2017 Australian Open QF MILOS "the Lumberjack" Raonic vs. RAFAEL "the Bull" Nadal

Who makes the semifinal?

  • Total voters
    144
Wynter said:
So being unable to watch the match, how did Nadal play, shades of 2013 again or more Milos self-destructing?
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Nadal was ok. Milos sucked and outchoked the Spaniard when the latter got a bit tentative and nervous at the end of the second set. I'd say Nadal plays well enough to win the tournament. He only has personal bunnies left as opponent, so he doesn't even need to play that well to win it.
 
dh003i said:
Isn't that pretty much what Djokovic2011 said? Are you that insecure? He said Nadal played very solid and Raonic was disappointing. No backhand winners from anyone is certainly disappointing and for a player like him to only S&V 5 times is disappointing, even if he doesn't have the best volleys; winning 52% from the net on 52 times at net might not be disappointing if his volleys aren't that solid and he doesn't have quick enough reflexes. Also, that would be compounded by Nadal's passing shots.

Exciting times for Nadal and Federer fans, of course there are still the SF and either could easily lose there.
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No, Djokovic11 said Raonic choked. In my books that means Raonic had the upper hand but choked.
 
mandy01 said:
Yep. Djokovic stands closer the baseline and on an average is more aggressive than Nadal. I think his SF versus Roger last year was crazy good. There was nothing Roger could've done about it. Nadal is too slow and too boring. His patterns are predictable and the only advantage he has is that he plays those patterns perfectly when confident because well, he doesn't have other options.
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absolutely horrific reasoning/observation...
 
eliars said:
Yeah, the thing is though, it's not even about Federer and Nadal. Djokovic is losing to the journeyman who now starts to catch fire against him and gets the job done. Just like it happened to Federer (Wim 13, FO 14*, AO 15) and Nadal (no need to point out to who or where). That is happening to Djokovic now. He's not turning around these matches like he did vs. Seppi at the french a couple of years ago. He's actually losing those. So it'll be a lot tougher for him to win Slams in the future. He'll be able to bag some though - maybe one or two imho.

*Gulbis can (could) be solid.
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Yes it will be more and more tough. Especially if he keeps losing to the journeymen kind of players.

This could well be the start where he just loses that invincibility aura that he has has since 2011. And we have seen what the result of losing that aura does to the locker room I.e Federer and Nadal.

As soon as players get a slight belief they can beat Novak, shocks will happen, and they already have.

Of course, providing he is willing to train and work as hard, he will be there or thereabouts for a good few years yet, probably adding to his GS tally. I just hope that 2017 is Nadal's year!
 
Gazelle said:
Nadal was ok. Milos sucked and outchoked the Spaniard when the latter got a bit tentative and nervous at the end of the second set. I'd say Nadal plays well enough to win the tournament. He only has personal bunnies left as opponent, so he doesn't even need to play that well to win it.
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Just watched the highlights and a couple things jumped out at me:

1.) Rafa continues to serve well with good pace (for him) and placement, allowing him to control the points on serve.

2.) Decent depth on groundstrokes. Not a ton of flashy winners, but alot of sold groundies that are just a little too fast/deep for Milos to be able to pounce on, causing several errors.

3.) He clearly wanted to make Milos run. Raonic was running fair distances laterally on just about every point that Rafa controlled. Smart tactic considering Raonic still struggles once you make him run and get him tired.

4.) Excellent passing shots. Probably the thing that most goes unmentioned about Rafa's game. When he gets in the groove, anything less than a great approach shot by his opponent gives him an excellent chance to pull the trigger and make the player have to make an extremely difficult volley/half-volley. It feels like Rafa wins more of those points then he loses. If he has any time to get to the ball and set his feet the opponent at net is in trouble. That combination of pace and high rpm's is very tough for even the best volleyers to handle.

If he can continue doing these things and is healthy Rafa can beat anyone and it will take some great playing by the best players to beat him. Just the fact that he's hitting with more depth and serving better moves him from a chump (2014-16) to a serious contender. As a fan it's great to see.
 
The biggest difference I am seeing with Rafa is the Colm he is showing under pressure. He is playing the big points well and thinking clearly and is able to change his game plan effectively at the face of adversity.

This combined with the added pop and less UE on the forehand side = 90% of 2013 Nadal
 
clayqueen said:
No, Djokovic11 said Raonic choked. In my books that means Raonic had the upper hand but choked.
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Ok fair enough, but it seemed to me like he was referring there specifically to the 6 set points he had against Nadal in the 2nd set. That said, my impression is Nadal is particularly good at playing those big points, maybe the best.
 
icedevil0289 said:
Tbh someone like fed will always be 10X more enjoyable for me and while Djokovic might not exactly be my cup of tea I much prefer him to nadal and for that matter enjoy fed/Novak matches which is imo a far more underrated rivalry in contrast to the awful match up that is fedal.
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Understandable.
 
I thought Nadal played ok, but just well enough to win. His best match so far was vs. Zverev--he was simply scintillating in that one.

