China Open

[Murat Baslamisli]

Woke up to see Wawrinka is out. I did not expect that. Nando taking a set from Nole is not a huge surprise though. He hits big and when he is on, we have all seen what he can do.

 

[DarthFed]

It's a blessing that Nadal is a mature adult, and respect what Novak has achieved. And just a reminder, 2 years ago rafa was trying to get a year ranking system which would certainly leave him far from #1 with no reason to complain. When nadal gets number 1 (very soon), he will have earned it just like, Novak earned it for years. Be more like rafa please, show some respect.lease:

You aren't listening/reading. I never disputed that Djokovic was ranked #1 or that he'd earned it according to the ranking system. I said Djokovic had been playing like a #2 since March (only one title).

I'm pretty sure it bothers you more than it bothers Rafa. At this precise moment Novak is no.1. in the ATP world rankings. That is just a fact. It will be Rafa again soon enough.

Rafa was obviously a bit cranky today but I'm pretty sure that it had absolutely nothing to do with Novak being referred to as the world no.1.

Remember a few weeks ago a reporter asked Nadal if he thought he could regain the #1 ranking this year, and Nadal told them the exact numerical margin between him and Djokovic? Not even I knew the exact margin - I rarely ever look at the rankings - and when I do look I certainly don't memorize the margins. Nadal is very goal-driven, and plays to win and be the best, rather than just for the enjoyment. It would be foolish to rule out the possibility that Nadal would feel annoyed seeing Djokovic's name in front of his. I'm pretty sure that is the case.

You are probably the only one in the world who thinks that is the case. Since Nole has been playing so much worse than him for the past 6 months, which is true, why is he irritated about it now at the smallest tournament he's played in since the first couple following his comeback. There is the possibility that it is completely unrelated, but nah somehow it is Djokovic related. If only Djokovic was nice enough to play video games with Rafa the night before, I'm sure this wouldn't have happened.

 

[isabelle]

Stan is leg injured, he pulled out of double he played with Nole

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

the fans seem to be turning up in big numbers.

 

[Iona16]

It's a blessing that Nadal is a mature adult, and respect what Novak has achieved. And just a reminder, 2 years ago rafa was trying to get a year ranking system which would certainly leave him far from #1 with no reason to complain. When nadal gets number 1 (very soon), he will have earned it just like, Novak earned it for years. Be more like rafa please, show some respect.lease:

You aren't listening/reading. I never disputed that Djokovic was ranked #1 or that he'd earned it according to the ranking system. I said Djokovic had been playing like a #2 since March (only one title).

I'm pretty sure it bothers you more than it bothers Rafa. At this precise moment Novak is no.1. in the ATP world rankings. That is just a fact. It will be Rafa again soon enough.

Rafa was obviously a bit cranky today but I'm pretty sure that it had absolutely nothing to do with Novak being referred to as the world no.1.

Remember a few weeks ago a reporter asked Nadal if he thought he could regain the #1 ranking this year, and Nadal told them the exact numerical margin between him and Djokovic? Not even I knew the exact margin - I rarely ever look at the rankings - and when I do look I certainly don't memorize the margins. Nadal is very goal-driven, and plays to win and be the best, rather than just for the enjoyment. It would be foolish to rule out the possibility that Nadal would feel annoyed seeing Djokovic's name in front of his. I'm pretty sure that is the case.

Are we supposed to be surprised that Nadal knows exactly when he could take back the #1 ranking? Of course he does. I'm not sure why that is even relevant to what people were saying about his out-of-character behaviour during the match. I love how you talk as though Rafa is the only player that is driven. Do you not think other guys play to be the best? I'm surprised that you think Rafa is so petty that he would take out his frustration at being called the world #2 on the ball kids. Something was bothering Rafa but as I said I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with the ranking system.

 

[Riotbeard]

It's a blessing that Nadal is a mature adult, and respect what Novak has achieved. And just a reminder, 2 years ago rafa was trying to get a year ranking system which would certainly leave him far from #1 with no reason to complain. When nadal gets number 1 (very soon), he will have earned it just like, Novak earned it for years. Be more like rafa please, show some respect.lease:

You aren't listening/reading. I never disputed that Djokovic was ranked #1 or that he'd earned it according to the ranking system. I said Djokovic had been playing like a #2 since March (only one title).

I'm pretty sure it bothers you more than it bothers Rafa. At this precise moment Novak is no.1. in the ATP world rankings. That is just a fact. It will be Rafa again soon enough.

Rafa was obviously a bit cranky today but I'm pretty sure that it had absolutely nothing to do with Novak being referred to as the world no.1.

