Rafael Nadal escaped a dramatically close round of 16 match against David Nalbandian on Wednesday night. Next up for the Spaniard is another Argentine, Juan Martin Del Potro.
Juan Martin Del Potro is the No. 6 player in the world. The lanky Argentine had an outstanding season in 2008, where he won 4 consecutive titles. One thing he has yet to however, is to take a set from Rafael Nadal. The two men have played on three occasions; Nadal has skated through each match easily. All of the matches took place in 2007. Del Potro has improved his game considerably since that time – but so has Nadal.
Del Potro won the Australian Open tune-up event in Auckland, but since then he’s been ousted in three successive quarterfinals. One of the quarterfinal losses came to Roger Federer at the Australian Open; the Argentine was completely decimated in that match. He won a total of 3 games before Federer finally put him out of his misery.
Nadal has had the far more difficult draw this week. The Spaniard has had to get through both Dmitry Tursunov and David Nalbandian on his way to the quarters. Del Potro’s toughest test came against Jurgen Melzer of Austria. Nadal’s form was a bit off in the early going of his round of 16 match against David Nalbandian, but by the third set (which Nadal won 6-0) the Spaniard had found the kind of form that won him the Australian Open earlier this year.
Prediction – expect Del Potro to continue his quarterfinal result run for at least one more tournament. Nadal in straight sets.
Posted: 22.03.09 20:13. Post subject: Nadal tops Del Potro..
quote:
Nadal tops Del Potro to move on Bill Byron • The Desert Sun • March 21, 2009
INDIAN WELLS — Down to their matching teal headbands and nearly identical teal shirts, it would have been difficult to tell Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro apart from one another — had it not been for their tennis.
Nadal's game was so good in the quarterfinal match that he made a strong performance by del Potro look lackluster, knocking off the No. 6 seed 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 49 minutes.
But the performance wasn't good enough for the top ranked player, who spent nearly an hour practicing his serve after the match.
“I was happy about the beginning, I served well in the beginning, but I had some mistakes,” Nadal said of the match. “But I'm happy I beat No. 6 in the world.”
Nadal picked up his first break of serve in the third game of the first set, but not without a fight from del Potro, who pushed the game to four deuces before finally going down.
Not that it was necessary, but Nadal broke the Argentine once again in the seventh game to go up 5-2 shortly after del Potro took a medical timeout to have his trainer look at his forearm, although del Potro didn't seem bothered by it.
The second set was no easier for del Potro, who was beaten by a methodical Nadal in the first game at 30.
Del Potro did give Nadal a run for his money in the fourth game, forcing Nadal to six deuces to hold serve and finally put the Argentine away.
In fact, Nadal only faltered once the entire match. Already ahead two breaks, the Spaniard committed two unforced errors in the eighth game of the second set to allow del Potro to regain a break and hold on his next service game to come within 5-4.
But that was as close as it got in the second set, with Nadal holding serve at love in the next game to take the match.
The victory sets up a semifinal between Nadal and seventh-seeded Andy Roddick, who beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets earlier Friday.
“He's playing really well — he made the semifinals in Australia, he won in Memphis, it's going to be a really tough match,” Nadal said. “I must serve very well if I want to win.”
Posted: 03.04.09 04:47. Post subject: Sony Ericsson Open A..
Sony Ericsson Open April 2, 2009 J. DEL POTRO/R. Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 7-6
An interview with: JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. What do you think was the difference today for you? You've never beaten him before, never taken a set off him, I don't think. Why today do you think it turned? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Because always I was keep going and keep trying. I beat him with my mind and with my game. When we played long points, I was dominating every time, so that was the key of the last set, of the tiebreak. But I beat for first time.
Q. Did you come into this match thinking differently about him, or did you just come in the middle of the match and you realized you had a chance? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: No. I know him since 12 years. We play many times. Sometimes I can play good and sometimes bad, but today I did everything. I served very good, and with my forehand with big confidence. To beat Rafa, you have to be in good shape and every part of your game, and today I did a great job.
Q. Did it feel like Buenos Aires out there, and how much did that help you? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah, a lot. There are many Argentinians and Latina, they all support me a lot. They help me too much for this victory.