Milos just has too many holes to be able to win against the big boys. He still moves like a baby giraffe. Hit a low slice at him and watch him stumble around like he's looking for loose change. When he came to the net, all Nadal had to do was get his first volley back and make him move for it because he is always so off balance after his first volley he has no chance at getting the next one if it comes back at him. His backhand is not good--when the most you can do with a backhand is hit a rally ball back up the middle, you are in trouble. What good is the huge serve if it comes back just as hard and you have trouble moving for the return?

I would imagine Moya had a very solid game plan in place for Nadal as he probably spent a long time trying to correct all of these deficiencies in Raonic's game.

The semi vs. Grigor will be a doozy.

This year's Aussie Open is turning out to the revival of the 30 somethings with Fed, Nadal, Venus and Lucic-Baroni all on really awesome runs. It's all really fun to watch.
 
Milos just kicked butt of Nadal in Brisbane few weeks ago.............right ??????? Why did he get completely dominated this time in a Major ?? did milos just choke ?
 
Milos PM presser

Milos Raonic 25-01-17
Rafael Nadal def Milos Raonic 6-4 7-6-4


25 January, 2017
g_24012017_raonic_15.jpg

Photo by: Ben Solomon/Tennis Australia
Q. Obviously not the result you would have liked tonight. How would you assess the match?
MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, there were some opportunities in that second set. Other than that, there wasn't much for me to hold onto.

I thought he did some things well. I thought, you know, he took the match to me. He did something a little bit different than he normally does. He played better than I did.

Q. Did he change his position on the return? Is that the difference from Brisbane, for example?
MILOS RAONIC: Well, you could see he was trying to do something. It would be good for a few moments, it also would create a few more mistakes for him.

But I don't think that was a big change necessarily. It was more from the back. I just wasn't able to sort of push him back behind the baseline like I was able to do a few weeks ago.

Q. Six set points in that second set. What happened on those, in your opinion?
MILOS RAONIC: I think the first two, he hit one good serve well, and the other one I didn't cover the serve I should have covered. Then after that I think I rushed in that tiebreaker. I made two pretty poor mistakes off balls that didn't have much in the middle of the court on my forehand side.

I think at that point I just put it a little bit too much on myself.

Q. Did you rush because you felt physically you needed to be one set all because you couldn't go the distance?
MILOS RAONIC: No. I rushed because it was just, sort of, I wanted to take that opportunity. I wasn't volleying well by any means, so I felt like I had to finish it with that shot.

Q. What was the problem at 3-2 in the second? How did it affect you before that or after that?
MILOS RAONIC: I hope it's nothing too serious.

Q. It's the right thigh?
MILOS RAONIC: It's my adductor again.

Q. How bad did it bother you after? Did you carry it going in or did it happen during the match?
MILOS RAONIC: Sort of the backstory is another part of the adductor I damaged in Brisbane. I was healing that before this tournament. I got it to pretty good shape. We still had to monitor it.

Then today, I guess I hurt another aspect of it similar to the last two, but not by any means that serious.

Q. Does it feel like sometimes whenever you get close to one of your goals or one of the things you work so hard for, that something always happens, particularly physically?
MILOS RAONIC: I don't know. I don't want to depress myself thinking about that too much right now.

Q. How do you think the flu you've been fighting affected your fitness today? Maybe you didn't practice as much as you wanted.
MILOS RAONIC: I'm sure that everybody has something they carry. Obviously this tournament, for me in general, these last now two and a half weeks, have been quite difficult just trying to manage everything.

First dealing with the physical aspect, getting myself quite ready, I thought, making the most of that, then dealing with the health aspect, then now with this.

It was quite a draining two and a half weeks.

Q. What is your thought on Davis Cup at this point? It's five minutes after your match, I realize.
MILOS RAONIC: I don't really know. I have to see what this is. It's occurred now four times in the last 12 months. I'm very much up in the air.

Q. How did you feel he played compared to the way he played in Brisbane, generally?
MILOS RAONIC: You know, when he was able to get ahead, when he was able to get comfortable, he was playing better. He had that chance against me in Brisbane. He was up a set, and he had a look in the middle of the second set.

But I felt like when I was able to take some swipes at it, when I pushed, I was able to get a little bit ahead of him.

Obviously he put it together more consistently, much more consistently, than I did today. He's doing a lot of things well. He's fighting well, which has always been his strongest attribute.

It's going to be an interesting two more matches, one more match, depending on how he goes. But from everything, it's going to be an interesting three more matches to follow. There's a lot of storylines there.

Q. Have you found any reason why you always get injured in this adductor? Is there any reason explaining it?
MILOS RAONIC: I don't know. I've had surgery on that hip. I'm hoping that's not any reason why I struggled.
 
WOW,,,,,^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What does Milos mean by this statement ??

"I thought he did some things well. I thought, you know, he took the match to me. He did something a little bit different than he normally does. He played better than I did."

did things Differently ???????????? HOW ? Was this the Genius of Uncle Toni or wanna be uncle Carlos Moya ????????????????
 
