The draw has been made for the Miami Open, the second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in 2017.
Rafael Nadal is fifth seed and has a bye in the first round. He will open his campaign against either a qualifier or Israeli Dudi Sela.
Rafa’s potential Miami route:
- 1st round: Bye
- 2nd round: Qualifier or Dudi Sela
- 3rd round: Philipp Kohlschreiber
- 4th round: Grigor Dimitrov
- Quarter-final: Milos Raonic
- Semi-final: Kei Nishikori
- Final: Roger Federer or Stan Wawrinka
Projected quarter-finals:
- Stan Wawrinka (1) vs. David Goffin (8)
- Roger Federer (4) vs. Dominic Thiem (6)
- Rafael Nadal (5) vs. Milos Raonic (3)
- Marin Cilic (7) vs. Kei Nishikori (2)
In Rafa’s four trips to the final, he has lost to Djokovic (2014, 2011), Davydenko (2008) and Federer (2005). Miami is one of just three Masters trophies missing from Rafa’s mantle (Paris, Shanghai).
Check out the complete draw here.
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSUgsB-h07Z/
Thanks for that fact Vy. I suppose Rafa will have to start winning some titles to justify the cost of breaking all those watches!!!😄😄😄
Rafa’s match has been pushed back to 5:15pm local time.
RAFA ROCKS
By the way, does anyone in here know wich adress to write to in terms of receiving Rafas autograph? Thx. 🤗
VAMOOOS RAFA 🎾💪🏼❤️
Tomic has pulled out of Miami with a back injury.
RAFA ROCKS
Funny fact while waiting for Friday (Rafa will play at around 3pm local time):
Rafa has broken five or six of his Richard Mille watches while playing. 😀
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/23/fashion/watches-richard-mille.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0&referer=https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/nadal-news-2-0.496732/page-237
You can do it this time Rafa! Let’s look at your possible opponents. Well, Djokovic and Murray aren’t playing. Second round Qualifier/Sela : routine win. Third round Kholschreiber can be dangerous but it should be straightforward. Fourth round Dimitrov : very talented but just can’t get past the winning post against you. Quarter final – Raonic : he’s just come back from injury and is probably a little rusty. Semi final Nishikori : fantastic shot maker but may well run out of steam. Final Wawrinka : can be red hot but can also be terrible (let’s hope it’s the latter) or Federer : he’s on a roll and playing fantastic tennis but if he gets past Kyrgios and if you’ve done your homework, Rafa, you will beat him this time! Relax your mind, and let your tennis do the talking!
Liking your positive outlook 👍🏻. Yeah I also think “Why not?”. To win a title you don’t necessarily have to play your best – Rafa won his first RG when he only played at ~80% (from his autobiography). It also depends on how the draw works out, some luck or favourable conditions here and there, and of course on how a particular player plays in a particular match.
However great you are, you still need luck. Just look at Fed! At least out of the B4 he definitely is the luckiest one. And our Rafa can be lucky too! 🙂
On a side note, if Rafa can make it to the final, I like his opponent to be Kyrgios. I know, he might be a little too hot right now, but if Rafa can handle him he’ll be REALLY good to go for the clay season and probably afterwards.
Tbh I don’t like Stan too much. Never want Rafa to lose or struggle against him.
@Lorna, I’m with Vy in liking your positive outlook 🎾👍👏👏. And a little bit of good luck is always rosy.
RAFA ROCKS
Boy Lorna you sure know your players ! I can’t agree with you more! I hope that Nick doesn’t get food poisoning or something before he plays Roger! Time for Roger to meet his new Nemesis! Hopefully Nick will behave himself & start to win the respect of the Australian people,,, especially Beverley and Shirley( here on this site), who are a bit leery of him and the antics he pulls on & off the court! VAMOS RAFA!
I was positive before but I abolutely do not see Rafa winning this one.
It’s okay if Rafa plays well but doesn’t win this one. And unless he gets injuried (hopefully not!), I’m sure he’ll play better than he did at IW. Let’s just take his word for it.
I know many Rafa fans might just want Miami to be over with; then come the clay season and Rafa will sweep Fed aside and dominate the season! :p
But I believe Rafa never thinks that way. He’s so humble but also takes whatever the challenge in front of him, even when he’s not confident in himself. He loves the game and the competition too much. And believe it or not he loves hardcourt too even though it’s such an unforgiven surface to his body.
As for me, I just want him to be more confident and aggressive, to believe more in his return ablity and assert more authority on his serve. AND especially be more free! Like Fed is now. (Don’t be offended, some Rafa fans.) 🙂
👍👍👍👍👍vamos rafa👑👑👑👑👑
Just a little thought. It feels strange without both Djokovic and Murray (we kind of got used to Rafa and Fed’s absence in the past). Whether you like them or not they’re one of the players that contribute the most for the game over many years. Without them the field is wide open for Rafa as well as other players but I feel the tournament already less exciting. I still prefer their being out there fighting with or agaisnt our champ. He may need that too…
On a different note Toni and Moya are with Rafa this time. He’s been smiling a lot already and I believe him when he said he’s confident that he’s gonna play well at Miami. So I guess all we can do now is wait and hope for the best. 🙂 🎾🎾🎾
I. hop e r afa wins Miami this year to me Rafael has something different from the other player’s my sister Kay and myself adore him .We both have been fans since 2005 . Have a great Miami this year Rafa god bless love Anne Marie hollows and Kay m’c Donald . Xxx
Hopefully the Federer defeat caused no lasting damage to Rafa’s psyche:):)
But then again, Roger has been on the end of some humiliating beatdowns by Rafa and yet he always came back swinging. Rafa should be no different.
