On Wednesday, No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal will play his quarter-final match at the Miami Open against world No. 17 Jack Sock, who eliminated Jared Donaldson, 6-2, 6-1, in 62 minutes.
Date: March 29, 2017
Match time: Not before 9 PM local time / 9 PM EDT – New York, Montreal / Thursday 2 AM BST – United Kingdom / Thursday 3 AM CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / Thursday noon AEDT – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Rafa leads the overall head to head 2-0, but Sock has taken a set off Rafa in both their previous meetings.
| YEAR | EVENT | SURFACE | RND | WINNER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Beijing China |
Outdoor Hard | QF | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2015 | Roland Garros France |
Outdoor Clay | R16 | Rafael Nadal |
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
Congratulations on the good win, Rafa!
🎾🎾💪🏻💪🏻🏆🏆🇪🇸🇪🇸
Fog now for the 1003!
GOOD LUCK RAFA! 🍀🎾😀👍
Hi all. Cmon rafa – you can and will do this. Please don’t stress us out so early in the morning! And look Maria – the umpires is mohamed lahyani. That has got to be a good start!
It must be a good omen Susie
Don’t hold back Rafa! Unleash the beast!
Here are my predictions for the rest of the tournament:
Jack Sock vs Rafa Nadal – Nadal wins in 2 straight sets (6 -4, , 7-5)
Thomas Berdych vs Roger Federer – RF wins in 2 sets (7-5, 6-3)
Nick Kyrgios vs ”Shasha” Zverev – Nick wins in 3 sets (1 – 6, 6 – 4, 7 – 6)
Fabio Fognini vs Rafa Nadal – Nadal wins in 3 sets (8 – 3, 2 – 6, 7 – 6)
Nick Kyrgios vs Roger Federer – Nick wins in 3 sets (4 – 6, 7 -5, 5 – 4)
FINAL::
Rafa Nadal vs Nick Kyrgios – Nick wins in 2 sets (5 – 3, 6 – 4)
But as always, we’d see…………….hmmmnn
Hi Maria, I think you meant 6-3, but you are right to be realistic. With Kyrgios, however, you never know which Nick will show up. If the good Nick is serving aces, Rafa’s chances are slimmer.
Believe me, Nick will definitely *show up* if he plays Rafa. But somehow I don’t worry too much abt this matchup. At least for the time being.
Nick will be likely to beat Rafa every time they meet but it’s the story of the future, a common story that happens to all the Greats. So we’ll worry abt that later. 🙂
Maria your prediction seem right on… I’m afraid that Nick will take out Rafa unless Roger knocks out Nick first.. which the way he’s playing could happen! Fabbio has giving Rafa a tough time… Believe he beat him three times & Rafa has him the last two times they played… Vy please correct me if I’m wrong!
Sioux, of all the 10 times they played each other, 5 times were in 2015 in which Rafa lost to him
3 times and won the other 2.
The first 2 were on clay (Rio and Barcelona), which was shocking. The next one was also on clay – the Hamburg final but Rafa managed to win this time 75 75. Then came the story of the year – his shocking defeat at USO in which he totally, uncharacteristically blew the two sets to love lead. It still gives me nightmare sometimes.
They played again the last match in 2015 on hardcourt (Beijing SF) and of course this time Rafa absolutely needed to win. He did in straight sets.
Then in 2016 they played the only and last match at Barcelona SF. This time Rafa coldly swept him aside, playing a perfect TB to win the match in straights 62 76(1).
All in all it’s the story of Rafa in 2015. The torturing year for us fans.
But I believe that chapter is over. Rafa will win if they meet.
Thank you Vy!
Yeah Maria (Siberia), those (minus the scores) are my predictions too.
But I think Rafa will in straight sets against Fognini should they meet. Sock is likely to be the tougher opponent for him before the final.
I want Nick in the final even though he’s really hot right now as I feel Rafa needs that test. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Zverev or Fed instead of him. If Nick *really* wants it, he’ll make it; if not, then Zverev or Fed.
