Rio Open - 500

[Front242]

^ Nice

 

[Moxie]

I think it will be a dog fight.

I suspect so, too. Rafa will have to up his level from today. I don't know if they went out for Toni's birthday last night, and he underestimated Andujar. But if Dogopolov plays Rafa like he did Ferrer, it'll be a long and sweaty fight for Nadal. I'm not clear on who wins, based on Nadal's performance today.
I feel sure it'll go 3.

You perhaps missed the intended pun.

Dogopolov has dog in his name but where does dog come in with Nadal or Rafa? It's Rafa not Rover :snigger

Well, Rafa is a Golden Retriever.

I didn't miss the earlier one. Just skipped it. This is the better one.

 

[TsarMatt]

Holy crap, Nadal nearly lost. I didn't watch the match but was he playing bad or was Andujar just GOATing?

So happy to see Dolgopolov win. He's such an entertaining player to watch, even if he is riddled with inconsistency because of his condition. He's got such variety, too.

Going to be a much more entertaining final than what I predicted. Rafa will still win, but if Dolgopolov can change things up and go for his shots, hey, you never know...

 

[herios]

Oh, Romeo....

Next time you make sure you slain that bull!

 

[Moxie]

Holy crap, Nadal nearly lost. I didn't watch the match but was he playing bad or was Andujar just GOATing?

So happy to see Dolgopolov win. He's such an entertaining player to watch, even if he is riddled with inconsistency because of his condition. He's got such variety, too.

Going to be a much more entertaining final than what I predicted. Rafa will still win, but if Dolgopolov can change things up and go for his shots, hey, you never know...

Andujar played a really fine match. Rafa came out flat and hardly got out of 2nd gear, except when it mattered. Pablo never faded though, to his great credit.

The way Dogopolov played Ferrer today, and the way Nadal played, who knows what will happen tomorrow, but it will probably be fun to watch.

 

[TsarMatt]

Holy crap, Nadal nearly lost. I didn't watch the match but was he playing bad or was Andujar just GOATing?

So happy to see Dolgopolov win. He's such an entertaining player to watch, even if he is riddled with inconsistency because of his condition. He's got such variety, too.

Going to be a much more entertaining final than what I predicted. Rafa will still win, but if Dolgopolov can change things up and go for his shots, hey, you never know...

Andujar played a really fine match. Rafa came out flat and hardly got out of 2nd gear, except when it mattered. Pablo never faded though, to his great credit.

The way Dogopolov played Ferrer today, and the way Nadal played, who knows what will happen tomorrow, but it will probably be fun to watch.

Thanks for the post. That seemed like the case with the highlights.

Here they are for those that are interested:

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhkQtRD5Gig[/video]

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Holy crap, Nadal nearly lost. I didn't watch the match but was he playing bad or was Andujar just GOATing?

So happy to see Dolgopolov win. He's such an entertaining player to watch, even if he is riddled with inconsistency because of his condition. He's got such variety, too.

Going to be a much more entertaining final than what I predicted. Rafa will still win, but if Dolgopolov can change things up and go for his shots, hey, you never know...

Andujar played a really fine match. Rafa came out flat and hardly got out of 2nd gear, except when it mattered. Pablo never faded though, to his great credit.

The way Dogopolov played Ferrer today, and the way Nadal played, who knows what will happen tomorrow, but it will probably be fun to watch.

Nadal is going to crush The Dog. He will be in high alert. Andujar played a fantastic match.

Rafa was quite disheveled. I saw a hint of doubt in his eyes..but he played an incredible point at during one of the first match pts. With Nadal if you don't win the first match point....forget it.

I think we now know his back is ok..3 hours of brutal rallies and he showed no signs of discomfort.

The only chance The Dog has is if Nadal cannot recover physically.

 

[masterclass]

If one watched the entire match it was obvious Nadal was hurting and lethargic at times. I counted at least 3 times he clutched at his back and once that he doubled over in pain and was shaking off a hand or wrist injury. He also wasn't moving to many shots that may have been in his usual range. But he just bravely fought through it all like a Spartan warrior to snatch the entertaining match away at the final moment from the better and more aggressive player for most of the match.

Rafa dodged a barrage of bullets and just managed to escape with a victory.

It was an excellent effort and game plan overall from Mr. Andujar. He played Nadal the proper way. He took almost everything early, hit very hard to both wings with some great forehands and took time away from Nadal. Unfortunately for Pablo, though he was better on the stat sheet and much of the play, he missed too many opportunities to put Nadal away and missed some sitters with either bad execution or poor shot selection at crucial times in the match.

The match was clearly on the Andujar racquet. 3 of 14 on break points is just not good enough, especially when 2 of those 3 came in the first set and the other came after being broken in the 3rd set to even it up. He was 1 of 6 in break points in the 3rd. Andujar also had 2 match points late in the tiebreaker and muffed his chance at one of them. And then at the very end he folded, missing another sitter and followed that with an unforced error, and Nadal prevailed.

Deciding Tiebreaker
Don't miss the incredible Andujar half volley return with a drop volley MP down (7-8).
[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y17aB6ohDY[/video]

It just shows that if one lets the Clay King hang in there long enough, well...many more times than not, one is going to end up on the losing end.

Congrats to Clay Warrior Nadal and his fans.
Commiserations to Andujar and his supporters.

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[the AntiPusher]

Should be an interesting final.

I think it will be a dog fight.

