Mira. Being thankful for what he already has achieved. Lots of Rafans said they’d be happy if he gets past first week. When Roger won AO this year I said to myself everything else he wins this year is a bonus. That was so sweet and satisfying already. They both can have a good run at US open. Cheers!
Hey Eugene!..Long time no chat!!..Hope you’re healthy and i bet veryyyyy happy now considering Rog it seems on the verge to continue his magnificent run this year at wimby…I wish him and u and other Roger fans in here like Joe Smith,Kevin and Benny and other’s whom i forgot to mention the best of luck for the rest of the tournament Eugene…i will be very happy if Rog win again…no doubt about that…
Btw..thank u for your wonderful words Eugene…yeah…it’s no use to feel downhearted about this…it’s not meant to be for Rafa to win it…If we Rafans be honest about it…before the tourney began,we’re all very anxious to see how his knees will hold up on grass…been out from Wimby for 5 years straight before the quarter it’s not an accident Eugene..the problem are bigger than we’re expected…and i guess we Rafans ‘forgot’ of this problem when we saw him marching excellently in the first 3 matches…but the problem is still there..lingering quietly under the surface…i just hope Rafa will wisely learned to handle this problem come USO…He’s also got a ‘demon’ there when he lost painfully to Lucas last year…
Btw,nice ‘talking’ to u Eugene!…Hope we’re going to chat more after this…Good luck for u and Rog and other nice and wonderful Roger fans here like Joe,Kevin,Benny and other’s!…Yeah!…Cheers back Eugene!!Woohoo!!
Yeah Mira, we shouldn’t expect too much, after seeing Cilic in his draw! It’s just that Rafa himself seemed so upset, when I think he felt he was playing well and was hoping to have a chance at the title and yet he faltered again in R4.
What I hate about the loss is that Rafa will once again get nervous in future when he reaches the same stage here at Wimbledon, and when Rafa is nervous, he can’t serve well, loses his serves, has to chase from behind and against big servers he may lose again. It’s a vicious cycle.
Yeah Lucky!…Rafa will definitely get more nervous,not only at Wimby but i’m thinking the nearest slam in USO…He’s also got demon there when he lost to Lucas last year and to Fog the year before…incidentally both defeats also came from a bad loss..that’s what i’m worrying about atm Lucky..i just really really hope,the warrior in him will not quick fighting those demon..he needs to believe that he is in better place atm..not like last years…but,let’s see how he build his confidence in Cincy and Montreal first..i really believe with his current form he will make a deep run in both places..insyaallah!…Vamos Rafa!!!
hey mira, hope you are feeling better today honey?? for me this loss was primarily mental. i said loads of times last night that rafa was very nervous early on and that was probably to do with his early losses in teh past playing on his mind. it’s hard to play freely when you want to win too much. and then you don’t compute what’s going on on court in the same way you would normally. actually moving back further to return in sets 3 and 4 worked and he had loads of break points against muller. he just had to readjust when that stopped working in the fifth. muller was very lucky to be serving first. if he had to face break points as match points like rafa did i don’t think he would have survived. rafa had to play under incredible pressure.
but for me we have to be positive! rafa has just won his 10th roland garros and that’s what really matters.
toni and carlos both talked about the incredible pressure rafa was under at rg with all the talk of the decima. after being under such mental pressure a let down isn’t surprising because it does take its toll. look at nole losing to querrey after winning his first rg!!!
so we should be positive imo….
really hope you are feeling better hon….i left a messge for you yesterday on ttopia….xxxx
Amy!!…How r u today amy?Okay?Not suffered much from rafa’s loss i hope!…As for me..Alhamdulillah..the fever almost gone..the cough too,judging from how stable my house are after i cough,not like before…
Yeah amy!..i am very very agree with u on all counts…not to discredit Muller but if rafa play without nervous like in the 1st week..i doubt he has a chances to win..but yeah..what happen is happened…all rafa needs to do right now is rest and prepare himself for the NA HC properly…i’m pretty sure,if he be able to go deep in Montreal and Cincy..he will get back his confidence to win although come USO is a different matter altogether…but,forget about USO atm….i can’t wait to see to his NA HC campaign…and i’m sure his loss at wimby won’t linger in his mind for long…
Amy!..yeah..i already reply to your msg in Tourneytopia…thank u mucho for your kind and wonderful words amy!!..and i’m also having fun reading your post last nite on TG!!..hahaha…i can’t stop laughing when i read your post amy!!…God!It’s so fun you’re here amy!…Thank u for coming back okay??Love u!!
am feeling very drained today mira!! over four hours of shouting at the tv and swearing like a trooper is very tiring!
very glad you are feeling better today hon…you need to take good care of yourself when you’re not well ….
i don’t see uso as teh same obstacle as wimby mira. yeah rafa’s had some bad losses but not over so many years and he will have warm up tourneys to play his way into form and won’t have the same pressure on his knees.
i am a bit gutted for rafa but honestly a while back i didn’t think rafa would win another slam or get close to number one and now he has 15 slams and could be number one. so we can’t be too greedy can we mira?? munch, munch, more please!!!
take care honxxxxxx
Hahahaha!…amy!!…God!..i pity your TV…hope it not sulking at u the next time u want to watch Rafa on it amy!!…
I wish you’re right about Rafa and USO amy…as for me,can’t wait to hear u swear beautifully once again come USO..it really can lifted my pressure when watching rafa u know…
Yeah,we can’t too greedy amy…it’s incredible to see rafa at this form once again..after 2 gloomy years…i wish him keep on healthy and will add his tally in the future…U take care yourself too k amy!!…Hugs from afar!!
Yes for once we agreed , ROS was the culprit. If you are way behind, its difficult to hit penetrating return, plus if the other guy goes for a drop volley or short valley , you will have trouble getting to it. If you look at 5th set 9-9 all game, Rafa had 4 chances , he was able to get into rally twice. Muller hit a passing shot but Rafa had one long forehand and ther other point where he could not pick the volley from Muller. Muller was beatable in the fifth set as well. Just that Rafa did not change his position whil returning.
There will always be another Wimbledon next year for Rafa. Roger took 7 years to win AO after his last. probably Rafa would do it in 8, 9 or 10 years.
Roger wins slam at agree of 35. Rafa has 20 more slam chances until age 35. just need to get 20% of it to reach 19 slams. very do-able for Rafa. just need to get 3 more RG where he does not have any opposition when he is healthy and one more from another.
Who could beat healthy Rafa in RG?
What is of concern to me is that Rafa seems to be losing 5-setters regularly now, something he never used to do in his prime. Hope his team look at that.
Otherwise, c’mon Rafa! Get up from the floor, dust yourself up and go!
Vamos!!
I was about to post that too but decided not to. At least he won two this season so far at the AO, but lost the next two!
To me this is a big concern because it points to mental fragility. I just replayed the last game of his match against Muller yesterday and Rafa looked fried mentally. Rafa used to be bulletproof in 5-setters. I do not think age has anything to do with it if older guys like Fed and Muller are still bringing it in this regard.
He has doubts, and he playing with intensity is always mentally more taxing, than those who play a more relax style.
