NADAL’S PAIN COULD BE FEDERER’S GAIN AT WIMBLEDON

Written by: on 1st July 2014
Wimbledon Championships
NADAL'S PAIN COULD BE FEDERER'S GAIN AT WIMBLEDON

epa04286851 Rafael Nadal of Spain takes a fall in action against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in their third round match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 28 June 2014. EPA/TATYANA ZENKOVICH  |

By Ricky Dimon

 

Roger Federer is 10-23 lifetime against Rafael Nadal. Federer has lost five times in a row in the head-to-head series and has dropped 11 of the last 12 sets between the two rivals.

 

Nadal had been a potential semifinal roadblock for the 32-year-old at Wimbledon, but when the draw came out many expected that the possible showdown would not come to fruition. After all, Nadal was slated to meet Lukas Rosol in the second round, Ivo Karlovic in the third round, and Richard Gasquet in the fourth round.

 

But Nadal beat Rosol and the matches with Karlovic and Gasquet never happened. Instead, it was a man nobody expected who took out the world No. 1 and perhaps cleared Federer’s path to the final in the process. Nick Kyrgios, all of 19 years old, stunned Nadal 7-6(6), 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3 during fourth-round action on Tuesday.

 

“The thing is this surface, when you have an opponent that decides to serve and to hit every ball very strong, you are in trouble,” Nadal explained. “I think that I didn’t play really bad, but that’s the game in this surface.”

“I think I was in a bit of a zone out there,” the up-and-coming Aussie assured. “It hasn’t sunk in what just played out out there. I played extraordinary tennis. I was struggling a bit on return, but I worked my way into it. I served at a really good level and I’m really happy. You’ve got to believe you can win the match from the start and I did.”

Tommy Robredo did not look like he believed he could beat Federer for a second consecutive time. Robredo had upset the Swiss last summer at the U.S. Open, but a much different story resulted on a surface that is much more advantageous to Federer when facing his Spanish opponent. Federer took care of Robredo 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 to book his spot in the quarterfinals.

 

“I’m very pleased with the first week,” Federer told BBC television. “Here we go into the quarterfinals. It’s really exciting being so deep in the tournament, closer to the finish line. It’s really nice how I’m playing. I’m serving well, moving well, returning all right. Everything I need to happen is happening to go deep in the tournament.”

And that’s not even to mention that Federer’s semifinal opponent–if he gets past countryman Stan Wawrinka on Wednesday–will be either Kyrgios or Milos Raonic instead of Nadal. Yes, everything Federer needs really is happening.

Topics: , , , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.