I suspect so, too. Rafa will have to up his level from today. I don't know if they went out for Toni's birthday last night, and he underestimated Andujar. But if Dogopolov plays Rafa like he did Ferrer, it'll be a long and sweaty fight for Nadal. I'm not clear on who wins, based on Nadal's performance today.
I feel sure it'll go 3.

Nah.. I think Rafa will put a lease on the Dog(opolov). If the Dog tries to beat Rafa from the base line, Rafa will bury him. Granted.. I am just going on the past history, I haven't watch Dogopolov play in a few months but I am gonna stick with the Dirt Devil.

 

[TsarMatt]

Should I get up early tomorrow to watch this match or will Nadal just troll me and squash Dog in straights?

 

[Luxilon Borg]

If one watched the entire match it was obvious Nadal was hurting and lethargic at times. I counted at least 3 times he clutched at his back and once that he doubled over in pain and was shaking off a hand or wrist injury. He also wasn't moving to many shots that may have been in his usual range. But he just bravely fought through it all like a Spartan warrior to snatch the entertaining match away at the final moment from the better and more aggressive player for most of the match.

Rafa dodged a barrage of bullets and just managed to escape with a victory.

It was an excellent effort and game plan overall from Mr. Andujar. He played Nadal the proper way. He took almost everything early, hit very hard to both wings with some great forehands and took time away from Nadal. Unfortunately for Pablo, though he was better on the stat sheet and much of the play, he missed too many opportunities to put Nadal away and missed some sitters with either bad execution or poor shot selection at crucial times in the match.

The match was clearly on the Andujar racquet. 3 of 14 on break points is just not good enough, especially when 2 of those 3 came in the first set and the other came after being broken in the 3rd set to even it up. He was 1 of 6 in break points in the 3rd. Andujar also had 2 match points late in the tiebreaker and muffed his chance at one of them. And then at the very end he folded, missing another sitter and followed that with an unforced error, and Nadal prevailed.

Deciding Tiebreaker
Don't miss the incredible Andujar half volley return with a drop volley MP down (7-8).
[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y17aB6ohDY[/video]

It just shows that if one lets the Clay King hang in there long enough, well...many more times than not, one is going to end up on the losing end.

Congrats to Clay Warrior Nadal and his fans.
Commiserations to Andujar and his supporters.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Dodge a bullet is right.

Hmmm.. I don't think Rafa was in that bad of state. I think Andujar's heavy groundies and agressive
strategy was more a problem. Pablo showed no fear. I think Wawrinka's approach is going to catch on, meaning you have to go in there willing to swing for the fences. Forget trying to stay in long neutral rallies. Bottom line Nadal continues to show why he is a living legend with victories like this.

 

[Moxie]

Hmmm.. I don't think Rafa was in that bad of state. I think Andujar's heavy groundies and agressive
strategy was more a problem. Pablo showed no fear. I think Wawrinka's approach is going to catch on, meaning you have to go in there willing to swing for the fences. Forget trying to stay in long neutral rallies. Bottom line Nadal continues to show why he is a living legend with victories like this.

I was thinking about posting something about this match and Andujar your Wawrinka thread, and you mentioned the same. Pablo never acted like Nadal winning was a foregone conclusion.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Hmmm.. I don't think Rafa was in that bad of state. I think Andujar's heavy groundies and agressive
strategy was more a problem. Pablo showed no fear. I think Wawrinka's approach is going to catch on, meaning you have to go in there willing to swing for the fences. Forget trying to stay in long neutral rallies. Bottom line Nadal continues to show why he is a living legend with victories like this.

I was thinking about posting something about this match and Andujar your Wawrinka thread, and you mentioned the same. Pablo never acted like Nadal winning was a foregone conclusion.

You nailed it. Two forehands into the tape on match points....two more inches and he is the 4th guy to beat Nadal on clay in 8 years. Federer, Joker, Zeballos, and Soldering are in that small club. Correct me if I have missed someone. (ooops Verdasco on the Blue clay!) So Make that 5...

 

[Kieran]

Hmmm.. I don't think Rafa was in that bad of state. I think Andujar's heavy groundies and agressive
strategy was more a problem. Pablo showed no fear. I think Wawrinka's approach is going to catch on, meaning you have to go in there willing to swing for the fences. Forget trying to stay in long neutral rallies. Bottom line Nadal continues to show why he is a living legend with victories like this.

I was thinking about posting something about this match and Andujar your Wawrinka thread, and you mentioned the same. Pablo never acted like Nadal winning was a foregone conclusion.

That's refreshing to see, isn't it? I was impressed by what I saw. He made Rafa work very hard to get the win.

By the way, what type of shirt does Rafa wear? Looks like a cheap material that makes him sweat instantly...

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Masterclass, thanks for posting the match stat. It looks like Pablo did well on
every stat except the one that counts.

 

[Kieran]

Ah Rafa's not messing about here! Great lob, vicious forehand... :clap

 

[Kieran]

First ace of the match for Rafa, on set point.

Total fluke...

 

[Front242]

1 winner for Rafa in that set :laydownlaughing cali must be pi$$ing himself. Dolgo's errors did the job there.

 

[Kieran]

1 winner for Rafa in that set :laydownlaughing cali must be pi$$ing himself. Dolgo's errors did the job there.

Yeah, the better player is definitely not winning this match! :nono :snigger

 

[Front242]

Rafa had only 4 ufes too which was very good but only 1 winner is an awful stat.