Muller doesn’t have Rafa’s burden at Wimbledon, nobody expects him to win Wimbledon anyway, and his style is about his serve and his net rushing, so naturally he relied heavily on his serves and when he’s playing well, he’s serving well and so he’s able to win many points on his serve.
Rafa relies more on his overall game and serve is one of his weakness; on grass the serve is important. He can only serve well when he’s confident, we saw how well he served on clay and even in the three matches prior to this one. Once he’s tense, he has the tendency not to serve well and only when in crucial moments, back against the wall, that he would produce some outstanding serves to get out of troubles. However, in the fifth set he had to do it so many times that he finally faltered.
If you ask me, I think he has to regain confidence playing on grass, if not he’ll just suffer loss after loss, and to regain confidence he has to win matches.
I do feel Rafa should play a warm up event prior to Wimbledon, he doesn’t need to go to Queens, just plays a small event like Eastbourne to test his skills on grass against anyone, to feel the competition on grass, to get used to the grass court.
Djoko has done the right thing imo playing at Eastbourne, you need real competition to see where you’re at, and to improve on where you’re lacking.
Rafa was already doing well to reach the fourth round when he’s playing a game not so suited for grass and having played no warm up event. To me Djoko has a better game (than Rafa) on grass, so he playing only exhos on grass is enough for him to play well to win at Wimbledon.
Rafa is not Djoko so I feel he needs real matches to test his skills and to feel more confident about his game.
I agree with you, playing Eastbourne has to be part of Rafa’s plans going forward if he wants to go deep at Wimby. Queens and Halle would be better because the field tends to be deeper, with literally all the grass specialists playing, but the timing is not good coming barely a week after RG. If fit, Rafa will go deep at all the clay tourneys, likely winning RG so he needs some rest after.
Practicing is not enough, he needs competitive ambiance. He definitely needs to play a lead-up tourney before Wimby.
I remember Rafa commenting that he did not expect Fed to play RG since he had skipped the lead-up tournaments. So Rafa knows the importance of lead-up tournaments, he just has to find the most suitable given his post RG circumstances.
but rafa was warned by his doctor not to play queens because of his knees. he’s always going to have problems adjusting from rg to grass because of this….the other top players don’t have the same physical issues as rafa….
and then there’s the emotional and mental strain and pressure to do with winning rg and the decima. let downs happen….
I think the decision to skip Queens was for Rafa to get much needed rest after his exertions on clay. I did not get the impression there was a specific concern about the condition of his knees. I got the impression team Rafa was happy with his fitness and the Doctor, being part of the team, would be part of that decision to rest.
My understanding regarding Rafa’s knees is that because of the therapies/treatments he has gone through on them, he now finds it difficult to bend his knees continuously as is required on grass court tennis. Team Rafa’s concern was that the constant knee bending would trigger old problems.
Tiggy actually put it well in his post match analysis, he said Rafa wanted so badly to win he lost, meaning he put too much pressure in himself to win and this was his undoing.
gosh tiggy said that?!
i said exactly that last night…and i think many would see the same….he was so on edge in the first 2 sets…that’s where the game was lost really ie he shouldnt have let it go to 5….
i don’t remember the specific details about queens ritb….but it’s quite likely that after rg next year the same advice about rest will be given and i would always want rafa to err on teh side of safety regarding his knees.
those people knocking him ought to think about whether their fave would be doing well if he couldnt’ play a warm up because of physical issues.
and then there is the mental hangover from winning rg and teh exertion involved..ask nole about that!!
@amy, I think Team Rafa made the right decision regarding Queens this year, given the circumstances. That clay swing was a lot for Rafa, going deep as he did in each tourney. The turnaround period from clay to grass is too short even with the extra week before Queens. He has to rest otherwise he would not be doing himself any favors.
None of the contenders goes through what Rafa goes through during the clay season. None of them win Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, go deep at Rome and win RG. So, we really ought to cut Rafa some slack. As you say, he could have a draw where he does not face any of the big hitters until the quarters say and then, all bets would be off! How many big hitters did Muzza, Nole and Fed face before the quarters?
As long as Rafa is healthy, I give Rafa a winning chance in each tournament he enters.
RITB 3.0 says AT 1:01 PM: “I think Team Rafa made the right decision regarding Queens this year, given the circumstances…”
Yep. I trust Rafa & his team & his doctors (who have known him since his boyhood).
https://www.facebook.com/Nadal/posts/10154900641836026
luckystar says AT 10:00 AM: “Djoko has done the right thing imo playing at Eastbourne…”
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Playing in Eastbourne was the FIRST time Djoko played a grass-court tournament between the FO and Wimbledon since 2010!
If Djoko had won the FO this year, I doubt he would have requested a wildcard for the Eastbourne tournament.
Rafa shouldn’t follow any player as a role model, he has good advisors who have known him for a long time and are aware of his problems. 🙂
just saw the end of it
Rafa was returning like shite and Muller was possessed and on a mission
We’ll always have Paris…..
Rafa lost the first set without making a single UE. He overall made only 17 UEs to 52 UEs of Mulller’s… Rafa had that unlucky net cord that cost him the second set!!He did not play badly last night! The only lousy thing was Rafa’s ROS and his break point conversion! If one fails to convert 14 break points he must end up losing the match! I give credit to Muller for hanging in there and not giving up! At the end Rafa chasing Muller and each time serving to stay in the match as well as failing to capitalize on some chances he was given had took a tool on Rafa’s mental strength…Muller serving well when mattered did not help either…
All in all, Rafa gave it his best and could have as well won it if he had more of the luck…but he didn’t and Muller deserved it! I wouldn’t go that far to say with certainty that Rafa would anyway have lost to Cilic…Nope, nobody could claim that if Rafa pulled this one wouldn’t strive on his confidence to go on and beat Cilic…but, that’s so irrelevant now…
It’s nor fair to Rafa to say that he should skip Wimby from now on…he may as well win it in the future if the stars allgn for him, who knows…
I for one was not optimistic about Rafa’s chances to win Wimby this year…I always thought USO is the second Rafa’s forte when in form…
I just hope this loss does not get to Rafa! He should emerge stronger from this and should just enjoy his successes this year! If he stays healthy he will do wonders in the USO swing!
We are so proud of your fighting spirit! This was your least favorite surface against quality in-form opponent! Yet it could have gone either way…
We love you, Rafa!
Vamos Champ!
First, after 4+ hours of a match, even if Rafa had won, do you think he would beat Cilic? Cilic was playing well, well rested, and full of confidence. I would say Cilic will beat Muller in the QF.
Second, if Rafa can’t play well on grass, why risk getting injury playing on it? Unless Rafa just wants to enjoy playing at Wimbledon without hoping for any title there, then by all means plays with no pressure, no nervy feeling. If he can somehow starts playing well on grass then of course he should carry on playing at Wimbledon, it’s all his choice and his decision.
