On Friday, Rafael Nadal will play his quarter-final match at the BNP Paribas Open in Paris against No. 4 seed Stan Wawrinka, who beat Victor Troicki 6-4, 7-5.
Rafa: “You cannot expect to win easily at a Masters 1000. I need to be 100% against Wawrinka tomorrow.”
Date: November 6, 2015
Time: Not before 8.30 pm local time / 7.30 pm GMT – United Kingdom / 8.30 pm CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / 2.30 pm EST – New York, Montreal / November 7, 6.30 am AEDT – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Watch online: Fromsport and ATDHE
- Rafa has 764 career match wins, which is 9th place on Open Era list, two ahead of Pete Sampras
- Only player this year on ATP World Tour to win at least 25 matches on clay (26-6) and hard courts (27-10)
Rafa has played the 30-year-old 15 times before and leads the series 13-2 (8-1 on hard), but they have split two battles this year. Stan won earlier in the year in the Rome quarterfinals, while our champ was more successful in Shanghai where he earned his 300th career ATP Masters 1000 win over the Swiss in quarter-finals. Both players are trying to earn their first title in Bercy after lifting the trophy at Roland Garros in the past (Rafa nine times, Stan in June). Here are all the matches they have played against each other:
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
Source: ATP World Tour
Djokovic may be #1, but Rafa is loved for his charismatic personality. It is a joy to see him play!
Rafa will win.
Great Thinker here again,
As usual I have taken my time to review all the comments so far, and not unsurprisingly, nobody has been close to the truth or reality so far.
OPTION 1:
The Thinker Family is known everywhere for being unabashedly truthful, no matter whose Ox is gored. Consequently, we advise Rafa to play Stan Wawrinka in such a way as to tactfully not win the match. That is, Rafa should tactfully not win – very important! Just as he tactfully did not win against Tsonga in Beijing semis.
We are saying this because if Rafa wins, he is likely to eventually run into the monster, Djokovic in the final. This is a very dangerous scenario that exposes Rafa’s slim Head to Head advantage with Djokovic (23:22) to further impairment. We all know what will happen should Rafa meets Djokovic, don’t we?
OPTION 2
However, alternatively, if RAfa does win against Stan, then he should tactfully lose against Murray in the Semis. The main objective/focus is still the same: Avoid playing Djokovic (for now) at all cost and by all means!
Rafa’s slim Head to Head advantage (23:22) against Djokovic must be protected until Rafa is able and ready to play and defeat Djokovic. Let us remember that Djokovic is already 22: 22 with Federer. If Djokovic levels with Nadal and eventually manages to surge ahead of Nadal, then Djokovic will be in strong contention for the G.O.A.T title (whether he wins RG or mot).
RAFA, you’re going to trust YOURSELF as always, which is why TRUE RAFA fans love you and will ALWAYS support you. You work hard, it’s paying off and we can see it.
As always; good luck; your match WILL be thoroughly enjoyed. It is yet to be played and I know you are going to bring your VERY best, because that is who you are. This is all anyone can ask of another in this life.
RAFA has won many titles, trophies and millions of dollars but HE HAS WON AN INFINITE amount of HEARTS.
RAFA fan forever.
Well done Rafa. I am sure you will be able to repeat the same performance against Wawarinka only if you are serving well and fire a few Aces in each game. Wish you goodluck.
Good luck for the match. Vamos Rafa <3 <3 <3
Stan The Man will surely want revenge after their encounter 3 weeks ago. He should be well-rested for tomorrow’s match, having finished today’s match at a reasonable hour(his 3rd round match in Shanghai ended well past midnight). I hope Rafa is ready for it and doesn’t expect a ton of unforced errors like he got last time from the Swiss #2. Just putting the ball back in play ain’t gonna cut it. Rafa must LET IT RIP, especially with his forehand. No leaning back. No pulling back. No holding back. Just LET IT RIP. That is how – and only how – he will get his confidence back.
Today was a tough match vs Andereson. After to play three tournaments in a row I hope Rafa is not too tired, I would like to see him playing his best in London.
Vamos!!!!!!!!!
VAMOS DEAR RAFA !!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) Congratulations on your amazing come back & strong, beautiful victory !!!!! : ) VAMOS !!!!!!! : ) Enjoy celebrating your fantastic win & have a nice evening w your great Team!!!! God bless you & have a great day tomorrow & great match!!!!! : ) : ) : ) VAMOS & lots of love & happiness!!!!!! : ) : ) : )
VAMOS RAFA: Buene Suerte during the match with STM tomorrow. Play offensive minded tennis, stay positive, serve well, good strategic play, be calm, confident and healthy. And, have fun and enjoy the match because you deserve to. God bless you . Love, Marylynn.
Keep fighting; stay focussed to win! Growing confidence with each match.
Rafa is from another planet! His matches are like no other matches. So much fun and thrill to watch!! No wonder the stadium is full when he plays!! TODAY was another thriller.
After he won the second set, he started great and then he wasn’t doing so great, but he managed to win the game where he commit 2 double faults. After that is was a relief!!
Rafa is from another planet. Vamooooos Rafa, you can win tomorrow!!!
What a pleasure to watch you like your self again! It was fabulous event! Keep up the confidence and energy. Nobody does it better than you
BRAVO RAFA , YES !!!!! VAMOS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! on ne pourra pas venir demain pour le match mais on te souhaite un bon match et une dur et bonne victoire ……
VAMOS RAFA ……………………………………………………. VAMOS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!