The draw for the Madrid Open was performed today.
Rafael Nadal has been drawn into the bottom half of the draw and looks tough on paper, but he is the King of Clay who won three of four titles on the Caja Mágica clay.
After a first round bye, our champ will face the winner of the match between Fabio Fognini or Joao Sousa. He could face Nick Kyrgios in the third round, prior to a quarter-final against Milos Raonic or David Goffin.
Rafa’s potential route to the final:
- 1st round: Bye
- 2nd round: Fabio Fognini or Joao Sousa
- 3rd round: Nick Kyrgios
- Quarter-final: Milos Raonic or David Goffin
- Semi-final: Novak Djokovic
- Final: Andy Murray
- Andy Murray vs Dominic Thiem
- Stan Wawrinka vs Marin Cilic
- Milos Raonic vs Rafael Nadal
- Kei Nishikori vs Novak Djokovic
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
Rafa has an ear infection and had to cancel his presser today. He’s still playing but I doubt he’ll be in perfect condition. 🙁
I hope he withdraws and rest for rome he has nothing to prove in madrid
Ear infection can become worse so if i were rafa consult with your team and your doctors if they tell you dont play madrid listen to them and dont be stubborn like you did with your wrist injury last year
DelPotro retired from, and Kyrgios withdrew from Estoril, a clay court tournament. They both lost their grandad.
Nick, who turned 22 on Thursday, talked about the love and support his grandfather gave him.
DelPotro, who wrote a beautiful letter [possibly a eulogy] after his grandfather’s death, may have withdrawn from Madrid.
RAFA ROCKS
Really sad news for Kyrgios and Del Potro. Kyrgios’s still playing but Del Potro has pulled out of both Estoril and Madrid.
Gasquet has also withdrawn too due to some back injury. Now Rafa with an ear infection though he’s still playing. The fact that this is not the first time he gets this kind of infection, which is very avoidable, frustrates me quite a bit. Now he probably will be playing with some dizziness or balance problem, as the infection can’t go away soon enough.
more reason to withdraw from this tournament and rest and let the ear infection heal why jeopidaze your attempts in winning la decima at roland garros for a tournament that doesnt suit your game although you won it a couple of times. People in madrid will understand you withdrawing and not playing. Your fans are important but more important is your own career
DelPotro, who was thrilled to be back in Portugal for Estoril, actually retired upon hearing the sad news of his grandad’s passing. He was in the group of 16. I was hoping to see him in a match vs Rafa at the MM Open. There is always Rome if both of them play.
RAFA ROCKS
Fognini it will be. He beat Sousa 6-4, 6-4. Goffin is still alive. He beat Khachanov in a second-set tiebreak: 6-2, 7[10]-6[8].
SHOW FOGNINI THE EXIT RAFA
RAFA ROCKS
Good luck in Madrid Rafa, I can feel another trophy coming your way, yes there’s some tough competition but nothing you can’t beat, and haven’t faced before. You said you knew what you had to do to get your game back up to the top level , and in 2017 you have shown us all that you know exactly what you are doing. I think it’s great that you are playing Madrid and showing every tournament is special and important , not just the grand slams.You are the one player, no matter what tournament or level of opponent gives 💯% effort and respect.Good luck again Rafa and if by any chance you start to lose( which you won’t) ask ” Uncle Mago” to make it rain Lol
RNF do you know if Uncle Toni’s book Todo se puede entrenar has an English Edition?
why are some people treating djokovic as some kind of a demon for nadal. Let me remind you that rafa lost 7 times in a row against djokovic in 2011 and beginning of 2012 nadal did turned it around.
I hope that nadal will play novak in the semifinal because then he knows where he stands compare with the two last years. Also this time around he has carlos moya who i hope will convince nadal that he can not beat djoko by playing same old same old
Nasty draw, Rafa’s worst clay tournament, but if Rafa continues to play the way he did against Thiem, should not be a problem.
Unless Djok is fully restored, seems unlikely, or NK great on clay. Not sure he is, AZ proved to be way less impressive on clay than HC.
I think Thiem can upset Murray again.
Maybe the only other threat to Rafa is Wawrinka, who so far this year, has not shown his best form at all.
Hey rafalite. I agree with everything you have said. We just have to wait and see how the others measure up against Rafa and not long to wait now.
Hi Susie,
I’m so eager for Madrid to start, and to see more vintage Rafa on clay.
all the very best for madrid your on fire at the moment,vamos rafa.
Rafa is always a winner in my eyes, win or lose he is a great ambassador for tennis. Good luck Rafa.
