Barcelona Open 2019, Spain, ATP 500

[GameSetAndMath]

Now, no slouch left in the draw.

 

[Moxie]

Now, no slouch left in the draw.

Indeed. 2 former champions at Barcelona, and a top clay man in Thiem. Medvedev is the outlier, in that sense. I haven't really seen much of him on clay...anyone have an opinion on how he plays on the dirt?

As to the tournament, I agree with Fiero (!!) that it has come up in the world. My sense is that: a) Solid clay men like Thiem and Nishikori have come up (meaning that since Fed and Novak would obviously skip it, there had to be decent competition for Rafa b) there are more clay-courters amongst the youngsters, and improvement among the clay vets; and c) some of the other players aren't shying away from getting their socks dirty this early.

All of that is to say that, for those who have been looking for more depth in the clay season, I think it's here. This is not a great sign for Rafa, who is far from his imperious best on clay. He can yet get there, and I don't really give 2 shakes if it doesn't happen before RG...as long as it happens there. But there is an ominous rumbling in the undercard. Feel free to salivate @GameSetAndMath. (You will, anyway. :lulz2

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

must check to see if amazon prime uk is showing this tourney on saturday..

time for the capybara kid v the thiem machine.

 

[mrzz]

anyone have an opinion on how he plays on the dirt?

Ugly and efficient. He plays too flat to be a very good clay courter, but is very solid and reasonably smart. He is also a tall guy and can (in fact likes to) take the ball on the rise, so he will probably always be able to beat the non-specialists and try his luck against the top guys of the surface. I had very much sympathy for him until shortly ago, but it is the second straight match that I see him addressing directly the linesperson, and that really rubs me in the wrong way. I can see him giving problems to Nishikori on an average day, who doesn't have the power to blow him off the court and neither is that much solid, even if I still give the edge to the former champion and better clay courter.

As for Thiem x Nadal, I would say that this is the real final -- even if I can see Thiem getting to the final flat after an eventual win over Nadal. I won't shy away from my opinion: I really expect Thiem to win tomorrow, and with authority, even if I know that Nadal is a master in the art of making "current form" irrelevant. I think Nadal is at least one, maybe two tournaments away from reaching his current A game, and Thiem is one of the few players against who his B clay court game is not enough (let alone the C he showed against Fognini). But he woke up playing 200% times better before so I won't be that surprised if that happens tomorrow. One way or another it will be a great match.

 

[mrzz]

capybara kid

hahahahahahahah, too good!

 

[GameSetAndMath]

As for Thiem x Nadal, I would say that this is the real final -- even if I can see Thiem getting to the final flat after an eventual win over Nadal. I won't shy away from my opinion: I really expect Thiem to win tomorrow, and with authority, even if I know that Nadal is a master in the art of making "current form" irrelevant. I think Nadal is at least one, maybe two tournaments away from reaching his current A game, and Thiem is one of the few players against who his B clay court game is not enough (let alone the C he showed against Fognini). But he woke up playing 200% times better before so I won't be that surprised if that happens tomorrow. One way or another it will be a great match.

Right there you see another reason why it is more difficult to win Wimbledon. You don't have the luxury of multiple tournaments before it to get to your level starting from F-. Roger has to hit the ground running always.

 

[Carol]

Thiem, followed by (probably) Nishikori, makes this a challenging final two rounds, and an excellent test of where Rafa is these days, especially after the MC loss.

Nadal can't play worse than in the last MC, well, maybe as bad as 2015-16 but every day is doing better and I wouldn't be surprise if tomorrow he will play even much better reaching the finals and this time I don't think he will lose the opportunity to win, then it will be the 12, impressive!

 

[Moxie]

Right there you see another reason why it is more difficult to win Wimbledon. You don't have the luxury of multiple tournaments before it to get to your level starting from F-. Roger has to hit the ground running always.

OMG, this new trope of whining about how much more difficult Roger has had it for his grass chops is really getting old. You know that Roger has never been one to need much of a warm-up, so I'm not clear as to the comparison. You probably are also trying to combat the notion that RG is the most physically difficult of the Majors. Keep trying to flip the script.

 

[Moxie]

Nadal can't play worse than in the last MC, well, maybe as bad as 2015-16 but every day is doing better and I wouldn't be surprise if tomorrow he will play even much better reaching the finals and this time I don't think he will lose the opportunity to win, then it will be the 12, impressive!

Rafa will know that all of this messing about at a lower level has to stop tomorrow. As @mrzz says, de facto final. Let's hope that Rafa is ready to find the next gear and stay on it. Fingers crossed, Carol! :hunting:

 

[Moxie]

hahahahahahahah, too good!

I liked "Thiem Machine," actually.

 

[kskate2]

The non-dirt baller did just what @mrzz said. Cause problems for samurai. It's one set all, going to a decider. I think Nishi is finally used to the pace of Med's shots, plus there's that whole winning % in final sets Kei owns.

 

[Moxie]

Nishikori got the early break, but they're back on serve. Nishikori then saved BPs. Some good tennis in this match.

 

[tented]

Now I’ve seen everything: Medvedev was pouring salt — directly from a salt shaker — into his mouth during the changeover.

 

[tented]

Medvedev wins it, 7-5 in the third, after an amazing BH to set up MP.

 

[kskate2]

Nishi goes down. It's the same reason he won't ever win a slam or even a masters 1000. All these years on tour and he still has brain farts on big points.

 

[herios]

Medvedev might not have had previous credentials on clay, but he is the hottest player out there outside of the Big 3.
He is a top 5 in this year's race and plays as such week in week out.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Medvedev might not have had previous credentials on clay, but he is the hottest player out there outside of the Big 3.
He is a top 5 in this year's race and plays as such week in week out.

I still cannot figure him out. He looks sloppy on both sides but out of that slop he creates amazing shots. It was a character win today against Kei. Well done.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Nishi goes down. It's the same reason he won't ever win a slam or even a masters 1000. All these years on tour and he still has brain farts on big points.

Agreed.. maybe we should quit calling him Samurai...I would not want to have him go into battle for me ..TO'Day's match vs Thiem will be telling.. especially since the way Rafa has not clicked on all cylinders yet this year..I see Rafa has his not favorite umpire in the chair today .

 

[tented]

I see Rafa has his not favorite umpire in the chair today .

Too bad he didn’t do Kei’s match. He would have allowed not-a-samurai to take a shower before the third set.

 

[mrzz]

Nadal started the match playing well, but (I cannot believe I am writing this, but that is what I suspected), could not sustain it. Thiem up a break and hammering the ball.