Unfortunately Rafael Nadal suffered a 5-7, 4-6 loss against defending champion Andy Murray in the semi-final of the Mutua Madrid Open today.
It is just the second time that the Brit has beaten our champ on clay, the last occasion being the final of the same competition last year.
After the match, Rafa said:
I had another positive week. I made it to the semi-finals. I think I’m very consistent every week.
Today mentally I think I was okay. I fought a lot until the end. I tried to look for solutions, and I think I did that; it wasn’t enough.
See you in Rome, Rafa! VAMOS!
Rafa Nadal durante su partido ante el británico Andy Murray de semifinales del torneo de tenis de Madrid, que se disputa en la Caja Mágica. EFE/J.J. Guillen
Rafa Nadal durante su partido ante el británico Andy Murray de semifinales del torneo de tenis de Madrid, que se disputa en la Caja Mágica. EFE/J.J. Guillen
Rafa Nadal durante su partido ante el británico Andy Murray de semifinales del torneo de tenis de Madrid, que se disputa en la Caja Mágica. EFE/J.J. Guillen
El tenista español Rafa Nadal devuelve la bola ante el británico Andy Murray, durante el partido de semifinales del torneo de tenis de Madrid que se disputa en la Caja Mágica. EFE/JuanJo Martin
MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 07: Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Andy Murray of Great Britain in the semi finals during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 07, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Tennis – Madrid Open – Andy Murray of Britain v Rafael Nadal of Spain – Madrid, Spain – 7/5/16 Nadal returns the ball. REUTERS/Andrea Comas
Rafael Nadal, from Spain, serves to Andy Murray, from Britain, during the semifinal Madrid Open tennis tournament match in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, May 7, 2016. Murray won 7-5, 6-4 and will play the final on Sunday 8. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 07: Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a point against Andy Murray of Great Britain in the semi finals during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 07, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 07: Rafael Nadal of Spain shows his dejection against Andy Murray of Great Britain in their semi final match during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 07, 2016 in Madrid,Spain. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 07: Rafael Nadal of Spain in reacts against Andy Murray of Great Britain in the semi finals during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 07, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 07: Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Andy Murray of Great Britain in the semi finals during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 07, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Rafa Nadal durante su partido ante el británico Andy Murray de semifinales del torneo de tenis de Madrid, que se disputa en la Caja Mágica. EFE/J.J. Guillen
El tenista español Rafa Nadal (d) durante el partido de semifinales contra el británico Andy Murray del torneo de tenis de Madrid que se disputa en la Caja Mágica. EFE/Juanjo Martín
Rafael Nadal, right, from Spain, argues with umpire Carlos Bernardes, from Brazil, about a ball played during the semifinal match against Andy Murray, from Britain, at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, May 7, 2016. Murray won 7-5, 6-4 and will play the final on Sunday 8. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
afael Nadal of Spain celebrates a point against Andy Murray of Great Britain in their semi final match during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 07, 2016 in Madrid,Spain. (May 6, 2016 – Source: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Europe)
MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 07: Rafael Nadal of Spain shows his dejection against Andy Murray of Great Britain in their semi final match during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 07, 2016 in Madrid,Spain. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 07: Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts against Andy Murray of Great Britain in their semi final match during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 07, 2016 in Madrid,Spain. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
El tenista español Rafa Nadal durante el partido de semifinales contra el británico Andy Murray del torneo de tenis de Madrid que se disputa en la Caja Mágica. EFE/Chema Moya
MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 07: Andy Murray of Great Britain shakes hands at the net after his straight sets victory against Rafael Nadal of Spain in their semi final match during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 07, 2016 in Madrid,Spain. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
El tenista español Rafa Nadal (i) felicita a Andy Murray al término del partido de semifinales que el británico ha ganado por 7-5, 6-4 del torneo de tenis de Madrid que se disputa en la Caja Mágica. EFE/Chema Moya
El tenista español Rafa Nadal se retira de la pista tras perder por 7-5, 6-4 contra el británico Andy Murray en el partido de semifinales del torneo de tenis de Madrid que se disputa en la Caja Mágica. EFE/Chema Moya
El tenista español Rafa Nadal se retira de la pista tras perder por 7-5, 6-4 contra el británico Andy Murray en el partido de semifinales del torneo de tenis de Madrid que se disputa en la Caja Mágica. EFE/Chema Moya
MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 07: Rafael Nadal of Spain waves to the crowd after his loss to Andy Murray of Great Britain in the semi finals during day eight of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 07, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
El tenista español Rafa Nadal se retira de la pista tras perder por 7-5, 6-4 contra el británico Andy Murray en el partido de semifinales del torneo de tenis de Madrid que se disputa en la Caja Mágica. EFE/Chema Moya
Rafa is not likely to win Rome also especially with Nick Kyrgios in his quarter.