Rafa all the VERY BEST for this tournament.
Love and prayers
AlainexxSydneyXXAustraliaXX
I see that a lot of people are worried about the draw. I am not. If you want to win la decima at the french open you need to beat the top players you can not escape them forever.
For nadal this is a challenging draw. Fognini or sousa can be trickey. Fognini has beaten nadal twice on clay and sousa won a set last year in madrid.
Then off course krygios. This surface in madrid suits big servers so this is tricky for nadal. then goffin or raonic then djokovic or murray.
Look he has to face them at one point. And remember this if he beats all these players especially krygios djokovic and murray that would give him so much confidence you cant even dream off
But i am realistic this is nadal least favorite clay court tournament i am going to take it match by match
Well stated.
It seems that every draw Rafa gets it is considered a “tough” one by many. I want Rafa to win but I don’t want matches handed to him on a silver platter, either. The tougher the matches that he wins I feel his confidence grows exponentially. May he have a winning run at Madrid.
RAFA ROCKS
Hmmmn..
But we’d see, we’d see, Patience, my dear, is a virtue….hmmn
TheLegend? LOL What are you on now?
RAFA ROCKS
Legend, welcome back . Nothing wrong with a touch of reinvention now and again Hmmmmn..
Hello there legend. Nice to hear from you after so long. Let’s hope your predictions pan out a bit better for this tournament
Don’t worry, mjus. We’re (or at least me) not that worried. 😀
Of course we know when he’s on tour and aims for titles he must be ready to play and win against anyone. 😀 Just sharing some thoughts abt the draw and matchups. Indeed anything can happen at Madrid, it’s the most wide open clay Masters and the favourite of “hard courters”.
Curious about the state of the Djoker. Have the tables turned is the rivalry after three lobsided years? The Djoker at least takes serious measures. Two major losses incl a final was enough to kick out one coach. Another big one plus MC and he has kicked out the entire team. I always believed Rafa should have made major changes a long timw ago too. His major dip started over three years ago and lasted long (3 years and counting – he needs a major to be back for real). I bet the Djoker won’t stay majorless for that long, cause he dares to take action.
Rafa is his own man. With all the years of pain he has endured, with all the injuries he has sustained, it’s a wonder that he is still playing. Physical pain takes a lot out of a person, both mentally and physically. A lesser man would have quit a long time ago.
If all you can do is harp on what Rafa should have done years ago, why not join the DjokovicFanClub. You’ll probably be a lot happier.
RAFA ROCKS THIS FAN CLUB
Well to be fair, Rafa was injured a lot in that time. Hence “Majorless”\
But Djok firing the team and wanting to make major changes shows he is very serious about wanting to come back full force,
I could not help but notice re coaching changes and so-called “super” coaches working with the the Big Four, what a change Lendl made for Murray, Becker for Djok, Edberg for Fed (now Lubicjic making that difference again, it seems). But then the boost wears off, time for a new coach, new boost.
With Rafa it was different, he was way less into that mentality/approach. But then it seems Moya has helped a lot, so I wonder how much sooner that should have happened. But it also coincided with Rafa getting over his wrist injury.
It will be interesting to see if Djok can get his top level back. He was mainly unbeatable for almost two years (Wawrinka being the exception) but during that time Fed and Rafa did not have their best levels–so one players top level seems intrinsically tied to how good the other top players are at the same time.
Rafa’s draw is quite tricky, probably the toughest out of the 4 top seeds but then but again, no draw is easy on paper. It can only become more favourable as it’s working out.
I’m not worried abt Fogini but since the courts at Madrid favour big servers more than any of other clay courts, if somehow Kyrgios could zone in and serve crazily well like he did against Djokovic, Rafa will get into some troubles. And it’s only R3 – Rafa’s second match.
A rematch in the QF against Goffin would be nice. I have little doubt Rafa will come out as the victor again and silence the bad-mouthers from the MC match once and for all (Fed worshipper Marry Carillo claimed Rafa should have conceded the point, like her idol would definitely do so in a similar case 🙀. Don’t think so).
And then, the talk of each and every time: Djokovic.
His quarter is the least tricky on paper with 3 qualifiers, 3 WCs (all 30++ Spaniards), Frenchmen Tsonga and Monfils and probably a Glassikori (sorry Kei, no offense :p), all of which are his piegons no less; followed by Wawrinka’s.
So it’s very likely we will finally have a Rafa vs Djokovic “thriller” after the 3 misses this year; though of course I could be wrong and one of his piegons will strike back and defeat him this time.