But it would also be absolutely fascinating if Birdie somehow manages to bet Fed this time when Fed is the absolute favourite. Who knows if he has found himself too fed up being Fed’s piegon most of the time in all those years and determines to pull off another Wimby 10. 😬
But first, let see how Rafa handles Sock. He’s believing he can beat Rafa and that belief itself is always a big, big weapon.
Hi Maria (Siberia) , love your predictions all except the final, you seemed to have got yourself a bit 😕 confused and typed your names the wrong way round ( tired I expect Lol) never mind easily done , even the greatest make mistakes
I would be really surprised at Fognini’s win today, except it was clear Kei was hurting. Tonight’s match will be very challenging, but Rafa has been gifted with an easier draw. Dimitrov and Cilic were seeds who lost early. I can’t remember if Thiem was in Rafa’s half. I really, really hope that he wins! He will have a real chance for the final if he does.
Va4favre, Thiem was in the other half of the draw and got destroyed by Coric in the 2nd round. Some people were hoping he could take out Fed though. 😀
Back at 🕑
So the first semi-finalist is Fognini with a quick 1:07 64 62 win over Nishikori.
Was there a time when so many top ten players were injured at the same time like right now? 🙁
Way to go Fabio , The pirates of the Caribbean 5 are looking for one of their crew, and their he is on court with the Ninja. Fabio is playing great , kei i know has an injury but he’s looking like a sulky teenager out there . Why is there such a big gap from this game to Rafa’s ,it’s a right pain
Maria, I think he’s being in pain and very disappointed with his game right now. Can’t blame him though. The match will end soon, I think.
Fog for Rafa’s 1003 should he gets through Sock, which I believe he will with some hard work.
Both are very tricky players for Rafa though.
WHEN Rafa wins later his next match is against Fabio, that will be tricky as Fabio has beaten Rafa a few times lately. They are not the best of friends ,and i will never forget him having a go at Rafa because of something Uncle Toni had done, i felt so sorry for Rafa ,. Just hope that he can keep his temper and 👄in check tomorrow Lol . Didn’t understand a word of his interview
Oh Maria Rafa’s accent in the early days was even heavier than Fog’s.
Yeah I don’t like him too much but predicted he would win this match, and he did. Don’t think he’d beat an uninjured Nishikori this easily though.
Rafa’s losses against him were all in 2015 when Rafa’s having a huge mental problem.The US Open loss was painful.
Things aren’t looking good for Ninja. Feeling a trainer will be called soon?
LOL at Skysports 1 for switching to the Murray the older doubles match, only to see them lose in the TB.
Ahh nice, 3 BP for Ninja to even the score! 😀
Oh no, Ninja sails a BH way too long to hand Fog the first set right after the score is evened up. 6-4 Fogini
Nishikori isn’t looking good at all. Must be the injury. Poor guy. 🙁
Hi Vy and Maria – I promise I will join the party a bit later but am trying to get a few hours sleep before rafa’s match as I have to be alert tomorrow as am at a conference and it’s an extra early start for me. Typical but will check in later I promise
Hi Susie. Sleep well then come back with us well-rested 🌛. Send my 😘 to Raffy the tabby for me.
From what I know Sock is a nice, funny guy. Even funnier than his name 😁. Should be a good match.
Rafa on Sock:
“He’s a very aggressive player. Very powerful player, big serve, big forehand and a good backhand, too. He plays quick with his backhand. So, I need to play aggressive. That’s the only way. If I let him play a comfortable position, it’s going to be impossible for me.”
Sock on playing Rafa:
“I’ll definitely give myself a lot more chance to win this time around than maybe I did a few years ago. I’m 24 years old now and been on tour for a while. I’m playing these matches believing I can win for sure.”
Christ Evert called Sock’s forehand “the best in the game right now” 😦. Brad Gilbert also said it’s one the best in the world plus his movement is tremendous.