Q. Rafa did not think that you played unbelievably good. He didn't think it was one of your better matches. He thought he really played terribly? How would you categorize your play tonight? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I played unbelievable. I beat the No. 1 of the world. If you don't play unbelievable, you cannot beat him. I'm happy, but tomorrow I will play again, so I have to think in the next match.
Q. It looked like when you were down 2-3 in the tiebreak that you got aggressive and you took the match to him. Did you feel that way? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, I have a little bit lucky in the tiebreak. But I fight like three hours to be in the tiebreak, so five more points will be to decide to the match, and I was trying until the final. That's was the big thing of the match.
Q. You're down 3-0 at the beginning of the third, two breaks. What are you thinking right then? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, I start to enjoy the match, the people, the crowds, the quarterfinals. And I start to play more relaxes and more aggressive, too. Then the match going different. I broke his serve in 3-0, and then 3-2. When I was 5-4, I say, Now I can beat him. That's was a big difference in my mind.
Q. Even when you had three match points and you had the forehand set up, even when you missed that, you still believed? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah. Because Rafa did two aces, and then I have my opportunity with my forehand. But sometimes go in and sometimes no. The important is I was fighting until the final, and now I'm happy for the victory.
Q. Is this the biggest moment of your career? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Of course.
Q. How about a win on Sunday? Would that be better? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: It would be better, but I have to play tomorrow.
Posted: 03.04.09 04:54. Post subject: Del Potro Stuns Nada..
Del Potro Stuns Nadal By Richard Pagliaro Thursday, April 02, 2009 Tennisweek.com
Juan Martin del Potro flung his racquet high in the sky like a frisbee and hung his head in frustration as it splattered to the court behind him.
The sixth-seeded Argentine had watched a one-set, one break lead dissipate like drops of sweat vanshing and witnessed Rafael Nadal fight off three match points to force a final set tiebreaker and ratchet the intensity of this dramatic duel up several levels. The racquet, like del Potro's hopes, rose and seemed to crash suddenly.
Hurling his racquet as a form of stress relief, del Potro regained his composure then threw everything he had at the World No. 1.
In a tennis tug of war that saw both men compete with grit, del Potro delivered one of the most monumental wins of his young career, outlasting Nadal, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) to register his first career victory over a top-three player and advance to his first career Masters Series semifinal at the Sony Ericsson Open today.
Argentine fans, including Hall of Famer Gabriela Sabatini, traded cheers with Spanish fans creating a near Davis Cup-type atmosphere. The lanky 20-year-old from Tandil, Argentina will take on either fourth-seeded Scot Andy Murray or another left-handed Spaniard, eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco, in Friday's semifinals.
In his post-match press conference, Nadal said his comeback to force the tie breaker was due to del Potro's level dropping rather than Nadal elevating his game. Nadal, who was faced with the challenge of trying to win the Sony Ericsson Open after claiming Indian Wells, ran into an opponent who forced him into defensive positions. You could call it a perfect storm; Nadal called it "an amazing disaster."
"I didn't come back very strong. He started to make mistakes," said Nadal, who has won ever Masters Series title except Miami and Cincinnati. "I think I played bad all the time. I think that's the truth of the match. I have the match lost. I was playing terrible (making) a lot of mistakes and later with the 3-0 (third-set lead) it was an amazing disaster."
The duel spanned three hours and in the end del Potro's willingness to take risk and drive his flatter strokes into the corners with authority was the difference.
Nadal had fought off five match points in defeating del Potro's Davis Cup teammate, David Nalbandian, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-0, en route to winning Indian Wells last month.
Tennis' top trouble shooter was in the midst of yet another captivating comeback today.
Trailing 5-6 in the final set, Nadal summoned that familiar fighting spirit in saving three match points. He erased the first with a 124 mph ace out wide, won the second when del Potro whacked a forehand into net and reached back for his biggest serve of the match — a 131 mph missile — to fight off the third match point before eventually forcing the tie breaker. But that authoritative ball striking and willingness to step in the court and take the match to del Potro was lacking in the latter stages of the tie breaker.
