Opelka vs Nadal 2021 Rome masters QF

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Rafa4LifeEver

Rafa4LifeEver

G.O.A.T.
Semifinal #12 at rome for rafa
Contrary to 1st ever masters semi for the big American.

Even more strange is that it has came at a clay masters.

Whom do you get as Favorite, ladies and gentlemen??
 
aman92 said:
How the feck did this big Bozo reach a semifinal on clay?
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By outserving all his opponents. His serve has yet to be threatened is this tournament. Karatsev had 15-40 in one of his service games, the only break points he had, which Opelka fixed to his advantage with three huge aces.
 
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I have never seen Opelka play before, but I know he is another giant servebot. Don't know what to expect from this match.
 
StrongRule said:
I don't write any bad stuff about anyone, and don't insult players or users. I just write my OPINION about a specific match, like all others. Most users don't want to ignore me and we have a good discussion. Specifically you want it, so add me to your ignore list and there is the solution. I also don't like your comments but I don't think this is enough reason to prevent you to stop posting, right?

I reported you for the second time in the last month, hope this time it will help.
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I am not really against you as a Person neither do I want to insult or disrespect you. I just request you to stop posting so much negative stuff, gentleman. And if any words have hurt you, I apologise heartily.

And no, reporting my comments is not a solution because I never once used abusive language or insulting terms for you.
 
Opelka has not lost his serve once in this tournament. And he has faced only six breakpoints so far, two against Karatsev and the rest against Delbonis today. Karatsev did, however, get one mini break against him.

His ace stats so far: 18, 18, 23, 18
 
Intriguing. Opelka hasn't been broken this tournament. Nadal needs to up his ROS in order to get a chance here.
 
Rafa can handle super big servers! I do not think he has lost to any big serve yet! Big servers are guys that only have a massive 1st serve as their primary weapon and rack up massive ace count!
 
Harry_Wild said:
Rafa can handle super big servers! I do not think he has lost to any big serve yet! Big servers are guys that only have a massive 1st serve as their primary weapon and rack up massive ace count!
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Opelka smashes aces even on his 2nd serve. High kick serves, and sometimes slice, with 180-190 km/h.
 
Tio Toni will ask for the front rows to be pushed back so that Rafa can adjust his return position :D:cool:

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nFlMweA.jpg
 
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Rafa4LifeEver said:
@TW Staff I want to make a humble request, would you please not allow @StrongRule to post in this thread. Please spare us Atleast for this week.
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Well, Herr Goebbels, I hope TW Staff does the right thing and ban you for an outrageous attempt at stifling free speech. If @StrongRule posts without breaking rules of the forum regarding personal vitriol like this attack of yours then he is 100% in the right and you’re 100% in the wrong. Why don’t you move to Russia and have Putin show you what it’s like to stifle free speech??? (n) (n)(n)(n)(n)(n)
 
Can't see anything except a Nadal victory. Likely in 2 sets or perhaps 3 if his serve sucks..

While I would have said a big server can put some pressure on Nadal, Rome's surface is TOO SLOW. It's hard to use serve and first strike tennis here.
The players with weak returns, relatively, such as Titspas, Nadal would be favored.
 
Finally a breather for rafa, even if it's close it won't be even 50% as intense as 1st 3 rds have been for rafa so respite for his body. 6-4 6-2
 
So this will be interesting. Can't say Nadal has looked exceptionally sharp, and Reily is playing the best we've seen. Defintely and X factor, dark horse kind of feel. Given it is clay though, I am picking Nadal in 3, but I wouldn't put money on it.
 
dapchai said:
Intriguing. Opelka hasn't been broken this tournament. Nadal needs to up his ROS in order to get a chance here.
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Why bother? Rafa stands so far back Opelka could be serving 200 MPH and Rafa would return it. And the big lumbering beast is too untalented and stupid to come in and volley or do the underarm serve.

Rafa2.jpg
 
BeatlesFan said:
Why bother? Rafa stands so far back Opelka could be serving 200 MPH and Rafa would return it. And the big lumbering beast is too untalented and stupid to come in and volley or do the underarm serve.

Rafa2.jpg
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Opelka actually serves and volleys quite a bit and he’s not a bad mover. There was actually quite a few long rallies in his match with Delbonis that he won. I’m not saying he’s going to beat Nadal but he’s a better mover than most big servers.
 
BeatlesFan said:
Why bother? Rafa stands so far back Opelka could be serving 200 MPH and Rafa would return it. And the big lumbering beast is too untalented and stupid to come in and volley or do the underarm serve.

Rafa2.jpg
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You haven't seen his previous matches? He's been up at the net a lot, with pretty good outcome.

But why on earth did Karatsev try to return his serves from, or sometimes even inside, the baseline. It was a hopeless task and yet Aslan didn't change his tactics. Did he really think he could take those on the rise. :unsure:
 
I’m pretty confident this match won’t be a problem for Rafa, but Reilly should get more support around here. He’s done a great job of playing around his serve - he can hit the big Isner-style +1 forehand and he’s coming in enough to put more pressure on the returners. I like how he’s playing the return games here too - takes big cuts, plays pressure free. That serve of his just absolutely shortens the matches for him. You can of course beat him, but you can afford zero mistakes on your own serve while having to say focused enough to win the 2 or 3 points you need (out of the entire match, probably) to get a break or a mini-break to take a set. It’s gotta be exhausting.
 
BeatlesFan said:
Why bother? Rafa stands so far back Opelka could be serving 200 MPH and Rafa would return it. And the big lumbering beast is too untalented and stupid to come in and volley or do the underarm serve.

Rafa2.jpg
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The big guy has been pretty good at moving around and approaching the net, serving and volleying quite often this tournament. Indeed his opponents were all bad returners (which explains his unusually high number of aces) but that doesn't mean he can't employ serve and volley against Nadal.
 
BeatlesFan said:
Why bother? Rafa stands so far back Opelka could be serving 200 MPH and Rafa would return it. And the big lumbering beast is too untalented and stupid to come in and volley or do the underarm serve.

Rafa2.jpg
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The only problem with this court is that its narrow on the sides. So a wide serve can't be returned even if Nadal covers the area. Thiem had difficulty returning Sonego's serves and Thiem was standing as deep as Rafa in that game. Sonego was smart in realizing the court dimensions.

Edit: I forgot to mention Opelka has no chance of beating Rafa here as Rafa is an old fox who knows how to deal with difficult situations on the fly
 
Lmao, as expected. Dude gets a favorable scheduling and a mug sf opponent on top of that, while Djoko/Sonego have to play QF and SF on the same day. Some heavy bull tbh.
 
Heads Up Paris, Nadal will be stepping foot within your borders 3 weeks early.

He will be returning every serve of Opelka from France today.
 
Biotic said:
Lmao, as expected. Dude gets a favorable scheduling and a mug sf opponent on top of that, while Djoko/Sonego have to play QF and SF on the same day. Some heavy bull tbh.
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Yeah, Sonego is such a beast. Will he win at least 3 games against Djokovic?
 
TennisFan3 said:
Can't see anything except a Nadal victory. Likely in 2 sets or perhaps 3 if his serve sucks..

While I would have said a big server can put some pressure on Nadal, Rome's surface is TOO SLOW. It's hard to use serve and first strike tennis here.
The players with weak returns, relatively, such as Titspas, Nadal would be favored.
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if Nadal has such a weak return how does he break so much?
 
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