BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
There is a VAST difference between some nothing Brisbane tournament and a slam setting with 3/5 set format. I sure hope you're right. If Rafa exits, Roger's road to #18 gets about 100 billion time easier.
2017 Australian Open QF MILOS "the Lumberjack" Raonic vs. RAFAEL "the Bull" Nadal
- Thread starter InsideOut900
- Start date
There is a VAST difference between some nothing Brisbane tournament and a slam setting with 3/5 set format. I sure hope you're right. If Rafa exits, Roger's road to #18 gets about 100 billion time easier.
La Grande
G.O.A.T.
Can't see past Raonic on this one. Clear favourite. Was much more impressive in the previous round. Forget who he played... Monfils wasn't giving much resistance either, he bent over in the first 2 sets.
I'll be cheering for Rafa to get through this one, but it'll be mighty tough. Body serves will be needed.
I'll be cheering for Rafa to get through this one, but it'll be mighty tough. Body serves will be needed.
ADuck
Legend
The thing is, the match is in Rafa's hands. But it also depends on how well Raonic serves. In Brisbane, Raonic was impenetrable in the second and third set and Nadal gifted Ranoic two service games at the worst possible times. The end of the second and start of the third. Besides those two games, I feel like Rafa was the better player. I think Rafa will beat him in a best of 5 set match because Raonic won't be able to sustain such a high level of serving for that long. But, the match is really a 50/50.
Rafa's topspin is not going to bother Raonic who is so tall, so he's going to have to be on top of his game at the back of the court. Raonic will have to do exactly what he did in Brisbane which is pummel the ball at Rafa's forehand using his IO FH. If he's able to do that throughout the entire match it'll be hard for Rafa to win.
My Prediction? Federer wins the title
Rafa's topspin is not going to bother Raonic who is so tall, so he's going to have to be on top of his game at the back of the court. Raonic will have to do exactly what he did in Brisbane which is pummel the ball at Rafa's forehand using his IO FH. If he's able to do that throughout the entire match it'll be hard for Rafa to win.
My Prediction? Federer wins the title
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Nadal doesn't lose to serve bots
ADuck
Legend
He struggles against them though. His return is not good.
dgbeclih600
Rookie
Are we all forgetting that Carlos Moya will be a big help for Rafa. Moya coached Raonic last year so that will help Rafa in a way, hopefully he can contribute. Rooting for Rafa but not counting on it, Rafa has to play his best tennis better then what we've seen the past 18 months. Looking forward to the match can't wait
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Milos, is Nadal meat..... Yummy,,,, delicious.....
ADuck
Legend
I doubt it's gonna have any effect this early. When Djokovic first hired Boris, he lost in the AO QF. I actually think Djokovic got worse when he first hired him. But that's Boris.
FedererDropShot
Hall of Fame
Milos 'Missile' Raonic needs to serve lights out or else it's in Nadal's hands.
Needs to serve like a god then hope Nadal has some loose service games here and there (which will happen if Raonic constantly holds with ease).
Needs to serve like a god then hope Nadal has some loose service games here and there (which will happen if Raonic constantly holds with ease).
Federer and Del Potro
Bionic Poster
I like Rafa in this one. Question will be can Fed take care of Stanimal to give us the juicy Fedal matchup (I don't see Goffin or Dimitrov dispatching Nadal)
TheGhostOfAgassi
Talk Tennis Guru
tenisdecente
Hall of Fame
Milos in 4, even if this is a pretty balanced and unpredictable match by now.
The key for both players is the serve. If Milos is dialed with the serve, Nadal will have a tough day because not even his serve is a guarantee these days. If the canadian is serving meh, then he is done
The key for both players is the serve. If Milos is dialed with the serve, Nadal will have a tough day because not even his serve is a guarantee these days. If the canadian is serving meh, then he is done
Tennis Rules
Semi-Pro
very tough match up for nadal. atm i don´t think he`s gonna win. but i hope he will win.
a final betwee nadal and federer would be so great.
beeing realistic...the final will be wawrinka vs raonic.
a final betwee nadal and federer would be so great.
beeing realistic...the final will be wawrinka vs raonic.
Rusty Shackleford
G.O.A.T.
Afraid to. Sounds like a transvestite might have taken that name as hirs trademark.Google, Sonja the queen of Norway
stringertom
Bionic Poster
Not that there's anything wrong with that!
Russeljones
Talk Tennis Guru
You're going to have to convince me about that first part because I agree with the second. Come to think of it, there is a slight contradiction there.
malbaker86
Hall of Fame
I want Rafa to win, but I feel myself trying to convince myself that he's going win.
I'll play it safe and say Raonic in 4.
I'll play it safe and say Raonic in 4.
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
Tough to beat a great champion twice in a few weeks, and even harder when it's best out of 5.
