Madrid 2013 Semis: Nadal vs. Andujar

[Moxie]

Two trivia questions for clever posters: When was the last time we had a WC reach the SFs of a MS1000 on the men's side (or women's, if you're really intrepid)?

Michael Llodra, Paris Masters, 2012

And, based on my above, how many times has Rafa been taken to 5 sets on clay, besides Isner?

I'm not actually sure of either answer. Would be interesting to know, though. Google-away, if you're game.

Three: Rome in '05 (Coria) & '06 (Federer), and RG in '11 (Isner)

Ah Llodra, nice! Always a fun old school player to watch. Often seems to do pretty well in Paris.

I believe we have a winner: tented!

Llodra was an excellent snag. And I even checked Davis Cup. Those are the 3 matches Nadal went to 5 on in clay matches. (Except doubles. There were 2 in DC, and he was about 3 years old.)

Please supply your personal details, tented, via PM, as we have a small-scale replica of the Golden Toilet Brush as your prize. It's not white gold, not diamond-encrusted. (In fact, the "encrusted" part is a bit awkward.) But for a small S&H fee, this treasure could be on it's way to you!

 

[Didi]

Very cool to see Andújar making the semis of a Masters. He's one of the very last classic oldschool dirtballers out there and by no means I mean this in a negative way. He had a very poor year so far and seemed to fade into obscurity but what a great run here beating Cilic, Isner and Nishikori. That should be enough to avoid the qualification rounds for RG. I remember his match with Nadal in Paris, as Front rightly pointed out it was much closer than the scoreline suggested. Here's a nice compilation of that match in very good quality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C6rTEcT3b4

 

[isabelle]

Beauty will save the world but 'll probably lose thise afternoon
Mr Butt her Fly is a mountain too hight to clim for the Spanish hunk
Anyway, I'll root for Pablo who got a well deserved WC in Madrid

 

[brokenshoelace]

I remember their match at RG two years ago. Andujar was playing out of his mind, and Nadal was absolutely awful. It was during the phase where Nadal said he felt like he's been on tour for a 100 years and was all emo and melodramatic about his losses to Novak. Of course he ended up lifting the trophy about a week later, but yeah... That match was much closer than the score indicates.

Nadal in 2, but I really haven't been enjoying his matches in this clay season. His game right now is quite unpleasant to watch.

 

[britbox]

Andujar is getting walloped, but that point was fantastic.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Yeah Andujar just doesn't have the weight of shots to trouble Nadal, and conversely, he's struggling to deal with Rafa's heavy ball. I do think that if he stops trying to go for winners 2 strokes into the rally, settles down and actually plays his game, the scoreline will be a touch more respectable.

 

[britbox]

Yeah Andujar just doesn't have the weight of shots to trouble Nadal, and conversely, he's struggling to deal with Rafa's heavy ball. I do think that if he stops trying to go for winners 2 strokes into the rally, settles down and actually plays his game, the scoreline will be a touch more respectable.

He's played some great points but it's because he's going for pretty much everything. Missing a lot too. I guess he's choosing to go down shooting from the hip as opposed to a slower strangulation. I'm not sure the scoreline would be much different either way, but at least we're seeing some great points, albeit sporadically.

 

[kskate2]

Just tuned in. Ouch, a bagel for Pablo.

 

[brokenshoelace]

95% when chasing a drop shot/drop volley, Nadal will flick it cross court. Glad to see Andujar has actually done his homework, as players almost always get fooled.

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This is what I meant about Andujar needing to settle down and not rush things. By being so aggressive, he was making Nadal look better than he's actually playing. By engaging in slightly longer rallies, he's going to get a few errors from Rafa since he's not super sharp this tournament, and therefore make the scoreline a little more respectable.

 

[britbox]

Got to applaud Pablo for bringing it and having a go. 2 break points.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Rafa's serve is going to get him in a lot of trouble beyond the clay season if he doesn't improve upon it. And not sure what's up with all the indecision around the net.

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I find myself cringing every time Rafa moves in to the net these days, no matter how good the approach shot.

 

[britbox]

Hot dog lob.. love it.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Shame about the silly drop shot to get broken, as Andujar was putting on quite a show in the second set.

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At least Andujar made it entertaining in the second set at least. It was fairly enjoyable beyond the first set drubbing.