Beijing 2017 final: Rafael Nadal vs Nick Kyrgios

Rafa or Nick

  • Total voters
    87
mike danny

mike danny

Bionic Poster
The H2H is 2-2 between them, with Nadal winning all their clay matches and Nick winning their grass and HC matches.

First final between the duo.

Nick won their last HC match easily, but Nadal is in better form now.

Who wins? The humble one or the thug?
 
As a Rafa fan I must say that the Kyrgios that showed up today can own ANY player-including Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, and he actually beat them all in the past. If he plays like this then he will win in straights. That being said, Nadal looks clearly better than in Cincinnati so I expect him to fight. He really needs to serve well and be clutch on the big points. Because Kyrgios doesn't give many chances to break.
 
Have to remind that Rafa needed a final set to beat Nick even on clay in 2016. Nick wasn't healthy this year, so that clay match really needs to be thrown out the window.

If Nick plays to 75% of his potential, it is his match to lose.
 
NK in 3. We all know how he loves match-up against the top guys, so he'll definitely try to elevate his game against Rafa tomorrow.
 
tennisaddict said:
Have to remind that Rafa needed a final set to beat Nick even on clay in 2016. Nick wasn't healthy this year, so that clay match really needs to be thrown out the window.

If Nick plays to 75% of his potential, it is his match to lose.
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I love how you're more involved with Nadal than Federer. You wish you were a Federer fan but you're more of a Nadal hater really. And you keep exposing yourself with each and every post without even realizing how stupid you look. Keep it up ;)
 
vanioMan said:
I love how you're more involved with Nadal than Federer. You wish you were a Federer fan but you're more of a Nadal hater really. And you keep exposing yourself with each and every post without even realizing how stupid you look. Keep it up ;)
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Who did you root for today? Nadal or Dimitrov, your countryman? ;)
 
tennisaddict said:
Nick leads the poll 9-3 . VB will be left to reminisce the FO and USO victory starting tomorrow.
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You know, Nadal won USO which is a slam. Kyrgios lost there in the first round. Even if Kyrgios will win 6-0 6-0 tomorrow, I guess all people in the world but you would still prefer to have Nadal's achievements, not Kyrgios's.
 
mike danny said:
Who did you root for today? Nadal or Dimitrov, your countryman? ;)
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I love Dimi, but I've been a fan of Rafa for way too long to look past him. I was staying up until 3-4 AM or getting at 5-6 AM to watch his matches before Dimi turned pro. Overall, I'm always leaning slightly towards Rafa in these matches, but I'm also very happy when Grigor wins.
 
Special K was more than a youtube servebot today.

Kind of reminded me of the Joey Barton comment about Neymar. lol Nick Kyrgios isn't hitting Neymar heights or anything. Not yet anyway. Still very good today.
 
vanioMan said:
I love Dimi, but I've been a fan of Rafa for way too long to look past him. I was staying up until 3-4 AM or getting at 5-6 AM to watch his matches before Dimi turned pro. Overall, I'm always leaning slightly towards Rafa in these matches, but I'm also very happy when Grigor wins.
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Were you in the stands in Sofia when Grigor won there? ;)
 
Antonio Puente said:
Somewhat glad it's Nick. His tier 1 rivals Fed and Djoker have, but in general players rarely get Nadal twice in a row. Nadal adjusts and usually exacts revenge - Pouille and Isner this tournament, Thiem earlier.
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Fognini too got Rafa twice in a row at one point. Brown too.
 
User123 said:
You know, Nadal won USO which is a slam. Kyrgios lost there in the first round. Even if Kyrgios will win 6-0 6-0 tomorrow, I guess all people in the world but you would still prefer to have Nadal's achievements, not Kyrgios's.
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Of course everybody would pick Nadal's achievements over Kyrgios' but Kyrgios has to start somewhere. How many players on the current tour can beat the Big Three players? Not many and Kyrgios is one of them. It's time for him to beat a big Three player and win the title. I hope he does it tomorrow even though I like Nadal. With Kyrgios, you never know what version is going to show up. If he's motivated, the match should be on his racket.

Kyrgios' problem has been his work ethic and motivation but you never know what could get a player motivated and moving in the right direction.
 
Nick in straights, 6-4, 7-6. I would be very surprised if Rafa beats him. Nick is playing as well as he was in Miami and it took an in-form and confident Fed to beat him. This court is faster than Miami, advantage goes to the bad boy here.
 
cc0509 said:
Of course everybody would pick Nadal's achievements over Kyrgios' but Kyrgios has to start somewhere. How many players on the current tour can beat the Big Three players? Not many and Kyrgios is one of them. It's time for him to beat a big Three player and win the title. I hope he does it tomorrow even though I like Nadal. With Kyrgios, you never know what version is going to show up. If he's motivated, the match should be on his racket.

Kyrgios' problem has been his work ethic and motivation but you never know what could get a player motivated and moving in the right direction.
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Kyrgios can beat them only thanks to his unreturnable serve. Without serve he would hardly be a top-100 player.
 
3 set matches are always close. It is not always that the better player wins. I'd think that Nadal would definitely be favored in the longer 5 set match slam format and Nick would be favored on this version and a fastcourt with his big game.

If Nick comes firing on his serve, and Nadal has a slow start, this one could be over quickly. Still I don't expect this match to be as easy as the one in Cincy.

Nick is one hell of tough customer. It is hard to imagine beating him without a big serve. Only Federer has been able to beat the Australian and that too because the Swiss can match Nick in serving big.

All that said, this is a final. And the world #1 is settling scores this year on his "revenge tour".

Nadal in 2 tight sets.
 