I'll back Rafa if this one gets incredibly physical. He can still rip off nice passing shots, and he's playing with way more confidence and belief. Rafa in 5!
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
0-1 already, and the zero won't be the number that changes.
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
Excellent point, and I like your avatar too! Hey Arnold! was one of my favorite shows back in the day.
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SinjinCooper
Hall of Fame
Milos is a much bigger threat to Roger than a Nadal without a forehand would be.
Alas, that's why Nadal won't get that far in the first place.
Fed881981
Hall of Fame
I might be wrong, but I think Fed's chances against Raonic are considerably better than against Nadal. Sure, he can lose to both and I didn't forget Wimbledon 2016, but against Raonic it's on Fed's racket.
Rusty Shackleford
G.O.A.T.
Nadal's forehand has been showing up at times. I have the feeling he is dosing it as to not deplete his stores. Only use it when necessary. You can't be dropping a nuke on every village where there is an insurrection, can you?
Big_Dangerous
Talk Tennis Guru
Mike Sams
G.O.A.T.
Not so fast. Raonic has proven to be a very difficult adversary to Federer these last few years. Are you forgetting their H2H?
Mike Sams
G.O.A.T.
Nadal seemed to have little answer for Raonic's first serve in Brisbane once Raonic got his teeth into the match. If Raonic's serve is fully on, Nadal will be in a lot of trouble.
Regardless of who wins though, I think everyone on this forum surely must be very happy to see the new generation of players finally emerging and getting it together mentally. At least on Nadal's side of the draw with Raonic and Dimitrov.
I'm not sure. His return is fine, I think.
nadal's serve returns were never his forte anyway.
2015-2016, serve returns were not the issue.
his serves were major issue.
Actually, because of that, he had been forced to return better last 2 years.
Raonic had something like 23 aces in the brisbane matches.
These were concentrated in the late 2nd set and early 3rd set.
Raonic brought up the heat in 3-4 serving games basically.
Rafa should have a bit more chances in best of 5 set match.
Gary Duane
Talk Tennis Guru
Raonic in 4, bad matchup at this point for Nadal. I hope I am wrong.
Roddick85
Hall of Fame
Let's not kid ourselves here, neither guys are great returners. Raonic will serve big as usual and it will be tough for Nadal to neutralize that, so when he see's an opening he needs to capitalize. Nadal isn't a great server by any means, but his ground game allows him to back it up, so he needs to be careful and focus on defending his serve as he won't get many break opportunities against Milos. It's the first time they meet in a slam, I think the 5 sets format does favor Nadal, especially if Raonic isn't 100%. I will agree that Raonic is probably the favorite going into this match, but I expect a hard fought Nadal victory.
Gary Duane
Talk Tennis Guru
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/stats/return-games-won/all/hard/all/
Check out Nadal, then Fed, then Raonic.
Raonic is not even on the list.
It's all about serving. If Nadal serves well enough to hold most of the time, he will win. Raonic still has a weak return game, though improved. He has to have a good serving day AND break Nadal. That's no given.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
Their H2h is 9-3 for Fed, though Milos has beaten him the last 2 times.
Roddick85
Hall of Fame
I fully agree here. When I say Nadal isn't a great returner, I mean he's not in the same league as say Djokovic/Murray/Agassi. Nadal's strategy on the return is to stand 10-15 feet behind the baseline, neutralize the serve so he gets to play and then take control of the rally. It's a good strategy, but standing so far back from the baseline does expose him against great servers such as Raonic. I have to give Raonic his dues here, he did improve his game in the last year, but will that be sufficient to break Rafa and win 3 sets against him? Not sure. Rafa's consistency isn't what it once was as he does dump his serve from time to time still, this can't happen against Raonic.
Gary Duane
Talk Tennis Guru
I'll agree so long as we both agree we are talking about fast surfaces. Nadal's stats show that he was at least one of two of the greatest returners on clay in tennis history, and I would argue that the habit of standing way back pays off on clay. This is one reason I expect Thiem to be much more dangerous in the clay season, and it didn't hurt Stan on clay either...
YellowFedBetter
Hall of Fame
I think Milos in 4, not sure who I really want to win though, because I really don't want to see Rafa get stomped by Fed, which would happen if they met in the final.
Rhino
Legend
Wow. I knew if I said that at least one of you would actually take it seriously.
icedevil0289
G.O.A.T.
you actually think rafa will get stomped by fed here? are you sure you did not mean the other way around, considering rafa is 3-0 against fed here, and overall fed has, unfortunately, a huge mental block against rafa.
mule250
Professional
Anyone else noticed Raonic's backhand return looks really quite good? Not even for Raonic's standard but in general. Though his rally backhand is still quite hit or miss. Nadal will be aiming for it all match, if Raonic's backhand has a good match I can't see Nadal troubling him too much, but if it doesn't I think Raonic could be in for some suffering.
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