Murray’s quarter is also bit tricky with the winner of the potential R3 Dimitrov vs Thiem will be waiting for him in the QF, should he also make it. Even though Madrid suits his game better than MC and Rome, atm Thiem should still be the favourite while on the surface he’s never played Dimitrov, which is quite strange like the Rafa vs Goffin matchup since they both have been on tour for a long time.
All in all I expect all the top seeds will get through their respective quarter this time, though of course will still be happy if some upsets happen (barring Rafa’s maches of course :D).
Madrid is a bit of a “No man’s land” like they call it, and tbh it’s more exciting that way. But hopefully with Moya’s serve and his momentum, Rafa will claim his fourth title (on clay, since 2009) after a two-year drought at his home.
Vamos and good luck, Rafa. 🍀🍀🍀🍀💪💪💪💪🏆🏆🏆🏆🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸
(P.S. Hopefully this comment won’t be weirdly “condensed” with no paragraph spacing again. Pls pardon me if it is.)
What is “a Glassikori,” as I could not find it in any of many searches? Thanks.
RAFA ROCKS
Oh Margo, why so serious? 😬 It’s just a fun nickname for Nishikori (I also mentioned “Kei”) because he gets injuried quite often and when he doesn’t, he’s still on the disadvantage side of the physique and stamina departments.
Now at Madrid he probably still hasn’t fully recovered from his injuries, that’s why I mentioned that nickname. But it’s more because I have sympathy for him than to have some little fun.
The same with Murray. 🙂
Oh Rainier, why so serious? I simply asked a question about “a Glassikori.” Yes, he is definitely out a lot due to injury, but I thought the term may have had something to do with his name. I know only a few phrases in Japanese so I was completely lost. Now that you have explained [thank you] I understand.
It obviously means a Nishikori as fragile as glass, if I have figured it properly.
The bottom line is that Rafa has to be ready for whoever he meets and he can’t afford to think too much about how tough the draw is. Rafa is playing with much more confidence these days, so if he stays focused and aggressive he’ll be lifting his third clay trophy of the season 👍
Madrid has been Rafa’s least favorite clay tournament among the 3 and this draw doesn’t do him any favors, but I am much more concerned for his Rome tournament to do well there since that leads directly into Roland Garros. Nevertherless, brutal draw or not in Madrid, Vamos all the way to the finals and do your best Rafa!
🙂
I was reading an idiotic comment from someone (not on here) the other day – obviously a conspiracy theorist – who suggested the fact that Rafa always gets such easy draws should be investigated! Perhaps this will shut him up…
All the best to you, Rafa. Stay healthy and happy! If you go all the way in Madrid, great. If you don’t, don’t fret. I don’t think your true fans will.
Sarah, I agree with you that was an idiotic comment that Rafa always gets easy draws. He normally seems to get the worst. If the comment was in relation to Monte Carlo or Barcelona , the fact that neither Djokovic nor Federer were playing and Murray went out early was just how things were. No fault of Rafs’s and no deviousness on the part of the draw. Besides the absence of these players could be said to make the draw easier for all, so why single Rafa out?Unfortunately there are haters around and there always will be – normally Fed or Djokovic fans.
Much as I would like to see Rafa win in Madrid in another way it could give him some more rest time if he doesn’t make it .
I am just worried that he will be injured, or exhausted, or both, before he gets to Roland Garros.
Things could get doubly interesting. Nole has DISPENSED with his ENTIRE team, according to Ricky.
Andy, Nole, Stan, and Kei have all been struggling lately. I am waiting to see who of the other players, e.g., Kyrgios, Thiem, et al., will make it to the quarters.
RAFA, DO YOUR THING. THE BEST TO YOU, CHAMPION.
RAFA ROCKS
Yeah, Margo. Such a full blow out! I knew (thought) he would make some changes to his team but not on this scale. He said now he would be on the tour on his own for a while while gathering a whole new team. Really curious who will become his new coach.
What a year! Fed and Rafa must have stirred him up much more than he let on. But that’s to be expected. I never have any doubt he will “come back” one day simply because he’s anything but a quitter, no matter how much declined he might seem. Just hopefully not at Rafa’s expense though.
Yes, I thought it was pretty drastic myself, but then, I’m not in his head. There was speculation that his slump was due either to his disinterest after winning the FO, or family matters. I also read that he was not applying himself to his fitness regimen. Who knows what his goals are now. Maybe his priorities have changed. It’s a wait and see with him, I think.
