Rome 2013 SF: Nadal v. Berdych

[brokenshoelace]

Better serving from Berdych keeping the match tight, and actually somewhat forcing Nadal to be less free with the way he's playing due to the more competitive scoreline.

 

[justapasserby]

not even remotely competitive, sigh. better give rafa the trophy now )

 

[tented]

All right! Congrats, Rafa. Straight sets again.

 

[DarthFed]

Berd just can't handle the spin on either side and that makes him an easy out for Rafa. The other 3 probably rather see just about anyone but Berdych in their QF right now.

 

[Front242]

Very solid match by Nadal. Berdych did what he could to make it a bit more of a contest in set 2 but Nadal was just too good. Brilliant in set 1.

 

[rafanoy1992]

Very impressive match from Nadal. Just like BS said, probably his best match of the year. He only lost 8 service points and he didn't lose a point in his second serve. The more important thing he was being aggressive the whole match. We are now a halfway done for a Fedal finals matchup!

Another thing, Nadal on his 8th final in 8 tournaments.

 

[crystalfire]

well im going to say rafa is pretty much the clear fav for french open. 8 tourneys and 8 finals...he should at least make the finals. djokers the only one who has any say over who wins FO.

 

[brokenshoelace]

well im going to say rafa is pretty much the clear fav for french open. 8 tourneys and 8 finals...he should at least make the finals. djokers the only one who has any say over who wins FO.

Rafa is the favorite at RG since there's pretty much one guy who can beat him. However, if he were to meet this one guy, I don't think he'd be favored. With that said, he's got a much smaller chance at losing to anyone else in Paris, so yeah, he'll be the rightful favorite.

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Berd just can't handle the spin on either side and that makes him an easy out for Rafa. The other 3 probably rather see just about anyone but Berdych in their QF right now.

Yeah, it's just such a tough match-up for Berdych, as Nadal exposes pretty much every weakness in his game. He exposes his movement with ease, stretches him on the forehand side (as good as Tomas' forehand is, he hates hitting it on the run), takes him out of position on his backhand side, troubles him with angles, uses the slice well (on other surfaces), draws him to the net (arguably Berdych's weakest aspect of his game), and reads his entire game really, really well. It doesn't help that Berdych struggles to deal with Rafa's serve. Just a rough match-up.

 

[Front242]

Is Nadal back to number 4 now in time for RG after beating Ferrer yet again? And can he still meet Djokovic in the quarter finals if the draw were to work out that way or does jumping up to number 4 change that?

 

[DarthFed]

Is Nadal back to number 4 now in time for RG after beating Ferrer yet again? And can he still meet Djokovic in the quarter finals if the draw were to work out that way or does jumping up to number 4 change that?

Jumping up to #4 means they couldn't meet before the semi. I thought Nadal had to win Rome to jump over Ferrer but I could be wrong. Also, if Murray doesn't play it's a moot point. Let's just say chances are now overwhelming that Nadal will be at least #4 at RG.

 

[Front242]

Is Nadal back to number 4 now in time for RG after beating Ferrer yet again? And can he still meet Djokovic in the quarter finals if the draw were to work out that way or does jumping up to number 4 change that?

Jumping up to #4 means they couldn't meet before the semi. I thought Nadal had to win Rome to jump over Ferrer but I could be wrong. Also, if Murray doesn't play it's a moot point. Let's just say chances are now overwhelming that Nadal will be at least #4 at RG.

Cheers for that Darth.

 

[tented]

Is Nadal back to number 4 now in time for RG after beating Ferrer yet again? And can he still meet Djokovic in the quarter finals if the draw were to work out that way or does jumping up to number 4 change that?

Jumping up to #4 means they couldn't meet before the semi. I thought Nadal had to win Rome to jump over Ferrer but I could be wrong. Also, if Murray doesn't play it's a moot point. Let's just say chances are now overwhelming that Nadal will be at least #4 at RG.