Third, Rafa looked disappointed about this loss, I feel he had confidence coming to Wimbledon that he could do well, but losing once again in R4, more or less would affect his confidence again. We don’t expect much from him on grass but that may not be what he expects from himself, we just don’t know. Rafa may feel that he lost a good chance of winning, when he’s fit and healthy, riding the confidence of his FO win, and was playing a good enough all round game to win on grass.
Nobody knows how his game, his body will be come next year, and yeah, the stars have to align for him to win Wimbledon, though I feel the possibility of winning the FO and Wimbledon B2B will diminish with time.
@Lucky, do you feel the same way about WTF and Miami, 2 tournaments which spring to mind which he has yet to win? Should he skip those too? It seems to me the argument you are using for Rafa to skip Wimby applies to those 2 tourneys as well.
Nope for WTF, that was the YEC for the top eight guys, and Rafa had no injury issues there in the past, I see no reason for him to skip it. Furthermore, after that event he can have his long year end break, so why skip it?
Yes for Miami. Why? Because it’s just before the clay season and Rafa needs to be fully fit for his assaults on clay, unless Rafa is willing to skip one or even two clay events.
Imo, he needs to be wise in his scheduling, reducing the work load as he gets older. I always find both Fed and Djoko being really good at their scheduling, not overplaying, perhaps that’s why both of them could remain relatively injury free and could dominate the tour for so long.
Not that Rafa is going to dominate, but not overplaying may increase his chances of being fit and healthy and be ready for the important events.
I agree with your take on both WTF and Miami but am still not convinced on your take on Wimby.
Wimby is still worth taking a punt on, with or without playing a lead-up tournament. First prize would be of course to play one. I mean, who knows, the draw might break for him, Muller was stretched by Rosol after all.
I think what really disappointed Rafa about this year was that, unlike the other years when he was knocked out early, this year he felt fully fit. He lost because he did not capitalize on his opportunities, not because his body would not cooperate.
It’s OK, we can disagree but it’s Rafa’s decision to make, not ours. I’m sure Rafa will play at Wimbledon, unless he’s injured.
luckystar says AT 12:07 PM: “I always find both Fed and Djoko being really good at their scheduling”
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I have always said/written that Fed has withdrawn from the tournaments because of his HEALTH issues. It has been ‘good schedulig’ according to Fedfans’ propaganda. 🙂
spot on, RITB! I do not think Rafa should skip any tournament if he is healthy! I also agree with you that Rafa should find the way to improve his court positioning on grass to return better in order to have more chances to beat big hitters. He has already improved his serve and volleys, though should go more to the net on the grass…
Of course Rafa was disappointed for losing this and sure Rafa expected to do well in Wimby and that’s the right mindset of a true champion.. many people here were saying Kachanov could be a stern test and Rafa destroyed him. This match was close and Rafa just was not lucky enough and failed to take his chances!
Rafa will overcome this loss and will come back strong for USO swing!
Rafa is always disappointed to lose and he always shows his disappointment. I just felt he really wanted to win this Wimby and he knows he missed his chances. During his presser, he was very clear he will be back because he enjoys playing on Centre Court.
I am very bullish Rafa will do very well in the NA swing. I hope he takes it easy on the indoor swing and focuses more on the outdoor HC tournaments where he has a better chance of winning and also in preparation for USO.
Because he will just be adding points, it is very likely, he and Fed will end the year as numbers 1 and 2, meaning he may turn up at Wimby 2018 as #1 seed and hopefully they play all his matches on Centre Court as a result.
Rafa loves Wimby and so does Uncle Toni……
I didn’t see Carlos Moyà at Wimby, where was he?
Luckystar says AT 11:16 AM: “…Rafa looked disappointed about this loss, I feel he had confidence coming to Wimbledon that he could do well, but losing once again in R4, more or less would affect his confidence again.”
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Rafa didn’t know before the grass season, whether his knees would hold up or not. If they did, I think, he’ll feel more confident in his knees on the grass in the future.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/rafael-nadal-french-open-title-win-la-decima-10th-time-wimbledon-world-rankings-a7786286.html
To add to my post AT 2:37 PM,
At his post-R3 press conference, Rafa was asked a question about having ‘confidence in his body’.
Question. “You’ve had problems over many seasons with your body, the physical side. Did you ever lose confidence in your body? How did you get to a place where you had confidence in your body?”
RAFAEL NADAL: “When you are under problems, is always that you don’t have confidence with your body, then is much more difficult to play well. If you feel that you are healthy, then you feel confident that you can do whatever you want in terms of practice, and you can move without thinking on anything, just thinking about the ball.
That’s very important because when you are losing little bit of time thinking about how you have to put that leg there because can be painful, then is, I don’t say impossible, but almost.”
I am willing to bet right now Muller will be in Rafa’s quarter, again, next year Wimby………..
Rafa will dispatch him……..
Rafa head hitting the ceilings could be very painful indeed. He jumped up using a lot of power in his legs, that’s what he used to do before the match. He just did not want to show it as that was quite ridiculous situation. that perhaps impacting his game in the first two sets.
lol, no. rafa lost because muller was the better player.
Please give me a break! This match could have gone either way! It turned on a few points!
does anyone know why moya wasn’t with rafa during wimby?? augusta i expect you know why….?
amy (AT 11:56 AM),
According to Moya’s contract, he travels 12 – 15 weeks per year. Moya has three little kids at home and he wants to spend time with them.
Rafa’s coaches are scheduled to travel in 2017:
¤ Carlos Moya: Melbourne, Acapulco, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Roland Garros. (The season-end schedule to be set.)
¤ Francis Roig: Acapulco, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Queens, Wimbledon, Montreal, Cincinnati, Beijing and Shanghai.
¤ U.Toni: GS tournaments, Rotterdam and Rome. (In addition, Toni can join Moya & Roig in some tournaments.)
(Source: EL Espnanol, Jan. 12, 2017)
http://www.elespanol.com/deportes/tenis/20170112/185481712_0.html
thanks augusta. so moya won’t be around for the NA season? that’s not good news.
what will happen next year when toni stops being around much ? surely moya will have to travel more then or rafa won’t have a full time coach?
amy (AT 12:21 PM),
Rafa has said that one more coach might be hired next year.
According to the Spanish media, C.Moya will be the ‘head coach’ of the Rafa team (instead on Toni) next year.
I would say that C.Moya is Rafa’s full-time coach because CM is the Technical Director of Rafa’s academy and is always coaching Rafa in Mallorca. Rafa trained with Moya on the grass courts in Mallorca for 6 days. (Moya lives in Palma, the capital of Mallorca).
i for one think rafa can win wimby he jsut needs some luck with the draw. if you trawled the archivees i’m sure you’d find people getting through to the semis without facing big servers. once rafa gets to teh final stages he ups his game anyway and plays much better. no question he could have taken out murray in the semis….
@amy 12:01pm,
Well said! ?
nny, i hope you are not feeling too upset today? i know you often feel very bad after rafa’s losses. i was saying to mira that we have to hold to the positives and remember that a while back some of us thought he wouldn’t win another slam or get close to number one. well we were wrong about both those facts and we should never again underestimate rafa and what he is capable of doing in the future.
i am a bit upset about some fo the comments here saying he shouldnt play wimby again and so on…for me that shows lack of respect. rafa is a great player…he just needs a bit of luck in the early stages. he can beat anyone once he gets into the quarters and especially semis…then he relaxes and plays much much better…
i havent read anything online. much of it is rubbish afterall…!
take care…..