I concur about Madrid being “a wide open clay Masters.” So many good players dying to oust the Clay Master. I’ll leave the commenting on that to you😃 with your encyclopedic knowledge.
RAFA ROCKS
Any word on the validity of something going down at the MM Open? I have nada solid, could be a rumor.
RAFA ROCKS
Rainier, @DavidLawTennis has suggested the following possible hirees:
Agassi
Sampras
Kuerten
Safin
Wilander
Navratilova
No-one
Maybe.
RAFA ROCKS
“Any word on the validity of something going down at the MM Open? I have nada solid, could be a rumor.”
Sorry Margo, I don’t get this. Can you elaborate?
Abt the “encyclopedic” thing, pls Margo, I’m the othe opposite that :p. I only love the game – it fascinates me in many ways. Of course I love Rafa but I also admire and like a lot of other players too. “Even” Djokovic. 🙂
Abt him and his shocking’s department from his team of many years who are truly like a family to him, tbh I have many thoughts of my own but it’s quite hard to say here. Many people won’t like it and the limitation of the reply option here makes a normal comment looks like an essay and half an essay a novel :p.
First keyword though: Pepe. If you care enough, first go to his website (pepeimaztennis.com) and try to read all the “philosophy” stuff on the front page. Stuff like “telepathy” and “telekinesis” are possible to human and that visualisation will take you further than your repeated practice which though sill effective, it only limits you and makes you suffer.
And of course his “famous” Love = Success (even though you don’t win matches/titles 😁), so on and so on.
Then if you’ve been following his news and career and have read his book, you probably have a good idea about him as both a player and person already. Try to watch some youtube videos of their “Love talk” last year after his shocking early exit at Wimby too if you haven’t. Then you’ll probably have a clearer idea about this whole strange thing, even if it’s just your own speculation.
But at least it’s based on facts and your own opinions, not on the media or what the majority of people say.
Whether it’s a desperated move or will be proven the right one, as he called it “the shock therapy”, we can now only wait and I think we won’t have to wait for too long. It’s not only shocking that he “let go” his whole team, it’s the timing of this decision – right before probably the most important 4 weeks to him.
Now even though he’s indisputedly an All Time Great, many coaches might not be that willing to take the chance and jump onto his boat. They might not like the thought of getting fired at any moment and as long as Pepe is still there, I agree with many people that he can’t really “come back”.
The burn-out” theory is now looking more valid than ever. I wish him well and I don’t like this “theory” tbh but it might very well turn out to be correct.
Tennis is so “dramatic”! 😌
About the “something going down at the MM Open,” that was a stand alone question. Sorry, I have nothing. Someone was “invited to discover a well kept secret about the MM Open 2017.” Could be nothing as I read that on Twitter. I’ve been “accused” of “taking notes.” Well, LOL, maybe I should start.
About your encyclopedic knowledge, that’s exactly what I meant. If you refer back to that paragraph, you will get that I appreciate your knowledge/ability to comment on all players with whom Rafa may have to confront on court.
I search for information about any player Rafa has to play, be he 5’8″ or 6’6″. I don’t give short shift to anyone. Tennis is an unforgiving sport so I don’t dismiss anyone who will be on the opposite side of the court facing Rafa.
About Nole, all I know is that he grew up in a war-torn country. I cannot even imagine experiencing something like that. I did read something not long ago about a guru, but that’s about all I know of him. I just hope he finds his way.
RAFA ROCKS
Thanks for the nice words, Margo. But believe me, I’m not “knowledgeable”. I just love the game and tend to ramble too much. ☺
Anyway, abt Novak, I think since he’s an ATG and has such an intense rivalry with Rafa (they’re the duo that have played the most matches in the Open era and the only one to have played 4 consecutive slam finals, quite a badass fact even if to us Rafa fans it’s so painful to watch him lose the first three), it’s all good to get to know abt him. And by doing that in turn we can understand more abt Rafa and their dynamic as well. 🙂
This is a very tough draw. Wish you all the best. Vamos Rafa <3
Tks y suerte
If Rafael Nadal is healthy, he will be victorious ,,, he truly is the King of the Clay Courts ,,,
ALL THE BEST CHAMP. GIVE YOUR BEST SHOT.
LOVE YOU ALWAYS.
🌹😚😙💜💛💗💘💔💖💚❤💟💓💞💝💕
I’m very excited and hope Rafa does Gr8. Please, no long matches. Get the job done in two, leaving energy for Rome. GOOD TENNIS TO YOU RAFA…
RAFA ROCKS