On Sunday, world No. 1 Rafael Nadal must secure victory in a blockbuster with world No. 4 Alexander Zverev to force a decisive fifth rubber.
Earlier today, Germany have taken a 2-1 lead over Spain in their Davis Cup quarter-final thanks to a doubles win for Tim Puetz and Jan-Lennard Struff in Valencia. The German duo beat Marc Lopez and Feliciano Lopez in five sets, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(4), 7-5.
Date: April 8, 2018
Match time: Around 11 AM local time / 5 AM EDT – New York, Montreal / 10 AM BST – United Kingdom / 11 AM CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / 7 PM AEST – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Rafa on playing Sascha:
I need to get a bit more solid with my serve, I cannot have mistakes with my serve like I did today, and Sascha is a very tough opponent. It will be a big challenge, but at the same time I am excited to play that match. After a while without competing, that will be a good test for me too. I know I have to play a great match, and I hope to be ready to play a good match. I am going to enjoy the fact that I get the chance to play in front of my crowd, on clay.
Rafa, who must win to keep Spain’s hopes alive, has won all three of his career meetings with Zverev.
| Year | Event | Surface | RND | Winner | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Monaco |
Outdoor Clay | R16 | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2017 | Australian Open Australia |
Outdoor Hard | R32 | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2016 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells CA, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | R16 | Rafael Nadal |
Rafa has won 103 out of 105 best-of-five set matches on clay and is on a 23-match winning streak for Spain in Davis Cup.
Spain currently hold a 26-tie winning streak on home soil. The hosts haven’t lost a home tie since 1999 when Gustavo Kuerten’s Brazil prevailed in Lerida.
Good luck & Vamos Rafa!
GREAT AND SOLID win for Rafa.
Rafa you pulled through for your team. Very happy for you.
YES YOU ROCK RAFA
Rafantastic, it looks like one way traffic for Rafa. So far the score vs Zverev is 6-1, 6-4, 5-3. I don’t see a miracle happening for a Sascha win.
RAFA ROCKS DAVIS CUP
Rafa i am quite sure that you will be giving the game against Sascha your very best on your favourite clay surface.
All the best for your game,
love and prayers,
AlaineXXSydneyXXAustraliaXX
Great to see Rafael back on court. Stay healthy-Zverev has struggled mentally in some matches, and Rafael is hungry to win and regain his form. Good luck👏🍀💪❣️
“Zverev can seal his team’s qualification but he must triumph facing the best player of all time on clay, Nadal, the man with 10 Roland-Garros.”
[Lepoint AgenceFrancePresse [AFP] April 7, 2018, 19:29]
Seems as if the French are also rooting for Rafa, I guess as long as he’s not playing against France.
SHOW YOUR METTLE RAFA!
RAFA ROCKS
Good luck and Vamos Rafa <3
Good luck rafa,Vamoss
Germany has taken the lead today by winning a close doubles match vs Spain.
Both Rafa and David have winning records against tomorrow’s opponents. David has won 9 vs Kohlschreiber’s 2 in matches played; 2006 Paris Masters and 2008 Indian Wells.
Good luck to Rafa and David. May the clay be with Spain.
RAFA ROCKS
It won’t be an easy match against Zverev, he is a good player on all surfaces. Plus, let’s not forget that Zverev also won the Rome Masters. If I’m not wrong, Rafa played only 6 matches in 2018, but let’s hope with all the experience Rafa has, he will find the way to stop Zverev. Vamos Rafa!
Yes RNF, Zverev won Rome 2017 against a still recuperating Djokovic. But his other 2017 clay tournaments have all been loses and have me optimistic about a Rafa win. I do agree that it may be a difficult match for Rafa but yes, his experience, freshness, and best of 5 should be a plus vs Sascha.
Zverev’s 2017 Clay Tournaments:
Monte-Carlo: L vs Rafa, R of 16; 6-1,
6-1.
Barcelona: L to Chung, R of 16; 6-1,
6-4.
Madrid: L vs Pablo Cuevas, QF; 3-6,
6-0, 6-4.
Rome: W vs Djokovic, F; 6-3, 6-4
FO: L vs Verdasco, R of 128; 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6.
RAFA ROCKS VALENCIA
I too am worried about tomorrow’s tie. I would be less concerned if Rafa had played more matches. He may not be 100% yet and playing five sets will be hard. Rafa was very relieved to win in three on Friday. I also know, however, how much winning for Spain means to him. Watching Rafa on the bench was so much fun. He has a passion for everything he does.
Va4favre, Sascha has been playing non-stop since the AO. AO, Rotterdam, Mexico, IW, and Miami; did I miss any? He has to be tired, don’t you think?
I don’t know which is worse; Rafa with not many matches or Sascha with maybe too many matches.
Also, Sascha is still young and I don’t know that he has built up his body well enough at this point to withstand all that he is putting it through. Rafa came through on Friday with 3 sets so he wasn’t overworked.
I came across Moyá’s comment about “Rafa not being 100% but winning 1 or 2 matches will help him because after DC he will have 2 months non-stop in the clay season and that is his priority.” Carlos could have been referring to Rafa’s lack of play instead of his health. I think Rafa feeds on clay in best out of 5.
I believe that Rafa will have more in his favor tomorrow vs Sascha. If Sascha does win on clay, I just hope it’s NOT tomorrow.
Rafa’s unforced errors concern me. I don’t want him giving away anything in points.
RAFA ROCKS CLAY