AUSTRALIAN OPEN, Melbourne, ATP GRAND SLAM

[Tennis Fan]

2016 Rafa sighting.on that miss.

Ha ha ha. True!

 

[britbox]

Nadal back in command. Wouldn't be surprised to see him break Monfils to take the match.

 

[DarthFed]

I believe that's two insults in one sentence. Very economical of you, Twisted.

Someone's got to be in form

 

[Moxie]

Nadal back in command. Wouldn't be surprised to see him break Monfils to take the match.

God, I hope so. It's been a long weekend, and I could use a nap before taking on the day.

 

[britbox]

A pair of atrocious volleys from the frenchman.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Not a convincing win, but Nadal will be glad it didn't end up going 5.

 

[britbox]

Nice one Gael.... start playing with unbridled aggression when down match point. Great tactics.

 

[DarthFed]

Well it is Monfils, kind of like having a bye. If the peasant had lost that he'd have to consider retirement.

 

[Denis]

And another anticlimactic loss by Monfils. We've seen worse though.

 

[brokenshoelace]

While I think his overall level throughout the tournament has been above expectations, and being in the quarters can only be a positive, the Raonic match will be the indication as to whether Nadal can actually win this or not. If he wins, especially with Novak being out, I fully expect him to be in the final and think he's at worst 50/50 with anyone who emerges from the other end.

Right now however, I'm still not sure he wins. I'm leaning towards Milos as Nadal is still prone to shaky service games and is still being tentative on big points. He can't afford that against Raonic given that the break points will be few and far in between and he has to make them count.

 

[britbox]

And another anticlimactic loss by Monfils. We've seen worse though.

Yeah, that USO semi with Djoker stunk the place out.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Courrier is obsessed with Nadal's girlfriend.

 

[britbox]

While I think his overall level throughout the tournament has been above expectations, and being in the quarters can only be a positive, the Raonic match will be the indication as to whether Nadal can actually win this or not. If he wins, especially with Novak being out, I fully expect him to be in the final and think he's at worst 50/50 with anyone who emerges from the other end.

Right now however, I'm still not sure he wins. I'm leaning towards Milos as Nadal is still prone to shaky service games and is still being tentative on big points. He can't afford that against Raonic given that the break points will be few and far in between and he has to make them count.

Raonic is the big obstacle... can't see Goffin stopping him in a semi.

 

[DarthFed]

Dimitrov is playing well, he should get past Mcfly. The problem is he would probably revert to being a basketcase in the semi.

 

[Denis]

Yeah, that USO semi with Djoker stunk the place out.

Nothing beats RG 2014. I'm still surprised the French crowd didn't break Chartier down after that match.

 

[isabelle]

Manacor's bull seems to be in top form, I wonder if he can beat Milos but if he does, he has a good chance to reach final.

 

[Carol]

It has been a very good result and win by Rafa, four sets against a very serious Monfils (nd not acting like in the last USO)

 

[mrzz]

Brazilian author Nelson Rodrigues has a lot of good quotes, one them is, roughly translated, "Nothing is more tiring then defending the obvious". I cannot believe people write what they write. Now I know I really should not even care to read (but unfortunately I generally do). Ok, some stats from the AO website. Net points won by Nadal, from the first three rounds:

17/24 (71%)
9/13 (69%)
11/16 (69%)

From Federer

20/23 (87%)
24/29 (83%)
16/24 (67%)

Even without considering multiple known facts as:

1) Federer is coming back after 6 months lay off;
2) Nadal in general rushes to the net only to finish off points (thus his success rate gets higher);
3) Federer faced better ranked playes (just check and don´t preach);

and so on and so forth, even so, Federer´s success rate is higher, and the total number of net points is higher.

And I really find hilarious that people came with one youtube video as "evidence"... go to the same youtube and count the videos with Nadal volleys. They are good videos, he is indeed a good volleyer. Now search for Federer volley videos. There are 100 times more.

I really cannot believe I am wasting my time on this.

Edit: Fact number 3) is incorrect. It is only true when you count the first four rounds (and Includes Nishikori). For the first three, Federer faced a top 10 in Berdych, which Nadal did not, but faced lower ranked players in the earlier rounds.

Updating the stats with round 4 numbers:

Nadal´s

12/19 (63%)
17/24 (71%)
9/13 (69%)
11/16 (69%)

Total:
49/72 0,680556

Federer´s

19/30 (63%)
20/23 (87%)
24/29 (83%)
16/24 (67%)

Total:
79/106 0,745283

 

[Moxie]

While I think his overall level throughout the tournament has been above expectations, and being in the quarters can only be a positive, the Raonic match will be the indication as to whether Nadal can actually win this or not. If he wins, especially with Novak being out, I fully expect him to be in the final and think he's at worst 50/50 with anyone who emerges from the other end.

Right now however, I'm still not sure he wins. I'm leaning towards Milos as Nadal is still prone to shaky service games and is still being tentative on big points. He can't afford that against Raonic given that the break points will be few and far in between and he has to make them count.

However, I watched (esp.) the beginning of the match Milos won today v.. Bautista Agut. I understand he's suffering the effects of a flu, but he looked beatable. I think Rafa picks his level back up after this, (he'll need to,) and has a good shot at Raonic.

 

[mrzz]

^If both guys pick up a bit their levels it could be a classic match, given yet the difference in styles.