On a side note he thinks his game/FH is closer to Rafa’s.
He relies heavily on his FH and likes to run around his BH so it’s gonna be interesting to see how he and Rafa exploit each other’s BH. But he’s young and so quick and definitely a tremendous doubles player as well, so I guess Rafa will be pushed hard if he doesn’t take the initiative early in the match.
Rafa, please don’t take too long to warm up.
Let us hear a lot of your Vamoses! 💪💪💪
Jack Sock Is really a good kid! Don’t remember him breaking his racket or having tantrums like Ryan Harrison, Who can go Baghdadis at any moment ! ( Funny how I judge them on breaking rackets) I just think of how they would act at home going nuts on their rackets! Jack also plays a game similar to Rafa… In some instances it has been reported that he even has more rotations (spin) than Rafa..I call him Babydal … Grigor Dimitrov is called BabyFed as his game is Similar to Rogers ballerina type game dancing across the courts! Of course I will be rooting for Rafa and I hope he has an easy time… No more bagels please! VAMOS Rafa!
Oops! Jack just broke his racket…thats it for me, Jack needs to go sit on the naughty pad …i don’t like bad tempers!
After being bageled in your first set in your match against F. Verdasco, you came back and won it decisively. You can do better than that. No bagels in any set today! Jack is young, he will get over it if you beat him! Vamos!!!!
Hi Ruth, I am sure you meant to type Kohliscriber ( spelling?). As poor as Rafa played that bagel set, he was flawless in the third set.
Good luck Rafa my son. I’ll be praying for you. Go Rafa Go you can do it. Keep cool n win. God bless you. Your Aussie Abuela Nan Shirley. ⏳👑🐂🎈🎈😀😊😇
Vy, thank you so much for your brilliant update yesterday on the Roger’s and Stan’s matches , you should be a sports writer and you certainly do a better job than most of the commentator’s. Reading your piece i felt like i had actually watched it. Poor Stan , not the outcome I wanted or would have wished for him on his birthday, but I’m sure he still went out to celebrate anyway. Stan does seem to up his game and pull out all the stops at the grand slams but i don’t see the same commitment from him on the smaller tournaments , and when all is not going his way he does have a tendency to go Walkabout .👣
It seems like the gods are shining down on his Swiss buddy at the moment. Mind you Roger had to work for his win yesterday , the little Spaniard did a great job by all accounts and seems like it was very close indeed
. I caught a glimpse of the end of the Fognini / young match , it seems like it was very entertaining Fognini was laughing and making faces at the end ,and for some reason ( don’t know what) young refused to shake ✋ hands with the umpire.
Only match showing in the UK tonight this side of midnight is the Fognini / Nishikori match , might be worth a look, and i will also be cheering on Jo konta. Hope to hear your analysis of the games showing in the early hours of Thursday morning
Maria, I know you were exaggerating, but thank you anyway 🐶🐱.
Believe the, the world would be much better off with my only commenting/chatting away the my helplessness at all things Rafa (and tennis) related, here or anywhere else.
There’s no way I could be a sports writer. My English is spotty at best. And my knowledge of the game is still very limited. But I guess it’s a lifelong learning process, and I’m happy with that. 🙂
I vote for Vy and Margo to sit side-by-side and Commentate on Rafa’s matches! I would love to here some Boasting over Rafa instead of Roger this Roger that Roger Roger Roger… Blah blah blah!
Abt the two Swiss-involed matches yesterday, yeah they were rather strange ones indeed. I in fact still feel resentful over the fact that they were played at the same time, and that there were only one old man and his dog on the stand cheering for the poor number one seed on his birthday.
Okay, I know. Shame on me. It was a nice, warm, small crowd. Kudos to them for not rushing through the gate to watch the Goaterer. 👍
I didn’t follow the Nishikori – Young match so no idea abt what’s going on. But I like the upcoming Nishikori vs Fognini matchup. It even feels good speaking their names together (worth a try if you haven’t done it yet 😁).