When Nadal's backhand return collided with the top of the tape and fell over to give him a 3-2 lead in the breaker it seemed fortune favored the top-seeded Spaniard, who was just four points from yet another captivating comeback.
Del Potro, however, refused to yield. As Nadal grew oddly passive in his play, del Potro picked his spots to attack.
The six-time Grand Slam champion hit a poor drop shot then bungled a backhand pass down the line. On the 29th shot of the ensuing rally, del Potro pounded an inside-out forehand winner then followed a stinging forehand to net and stuck a fine forehand drop volley winner for 5-3. Playing defensive tennis and resorting to his slice backhand throughout the latter stages of the tie breaker, Nadal could not summon the aggression he showed in building a 3-0 third-set lead.
"You can say one thousand reasons (for the loss)," Nadal said. "I think he didn't play one of his best matches — that's what I feel. I don't know. I think he played well. His level is number seven of the world; he's very good. And I think he didn't play an unbelievable match and I didn't play on my level today."
Nadal missed a one-handed backhand to hand del Potro three match points and when the 2008 finalist flailed a forehand into the net, del Potro crossed himself and broke into a broad smile. Nadal, showing class in defeat, stopped to sign autographs for a group of kids before heading to the exit with his sights fixed firmly on the upcoming clay-court season.
"I usually do not lose a match with two breaks in the third. I did not play well in this tournament," Nadal said. "A little bit the first day, but I played bad all the time so in a way quarterfinals is a positive results I didn't adapt well to this tournament at this time. I am very happy to come back to clay and I will try to play good matches on clay."
Posted: 03.04.09 12:39. Post subject: InGale Но все же на..
InGale Но все же надежда есть, раз снялся значит была травма, а на ЮСО проиграл, но ведь поупиралси. А теперь совсем другой расклад, после победы над Надалем, уверность в своих силах должна прибавиться, эх главное запала бы хватило. А может быть я выдаю желаемое за действительное
Posted: 03.04.09 13:11. Post subject: Марьяна Мне, конеч..
Марьяна
Мне, конечно, тоже очень хочется верить, что он сможет поганку одолеть. Но не знаю, он вполне может и уставшим быть после 3 часов с Рафой. А Энди без труда сломил Нандо, будет гораздо свежее. Тоже фактор... Но в любом случае, у Хуана наконец есть в послужном списке и победа над топом (да еще каким!) и это может придать ему уверенности на будущее. А сегодня будет очень интересно посмотреть как он с рыжим сыграет... Как оптимист буду верить в победу!
Posted: 03.04.09 13:32. Post subject: InGale Марьяна не х..
InGaleМарьяна не хочу вас огорчать, но шансы против марри у дельпико не шибко высоки, т.к. играть им сегодня, а Дельпо гонял три часа против Рафы.Сомнительно, что он сможет восстановиться к матчу со скоттом... Но Лея права, главное, что он смог обыграть Рафы - это очень важно для будущего и конфиденса, о котором говорят все теннисисты
Posted: 03.04.09 16:36. Post subject: Miami Miracle: Del P..
Miami Miracle: Del Potro comes back from the dead By Peter Bodo Last Updated: April 2, 2009 9:25 PM TENNIS.com
MIAMI, Fla.—Just how much room is there at the top of the game, especially for a guy who likes to parade his guns in a sleeveless shirt, bangs out the big serves and forehands, and stands a good five inches taller than Andy Roddick?
I suppose it’s a rhetorical question, because if 6-7 Juan Martin del Potro can sustain the level he often reached today while pasting up a three-set upset of Rafael Nadal in the Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinals, he’ll make his own room, even if it means shoving a couple of other guys – Andy Roddick? Nikolay Davydenko? – into the abyss.
