Two-time champion Rafael Nadal faces his first serious test at Wimbledon 2017 when he meets left-hander Gilles Muller in the last 16 on Monday. The 16th seed, from Luxembourg, has won more matches (10) than any other player on grass this season. This is Rafa’s 36th appearance in the second week of a major, compared to three for Muller.
Date: July 10, 2017
Match time: Rafa is second on No. 1 Court. Around 3 PM local time / 10 AM EDT – New York, Montreal / 4 PM CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / midnight AEDT – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Rafa on playing Muller:
He’s one of the toughest opponents possible on this surface especially. It’s his best surface without a doubt. He has a great serve, a great volley. He play well from the baseline here.
So yeah, he’s a tough, tough opponent. At the same time we are in the round of 16. You cannot expect to have an easy opponents. So it is a very tough one because he played a lot on grass this year. Let’s see if I am amble to keep playing well.
- Rafa is bidding to reach the quarterfinals here for the first time since he finished runner-up in 2011.
- Rafa is facing a Top 30 opponent at Wimbledon for the first time since falling to No. 2 Djokovic in the 2011 final. Since then, he has faced just 3 Top 30 players on grass – defeating No. 24 Bernard Tomic, No. 16 Gael Monfils and No. 28 Viktor Troicki en route to winning the title at 2015 Stuttgart.
- Rafa has won 28 consecutive completed sets at the Grand Slams – equalling his own longest-streak of consecutive completed sets won, which stretched from the quarterfinals at 2010 Wimbledon through to the final at the 2010 US Open. Nadal has not dropped a set at a Grand Slam since falling to Roger Federer in 5 sets in the Australian Open Final.
- Rafa is also bidding to reach 3 straight Grand Slam quarterfinals for the first time since 2013-14 – when he won the title at the 2013 US Open, reached the final at the 2014 Australian Open and won the title at 2014 Roland Garros.
Muller beat Rafa at the All England Club in 2005, but Rafa got one back in 2011. Our champ has an overall 5-1 record against the big-serving man from Luxembourg.
| YEAR | EVENT | SURFACE | RND | WINNER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells CA, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | R64 | Rafael Nadal |
62 26 64
|
| 2011 | US Open NY, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | R16 | Rafael Nadal |
761 61 62
|
| 2011 | Wimbledon Great Britain |
Outdoor Grass | R32 | Rafael Nadal |
766 765 60
|
| 2005 | Wimbledon England |
Outdoor Grass | R64 | Gilles Muller |
64 46 63 64
|
| 2005 | Barcelona Spain |
Outdoor Clay | R32 | Rafael Nadal |
60 62
|
| QUALIFYING, CHALLENGER AND FUTURES MATCHES | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YEAR | EVENT | SURFACE | RND | WINNER | RESULT |
| 2003 | Segovia Spain |
Outdoor Hard | QF | Rafael Nadal |
26 75 63
|
- If Rafa wins he will play either No. 7 seed Marin Cilic or No. 18 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarterfinals. He leads Cilic 4-1 and Bautista Agut 2-0 in their previous meetings.
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
Rafa played very well with Muller but like he said he was playing with scoreboard pressure and if you want to win you likely will make errors. Rafa plays good in any surface and at the match Muller never gave him any rhythm and when you do that he couldn’t do his normal pace.
In all things said, Rafa played with gusto. He is getting better and better.
Adelante Rafa y VAMOSSSSSS!!!
OMG… Can’t watch 😧 Please sweet Rafa go for that 2. set 😘🍀🙏🏻
Vamoos!! 🎾💪🏼
Four leaf clovers are LUCKY they say,
so I’m sharing and sending some
GOOD LUCK your way.. 🤗🍀🍀🍀🍀
VAMOOSS RAFA!! 🎾💪🏼❤️
And please also send Rafa a smørrebrød chock-full of energy producing fresh veggies and fish to help him win a fast match against Müller.🤗🍀🍀
RAFA ROCKS 150% TODAY AND EVERY DAY
LOL 😂 “Smørrebrød” full of energy coming Rafa’s way 👩🏼🍳🍞🥗🐟👍🏻
Plz go win today Rafa! 😘🤞🏻🍀
VAMOS CHAMP – YOU TOALLY ROCK! 🎾💪🏼😍
how is weather in London today ? Hoping a warm and sunny day
A heavy downpour is expected around lunchtime [12pm-1:30pm]. Cloudy, some sun, around 79-degrees F. Weather is subject to change depending on Mother Nature.
RAFA ROCKS 150% TODAY AND EVERY DAY
thanks for the info.Go Go Go Rafa Go we are with you.
You’re welcome.
Glad for the cheers from you and Rafantastic. And to think I was insulted here for cheering for Rafa.
RA RA RAFA
GO GO GO
DON’T STOP AT THE F O
BECAUSE UR ON A ROLL
GO GO GO
STRAIGHT THROUGH TO THE U S O
TEN IS GREAT
AND THREE CAN BE TOO
I LEAVE IT UP TO U
BUT WIN OR LOSE
I AM STUCK TO YOU
You are awesome Margo and a true fan of Rafa…..
As almost all imaginable has been said, I add good luck against Muller Rafa, you are the best.
Btw RF can talk what he likes; Rafa does not only have “a chance” to play the final, but also to BITE the Wimbledon 2017 cup.
WAMOS WAMOS WAMOS
GO RAFA. Play hard & determined as you have been playing. You’ll hear me cheering from Kingston NH. 👏🎾
Best wishes for Rafa to power on through come Monday. He is playing so well right now, it’s almost like a duplicate replay of 2013, but on grass he is even better than he was that year. Vamos all the way to finals!
🙂
I’ve every confidence that Rafa will play a smart match to beat Muller. I say this, not because I’m a Rafa fan, but have seen how sharp he’s been all round. Rafa managed to neutralise the bomb serves from Khachanov and he has a great record against fellow lefties. Furthermore, Rafa likes a target, so if Muller persists in rushing to the net, he’ll be passed routinely, as we’ve seen when Rafa played Micha Zverev in the past. As long as he stands his ground on the baseline and keeps up the intensity, Rafa will book his place in the quarter finals. Bring it on!
Yes, I have prayed for him as always.😊 It is ironic that he comes across the same player Muller, as in the 2005 2nd round who stopped him from going further. In theory he stands a chance, playing straights sets up until now, we were over the moon in Paris with R Garros but anything can happen. Look how it has been recent years in several tournaments, beaten by players lower in the ranking, shame for us fans, also shame for them,😢 a surprise. I suggested to Rafa to go to the open air swimming pool near Wim on Sunday, to exercise his body, it wa sunny,😀 today it is raining in Paris. Fiona in Paris
Svenja Mastroberardi
@svenja_mastro
3h
Federer: “I would be surprised if Murray reaches the final the way how Rafa is playing right now. I believe Rafa will reach the final.”
Federer: “I think I have a tougher draw to make the semis than Djokovic. I’d love to play him, it’s been a while.”
Federer regarding a potential QF: “I lean towards Raonic, my team thinks Zverev will win.” #Wimbledon
All quotes from interview with SRF this afternoon
10:51 am – 9 Jul 2017