User123 said:
You know, Nadal won USO which is a slam. Kyrgios lost there in the first round.
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Who cares!? This logic is just absurd. Guess what? Murray and Djoker won 3 slams in 2016 and ended up #1 and #2 in the world. What have they done this year? A whole lotta nothin'. So Nick lost in the first round of the USO, it's not August anymore. :rolleyes:
 
BeatlesFan said:
Who cares!? This logic is just absurd. Guess what? Murray and Djoker won 3 slams in 2016 and ended up #1 and #2 in the world. What have they done this year? A whole lotta nothin'. So Nick lost in the first round of the USO, it's not August anymore. :rolleyes:
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I know, right. Lose in the first round of a slam, but at least he can win a 500 tournament. :rolleyes:
 
Apun94 said:
Lol Fed fans are so salty Rafa is going to end as year end No.1
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Last time I checked, Fed wasn't playing this event. Predicting a Nick victory over Nadal tomorrow isn't "salty" (this word is seriously overused here), it's the wise pick. If this was clay or a best 3/5 set format, the only pick would be Nadal. But those aren't the parameters in this tournament.
 
I think Nadal will be highly motivated - more so than in a 500 final in February. If he wins tomorrow, he can pretty much wrap up the YE#1.
 
cc0509 said:
The USO is over and Nadal didn't have to face a top 25 player! Every day is a new beginning in tennis. It's always a big deal if a younger talent can beat a big Three player in a final.
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Just put this 14 year old on ignore, as I just did.
 
BeatlesFan said:
Last time I checked, Fed wasn't playing this event. Predicting a Nick victory over Nadal tomorrow isn't "salty" (this word is seriously overused here), it's the wise pick. If this was clay or a best 3/5 set format, the only pick would be Nadal. But those aren't the parameters in this tournament.
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Would you vote Kyrgios against Federer too?
 
mike danny said:
The H2H is 2-2 between them, with Nadal winning all their clay matches and Nick winning their grass and HC matches.

First final between the duo.

Nick won their last HC match easily, but Nadal is in better form now.

Who wins? The humble one or the thug?
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Bit of an exaggeration? Nick's not that humble you know. ;)
 
Nadal keys to victory

1. 1st Serve around 65%+ with variety
2. FH Down the Line in the cross court exchanges
3. Slice the backhand to the Kyrgios FH or BH as Kyrgios doesn't like low balls
4. Force Kyrgios to hit passing shots as its a weak part of his game
 
cc0509 said:
Of course everybody would pick Nadal's achievements over Kyrgios' but Kyrgios has to start somewhere. How many players on the current tour can beat the Big Three players? Not many and Kyrgios is one of them. It's time for him to beat a big Three player and win the title. I hope he does it tomorrow even though I like Nadal. With Kyrgios, you never know what version is going to show up. If he's motivated, the match should be on his racket.

Kyrgios' problem has been his work ethic and motivation but you never know what could get a player motivated and moving in the right direction.
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This is true. But for Kyrgios to pick up the mantle from Fedal and Djoko, he HAS to be more consistent.

Yes, at his peak level he beats everyone. But his average level and work ethic suck hard. The greatness of a player is not measured by how well they do when they play their best. It comes form how much can they win day in and day out when the motivation runs low and the grind of the tour sets in.

That is why I can never see Nick as a multi slam winner.
But I am absolutely sure that Zverev will be. Even though Nick's peak level is higher.

Talent counts for only so much. Even Federer, the most talented player ever, is also one of the hardest workers in tour.
 
Saw Nick in two matches. It will boil down to Nicks Serve. As long Nick maintains his serve, it will be practically impossible for Rafa to win. If it becomes a rallying match, Nadal can find a way to keep it close and actually win. The problem is, I don't see Nick having a bad serving day.
 
Nick has the swagger but Rafa has the experience. In a final, I would tend to go with experience. Also, K has been having an off year while N has just won USO.
All that said, I'm curious to find out how K will approach the final mentally. We know exactly what to expect from Rafa. The ball is in Nick 's camp and the world is watching.
 
Last edited:
Apun94 said:
Lol at yall who voted for Nick in 2.
Nadal is playing seriously well right now, as well as he did at the USO. Please dont be fooled by what happened at Cincy. This is a totally different Rafa.
Lol Fed fans are so salty Rafa is going to end as year end No.1
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Nadal didn't have to face a player ranked higher than 25 at the USO. Yes, Nadal is playing very well but this is a faster hc and Kyrgios seems to have Nadal's number off clay especially in this best of three format. If Nick plays well and is motivated, the match should be on his racket and I say that as a Fedal fan.
 
JohnnyMac Fan! said:
Saw Nick in two matches. It will boil down to Nicks Serve. As long Nick maintains his serve, it will be practically impossible for Rafa to win. If it becomes a rallying match, Nadal can find a way to keep it close and actually win. The problem is, I don't see Nick having a bad serving day.
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I do! Nerves ;) (not a given but possible)
 
TennisFan3 said:
3 set matches are always close. It is not always that the better player wins. I'd think that Nadal would definitely be favored in the longer 5 set match slam format and Nick would be favored on this version and a fastcourt with his big game.

If Nick comes firing on his serve, and Nadal has a slow start, this one could be over quickly. Still I don't expect this match to be as easy as the one in Cincy.

Nick is one hell of tough customer. It is hard to imagine beating him without a big serve. Only Federer has been able to beat the Australian and that too because the Swiss can match Nick in serving big.

All that said, this is a final. And the world #1 is settling scores this year on his "revenge tour".

Nadal in 2 tight sets.
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Fed doesn't serve big, Fed is just accurate. Quite a difference. But Fed serve big enough to be a consistent weapon
 
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