The win was as unlikely as it was resounding – less because of what happened than how it transpired. Del Potro won the first set, 6-4. Nadal took the second, 6-3, and led by two breaks (3-0) in the third when the wheels fell off the most reliable wagon in tennis these days. “It was amazing disaster,” Nadal said later, adding an emphatic, “Yeah.” In tennis, one man’s disaster is another’s Woodstock. With his prospects suddenly looking hopeless, del Potro allowed himself to relax and enjoy the festive atmosphere. They sometimes call this tournament, played in the heart of a region loaded with Latin expats, emigrants, and tourists, the Grand Slam of South America. Today, it was the major of Argentina. That wasn’t North Carolina Tar Heel blue you saw everywhere you looked in the stadium – it was the national colors of Argentina.
Here’s how del Potro described the moment that turned the match his way: “Well, (at 0-3) I start to enjoy the match, the people, the crowds, the quarterfinals. And I start to play more relaxed and more aggressive, too. Then the match going different. I broke his serve in 3-0, and then 3-2. When I was 5-4, I say, ‘Now I can beat him’. That's was a big difference in my mind.”
Still, this was Nadal, not David Nalbandian, across the net. And that all but guaranteed that things would get more rather than less interesting. Nadal hung in – barely, most of the time – as del Potro cracked the big serve and forehand time and again, exploiting the most glaring of Nadal’s deficiencies – his inability to keep the ball closer to the baseline than the service line in del Potro’s court. Lines were painted there to be hit, not to avoid.
The mandate to hit the ball deep is an easy one to overlook, but a deadly one to ignore or forget. In this case, Nadal’s short groundies ensured that the ball sat up beautifully for del Potro’s ultra-solid strokes. Essentially, Nadal teed it up, and once del Potro straightened out his swing, he was hitting the long drives square and sweet.
It was a struggle for Nadal just to get into the tiebreaker. He had to stare down three match points, and he did it with his trademark courage – twice with an ace; the one that wiped away match point No. 3 was a 131 mph screamer, the fastest serve he hit today. That’s Nadal: always leave room for desert.
Early in the tiebreaker, it looked as if Nadal had wormed his way off the hook. He scored a mini-break to lead, 3-2, with two serves to come. But he followed it up by surrendering both his serves. He never led again, and del Potro finished him off, 7-3.
Del Potro is talented and surprisingly smooth for such a big man. He’s been an emerging force in the men’s game since the summer of 2008, when he amassed (among other things) a 23-match winning streak and four titles in succession, two on clay and two on hard courts similar to those here on Key Biscayne. His most ardent advocates include John McEnroe. But del Potro had never come within a “hola” of Nadal in four previous matches (Nadal had won nine straight sets against the lanky 20-year old), so it’s fair to ask if Nadal brought his A-game to the park today. His own answer was a definitive “No.”
“I think I played really bad all the time,” Nadal said. “That's the true of the match.”
Moreover, when Nadal was asked how well del Potro played, his reply was uncharacteristically niggardly. He said, “ I think he didn't play one of his best matches, no? That's what I feel. I don't know. You can ask him later maybe. But I think he played well. His level is 7 of the world, no, so he's very good. I think he didn't play an unbelievable match, but I didn't play on my best level today.”
If we didn’t know Nadal better, we might say this was a case of sour grapes. And it suggested that all is not well in Nadal’s world – a suspicion he more or less confirmed at the very end of his press conference, when he was asked if he had a good handle on why he’d played such a ragged match.
“Always is a reason because you are not playing at your level during the tournament. No, I am calm. I am happy about myself, about everything this year, yeah. . . I don't know. Always is a reason, but it's personal.”
There is probably more to this comment than meets the eye, but we’ll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, del Potro has moved a little closer to the top of the game, clinching the No. 5 spot in the wold rankings.
Those thuds you hear are the sound of Andy Roddick (formerly no. 6) and Nikolay Davydenko (last week’s no. 5) hitting the ground.
Posted: 03.04.09 16:44. Post subject: тоже сомневаюсь, что..
тоже сомневаюсь, что Дельпо сможет восстановиться к вечеру, и физически, и особенно морально - ведь по сути он уже Выиграл. все же интересно, что он сумеет найти в своих резервах.
главное, мне кажется, в том, что он наконец смог победить лидера Тура, в таком затратном во всех смыслах матче, не сломался, не отошел психологически, как бывало раньше. Дельпо созрел для крупных побед.
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