You're correct: Rafa must win Rome in order to surpass Ferrer.

Getting into the final gives Rafa 6495 points. Ferrer currently has 6740. If Rafa wins, he'll have 6895.

 

[Front242]

Is Nadal back to number 4 now in time for RG after beating Ferrer yet again? And can he still meet Djokovic in the quarter finals if the draw were to work out that way or does jumping up to number 4 change that?

Jumping up to #4 means they couldn't meet before the semi. I thought Nadal had to win Rome to jump over Ferrer but I could be wrong. Also, if Murray doesn't play it's a moot point. Let's just say chances are now overwhelming that Nadal will be at least #4 at RG.

You're correct: Rafa must win Rome in order to surpass Ferrer.

Getting into the final gives Rafa 6495 points. Ferrer currently has 6740. If Rafa wins, he'll have 6895.

Thanks for the confirmation, tented. You can bet Fed has his team adding up the ranking scenarios for him and will be out to play his best so, reason being that if Nadal stayed number 5 there's always the potential of Djokovic and Nadal absolutely physically destroying each other and Fed playing the exhausted victor of the match after in the semis. It'd clearly be his best shot for RG.

 

[DarthFed]

Is Nadal back to number 4 now in time for RG after beating Ferrer yet again? And can he still meet Djokovic in the quarter finals if the draw were to work out that way or does jumping up to number 4 change that?

Jumping up to #4 means they couldn't meet before the semi. I thought Nadal had to win Rome to jump over Ferrer but I could be wrong. Also, if Murray doesn't play it's a moot point. Let's just say chances are now overwhelming that Nadal will be at least #4 at RG.

You're correct: Rafa must win Rome in order to surpass Ferrer.

Getting into the final gives Rafa 6495 points. Ferrer currently has 6740. If Rafa wins, he'll have 6895.

Thanks for the confirmation, tented. You can bet Fed has his team adding up the ranking scenarios for him and will be out to play his best so, reason being that if Nadal stayed number 5 there's always the potential of Djokovic and Nadal absolutely physically destroying each other and Fed playing the exhausted victor of the match after in the semis. It'd clearly be his best shot for RG.

Fed's best hope is actually being #3 and Rafa being #4. There starting off Roger would have no chance to play Rafa before the final. Then he would need Rafa to be on Djokovic's side while he is on Murray's side. Then he would need Djokovic to win a draining 5 set war in the semifinals.

Basically a lot of if's right now and that assumes Roger won't get tripped up early in the tournament by Berdych, Tsonga, DP, etc.

 

[Haelfix]

Sorry but that is nonsense. A player of Federers calibre always has a chance to beat any player. Even Rafa on clay.

This whole notion of player x cant beat player y in a slam is ridiculous, especially when we are talking about top 10 players. The margins are too small and there is an element of luck.

 

[tented]

Sorry but that is nonsense. A player of Federers calibre always has a chance to beat any player. Even Rafa on clay.

This whole notion of player x cant beat player y in a slam is ridiculous, especially when we are talking about top 10 players. The margins are too small and there is an element of luck.

In general I agree with you, but I don't see Federer ever turning around the 0-5 record against Rafa at RG. I would lay money on Roger beating Rafa at every other GS before betting on RG.

 

[Haelfix]

Sorry but that is nonsense. A player of Federers calibre always has a chance to beat any player. Even Rafa on clay.

This whole notion of player x cant beat player y in a slam is ridiculous, especially when we are talking about top 10 players. The margins are too small and there is an element of luck.

In general I agree with you, but I don't see Federer ever turning around the 0-5 record against Rafa at RG. I would lay money on Roger beating Rafa at every other GS before betting on RG.

I'm not saying it will happen, I'm just saying it can happen. If Andy Roddick can be one point from beating Roger in a slam, then Roger can do the same to Rafa. And Rafa can do the same to Novak, etc etc