Nadal vs Wawrinka Roland Garros semi-final is likely?

[Yugram]

As the hard court action takes place in New-York, Nadal and Wawrinka remain the only two Slam-winning material players (sorry, Monfils), who preferred to focus completely on clay. This, in theory, should give them benefits against the field in the Fall.

Nadal is Nadal, and him being one of the two finalists at RG is expected by everyone. Wawrinka, on the other hand, even though his latest success on the 2nd week of Slams was... modest, remains highly competitive and capable of taking out not only NextGens in brilliant form (Tsitsipas at RG, Medvedev at AO), but also Djokovic, the guy for whom Stan’s been pain in the arse for years now. The only 2 players who I won’t trust Wawrinka to beat are Nadal himself and Federer, his master (and Raonic, rofl). The latter is out and the former can end up on the other side of the draw.

If so, do you think we’re in for a possible rematch of 2017 final?

 

[125downthemiddle]

If you're a fan of Rafa you would hope so as it would be another drubbing.

 

[Yugram]

If you're a fan of Rafa you would hope so as it would be another drubbing.

Dunno what you’re talking about, I just like Stan..

 

[125downthemiddle]

Dunno what you’re talking about, I just like Stan..

 

[ND-13]

Stan would be a good opponent and a decent final , even if he loses.

I don’t like the Andy Murray type of finalist that made several AO grand slam finals a joke to watch

 

[ForehandCross]

If you're a fan of Rafa you would hope so as it would be another drubbing.

Nobody was beating Nadal in 2017, but I guess fatigue and injury is somehow valid only for Big 4.

The match with Murray destroyed Stan , how many matches he has even played afterwards. I have no doubt Nadal was going to win the final regardless, but healthy/fresh Stan would have kept the score close.

He played five + hours against Murray, and somehow we expect him to be 100% ?

Oh Novak was tired in Rome!!
Oh if Nadal had one more day off he woud have won AO 2017!!
Federer is old/injured/mono/arrogant


But Stan is fit as a bunny and always in his stanimal mode when simple eye/stat test will you how bad he is playing.

 

[Red Rick]

Wawa just isn't a top 10 clay player right now lol

 

[ForehandCross]

Nobody was beating Nadal in 2017, but I guess fatigue and injury is somehow valid only for Big 4.

The match with Murray destroyed Stan , how many matches he has even played afterwards. I have doubt Nadal was going to win the final regardless, but healthy/fresh Stan would have kept the score close.

He played five + hours against Murray, and somehow we expect him to be 100% ?

Oh Novak was tired in Rome!!
Oh if Nadal had one more day off he woud have won AO 2017!!
Federer is old/injured/mono/arrogant


But Stan is fit as a bunny and always in his stanimal mode when simple eye/stat test will you how bad he is playing.

Oh let's also conveniently forget that Stan was a walking zombie in RG 2013 agaiNST Rafael, he played probably the 2nd best match of RG in Round before against Gasquet. That too was a 5 set highly physical marathon.

 

[Yugram]

Nobody was beating Nadal in 2017, but I guess fatigue and injury is somehow valid only for Big 4.

The match with Murray destroyed Stan , how many matches he has even played afterwards. I have doubt Nadal was going to win the final regardless, but healthy/fresh Stan would have kept the score close.

He played five + hours against Murray, and somehow we expect him to be 100% ?

Oh Novak was tired in Rome!!
Oh if Nadal had one more day off he woud have won AO 2017!!
Federer is old/injured/mono/arrogant


But Stan is fit as a bunny and always in his stanimal mode when simple eye/stat test will you how bad he is playing.

Good take. Never made a parallel on how we treat Big3’s problems and how others.

 

[Yugram]

Wawa just isn't a top 10 clay player right now lol

I’ve heard this line somewhere.

Irony about Federer’s last year clay success?

 

[ForehandCross]

Wawa just isn't a top 10 clay player right now lol

But he is vulturing in full swing on the challenger tour.He looks decent and garbage at the same time. Expect him to make Rd 3-4.

