On Wednesday, Rafael Nadal will face 19-year-old Andrey Rublev for a spot in the US Open semifinals. Our champ has never played world No. 53 Rublev, who has upset Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin to reach the quarterfinals.
Date: 6 September 2017
Match time: Rafa is second on Ashe. Around 1 PM EDT – New York, Montreal / 6 PM BST – United Kingdom / 7 PM CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / Thursday 3 AM AEDT – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Rafa on playing Rublev:
Now I have a tough opponent, Rublev, next round, and I need to continue to play well. Of course he’s young, and when you are young you feel that everything is new. But he already won a lot of matches on the tour. He’s not a kid that he came now in this event. Of course not. He’s on the tour for a while. He’s playing well. He’s a solid player on the tour.
Rublev on facing Rafa:
Rafa is the real champion and I’m just going to try to enjoy it – this is the quarter-final and I have nothing to lose.
Rublev, who idolised our champ when growing up, will be bidding to become the youngest semifinalist since Rafa in 2005 and Lleyton Hewitt in 2000. The Russian teen came into the US Open ranked No. 53, as of now he’ll move up into the 40s.
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
Rafa from all the comments above it was a great match by you, but I did not see it here in Sydney.
All the best for the Semi finals.
Love and prayers,
AlaineXXsydneyXXaustraliaXX
I almost felt sorry for Rublev – almost! They hadn’t played a match before, but they had practised against each other. Suspect Rublev was surprised how different Rafa is in match form. Never mind, kid, you’ve got loads of time… Now I want to see Delpo down Federer!
Not really, Sarah.
Rafa has the reputation of playing even more intensely in practice than matches. He definitely hits flatter and plays more aggressive, more freely. The week leading up to the tournament he won all of his practice sets against all high quality opponents (Toni’s revelation) and looked mightily impressive. Surely he impressed the ESPN team, a Fed’s mini fan club. :p
Well done Rafa!
Rublev didn’t play as expected – maybe Rafa didn’t let him!!!
I wonder if a stiffer match might have been a better preparation for the semi finals especially if it’s going to be Roger.
Rafa let ur confidence be high and flying!!! Believe and know that you win!!!
VAMOS! Love you ❤️❤️😘😘
Well done rafa. Now c’mon del Potro!!!
Rafa is semis awesome. It’s 1:36 here. Sleep time bye everyone
That’s the warm up, so when does the match begin?
No , great result Rafa ,keep up the good work , let’s hope your next match is a piece of 🍰 as well.
So here we go. Rafa serving for the match after 1:33′. No drama whatsoever now, pls. Vamos! 💪🏻💪🏻
Some beautiful shots some ….. . But playing much better than previous matches. Hope it builds his confidence.
Wow, well I hope you’re all enjoying this match. Is this the Rublev who beat Dimitrov in straight sets? Rafa is choking the life out of his tennis right now, poor kid:( Sorry not sorry!!
Haha. Mac.
Sublime CCBH PS from Rafa, leaving Rublev clueless at the net.
3-1 3rd set Rafa leads
That was ridiculous! It’s from the same basket of shots as that one against Federer at the AO:)
Agreed, Mac. Lots of great shots from that match even though it still hurts me a bit each time I rewatch them. 🙂
Ahh no. Rublev DFs again at BP in a lengthy tug-of-war game. Gotta give it to the kid though, how he’s almost always trying to find the sweetest spots to hit. He should take this match as an invaluable lesson and only improve from here on.
4-1 Rafa
VAMOS DEAR RAFA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: ) : ) : ) We love when you lead 2:0 at the beginning of a set!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: ) : ) : ) : ) : ) ci……ci……ci…… YOU ARE GLIDING & REACHING & MAGICAL AY YJE NET & SERVING SOLID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 😉 VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) GO RAFA GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) XOXOXOXOXO
So it’s a beautiful swan 2 for the 2nd set. Good enough. Rafa was serving at 78% in the set and that’s simply unplayable.
I agree Rainier. It’s good to watch
Now I have a question. Is rafa playing really well or is rublev slightly overawed? Perhaps a bit if both?
Both, Susie. The kid is being overwhelmed and Rafa is quite unplayable ATM. 🙂
Rafa is playing well . He is not letting the kid dictate points. Keep calm Rafa, your almost there.
Rafa does well avoiding the break! His serving is impressive today too.
Ahh… Such a shame. Rublev DFs on BP.
3-2 2nd set Rada leads
Rafa serving and dealing with everything the kid throwing at him very well. Not letting up on anything but he should try to mix up more or he’ll tire himself out trying to go toe to toe with the kid’s power game
Survived 2BPs again just now like in the 1st set. Love clutch Rafa. 😡
Sorry, wrong smiley. 😍
That’s it. Clutch Rafa, love it. Serves like a boss on BPs then breaks the prince right away. Serious some high quality hitting there.
Rafa sux in court position..I don’t get it..what the hell are coaches for?
Once again too far behind the base line.
VAMOS DEAR CHAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) Great first lead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) Love your aces and returns and your precious focus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) Short & sweet…..determined drive Nadal style!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: ) You are playing beautifully & we love your sportsmanship on the court!!!! You are class of your own!!!!! : ) It is great to see a woman empire covering your mach…..KUDOS!!!!! I like her….seen her covering many women matches….a true pro!!!!! : ) On Wish j mac will minimize his self promoting, coaching & licking comments geared to sale himself to the young Russian . He does not have anything to add to no player and he is poor at covering this match thus far. His constant chatter box useless talk is rather destructing from the enjoyment of watching these two great players!!!!!.
GO RAFA GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) We love you and very happy for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )
First set in the bag. Keep it going.