Amy,
I agree with you! We have to be grateful for Rafa winning his 10 th RG! It’s true that not too long ago we were not sure if he could win a slam again. So we have to be thankful that he was able to achieve something like that.
I do have a tough time when Rafa loses. I felt really bad for him because he gave it his all and wanted to win. So I feel for him.
But thank goodness Rafa is healthy and playing well. He can look forward to the NA summer hardcourt season now.
Thanks for your words. It is really nice to see you here posting again!
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natashao and ritb. i agree with your comments. let’s believe in rafa right now!! he’s given us the decima and teh strain and pressure of achieving htat must have really taken it out of him. a let down is understandable and i don’t think anyone should be criticising him….
Amy,
When we were discussing Rafa’s prospects before the tournament started, I said on Rafa’s fan forum that he would need some help from the draw. Someone else responded that if he’s not playing well then that won’t help him. Well he was playing well!
I agree with you. Rafa needed some help with the draw. He got two of the hottest big serving guys back-to-back. That was a bridge too far.
Also I read comments from Rafa on vamosbrigade yesterday to Spanish journalists after his match, to the effect that he was not happy about playing on Court One. He said it’s always the same ones who play on Center Court. He obviously meant Murray and Fed. Rafa rarely complains but he apparently was not happy in his presser. He expected to do well.
They also said on that site not to read Tignor’s piece about the match. I try st times like this not to read very much online. I don’t want to make it worse for myself.
Ha, how about Raonic taking out Fed, Berdy taking out Djoko and Querrey taking out Murray! And, we have Cilic winning it all! All big servers and hard hitters!
Dream on, Lucky.
I don’t dream, I said it for fun!
Actually, I am now rooting for Muzza and Cilic to win because I do not want Fed and Dioko adding to their Slam tally.
I am rooting for Fed and Djoko to lose! Does that make me evil? If yes, I accept, with pleasure………
Yes very evil in the best way ? I don’t think Nole is going to make it — if he’s not playing up the pain in his elbow and shoulder. He could make it past Berdych because Berdych is Berdych. But I don’t think Federer is going to beat the Raonic machine. Andy and Raonic final is what I’m thinking now.
If Fed is strong enough to beat Raonic, he’ll probably make the final and
lose to Murray. That’s what I think. Sorry Benny G and all Federer fans.
And I respect Benny G’s opinion very much. 🙂
Fed will win this . If he plays Andy in finals , it won’t be a four set match . Only Djoker can offer resistance to Fed in this mood who has looked invincible this season. Cilic won’t be able to handle Wimbledon final pressure.
Nole appeared half speed on his serve after the first set. He could be playing it up — it was vs Mannarino, so he didn’t need a serve weapon. But I’m not feeling good about Novak right now.
Without serve , you can’t win Wimbledon. I doubt Djoker will play this up. But it could not be a serious issue as well.
We’ll see. Maybe there’s a way to make it better fast but seems like this is an old issue rearing it’s head. If so, I’d rather see Novak take the time he needs to rehab it.
You don’t think Raonic will pose a problem for Federer?
Lets see . Raonic is not on the same level as last year and Fed is playing better. And still, in my opinion Fed was a better player against Raonic last year. Fed should sail thru unless Raonic’s serve comes to his rescue.
Ditto fedexal.
Neither Raonic nor Djokovic are at their respective levels when they beat Roger at Wimbledon.
And Roger is arguably better.
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If it’s any consolation @ratcliff, between Fed and Nole, I hope Fed loses. If Muzza and Cilic cannot take it, then let it be Nole. The worst possible scenario would be Fed getting his 19th Slam, oh the infamy! The obnoxious Fedfans would never let us hear the end of it, it would be torture……….
Unfortunately, I have to agree with @Fedexal, Fed is looking ominous…………
I respect yours too ? ??
If I said I wanted Rafa to lose because I wanted Roger to keep the slam count lead, I would get verbally harassed on here for life ?
Actually when I picked Stan in the finals someone accused me of picking him for that reason and roasted me lol. But it was someone who rarely uses the site I think I don’t even remember who
C’mon Benny G, it doesn’t make the other guys look good if Fed, at his age, keeps winning at Slams, does it? Fed should give the other guys a chance…?
I appreciate your honesty. However, I think one of those two is most likely to take home the trophy, probably Fed.
Nny!…Take a look at this!…
http://www.tennisdrawchallenge.com/group/standings/68/atp/bracket
MA,
I don’t believe it! But it won’t last because I went with Rafa. Heart over head!
Thanks for posting that!
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Nny!…that’s okay!…maybe we will get lucky next time!…it’s always a torture to pick against our fav right?
Btw…You’re welcome Nny!!..Always!!
I just think Rafa was nervous in the 5th.Nothing else explains all the 0-15 and 0-30 when he was serving. And all the breakpoints he had. How could he let is slip after forcing a 5th and then losing 13-15? These kind of scenarios are tailor made for Rafa. He is supposed to be a beast deep in the 5th.
I am so disappointed as I really thought Rafa had a shot at the title.
@atul1985, this has been the most disappointing aspect of Rafa’s game of late: an inability to protect his serve and wasting break chances. Remember how he was a break up at the AO and Fed broke him back easy? Okay, Fed has a decent return game but Muller? At the worst I expected Rafa to protect his serve utntil play was suspended due to darkness, re-group overnight and come back stronger to finish off Muller the following day. I just could not understand how Muller was getting a look into Rafa’s service games that easy.
Our boy has work to do! I think there have been noticeable improvements on the technical aspects of Rafa’s game. What’s left is the mental side. Uncle Toni is on record saying he is not in favour of outside professional help on mental aspects of the game. We have to trust Uncle T on this. But clearly, there is work to be done on this………..
RITB 3.0 says AT 3:49 PM. “Uncle Toni is on record saying he is not in favour of outside professional help on mental aspects of the game…”
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Rafa has been asked a question about seeking help from a sport psychologist, he has refused to comment on it.
Rafa’s post-match press conference, QF of the Shanghai Masters 2015:
Question: “You talked many times about how you control your emotions better on court now. What changed? Did you seek help from a mental coach, sports psychologist, or did you change your own attitude?”
RAFAEL NADAL: “Well, first thing is I think that’s a personal thing. So normally I don’t like to talk about personal things. I talk about my public things, and that’s a personal thing…”
Read more:
http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=114037
if both finalists retire due to injury they have to give the trophy to one of the guys involved in the longest match of the trophy, so Muller and Nadal will have to play another final and this time Nadal will prevail, surely.
I know this doesn’t make any sense but, so what?
After having a night to sleep on it, I think that Rafa dug himself too deep a hole in losing the first two sets. In set three, Rafa was getting a much better read on Muller’s serve. He was also a bit unlucky with the net cord that cost h the second set.
