Basel 500

[GameSetAndMath]

The draw for Basel is out. Eight of the top 16 players are in it.

The projected quarterfinals are as follows:

Federer vs. Goffin
Anderson vs. Isner
------------------------------
Ciliv vs. Nadal
Gasquet vs. Wawrinka

Rafa starts with Rosol. :devil

 

[tented]

Today's Results in Qualies:

(3) Robin Haase d (7) Benjamin Becker 6-4, 7-6(4)
(1) Adrian Mannarino d (5) Denis Kudla: 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
(8) Dusan Lajovic d Ruben Bemelmans: 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-4
(4) Jerzy Janowicz VS Mikhail Youzhny

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Today's Results in Qualies:

(3) Robin Haase d (7) Benjamin Becker 6-4, 7-6(4)
(1) Adrian Mannarino d (5) Denis Kudla: 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
(8) Dusan Lajovic d Ruben Bemelmans: 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-4
(4) Jerzy Janowicz VS Mikhail Youzhny

That is an interesting bunch of qualifiers!

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Monday 6:45 p.m. Rafa Nadal vs. Lukas Rosol.

Lukas always gives good fight for Rafa (even when he loses) and Lukas generally plays better at indoor.
Let us see how it goes. If Rafa loses this, it will mark once again that he takes one step forward and then two steps backwards.

 

[Carol]

Monday 6:45 p.m. Rafa Nadal vs. Lukas Rosol.

Lukas always gives good fight for Rafa (even when he loses) and Lukas generally plays better at indoor.
Let us see how it goes. If Rafa loses this, it will mark once again that he takes one step forward and then two steps backwards.

Everytime that Rafa plays you always say the same thing again and again
You should have a little more discretion.......:snicker :ras:

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Monday 6:45 p.m. Rafa Nadal vs. Lukas Rosol.

Lukas always gives good fight for Rafa (even when he loses) and Lukas generally plays better at indoor.
Let us see how it goes. If Rafa loses this, it will mark once again that he takes one step forward and then two steps backwards.

Everytime that Rafa plays you always say the same thing again and again
You should have a little more discretion.......:snicker :ras:

I am not saying Rafa will lose. But, if he does, right in the opening match, that will kill all the momentum he built up in the Asian Swing.

 

[Kirijax]

Is it fair to expect anything from Nadal during the Indoor Season? I mean, he had trouble with it when he was good...I mean No. 1

 

[Carol]

Is it fair to expect anything from Nadal during the Indoor Season? I mean, he had trouble with it when he was good...I mean No. 1

Yeah......wathever.......

 

[Fiero425]

Is it fair to expect anything from Nadal during the Indoor Season? I mean, he had trouble with it when he was good...I mean #1.

Good one! :snicker :laydownlaughing :lolz: :angel: :dodgy: :cover - True enough; Nadal should pack it in more often after the USO! What a waste of time and effort! :cover :ras: :angel:

 

[Kirijax]

Is it fair to expect anything from Nadal during the Indoor Season? I mean, he had trouble with it when he was good...I mean #1.

Good one! :snicker :laydownlaughing :lolz: :angel: :dodgy: :cover - True enough; Nadal should pack in in more often after the USO! What a waste of time and effort! :cover :ras: :angel:

Oh,no! I definitely want Nadal to go for it here. He may not win, but he certainly has some forward momentum so I him to keep going. Who knows? Maybe a surprise WTF is in his future. What an end to 2015 that would be.

 

[Fiero425]

Is it fair to expect anything from Nadal during the Indoor Season? I mean, he had trouble with it when he was good...I mean #1.

Good one! :snicker :laydownlaughing :lolz: :angel: :dodgy: :cover - True enough; Nadal should pack it in more often after the USO! What a waste of time and effort! :cover :ras: :angel:

Oh,no! I definitely want Nadal to go for it here. He may not win, but he certainly has some forward momentum so I him to keep going. Who knows? Maybe a surprise WTF is in his future. What an end to 2015 that would be.

Well OTTH, if there are winners like Davydenko, Corretja, and Nalbandian as "YEC Champs," anything's possible!

 

[Front242]

Nalbandian and Davydenko in particular had the ability with their games to hit a ton of winners. Hence why they won the WTF. Nadal's winner count at the WTF has been embarrassing.

 

[Kieran]

Monday 6:45 p.m. Rafa Nadal vs. Lukas Rosol.

Lukas always gives good fight for Rafa (even when he loses) and Lukas generally plays better at indoor.
Let us see how it goes. If Rafa loses this, it will mark once again that he takes one step forward and then two steps backwards.

Exactly. Especially a bloke like Lukas, who plays like a tennis deity when he faces Rafa, so we know he's not going to vanish if things get rough. It's a good test for Rafa, and the sign that it's not "one step forward then two steps back" is that he not only posts good results in Basle, but that he competes for the title...

 

[herios]

Someone else must have dropped out here, I am seeing Kudla in as a lucky loser.

 

[El Dude]

Exactly. Especially a bloke like Lukas, who plays like a tennis deity when he faces Rafa, so we know he's not going to vanish if things get rough. It's a good test for Rafa, and the sign that it's not "one step forward then two steps back" is that he not only posts good results in Basle, but that he competes for the title...

A tennis deity? Just that one match three years ago, Kieran. I mean, he held his own in the two other matches they played but he's still 1-2 against Rafa.

 

[Carol]

Rafa never has played so well in indoors maybe because it's at the end of the season which always has been his worst time due to his knee issue for years and it didn't help him at all to finish the year in good shape. But this year seems to be the opposite, I don't know if his confidence is at 100% well but his body/health seems to be ok, so maybe he could get that tittle which been one of the greatest players of the history he has not got it yet :huh:

 

[Kieran]

Exactly. Especially a bloke like Lukas, who plays like a tennis deity when he faces Rafa, so we know he's not going to vanish if things get rough. It's a good test for Rafa, and the sign that it's not "one step forward then two steps back" is that he not only posts good results in Basle, but that he competes for the title...

A tennis deity? Just that one match three years ago, Kieran. I mean, he held his own in the two other matches they played but he's still 1-2 against Rafa.

Okay, perhaps a slight leaning to hyperbole.

But...if Rosol played every match the way he's played all his matches against Rafa, he'd be in the top 20, maybe even top 15...

 

[Front242]

Depends on the matchup really. Federer made mince meat of him and Rosol was playing well before they played. It's not just Rosol, practically anyone with a big serve and aggressive game gives Nadal trouble whereas others can counter the attack better.

 

[Carol]

If you see the Rosol stats you can see that he can give a tough time to more than one player
He has lost twice againt Muzz but winning the first set of three and the same against others players

 

[Kieran]

Depends on the matchup really. Federer made mince meat of him and Rosol was playing well before they played. It's not just Rosol, practically anyone with a big serve and aggressive game gives Nadal trouble whereas others can counter the attack better.

Big servers give everybody trouble, by definition. But Rosol plays a big game with a great attitude against Rafa, an intensity he doesn't bring to the daily grind...