Here’s wishing Rafa a great tournament in Miami, and may his actions back up his fighting words. Serve well, protect the serve, play aggressive, and have some fun.
Have a great tournament, RAFA. My family & friends will be cheering very loudly for you. Know you will play hard as you always do. GO RAFA👋🎾
Like all Rafa fans, I would love to see Rafa add Miami to his list of wins. I am trying to be realistic, however. I am not sure why, but Rafa seems to suffer now in high humidity. I was so disappointed with how Rafa played in IW more than that he lost. It was a surprise after how he played at the AO. I am always hopeful but most importantly, Rafa needs to stay healthy. His clay season is almost here!
Best of luck. Go for the win.
Rafa I can see above some really great points if you could try and implement them.
All the best for your Miami tournament,
Love and prayers,
AlaineXXSydneyXXAustraliaXX
RAFA ROCKS
Rafa has never won Miami. It would be wonderful for him if he could. The draw is more favourable than Indian Wells but he has a few tough rounds ahead of him
.I always said I would never be an armchair critic but I still wish he would stand closer to the baseline to receive serve. He is leaving himself wide open way back there and his opponents have learned how to capitalise on it.
He works and trains so hard he deserves this win
Incidentally it was a 17 year old Rafa who defeated 22 year old No1 player Roger Federer in Miami thirteen years ago. It wsan’t a final but one of the earlier rounds Wouldn’t it be great if this time around they met in the final and Rafa prevailed. ?
Here’s hoping . !!
I’d rather Rafa winning the title not having to face Fed. The way Fed is playing now, I doubt Rafa can defeat him. It takes time for Rafa and his team to work out a game plan against this Fed, I’m not sure they can do that within one or two weeks.
Rafa looked lost out there facing Fed in their IW match. It was the first time I saw Rafa behaving like that vs Fed; Rafa had never behaved that way vs Fed, not even when they met for the first few times.
I hope Rafa really wins this Miami title, there’s not a better chance where the top two guys are not around. Just play more inside the court, don’t let opponent(s) push(es) you around; hit more FH DTL shots, and please serves well.
vamos rafayou cangoall the way tothe title.ask carlostoteach you adifferent serve and some trips to the net. dionysios areal friend of our Rafa
Good look Rafa my favourite player hope you win Miami you deserve the trophy after trying for so long god bless you lots of love Anne Marie hollows xxx
Good luck Rafa,
I have been following Rafa since 2005 very closely and experienced the succession of triumphs and failures of his.
Unfortunately, since 2014 there have been incomplete “Rafa restarts” due to health and confidence issues plaguing him every now and then.
I really do not understand why he is not enhancing his serve, as regards positioning, precision, variety and mainly speed.
IMHO he needs to proportionately shift his focus from and all-court gaming to producing free points (aces or unreturnable serves at will).
This is and will be the key ingredient of longevity of maturing players. Please keep the points as short as possible! An already punished body for years on end can not withstand marathons of points without any further substantial impact on it. Not to mention the energy reservoirs which are rapidly depleted.
Additionally players like Djokovic, Murray and especially the lately rejuvenated 35+ “teenager” Federer can only be controlled using steel, consistent and ruthless serving as a life saver, especially on break points. Take a look on Jack Sock’s serving ability in recent IW semifinal with Federer to send the second set to tiebreak. Also remember how Federer brilliantly managed to defeat the unstoppable and untouchable 2011 version of Djokovic in the semifinal of RG 2011, supplementally using a consistent flow of aces and unreturnable serves. Look at what Kyrgios has recently done twice to Djokovic, posting aces and unreturnable serves all matches long. Look what Sam Querrey did to Nadal in Acapulco….
Why is Rafa not trying to change the trait ? I really do not get it at all!
As far as Miami Open is concerned unless something really groundbreaking comes up, I don’t see any cup biting to be honest.
Absolutely! You have hit the nail on the head. Clearly, that’s exactly the way Nadal has to March forward….. Let’s hope he does so…..
Rafa’s serve was affected by his back issue in 2014. It was since his back issue that his serve went downhill.
His serve was in the 120+mph range in 2013 and he was doing really well that year. To me, Rafa needs to regain that ability to be clutch in his serving when saving BPs, esp that ace down the T where he was so clutch in the past each time he got into trouble.
To me, Rafa’s main issue is that he’s not clutch in his serving where it mattered. Once under pressure, he tends to panic, resulting in a weak serve or a DF. He has to overcome this problem, if not he’ll continue to have problems esp when facing the top guys. A few more good or clutch serves and perhaps Rafa might have saved some precious energy vs Dimi at the AO and who knows, that might make a difference in that AO final!
I do hope Rafa and his team, could work on that, and hope Moya could have a calming and assuring effect on Rafa.
Let’s hope Rafa will do it VAMOS RAFA good luck
Good luck and Vamos Rafa <3
The dynamic of this entire men’s draw has changed without Andy and Novak. I feel the entire field will be re-invigorated. Now Roger will be the hunted instead of # 1 and # 2.
Rafa never gets ahead of himself. It’s always one match at a time which I completely agree with. The draw appears wide open to me. Delpo could also capitalize here. This tournament is rather intriguiging because of all the possibilities. Who knows, maybe one of the young guns will finally break through here. I am just going to watch and enjoy.
Also glad to see David Ferrer is back. Of course, best wishes to Rafa as always.
“I am really confident I gonna play well in Miami this week.”
Best of luck, Rafa. Let’s take your first Miami title! 🍀🍀🎾🎾💪💪🏆🏆