Rafa did well to fight back and win sets three and four. He deserves credit for that. But in the end the star that sticks out to me is only two of sixteen break points converted. In s close matchike this one, that made the difference. Rafa’s ROS was also a problem. I don’t know why he didn’t move up in the fifth set.
I felt helpless as Rafa has break chances late in that fifth set and just could not get it done. Then every time he was serving to stay on the match. The pressure in that situation was enormous. Every time Muller fought off break points it gave him confidence. Then finally Rafa just couldn’t keep holding his serve.
I also think that the lack of match play hurt Rafa in this kind of match. Muller was march ready and battle tested. However, I do understand the reason why Rafa pulled out Of Queens. His team felt that he needed the rest after a tough clay season. But coming in with only two exho matches was not ideal preparation. It’s a dilemma that Rafa and his team will need to deal with next year.
I don’t get to say if Rafa should play Wimbledon or not. That’s up to him. But this was the first player who could challenge Rafa. Match play gives you confidence. We saw that with Rafa leading up to RG.
I think Rafa did believe he could do well. I can understand his disappointment. Coming back from two sets down and winning, might well have given him real confidence going up against Cilic. But I still think he would not have beaten Cilic. We will never know now for sure. But four hours and forty minutes is too long. Even with a day off it would hdve been very difficult. I would have wanted Rafa to win and play Cilic. Getting past the fourth round would have helped him a lot.
Just read Rafa’s criticism of court scheduling in the independent.co.uk. I am glad Rafa is speaking out about this. Tennis is a competitive, commercial and international sport, it should not pander to “traditions” which have the appearance of promoting favouritism. Court scheduling, like draws, affect player performances and match outcomes. All players should be treated equally.
Some, especially those whose favorites benefit from the status quo, say it does not matter which court a player is assigned to, well fine, all the more reason Federer and Muzza should also have played on Court 1, if it does not matter, no? The fact that they were never assigned Court 1 means it does matter where they are assigned. Court 1 plays faster than Centre Court, it has no roof therefore no floodlights etc, etc. To say they are same is not true and disingenuous at best.
Muzza is always assigned Centre Court because he is British. Well, is the game British? No, it is international. It’s not just Brits who watch Wimby anymore. So, Wimby needs to get with the programme and institute international, fair scheduling standards, scrap this ” tradition”. It is provincial and needs updating.
Federer is mostly assigned Centre Court for a whole lot of spurious reasons like he is a big commercial draw blah, blah, blah like, is he the only one bringing in the lolly? Get outta here! I am glad Rafa, in his presser, said he also has won a lot and has a lot of history in the game, he deserves respect. Bravo Rafa!
I have been on record saying Rafa should play Wimby even if his results have not been stellar lately. However, I would happily back Rafa if he boycotted Wimby because they were not giving him due respect. Enough is enough. RG rotates court scheduling equally, I could be wrong but I think so do the other Slams. This issue never arises at USO and AO.
Another issue Wimby needs to revisit is the special seeding. Ostensibly they have their own seeding system because grass is a “special surface”. Total bollocks! Every surface is special, Wimby should do like the other Slams and seed according to rolling rankings.
This tradition excuse is just that, an excuse to rig the system. Personally, I am done with it. I am glad SPECIAL players like Rafa are speaking out now, IN FAVOUR OF FAIRNESS.
Federer sneezes about one thing or another and the Slams/ATP jump. Well, let’s see if they ignore Rafa’s concerns.
Vamos Rafa!
Uncle Toni followed up Rafa’s complaints by sticking the boot in, “Wimbledon wants to be the best tournament but sometimes it does small tournament things, favoring more of the account according to which players. In Roland Garros Rafa is almost always the favorite but he does not always play on the Central Court”.
Take that AELTC……….
Even the women are complaining they are not being shown proper respect with the #1 player, Kerber, relegated to some nondescript outside court.
Shame on you Wimby!
Djokovic was scheduled to play on Court 1 yesterday, after the Rafa/Muller match but because it over-ran, Djokovic’s match was curiously post-poned to today. The last Centre Court match ended around 19h00 so there was plenty of time to re-schedule the Djokovic match to Centre Court since Cente has a roof and flood lights, they could have played right up to 23h00 if need be. In its wisdom, the AELTC decided Djokovic’s match would be played today, depriving the winner of a full rest day, advantage Fed in the semi!
It is so obvious the AELTC wants a Murray/Federer final their un-subtle shenanigans are embarrassing.
I posted a comment up thread about reading Rafa’s comments about playing on Court One. It was posted on vamosbrigade. Rafa spoke to the Spanish journalists about it. It’s rare for Rafa to speak out, so we know that this bothered him. I agree with him. It’s Murray and Fed who get special treatment all the time at Wimby. I am glad that Uncle Toni said something.
It does make a difference, otherwise Murray and Fed would play in Court One!
I also agree about the special seeding. It’s utter nonsense! None of the other slams do it. Rafa is the #2 ranked player in the world. He should be seeded as such. This idiotic and biased system of special seeding is an insult.
Wimbledon’a bias is showing and it’s not pretty!
Fedfans will say it’s sour grapes on our part and Team Rafa because he lost but that is deflection. Muller played better than Rafa, especially in the 5th set, and won, deservedly. The court scheduling is a separate matter which needs to be addressed even if Rafa had won. Same with post-poning of Djokovic’s match.
Fed is good enough to win without being given a leg-up. It is actually an insult to him and Murray to give them special treatment. This assumes they would not make it without the special scheduling.
Agree, it is not pretty, it needs to stop.
Add on to that . CC scheduled matches are even more advantageous if it is raining. Those matches will go uninterrupted and rest of the players would be stranded . How good is that ? Thats even worse on a day like Day 7 or Day 9.
I am just hoping Cilic would dismantle Murray much to the agony of local fans.
Murray is normally my second favorite but because of the way Wimby have sought to advantage him at the expense of the other players I am rooting for Cilic to beat him.
When was the last time Murray or Fed played a match on Court1 in Wimby ? Rafa as 9 time French Open champion played on SL in this year FO in 4th and 1st round and interestingly, the first round was with a not so bad French player who made it to the fourth round of this year Wimby. So no preferential treatment for a legend as well as a good local player.
fedexal says AT 6:56 PM: “When was the last time Murray or Fed played a match on Court1 in Wimby ?”
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The last time Fed played on Court 1 was in 2015:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DETUMpnXYAEp-28.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DETUMpnXYAEp-28.jpg
I have no doubt that Fed fans will say it’s sour grapes. They are the last ones who should ever throw that criticism around, as far as I am concerned! They have whined plentyvom the past when it comes to their guy!
Rafa said that Court One plays faster than Center Court. That can change the outcome of a match. He had already played on Court One. It was time for Murray and Fed to take a turn there. That’s only fair. Whether it would have made a difference to Rafa winning we will never know. But it’s about basic fairness and rotating the players.
I can handle Rafa’s losses. If I couldn’t then I would have stopped watching a long time ago. But there are things that don’t sit well with me.
I didn’t even think about how they postponed Novak’s match until the next day, when it could have been played on Center Court.