 

[Yugram]

Oh let's also conveniently forget that Stan was a walking zombie in RG 2013 agaiNST Rafael, he played probably the 2nd best match of RG in Round before against Gasquet. That too was a 5 set highly physical marathon.

Well, Wawrinka wasn’t even 30 in 2013, so idk if fatigue was relevant there. Somehow 4 and a half hours of heavy baselining against Djokovic didn’t make Nadal a walking zombie for the final in this same tournament.

 

[junior74]

Stan is scraping through against weak opponents in a Challenger as we speak.

No more RG finals for him

 

[Yugram]

Stan is scraping through total unknowns in three set wins in a Challenger as we speak.

No more RG finals for him

Classic Rinka, no? Was terrible against Seppi at this year’s AO just before dispatching prime Medvedev.

 

[ND-13]

I am definitely with the OP that Stan will make a deep run. Hopefully he does not get drawn as a R4 opponent for Rafa or Djoker

 

[125downthemiddle]

Nobody was beating Nadal in 2017, but I guess fatigue and injury is somehow valid only for Big 4.

The match with Murray destroyed Stan , how many matches he has even played afterwards. I have no doubt Nadal was going to win the final regardless, but healthy/fresh Stan would have kept the score close.

He played five + hours against Murray, and somehow we expect him to be 100% ?

Oh Novak was tired in Rome!!
Oh if Nadal had one more day off he woud have won AO 2017!!
Federer is old/injured/mono/arrogant


But Stan is fit as a bunny and always in his stanimal mode when simple eye/stat test will you how bad he is playing.

Lol

Would be a massacre.

 

[Djokodalerer31]

RG final you will get instead is Djokovic vs. Coric with Djokovic tripple baggeling croat! LOL

 

[ND-13]

Let us hope we can get Rafa, Djoker, Stan and Tsitsipas in the semis

Thiem will ultimately lose . Medvedev probably makes it deep at USO but fails at RG

 

[ForehandCross]

Lol

Would be a massacre.

Tell me how much are you hurt that your boy could not beat him when the entire world thought it was a done deal.

Wasn't he playing the best clay court tennis ever or something as he beat a weak Nadal ?

Yet he lost to " lucky fluke" in Wawrinka.

 

[125downthemiddle]

Tell me how much are you hurt that your boy could not beat him when the entire world thought it was a done deal.

Wasn't he playing the best clay court tennis ever or something as he beat a weak Nadal ?

Yet he lost to " lucky fluke" in Wawrinka.

What lol. What are you talking about? Calm down.

 

[Yugram]

Tell me how much are you hurt that your boy could not beat him when the entire world thought it was a done deal.

Wasn't he playing the best clay court tennis ever or something as he beat a weak Nadal ?

Yet he lost to " lucky fluke" in Wawrinka.

Spoiler

 

[Im(moral) Winner]

Well, Wawrinka wasn’t even 30 in 2013, so idk if fatigue was relevant there. Somehow 4 and a half hours of heavy baselining against Djokovic didn’t make Nadal a walking zombie for the final in this same tournament.

Ferrer

 

[Yugram]

Ferrer

What about him? He pushed a very good Nadal that same year in Madrid and Rome. Can’t see Nadal breezing through him in 3 if he was "a walking zombie".

 

[ForehandCross]

What lol. What are you talking about? Calm down.

I am calm. I am just dead tired of everyone underestimating and ridiculing Wawrinka.

 

[junior74]

Classic Rinka, no? Was terrible against Seppi at this year’s AO just before dispatching prime Medvedev.

Not sure if struggling against Safulin, Otto and Nagal is the same as struggling against a pretty steady top 50 player for the past 15 years. Seppi is a very solid player, indeed, and you know it. Stan is a shadow of himself.

 

[ForehandCross]

Spoiler

He is no fluke either.

Sometimes I just dont get Thiem . He bottles it all whenever he looks like on the right track.