Nostradamus said:
Milos just kicked butt of Nadal in Brisbane few weeks ago.............right ??????? Why did he get completely dominated this time in a Major ?? did milos just choke ?
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Nah, Milos injured his adductor again. Same thing happened to him in last year's SF against Murray. It limited his movement and he was clearly in pain when moving around the court. You could see him wincing at times. The second set was extremely competitive though. Milos deserved that set despite being injured.
 
If Rafa wins the AO, I will consider the possibility of another 2013-type run , especially with Murrovic in slump mode. I do not think Rafa is playing the best tennis of his career but he's playing much better than in 2015/16 and everything is only relative to the field.
 
TMF said:
You mean almost as bad as Verdasco DF facing match point in 2009 AO semifinal.
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Nope, I mean Roddick's bh volley miss. That was a pure shocker. Verdasco DF was a poor end to such a high quality match though. But the Roddick miss was worse.
 
mandy01 said:
Except Roddick was never much of a volleyer and Raonic is supposed to be a big server.
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That doesn't matter, it was a pure sitter any pro should nail that volley it was a shocker. Raonic is a big server but he's not the only one to DF, every player does. IMO, Roger is no question, the best server on tour hands down. I've even seen him DF important points.
 
Not that it makes it any better, but I've never thought that BH volley he had was an easy shot. For sure he shouldn't have butchered it like he did, but there's no such thing as an easy BH volley on set point in a GS final. I guarantee many of us rec players would've had a similar outcome and even less polished pros.
 
Mike Sams said:
Nah, Milos injured his adductor again. Same thing happened to him in last year's SF against Murray. It limited his movement and he was clearly in pain when moving around the court. You could see him wincing at times. The second set was extremely competitive though. Milos deserved that set despite being injured.
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Poor Raonic. No physic, no mental, no talent. I wonder how he got the idea he could ever win a slam.
 
eliars said:
Don't think Rafa can do it. I say one or two more tops.

Novak might have 3 left in him. I'm guessing 2.
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eliars said:
Nadal is done in terms of consistency. He's well rested at the moment and has the hunger back after taking time off. He can still win the odd slam here and there (hopefully here). It's the same with Novak. He just has one more slam or so up his sleeve and probably 4-5 more masters.
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Gazelle said:
Poor Raonic. No physic, no mental, no talent. I wonder how he got the idea he could ever win a slam.
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Well he's at the right age to win one at some point. Federer and Nadal are in their 30s and the opportunities will open up for Milos to snatch one somewhere in the next few years. But most importantly, he needs to deal with these injuries and get his body stronger. I feel he's too lanky and skinny. Get some meat on that body and build strength. He's already a multi-millionaire. He can do it! Go Canada:):)
 
veroniquem said:
If Rafa wins the AO, I will consider the possibility of another 2013-type run , especially with Murrovic in slump mode. I do not think Rafa is playing the best tennis of his career but he's playing much better than in 2015/16 and everything is only relative to the field.
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And if somehow Federer manages to win the AO will you hibernate for the next six months?
 
Mike Sams said:
Nah, Milos injured his adductor again. Same thing happened to him in last year's SF against Murray. It limited his movement and he was clearly in pain when moving around the court. You could see him wincing at times. The second set was extremely competitive though. Milos deserved that set despite being injured.
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so what can he do to avoid such a injury so he can win a major ??? if he is always getting injured by semi rolls around, he has no chance... he will be just another Berdych or Tsonga...............LOL
 
veroniquem said:
If Rafa wins the AO, I will consider the possibility of another 2013-type run , especially with Murrovic in slump mode. I do not think Rafa is playing the best tennis of his career but he's playing much better than in 2015/16 and everything is only relative to the field.
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Don't count on Murrovic staying in a slump mode for long. Nadal's run here at AO may just be the inspiration that Djokovic needs to come out of his slump and go on a rampage once again.
 
clayqueen said:
You can say what you like, but these are the facts from the ATP website:

Overall, Nadal hit 15 forehand winners to Raonic’s 11. Nadal backed it up with 13 winners off the backhand side to Raonic’s zero. Not a single backhand winner for the Canadian out of 212 points.

Whenever Nadal needed a point, he knew on this night, on this court, that he could pound away at Raonic’s backhand without retaliation. Raonic’s zero backhand winners was a bad number. The 30 backhand errors offered zero support.

Nadal won 53 per cent (61/116) of his baseline points, while Raonic was far away at 35 per cent (31/89). Raonic only served and volleyed five times, winning three, and won just 52 per cent (27/52) at net for the night.

Nadal won the big moments, and was constantly playing from ahead in the majority of the rallies. Coming from behind against a 14-time Grand Slam champion at Rod Laver Arena is just too tough of an ask.



https://2017.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/art ... oment.html.
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Yes, pounding a player's BH on a slow HC. Such a novel strategy. We've never seen this before....:eek:


....and they wonder why some people don't like Nadal.
 
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