I am rooting for Cilic over Murray because of the blatant favoritism in scheduling. Murray still behaves like a spoiled bear on the court. He played mediocre tennis and only got through because his opponent is one of the bigger head cases in this game. The one issue I have with Murrsy is what a poor sport he is. He was complaining in a mstchbthat his opponent was serving too slow, then that he was serving too fast. His behavior is quite boorish. Along with the grabbing of various body parts feigning injury when he is losing.
It’s bothered me for some time now. Of course I would never want Fed to win! I do think it’s insulting to be handing out special scheduling and easy draws along with the stupid special seeding system.
I just know that Rafa rarely speaks out about anything. It has to rankle him that he gets no respect from the organizers at Wimby as a two time champion.
I meant to say that Murray behaves like a spoiled BRAT on court.
And Poor Djoker, he just got one less day of restfor no reasons . I mean that guy is one of the all time greats and you are robbing him of his right. Why would you not reschedule his match on CC when you knew you stupid guys dont have a fifth set tie-break and the match could go on for hours. I mean forgod sake, give players a sake. In the end , honestly I was glad Rafa lost because it was so mentally draining to come out there and hold serve to stay in match with no end in sight.
Djoker’s wife has slammed Wimbledon and even Agassi had a meeting with Wimby management and he was told because of security concerns they were not given center court. I mean give them any spare court you dumb Britishers. Why dont they hand the trophy to Murray and Fed both if they are so biased.
If we they would have followed the original rankings Murray And Fed would have been a QF instead of Murray-Wawrinka. Wimbledon thinks highly of itself as a Grandslam whereas it is turning to be the worst grand slam in terms of middle sunday as rest day, all whites and some stupid unbendable rules.
What security concerns? That’s as lame an excuse as you will ever hear. What’s the point of having a roof and flood lights then? Wimby are turning out to be so blatant and amateurish in their rigging.
Remember how Isner and Mahut found themselves on the same side of the draw a year after their epic match? Same with Rafa and Rosol? Honestly, as Uncle Toni says, Wimby has pretensions to greatness but they behave like a small tournament.
I hope Team Rafa lodged a formal complaint. This disgusting nonsense must stop.
So, Djoker is really grumpy out there and rightly so. A day’s rest and can do wonders and I just hope that he has his shoulder niggle sorted out. He is calling for final set breaker which makes 100% sense. http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/40575519
70-68 final set is a disgrace for tennis players. I wonder why they are trying to get mileage out of that horrendous scoreline.
I feel Murray side of draw is rigged as well.
I happen to agree when it comes to having s fifth set tiebreak. It’s almost inhumane to have matches drag on interminably like that. I am glad that the USO has fifth set tiebreaks.
Wimbledon is looking petty and small minded with its obvious favoritism. Shame on them!
I agree with Novak on the need for a final set tie breaker. It’s a modern sport, not a Roman gladiator’s spectacle for goodness’ sake. Of course Muzza’s draw was rigged. If the seedings has held, he was slated to face Wawa in the quarters, Wawa has never been past the quarters at Wimby if my memory serves me right. Who has he faced so far? A bunch of head- cases……
And all those big hitters in Rafa’s quarter? Please, we are not stupid…………
All top players have to face big hitters. Do you really think there is a conspiracy to make sure Nadal faces the most dangerous big hitters, as if any tournament wants to see him lose in an early round? That truly makes no sense.
There are big hitters in Rafa’s quarter because (surprise!) there are virtually always big hitters in every quarter – it’s a grass court tournament. There really shouldn’t be anything surprising about running into big hitters when you play Wimby, it’s to be expected.
Roger, Murray and Djokovic simply all handle the big hitters on grass much better than Nadal who definitely is not confident with them on this surface in particular.
With any seeded opponent that plays attacking tennis on grass, expect to lose if you are not confident.
RITB: First, I agree with you that there should be no preferential treatment. That extends to all players, including Rafa, who received special scheduling treatment against Fognini at Barcelona this year. Second, your (and Rafa’s) substantive complaint doesn’t make much sense. Why is court 1 worse to play on -in general- than Centre court? Court 1 plays faster? That hurts Nadal -but helps Federer. Why then would Federer be happy on playing so much on Centre court (which he has said publicly that is, and grateful for it).
In short, I can see why Rafa would want to play on centre court (also on PC court at RG, because of its dimensions), but don’t really see how it is an advantage for Roger to play there (Andy a different story because a slower court may also benefit him).
One word. Familiarity.
The reason given for not putting Nole vs Mann. on Centre was the fans in Centre for Rafa’s match would first have to leave and then those who had booked for Nole’s match would have to be brought in – taking approx. one hour + the New special security needed these days.
The question of scheduling on Centre – this is the only year when it seems to be reserved for the No. 1 player + Federer – this may – but only partially – because of the special ranking Wimbledon employs.
I personally have no issue with special Wimbledon seedings which is in place because the grass season is so short and specialized.
If Federer is stranded , do you think Wimby would not reschedule ?
My humble opinion is that Wimby’s special seedings rule made sense in the wooden racquet era. It is quaint and antiquated and not in line with the modern game.clay is also a specialized surface. This is one of the reasons Fed skipped the clay season this year for example. RG could also use a special seeding formula to favour dirt-ballers in the same way Wimby’s formula favors grass specialists, but they do not.
Murray has always been given Centre Court privileges even when he was not #1. As for Fed, let me stop here………..
The point is, unless Wimby changes, it is in danger of relegating itself to a “cottage” tournament, a less than international tournament. This self imposed exceptionalism must end.
I think Djoker has been a wrong side of Wimby scheduling as well. I mean the guy is best player there in last decade or so. Even Sampras did not get such preferential treatment in Wimby even though I still feel he is the all time best on grass courts. Best Sampras can beat anyone at his best on grass with that monster serve and crafty forehand.
lol, RITB. you said it, from the wooden racquet era 😀
What is their rule again for seeding? Is it the best on grass in the past decade? WTF too, Novak just won Eastbourne, that should count for something and 3 grass Wimbledon trophies. Federer has what? the one in 2007, 2012 and a bunch of Halle’s? Rafa has 2 Wimbles titles, Andy has several (?) Queens and 2 Wimbledon titles? Bah they must be counting back to 2003. I can’t keep it straight.
Really I cannot remember how many GS’s Novak, Andy, Rafa, and Roger have.
And my memory is pretty dang good. Just can’t seem to keep in mind how many titles who has, whether it’s ATP or WTA.
Sorry, everyone. My post was a bit disingenuous. But I am peeved about Novak and Mannarino not getting to play on Center Court when there was plenty of time. Novak was set to play on that day and that schedule could have easily been kept – center court.
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He does get disrespected and it’s sad.
rc!..didn’t u naw that organizer’s at Wimby are stupid?Not only that..Novak hater’s are everywhere..2 days ago some of them once again released a cheap story concerning Novak’s supposed affair..the timing of the released is no doubt was borne from a bad intention to disrupt Novak and his Wimby campaign…there’s many bad people in this world rc…
Special seedings is code for special treatment for the privileged grass court players. The Wimby special seedings spectacle has its roots in the British class sytem which rewards the haves and penalizes the have-nots.