Remember a few weeks ago a reporter asked Nadal if he thought he could regain the #1 ranking this year, and Nadal told them the exact numerical margin between him and Djokovic? Not even I knew the exact margin - I rarely ever look at the rankings - and when I do look I certainly don't memorize the margins. Nadal is very goal-driven, and plays to win and be the best, rather than just for the enjoyment. It would be foolish to rule out the possibility that Nadal would feel annoyed seeing Djokovic's name in front of his. I'm pretty sure that is the case.

Are we supposed to be surprised that Nadal knows exactly when he could take back the #1 ranking? Of course he does. I'm not sure why that is even relevant to what people were saying about his out-of-character behaviour during the match. I love how you talk as though Rafa is the only player that is driven. Do you not think other guys play to be the best? I'm surprised that you think Rafa is so petty that he would take out his frustration at being called the world #2 on the ball kids. Something was bothering Rafa but as I said I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with the ranking system.

Iona, Iona, Iona. You clearly don't understand. How do you think Jesus felt when he walked on water, yet some still followed other deities? Clearly, Nadal aka the second coming knows where his position is and can't stand the fact that the institutions of man (the ATP, really the Roman empire of the 21st century) are corrupting this world.

 

[I.Haychew]

GO F3!!!

 

[Moxie]

Good to see you, I. Haychew! I hope I can get a stream for this match. Not feeling confident, as I couldn't find the last one I looked for, though I was able to watch a couple of days ago. Let me know if you can find one.

 

[rafanoy1992]

Nadal just need to win two more matches and he is back to being World Number One! I can't believe this is happening because a year ago he wasn't even playing!

In addition, Roger Federer was world number one at this time last year. Man, a lot of things have happened in just one year.

 

[zalvar]

What in the hell is Rafa doing right now? Miss-hit every other point. WTF!?

 

[Moxie]

Fognini was playing out of his head great until this game, where Rafa broke him back. Nadal needs to get the first serves up, though. Bit of a momentum shift here, though.

 

[Moxie]

Nadal serving better, but Fabio picks him off, anyway. 6-2 Fognini for the first set.

 

[zalvar]

oh gawd it hurts.

Fabio so good lol

 

[zalvar]

0-3 moxieeeeeeeeeeeeeee. what the whatt.

 

[Moxie]

Fabio is doing everything right, and he's not blinking. Nadal needed to raise his game about 2 games ago, and he's not doing it.

 

[zalvar]

this reminds me of madrid this year against Ferrer ... RAFA you can do it!

 

[Didi]

What in the hell is Rafa doing right now? Miss-hit every other point. WTF!?

It just happens. It's inevitable that at some point your game is a bit off. Nadal was 62-3 before today's game which is unreal beyond belief and after winning basically everything apart from Wimbledon he was bound to have a day like this. I don't even know how he was able to seriously motivate himself to play this tournament. Mentally and emotionally he went through a lot these past 6 months. From a mental aspect there is only so many times you can go all the way back to the drawing board. In addition to that, Fognini badly wants to win this and has one of these days where every shot is a winner. He will catch fire and probably even win the event, only to lose in the 1st round of Shanghai - that's Fognini in a nutshell.

 

[zalvar]

What in the hell is Rafa doing right now? Miss-hit every other point. WTF!?

It just happens. It's inevitable that at some point your game is a bit off. Nadal was 62-3 before today's game which is unreal beyond belief and after winning basically everything apart from Wimbledon he was bound to have a day like this. I don't even know how he was able to seriously motivate himself to play this tournament. Mentally and emotionally he went through a lot these past 6 months. From a mental aspect there is only so many times you can go all the way back to the drawing board. In addition to that, Fognini badly wants to win this and has one of these days where every shot is a winner. He will catch fire and probably even win the event, only to lose in the 1st round of Shanghai - that's Fognini in a nutshell.

Ugh! I know I guess lol I LIKE Fognini. grr. Anyway ... haha. But this is insane how he's playing.

 

[zalvar]

Yesss yesss he held! break break freakin break

 

[Moxie]

What in the hell is Rafa doing right now? Miss-hit every other point. WTF!?

It just happens. It's inevitable that at some point your game is a bit off. Nadal was 62-3 before today's game which is unreal beyond belief and after winning basically everything apart from Wimbledon he was bound to have a day like this. I don't even know how he was able to seriously motivate himself to play this tournament. Mentally and emotionally he went through a lot these past 6 months. From a mental aspect there is only so many times you can go all the way back to the drawing board. In addition to that, Fognini badly wants to win this and has one of these days where every shot is a winner. He will catch fire and probably even win the event, only to lose in the 1st round of Shanghai - that's Fognini in a nutshell.

Ugh! I know I guess lol I LIKE Fognini. grr. Anyway ... haha. But this is insane how he's playing.

Nadal could be serving better but Fabio is playing one of the best matches of his life. Yes, Didi, he's probably a bit mentally jaded, but credit to Fognini.