Nick also has an effective counter-punching style against Rafa, just like the Djoker.
The Djoker will win Madrid, Rome and the FO.
The Prophet has spoken.
god bless u the great sir
Indeed, The Loony Prophet has spoken O_O
English lady still for you Rafa best wishes from an80 year old but still thinks young English fan. Biz
I hope Andy wins.
Andy will NOT win Madrid.
The Djoker will win and then he’d also win Rome and the FO. He appears to be back STRONGER and BETTER.
Rafa needs to urgently either replace Uncle Toni or add to his Coaching crew.if he truly wants to have a scintilla of a chance against the Djoker.
Is this J.Beer/Deep Thinker’s new username?
You are becoming very boring with your obsession with Uncle Toni
You are not a Rafa fan. Go and gloat on Novak’s fan page. You are scared because you know the king is back
Vamos Rafa!!
Like is said earlier this week.. Rafa had to get past Murray before even getting to the joker. I believed it was tough, not because Rafa was playing bad, I believe Rafa has got his clay game back to around 70% of the 2013 level.. but over all he is not going to win in faster conditions just yet (oudated defensive tactics). Madrid is not a typical clay event. The altitude makes the ball fly faster. I did not watch this match so not sure if the roof was closed? If it was closed then this was more like a fast bouncy hard court.. right down andy and the jokers comfort zone.. Same as what happened against sausa. Regarding all players starting aggressive… thats obvious.. even Sam query did it.. its not rocket science. Once the opponent goes aggressive Rafa retreats to 10 feet behind baseline in an ultra defensive posture.. worked all these years.. but not working anymore against the top players in faster conditions because Rafa has lost a step or 2 and the top players know that it will work if they are consistantly aggressive… Lesser players can do this for a set at most against Rafa.. having said all this.. If Rafa is not rattled by this loss he is still a force in RG.. hope he does well in Rome. Vamos!!
Roof was open
And the 10 feet behind the baseline also makes it easy to feed him drop-shots to which he cannot get in time. The players are picking it up, happened yesterday, happened today ……
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm……..How so true?
Comforting words on here and I know alot of them make sense but I feel really upset. I can’t make an analysis because I’ve never played tennis so rely on others. Of course Madrid has never been his strongest tournament. I just pray that it’s not Rafa’s head that’s defeating him.
Hmmmmmmmmmm…………….
Rafafans, please don’t be upset, everything is fine..it just was bad luck today…too many mistakes unfortunately and break points win problems 🙁 But I think Rafa and his team will work on these problems and Rafa will be stronger in Rome and RG!! And I hope Rafa is not upset, i hope he believes in himself as usual, because he is the best!!!!! Vamos, Rafa!!!! Vamos, Rafafans!!!! Together we can win and win and win!!!! 🙂
Take rest and good luck for Rome. Vamos Rafa!!!
I’m gutted Rafa lost today I thought he might win but Andy has been playing well. I hope he beats Novak tomorrow. Andy language is not good but he is one of the good guys and a friend of Rafa’s since they were kids Rafa know this he is not stupid. Andy can be trusted unlike Novak who is as false as they come
Bummer, just saw the scores NOT the match. I read where he fought hard, sad…… but Andy is a formidable opponent and he has improved. Good for him, many times he played well and ended up being the bridesmaid.
I also read where RAFA needed to be more aggressive, its NOT his mindset or his game. It is just his nature, I guess he’ll decide what’s best for him.
RAFA not today, tomorrow is another opportunity to analyze your game and your opponents.
Rest up for ROMA.
RAFA fan forever.
Animo Rafa! Just a Speed Bump! Also please don’t invite Andy to train with you in Manacor! First, he compliments you, practically eats off the good hand you gave him! Don’t be trustful because they always bite the good gesture you have given to them! Same old story! You are so generous and they bite you back! Never again! They come bearing gifts but they take it back by beating you! Protect and beware of these people bearing gifts and they’re not your kind or blood! Instead they befriend you and then stabs your back!
Be careful be very careful who is your friend Murray is not no matters what compliments he gives you!
Never say YES!
TAKE VERY GOOD CARE! FORWARD! ARRIBA Y VAMOSSSSSSSS FOR LA OTRA!
OF COURSE RAFA WILL STAY STRONG HOW COULD ANYONE PLAY ANDY WITH COMFORT….HE IS ALWAYS ALL OVER THE PLACE NEVER ANY CONTINUITY
I FIND HIM ALMOST UNWATCHAABLE HIS BAD LANGUAGE AND MANNER IS JUST
NOT TENNIS
I HOPE THE FINAL WINNER WILL CLEAN,HIM OF THE COURT
ALSO RAFA IS A LITTLE TIRED THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!!!!!!