The essence of the Wimby seedings is this: those who have done well on grass in a given period deserve protection, they deserve to be bumped up. It’s a system rooted in class privilege and un-meritorious advancement. That’s how the privileged maintain their privilege. Fairness is radical socialism which must be destroyed at all costs.
Think about what this implies for a second: if you are good on grass you deserve to be given a leg-up, you deserve to be given a head start. This is akin to giving Usain Bolt a 10 meter head-start in a 100 meter race. How does this even make sense? Surely, the fair scenario would be for all runners to start at zero meters, or have Usain Bolt start 10 meters behind the rest of the field? Ah, that would be fair and socialist! Not for Wimby!
The best grass court players must be given a leg-up, a head-start, all the better for them to ensure they stay ahead of the “lesser” players. A level playing field? That’s for the great un-washed……
I don’t know about you but if I was a grass specialist I would be insulted by the Wimby special seedings because they imply that I am a snowflake, that I am not strong enough to withstand fair competition.
Special seedings are just another way of rigging the system to advantage favourite, already privileged players. Then they rig the draw on top of that, and court scheduling…………….uuugh!
The genius of Wimby and their aristocratic cohorts is how they managed to convince everybody, thus far, their corrupt seedings system was for the good of all concerned……..
?RITB
You have lost sight of the fact that seeding by its very nature is preferential. It’s just that Wimby privileges grass. And as has been said before, that can arguably be justified somewhat by the lack of lead-up tournaments. Still, I wouldn’t have a problem with the FO giving the clay-courters a benefit either. Talk about fairness? What about a Masters on grass, for starters. Swings and roundabouts if you look at the bigger picture.
@TWD, How is seeding according to the rolling rankings, which the other 3 Slams use, preferential? A lack of lead-up tournaments is justification for the Wimby seeding system? Sorry, I do not get you there. There are plenty of grass lead-tournaments, maybe the timing is not ideal coming so soon after RG. You are not seriously suggesting that a player’s grass performance in 2016 should have the same weight as another player’s grass performance in a lead -up tournament in 2017? This is nonsense. In any case, last year’s grass performance, as well as that for the lead-up tournaments, is already accounted for in the rolling ranking system, which is used in the formula for the special Wimby seedings, double counting much? This is why I say just use the rolling ranking system, like the other Slams do. Why double count?
I would love a Masters on grass! I wish the grass season was longer but grass maintenance costs apparently militate against this.
Swings and round abouts implies the unfairness in the Wimby seeding systems is more than made up by unfairness elsewhere on the Tour, where? Sorry, this is a deflection from the issue at hand: an antiquated seeding system used by Wimby which is past its sell-by date. Let’s be careful of drawing false equivalents.
It’s preferential in a very elementary way – if you’re seeded, you don’t have to face other top players early on. That’s all I meant. Now Wimbledon then also privileges your form on that particular surface. But like I said, I absolutely wouldn’t have a problem if the FO did the same. I would agree that the current situation is not fair, because Wimby is the *only* tournament doing it, but they have a partial defence – there are not a lot of big tournaments on grass, therefore players who excel on it can’t really ply their trade to bank many points. I am not suggesting that 2016 and 2017 should be equal, no.
By mentioning the lack of a Grass Masters I do not mean to deflect from the seeding issue, but I do think it can be relevant in the context of a debate about fairness. Players who are good on grass get that seeding benefit, but they don’t even have a Masters to play for and win. You can talk about the issues separately of course, but you can also look at fairness more broadly, sometimes it does cut both ways.
I agree the seeding system using the rolling rankings does have a preferential bias imbedded in it for the reasons you mention. However, this bias is determined by performance on the Tour so there is an element of fairness in that if you go deep in tournaments and win, you earn more ranking points and a higher seed.
The preference is based on performance rather than a specific surface. Not perfect, but better……….
But Djoko is seeded above Fed, at no.2 so respect has to be shown to the no.2 seed, but no, Djoko has to give way to Fed! Djoko and Fed are in the same side of the draw, so there’s no reason to favor Fed over Djoko.
Correct.
No, Nole has not been the best player at Wimbledon for the last decade. Federer has won 7 Wimbledon’s (plus minor grass ) /Nole 3 / Andy 2 + 9 Queens’. Every Slam nation supports home-grown talent – just unfortunate there is none in Eastern Europe or Switzerland. To be fair – look at the other Slam countries.
To summarize – Federer has the best “grass” credentials and of the rest of the pack in recent years Murray is next.
I am talking about last Wimbledon in last 10 years. Nobody has won more Wimbledon than him. He has winning record against the second best player Fed.
Lucky,Nny,amy!…Hey,i want to ask u guys something…do u guys think that Rafa lost the first 2 sets has anything to do with his head kissing the door jamb?I mean we’re all have smack our head onto something right?And it hurts like hell!…and Rafa’s smacked his head wayyyyyy harder than us..we can even hear it on video[and he didn’t even grab his head in pain!urgh!!..that brat!!]…i know this question is silly but is there a possibility that he suffered a headache and can’t focus on his game that day?At least in the first 2 sets..what do u guys think?
Mira, I don’t think so. Rafa made the costly errors in set 1&2 because he didn’t play well, too nervous probably.
Had he come out to play like the way he played against Khachanov in R3, perhaps that might put some doubts in Muller’s head; but Rafa instead played like he had so much to lose, so not a good thing. His ROS left very much to be desired.
I would suggest that he looks at how Murray and Djoko hit their returns on grass and pick up some tips. The two are so successful in the past four or five years on grass, even against some big hitters, surely there must be something they’re doing right and doing well.
Okay Lucky!…And i happen to agree with u of coz…oh!..how i wish u will write most of your thoughts to him Lucky[via FB for example]…i always agree with everything u write here…u always have a point on everything..let rafa knows how we feel about it…not that he didn’t know most of the things already..i’m sure U.Toni and Moya will fill him in of what was wrong everytime he finished his match…
And your suggestion to study Andy and Novak’s return is very spot on too!Those 2 are the best returner’s in business..not only on grass but on HC too…It’s amazing that we thought when they’re the best player that they know what to do in every circumstances…but they don’t…or in rafa’s case,i think it’s more to do with lack of confidence…he will drawn further back 5,6 meters from the baseline if he’s not feel very confident and play very passively…He let Muller dictate pretty much of his game that day…toying him around with his shots..that’s why at the end of the match,it’s rafa who looks exhausted but Muller seems as fresh as a daisy!!
MA,
I wondered whether Rafa hitting his head on that door right before the match could have affected him. But I think that Rafa had trouble reading Muller’s serve for the first two sets. He didn’t seem as comfortable as he did in his previous three matches. This was the first opponent who could really challenge Rafa. Maybe that made him nervous and he was thinking about his early round losses in recent years.
Rafa just did not get going until he was down two sets. Then he seemed to play better and found a way to break Muller’s serve in sets three and four.
The key stat for me was Rada converting only two of sixteen break points. I don’t see how you can ignore it. That was what decided what ended up being a very close match.