He played more than anyone in whole of the lay off period, yet he was the one showing signs of rust ,more than any top player. Rust or not wining just 3 games in rd2 in a tournament which you are one of the favourites, is inexcusable.


I hope Thiem does well in USO. But it seems his head is still not in the right place.

 

[StrongRule]

I doubt Nadal will even play. If he wanted to play tennis he wouldn't pull out of USO.

 

[StrongRule]

Nobody was beating Nadal in 2017, but I guess fatigue and injury is somehow valid only for Big 4.

The match with Murray destroyed Stan , how many matches he has even played afterwards. I have no doubt Nadal was going to win the final regardless, but healthy/fresh Stan would have kept the score close.

He played five + hours against Murray, and somehow we expect him to be 100% ?

Oh Novak was tired in Rome!!
Oh if Nadal had one more day off he woud have won AO 2017!!
Federer is old/injured/mono/arrogant


But Stan is fit as a bunny and always in his stanimal mode when simple eye/stat test will you how bad he is playing.

He lost with exactly the same scoreline 6-2 6-3 6-1 in their RG 2013 meeting. Most of their clay meetings outside of RG were also not very close. Wawrinka was never going to keep the score close against this version of Nadal, forget about it. What do you think he could possibly do against Nadal who was not missing anything starting from the middle of the first set?

 

[Deleted member 770948]

I doubt Nadal will even play. If he wanted to play tennis he wouldn't pull out of USO.

The USO and RG are scheduled very closely together, so even if there was no virus, Nadal may still have skipped the USO.
Remember how many times Nadal has been injured, so playing 2 slams this close together is especially dangerous for him.

 

[Im(moral) Winner]

What about him? He pushed a very good Nadal that same year in Madrid and Rome. Can’t see Nadal breezing through him in 3 if he was "a walking zombie".

Of course he would

 

[guitarra]

I don't think it's very likely. I love Stan but think his slam winning days are already behind him. The fact that he won a challenger in Prague is not a good indication - the filed there was really weak and he struggled in every round. My money is on either Nadal - Thiem or Nadal - Djokovic final.

 

[FatHead250]

Tsitsipas will win a bunch of French opens. He is a great athlete and has the best heavy topspin game on the tour at the moment.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Wawa just isn't a top 10 clay player right now lol

Never mind he’s 35 years old. Hell, Stan lost last year to Federer at RG!

 

[Yugram]

Never mind he’s 35 years old. Hell, Stan lost last year to Federer at RG!

Not buying this. Who are these mysterious top10 players who are, apparently, not only better than Wawrinka, but also Tsitsipas – the finalist of Madrid and semi-finalist of Rome.

 

[chjtennis]

This would be too easy for Rafa. The only two player I think would trouble him at RG would be Djokovic and Thiem.

 

[Jonesy]

No, it will be Thiem or Djokovic if Thiem ends up in Nadal draw.

 

[Britanian]

What do you think about Garin ?
Mystery for me ... He has some good results with clay and can perfect his game ... but I don't know if it's enough for a big performance

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

As the hard court action takes place in New-York, Nadal and Wawrinka remain the only two Slam-winning material players (sorry, Monfils), who preferred to focus completely on clay. This, in theory, should give them benefits against the field in the Fall.

Nadal is Nadal, and him being one of the two finalists at RG is expected by everyone. Wawrinka, on the other hand, even though his latest success on the 2nd week of Slams was... modest, remains highly competitive and capable of taking out not only NextGens in brilliant form (Tsitsipas at RG, Medvedev at AO), but also Djokovic, the guy for whom Stan’s been pain in the arse for years now. The only 2 players who I won’t trust Wawrinka to beat are Nadal himself and Federer, his master (and Raonic, rofl). The latter is out and the former can end up on the other side of the draw.

If so, do you think we’re in for a possible rematch of 2017 final?