Both are the rare species in today tennis in the sense that they’re really petite at 7’10”. For some reason I think the Fog with prevail the Ninja this time.
And then of course the Bull will sweep aside the Fog, setting up my own version of a “dream final” between our champ and the hot shot Rafa-channelling Nick.
Okay I’m babbling before a match. Again.
Sorry for wasting your time. See you “at” the match(es).
Cheers. 😽
Vy, i sincerely meant what i said , you wrote a great piece , love your wit and humour and believe me you know a lot more about tennis than me , i just enjoy watching it especially Rafa and that’s about it . Your English is great and you write way better than me ,and i am English ( shame on me Lol) I will be watching Fognini shortly ,at the moment watching Konta/ halep match. Hopefully i can stay awake for Rafas’s i trying to go right the way through and not sleep until Thursday night , not sure how that will work out though . Speak to you/ Susie on the other side of midnight 🐱🐐 yes i know that’s a goat but that’s what Holly looks like minus the horns. Rafa make sure you win, if I’m going without sleep that’s the least you can do ,Lol . Go get him
Maria, I’m waiting for the Nishinini match too. The Konta vs Halep match has just finally finished.
From what I see you’re an enthusiastic tennis fan in general, not just a Rafa fan. And I think we should let the “knowledge” matter at rest as it doesn’t matter. A love for the game is all what needed. 🙂
Many thanks for your nice words, Maria. I won’t “argue” with you this time as I respect your view about my rambling even though I don’t agree with it. 🙂
Kisses to your Holly 🐱🐐😘 . Hope Susie and Raffy will join the gang soon. 😄😄
Correction: hear
A nice article on Rafa joining the 1000 club:
http://blog.sportwalk.co/tennis/rafael-nadal-1000-chapter-story/
I don’t agree with the “typical clay-courter to the…” part though, because Rafa is unique either as a clay-courter or all-surface player right from the beginning and I also heard the Goaterer and many other players say so. 🙂
bonne chance à notre champion 👍👌vamos rafa👑👑👑👑👑❤❤
Rafal nadal is the champion i am the biggest biggest fan of nadal.
Firoz from india
Rafa is going to win the match against sock
All the best nadal for ur future all matches v r always praying for u and god bless u and ur family.
Urghhh 2am in the UK to watch rafa and Jack! Think I’ll have to go to bed and then wake up for it. Otherwise I’ll be good for nothing all day. I’m not going to miss it that’s for sure!
Hang on, Suise. It’s almost there. Sleep well before the match. 🙂
Good luck and Vamos Rafa <3
Keep doing your very best Rafa, and all the best against Sock.
love and prayers,
AlaineXXSydneyXXAustraliaXX
Rafa , I think that if you serve like you did against Mahut , that you should be able to win a close ,at hand against Sock . So please sock it to him and get that 1st serve in over 75% and we should be OK . BEST of Luck ! Vamos Rafa !
Expect Rafa to win obviously but not in straight sets, unless if his game is really ON which in fact could beat anyone that ever hold a racquet :p.
But really, I believe Rafa will definitely up his game for this match. And if he gets through it, I think the potential semi against a possibly injured Nishikori woudn’t be as tough as expected.
Good luck and Vamos, Rafa. I’m ready to sleep SO little until the end of this week.
🎾🎾🍀🍀💪💪🇪🇸🇪🇸
Rafa will certainly be tested tomorrow, but I hope he can be very aggressive. Jack is playing his best tennis. I was pleased with Rafa’s comments after the match. He was very positive and continues to feel good. That makes me very happy!
Rafa, don’t go the way of Stan. Show Jack you are still in charge and not about “to cry uncle.”
RAFA ROCKS
WISHING YOU A DECISIVE WIN TOMORROW, MARCH 28TH IN MIAMI, RAFA!!!! BUENA SUERTE, COMO SIEMPRE!!!! VAMOS!!!!!