Rafa had just chances late in that fifth set. It was there fur him. Break chances and then the opportunity to serve it out.
Rafa has to work on his ROS. If you can’t break your opponent when you need to do it in order to win the match, then you are setting yourself up for defeat.
This is amatch that Rafa could have won.
Nny!…First of all…here’s for u..
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a0/ea/7c/a0ea7c5503810a794f8aa5092afc5430.jpg
http://cdn.quotesgram.com/img/41/14/1381709246-11447_10151718469191350_2116357680_n.jpg
Nny!…Thank u for your thoughts up there…Yeah..agree with all u said as usual…Despite this loss..i still believe that Rafa won’t give up to chase his 3rd…he will come again next year and still full of passion to win it…if Roger can win at the age of 35,so is rafa Nny!…I will not give up on him until he says so…and i think he will win one day…call me delusional but rafa proved many people wrong many times before…and i will wait for him to do that once again Nny!!…Woohoo!!….Vamos Rafa!!
Muller’s game is way trickier than Khachanov’s. Rafa couldn’t come out playing like he did against Khachanov because Muller wouldn’t let him.
Nah Benny, what Rafa could do is hold on to his own serve, it’s not like Muller is such a good returner of serves. They then would go to a TB. You think Muller, when under pressure, won’t falter? The third and fourth sets proved that he could!
You talked as if Muller was so good that his returns were so great too! It’s more of Rafa’s own undoing in the first two sets that he made mistakes and lost serves; and Rafa even had more BP chances than Muller had in the first two sets!
It’s obvious that Rafa was more nervous than usual, probably it’s the fourth round at Wimbledon and he couldn’t go beyond that in the last five or six years; moreover Muller was a tricky opponent who happened to play well lately.
Once again agree with u Lucky!…IF Rafa of the 1st week who’s play that day…they’re not even going to 5th,let alone lost the match…once again,not try to discredit Muller and please be noted he deserved to win that day…he kept his cool and not melt under pressure compared to rafa but if they’re meet again in the future,i’m not sure Muller will win again…Muller is just another Fognini,Verdasco,Nick,Rosol,Pouille,Darcis who benefited when Rafa not at his best…where were they now?..i mean rafa beat all of them multiple times after that…But yeah…a win is a win…nobody can take that away from Muller…From now on,his name will be remembered as one of the player’s that keep Rafa away from his 3rd title at Wimbledon…It’s a shame he will lose to Cilic today…
Yeah Mira, and I bet that come Wimbledon next year, once it comes to Rafa, they’ll mention Muller together with Dustin Brown, Kygrios and Rosol! And that’s why most of us were so upset that Rafa didn’t get past the fourth round here, at least reaching QF and lost to Cilic, who’s a top ten player, wasn’t that bad.
Also, I’ll bet that Rafa would feel better reaching the QF at least, than lost in R4 again. At least he would then feel more confident when he’s in the earlier rounds, from R1 to R4 come next year.
That’s alright Lucky!and Nny and amy too!…don’t be too upset over rafa loss okay?U know why?Coz losing this year that doesn’t mean he will lose again next year and the next..as long as he keep on playing and has desire to win and healthy…the chances is always there Lucky…i really really believe that rafa will keep on trying to win again at Wimby…He’s a warrior by nature…u put him an injury or even a mountain in front of him and he will keep defeat them to reach his goal…
U know,to see Venus at the age of 37 and still reaching the semi final made me realized and firmly believe that rafa will do the same…he’s already stated that he will come back next year right?So,let’s hoping together that he will have a better luck next year Lucky!!…Woohoo!!…Vamos Rafa!!
Oh yeah I see what you’re saying. I didn’t think Rafa played a horrible service game in the first set to get broken. But he may have tightened up on a few though Gilles probably played his best return game of the match with a few return winners and well constructed points to get his first break. In second set, Rafa got tight because he knew he lost golden opportunity to break in prior game. I know you aren’t discrediting Muller at all but I do think it has a lot to do with the fact that Rafa knows he needs to hold with Muller serving like he was early on and that puts extra pressure on Rafa or any guy serving when playing Muller. Agreed that Rafa did serve better as match went on. Can’t believe he hit 20 plus aces for first time in career and still lost!!
Yeah Benny!…23 aces,77 winner’s and still lost!…Rafa made a lot of things that he shouldn’t make in that match…that’s why he lost..and i believe when he’s at home,he will digest what happened and will try to fix it next time..besides,we can’t learn anything unless we made a mistake first right?Once again full full credit to Muller for the win..he totally deserve it…and the best of luck for him in the future…
I like your attitude, MA. Rafa will obviously rue the missed opportunities to break, but we also know that he will learn from his mistakes and move on. I, personally, don’t think this loss will have very much effect on Rafa in the rest of the season. I still think that he has a great shot at getting big titles in the NA hardcourt swings. He will be very difficult to beat in best of five at the US Open. It’s obviously way too soon to know where everyone will be come US Open, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we got another Fedal final there. Or maybe Novak and Andy will be fully back, or close to it anyway. I also still believe that Rafa is in a great position to at least get back to #1, if not end the season #1. If Federer manages to win Wimbledon, he will also put himself in a prime position to get to #1 because he is defending zero points after this week. However, if Fed does not win Wimbledon, I think his chances of getting back to #1 will be diminished because he sat out all of clay. Even if he didn’t win any of the clay events, he easily could have racked up a lot of semifinalist or even finalist points, and that could have bolstered his chances for number one. Although I don’t see how he would have had any energy left for Wimbledon had he not sat out clay. Anyway, as of this moment, I think I would still bet on Rafa ending the season #1. If Federer wins Wimbledon, I would then probably bet on him to end #1 simply because the whole second half of the season has been traditionally his most consistently successful part of the season. If Rafa wins a NA masters and US Open, he will definitely end #1, though. Anyway, I’m so psyched for the rest of the season!
Hey Kev!!…Hehe..thanks so much for your nice words Kev!!…ermm..after this setback from Rafa,i’m not thinking of his chances at no 1 at all actually…right now i’m just waiting how he’s going to fare on NA HC…if he wins 1 or 2 titles,then i will start thinking about that…
And what makes things more interesting now is that..all the big 3 have a shot at it..but Andy will probably lost it as he has so many points to defend till the end of the year…but to me,Rog and Novak have a high chances at it considering they’re a beast when the season start going towards the end…and Rafa traditionally not doing well…but we’ll see Kev…i am too are very excited to see the most competitive season in a long long time on a men’s tour…
But,whoever successfully ending as the world no 1 later..they’re certainly deserve it Kev and i can only give them my biggest applause and credit!…They’re all 30 something and yet they’re still rock the tennis world like they’re still in their prime..What a privilege to see this amazing warriors in this life…right Kev??
Muller is serving very well and so put pressure on his opponents. Cilic now is feeling pressurized and he’s edgy too. Now in second set TB, Muller looks calm and cool, he probably plays without the burden that Rafa and Cilic both have.
Muller looks great. Didn’t expect this. TB is a must win for Marin. Marin dodges the bullets and stays alive winning 2nd set.