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

Written by: Staff on 1st July 2014

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: Ivo Karlovic, Nick Kyrgios, Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka, Tennis, Tennis News, Wimbledon

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10sBalls_com says:

July 1, 2014 at 8:34 pm

NADAL’S PAIN COULD BE FEDERER’S GAIN AT @Wimbledon-http://t.co/eTboZeSHhq @RafaelNadal @rogerfederer #tennis #Wimby #Federer #NadalvsKyrgios
3peakcoaching says:

July 1, 2014 at 8:35 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: NADAL’S PAIN COULD BE FEDERER’S GAIN AT @Wimbledon-http://t.co/eTboZeSHhq @RafaelNadal @rogerfederer #tennis #Wimby #Fede…
54jas says:

July 1, 2014 at 9:41 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: NADAL’S PAIN COULD BE FEDERER’S GAIN AT @Wimbledon-http://t.co/eTboZeSHhq @RafaelNadal @rogerfederer #tennis #Wimby #Fede…