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  • Miami Round of 16 Preview: Rafael Nadal vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu

    4/1/08 2:03 AM | Cheryl Murray
    - Rafael Nadal will take on Paul-Henri Mathieu for the eighth time in his career for a spot in the quarterfinals.

    On Sunday night, Rafael Nadal showed the tennis world precisely what he is capable of on hard courts. Watching the masterful performance he displayed against a completely helpless Nicolas Kiefer in their third round match on Sunday night, one wonders that his hard court game has ever been questioned. It often has due in large part to his lack of success at the US Open. The surface in Miami, of course, compliments his game. High bouncing and relatively slow, giving him plenty of time to set up those killer forehands he unleashed against Kiefer.

    Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu has suffered defeat at the hands of Nadal seven times in his career. He has not, in fact, ever beaten the Spaniard though he has come close on numerous occasions. A notable instance was the set he took from Nadal at the French Open in 2006. This was no easy feat, as Nadal has never lost a match at Roland Garros, and in fact has not been taken to five sets at the clay Grand Slam event. Each of the three sets Mathieu has taken from Nadal in their various matches have all been first set victories. He often manages to come out of the gate running, but loses steam as the match goes on. Nadal is, quite simply, a better big match player.

    The Spaniard has breezed through his first two matches, beating German Benjamin Becker in straight sets and then dispatching of Becker's countryman Nicolas Kiefer with ease. Mathieu has not had such an easy road to the round of 16. Marin Cilic took a set from the Frenchman in the second round, and Nadal's good friend Carlos Moya gave him everything he could handle before Mathieu prevailed 7-6 (1), 7-5 in round 3. Given Nadal's current form, it is difficult to imagine that Mathieu will have enough game to get past the Spaniard. Nadal in 2.

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Comments

Rafa played the complete game. He looked so confident. His game came back! Federer also played his game against Soderling today. I hope the finals will be Rafa vs Roger. I miss their match!

tennisnakama , 4/1/08 6:08 AM


Vamos Rafa!

RafaNadalGirl20 , 4/1/08 6:11 AM



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