It wasn’t to be today Rafa I am surprised that your u lost as I really beleive do you would win this today
Don’t let this upset you looke to why you lost and work on that for Rome and for RG your fans still beleive you can do this and you must beleive too and learn from today
Keep on fighting was so nice to see the old Rafa play with so much confidence so don’t let this slip away just beleive “a bad at the office ” and move on to Rome with positive attitude and confidence
Well Madrid has never been good to Rafa compared to other clay courts.
It’s normal.
On key BPs Rafa didn’t convert! He made a lot of unforced errors today! His drop shots failed! I think he was a little bit unlucky today! Murray plays much better than in Monte Carlo. I hope he wins the trophy! He is also a good clay court player! Rafa, good luck in Rome and not only work harder, but look for solutions on your weak points! You can do it! Stay positive and believe in your potentials! because you are still the best! 9 RG!!!!!!!!!
I love your exclamation marks!!!! Hehehe
RAFA will be back, don’t worry. Today was a bad day for Rafa that’s all. In the second set Nadal played better than Murray. Unfortunately Rafa gave it away today, he had so many chances.
To look at it from the bright side, he can focus on a real clay-court event next week instead of winning this clay-hard court hybrid tournament.
Vamos Rafa, you can do it. A bit more consistency in the matches and the rest of this year could turn out to be very good for us fans.
Things happen for a reason, but sadly Rafa did not convert on key BPs. Andy played better than in MC and Madrid plays more like a hard court especially in conditions like today. Rafa will regroup and prepare for Rome. I am not upset about his loss today, but he probably has lost the chance to move up to #4 before RG. It was probably a slim hope in view of Rafa’s draw in Rome.
Keep fighting. No one will escape bitter defeat-it wills you on to the next victory.
Move on💪💪💪👊👊👊🏆🏆🏆👑❤️
Fellow Rafa fans — This was a tough one to watch. Andy came in with a game plan that was more concrete than our champion’s. And he executed. Rafa had 13-break point chances, and he converted a number of them. Unfortunately, he was broken a lot too; the service games that will haunt him are the ones at 5-6 and 4-5 in both sets when he was broken to love and 15, respectively.
Looking ahead: In order to win against Murray and Djokovic, Nadal is going to have to go back to the video room to formulate a strategy to beat these guys consistently. They each have patterns, go to shots, like Nadal has too, and it is time that he exploits weaknesses in patterns like Murray openly admitted to doing in today’s post match interview. It isn’t mental any more, though Rafa did show signs of being fatigued or defeated (or both) in that final game. That’s a minor blip; our champion has shown true grit the last 4-weeks, and I look forward to watching him compete in Rome.
Onward and upward, Rafa!
Excellent points and well-articulated
One thing that I have realised with Novak and recently with Murray is that when they play Rafa, they always start very aggressively in other to destabilise his rhythm and game plan. This works for a while and then Nadal settles down and regains his composure. Additionally, I have only seen one player that can sustain such aggressive pressure against Rafa over three sets on clay and that is Novak. Andy usually capitulates as the game goes on and Nadal capitalises on his weaknesses and eventually wins. This is the strategy employed by Sam Querey in the 3rd Round but he couldn’t sustain it for long – most players cant.
Nadal has to really start aggressively against Novak and Murray. He has to take the game to them and stop waiting for them to make errors. That is how he beat Novak at the US Open and at Roland Garos.
I’m very optimistic that Rafa will win at RG but he needs to make some improvements and perform well in Room.
Vamos Rafa!!
I couldn’t agree more – even players like Fognini have realized that if you take the game to Rafa, if you attack hard and play with abandon (don’t care if it’s a winner or unforced error), it really throws Rafa off his strategy and game-plan. This is going to be a hard thing for Rafa to overcome because it isn’t in his nature to dictate play.
He is aware though, and I hope he bounces back from this loss. As the lady with Sky Sports said, losses like these can galvanize players for future tournaments. Better he loses here as opposed to FO.
Chris Mbakwe – ”Omo Ndi’igbo,
Kedu kodi
It appears you people dont like to hear the truth at this site!
So very sad, and that’s primarily what is affecting Rafa!!
No damn person is telling him the TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Truth is like an open wound; only conscience can heal it.
Vamossssssssssss Rafaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
he had his chances but could not convert.. sad
Oh Rafa, your tentative play cost you! Please DO NOT REGRESS!! Andy is the world number 2 for a reason.
Rafa will be left to rue all those errors. In a way it’s good, because it takes a lot of pressure off him for Rome and RG, and this bitter defeat will hopefully make him not want to go through this pain again. But our Rafa loves pain and suffering, so who knows?
Stay strong Rafa, and come back strong in Rome!!