You mean the repeat of the same one sided story?
Naah, gimme a thiem vs Wawrinka for a change

 

[BeatlesFan]

Not buying this. Who are these mysterious top10 players who are, apparently, not only better than Wawrinka, but also Tsitsipas – the finalist of Madrid and semi-finalist of Rome.

If you think Stan is going to be an RG finalist, explain how he could have lost last year to nearly 38 year old Federer? The player who can beat Rafa at RG is Djokovic, not Wawrinka.

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Well, Wawrinka wasn’t even 30 in 2013, so idk if fatigue was relevant there. Somehow 4 and a half hours of heavy baselining against Djokovic didn’t make Nadal a walking zombie for the final in this same tournament.

There's a fundamental difference when you're Playing maiden slam finalist, your countryman, short-no weapons David Ferrer after a marathon, v/s when you're playing the clay God at his slaughter house after a marathon.

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Classic Rinka, no? Was terrible against Seppi at this year’s AO just before dispatching prime Medvedev.

That match with Medvedev was anything but dispatching.

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Let us hope we can get Rafa, Djoker, Stan and Tsitsipas in the semis

Thiem will ultimately lose . Medvedev probably makes it deep at USO but fails at RG

Medvedev severely lacks the ballstriking power required to be competent on clay (so did roger post 2013, but he had his versatility)

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Tell me how much are you hurt that your boy could not beat him when the entire world thought it was a done deal.

Wasn't he playing the best clay court tennis ever or something as he beat a weak Nadal ?

Yet he lost to " lucky fluke" in Wawrinka.

What lol. What are you talking about? Calm down.

Don't calm down. Both of you.
I want some heat and fight on TTW.
PLEASEEEEEEEEEE..

 

[DSH]

If Joker wants to win it all ("Cincinatti" and the Open) he will be exhausted when he reaches the last stages of RG.
That is sure.

The remaining question who will be runner-up at the French Open this year?

 

[The Guru]

Wawa just isn't a top 10 clay player right now lol

On what planet? There's no way you can name 10 better.

 

[Red Rick]

On what planet? There's no way you can name 10 better.

Djoko
Nadal
Fred
Zverev, there I said it
Thiem
Fognini
Garin
Nishikori
Tsitsipas
Goffin
Guru

something like that.

 

[Jonesy]

If Joker wants to win it all ("Cincinatti and the Open) he will be exhausted when he reaches the last stages of RG.
That is sure.

The remaining question who will be runner-up at the French Open this year?

The truth. Only a global disaster can stop Nadal from winning the 20.

 

[Deleted member 770948]

This would be too easy for Rafa. The only two player I think would trouble him at RG would be Djokovic and Thiem.

Djokovic has only taken ONE set in their last 3 clay meetings:
2017 Madrid = Nadal in straight sets
2018 Rome = Nadal in straight sets
2019 Rome = Nadal 60 46 61
That was the first bagel ever recorded in a tennis match between Nadal and Djokovic, and its the most lopsided match they've ever played with a deciding set.
Djokovic is now a loser with no chance on clay vs. Nadal.
Thiem could take a set, and did at last year's RG Final = 63 57 61 61

 

[Mainad]

Stan would be a good opponent and a decent final , even if he loses.

I don’t like the Andy Murray type of finalist that made several AO grand slam finals a joke to watch

You mean like the last time Stan met Rafa in an RG final and managed to snag just 6 games?

Some of us may prefer the Murray type of finalist. He has never lost a Slam final by a margin as great as that.

 

[125downthemiddle]

Djokovic has only taken ONE set in their last 3 clay meetings:
2017 Madrid = Nadal in straight sets
2018 Rome = Nadal in straight sets
2019 Rome = Nadal 60 46 61
That was the first bagel ever recorded in a tennis match between Nadal and Djokovic, and its the most lopsided match they've ever played with a deciding set.
Djokovic is now a loser with no chance on clay vs. Nadal.
Thiem could take a set, and did at last year's RG Final = 63 57 61 61

Could you prove this in a court of law?