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6/21/10 10:48 PM | Ricky Dimon
Rafael Nadal will kick off his 2010 Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday. Standing in his way of the second round is Kei Nishikori.
For the first time since his epic five-set win over Roger Federer in the 2008 final, Rafael Nadal will be in action at Wimbledon when he takes the court on Tuesday afternoon.
His first opponent is Kei Nihsikori, against whom Nadal is 1-0 lifetime. They faced each other two years ago on the grass courts of Queen's Club, with Nadal prevailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Nishikori disappeared from the tennis scene shortly thereafter and is just now making a real comeback. The 20-year-old, who has been plagued by a major elbow injury, won two straight Challenger titles earlier this season and reached the second round of the French Open before falling to Novak Djokovic. Nishikori qualified for last week's tournament in Eastboune, but a hip problem--yes, another injury for the youngster--forced him out in the opening round.
Nadal, on the other hand, has arguably never been healthier. The second-seeded Spaniard struggled throughout the second half of 2009 and again early this year, but he caught fire during the clay-court swing. Nadal won four titles (all three Masters and his fifth French Open) and now bids for his second Wimbledon crown with plenty of momentum behind him. He is back up to No. 1 in the world with an amazing 40-5 record for his 2010 campaign.
"He's a very good player," Nadal said of Nishikori. "I think he had an injury for the last year or last two years, but he has amazing potential. I think he has enough potential to be in the Top 10 if he is healthy and he's still. I know (it is) going to be a very difficult match."
If it does turn out to be difficult, it will most likely be Nadal's own doing. He has played only three grass-court matches this season, scraping past Denis Istomin in the Queen's Club third round before being upset by Feliciano Lopez. Nishikori, though, is just 2-2 lifetime on grass at the ATP level.
Nadal missed out on a 2009 title defense due to knee tendinitis, so he could be a man of a mission this time around. Count on Nadal cruising in three sets.
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good analysis of rafa's game on clay and grass!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 2:06 PM
thnx vrael, another good one from jason :) ...rafa needs to make massive adjustments really..
vamosrafa , 6/22/10 2:30 PM
Common Nishikori-san all Nihon with you.
sabs , 6/22/10 3:03 PM
the sun is out....nd rafa says that sun gives him ENERGY.....haaa
vrael , 6/22/10 3:39 PM
some ripping CC backhands...VAMOS!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 3:41 PM
rafa san breaks nishi san.......VAMOS!!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 3:43 PM
that 92 mph bakhnd was a delight to watch... clea hitting from nadal so far..not bad from kei tho...2-1 rafa
vamosrafa , 6/22/10 3:51 PM
hilarious shank from Nadal. Oy.
cherylmurray , 6/22/10 3:55 PM
40 all......rafa saves some break pts!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 3:56 PM
ohhh the lawnmower got an early break.
Vamos !!!
Raindrops , 6/22/10 3:58 PM
rafa holds...its amazing seeing how much spin he is putting on the ball.....clay or no clay...its difficult to counter that much venom.....impressive stuff!!!
VAMOS!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 3:59 PM
Impressive from Nadal so far. couple of wonky backhands, but I like how he's serving.
cherylmurray , 6/22/10 4:02 PM
nadal also looks in amazing shape....great physical specimen...lol
vrael , 6/22/10 4:03 PM
@ vrael.................are you in love with Rafa?............................lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monalysa , 6/22/10 4:06 PM
great catch from the ball boy...:)
nishikori playing well too..
vrael , 6/22/10 4:07 PM
update please Rafans!
Raindrops , 6/22/10 4:08 PM
monalysa....yes...pretty much
5-2...rafa breaks again!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 4:09 PM
Vamos!!!!..............vreal are u watching live or its live scoring?
Monalysa , 6/22/10 4:11 PM
im watching the match......live streaming....atdhe.net
vrael , 6/22/10 4:12 PM
first set in the bag...6-2
missed my soccer practice today...just for rafael...nd so far its been worth it.....VAMOS!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 4:14 PM
0k................lucky u.im at work...............live scoring for me!
Glad Rafa's won the first set!........Hope he wins in straights.
How do u rate his play so far, vreal?
Monalysa , 6/22/10 4:16 PM
great job done in the first set! Rafa looks GOOOD! Vamos!!!
natashao , 6/22/10 4:16 PM
monalysa...so far he has been brilliant.....very aggresive....forehand in its full glory...working good angles....this is rafa at his best imo!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 4:18 PM
Monalysa: So far I'd say he was on cruise control.
ed251137 , 6/22/10 4:18 PM
The Lawnmower cuts nicely the grass so far.
Vamos Rafa!
Raindrops , 6/22/10 4:22 PM
Thanks u guys...................looking forward to watching this match at home!!..hope he continus this way!
Blake looks like he is going home!
Monalysa , 6/22/10 4:26 PM
nishikori holds......nishikori playing a bit better now!!
vrael , 6/22/10 4:31 PM
great point.......
vrael , 6/22/10 4:35 PM
Rafa is playing well. He does have a couple more gears to go to if need be.
isabeau77 , 6/22/10 4:36 PM
Rafa is playing classy today...He is looking too good in grass...his shots,forehand, Awsummmmm!!!
VAmossssssssss!!!
kingnadal , 6/22/10 4:40 PM
nice to hear that. Hope he finishes the match of quickly.
atul1985 , 6/22/10 4:42 PM
rafa 1st serve percentage is a bit lower than the usual.....arnd 60% today,but its looking much more powerful.....
vrael , 6/22/10 4:44 PM
Blake lost to Haase...Robin's good on grass though - he won't be as easy for Nadal as we might think.
cherylmurray , 6/22/10 4:44 PM
His serve % could be better though. If it comes to a tiebreaker Nishi could have the edge on him.
ed251137 , 6/22/10 4:48 PM
RAFA BREAKS......VAMOS!!!!!!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 4:50 PM
Above comment obsolete! No tie-breaker looming.
ed251137 , 6/22/10 4:51 PM
3 out of the four points on rafa's serve have been aces...:)
vrael , 6/22/10 4:53 PM
Rafa isnt pushing himself today. He lifts his game when he needs, like at 4/4.
isabeau77 , 6/22/10 4:54 PM
rafa's serve out wide...so effective....he can hit that serve all day long!!!!
2nd set in the bag too...6-4...VAMOS!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 4:57 PM
Am I imagining it or has Rafa speeded up his service preparation time? He knows Wimby are tough on this and was very rattled when warned the last time he played there.
ed251137 , 6/22/10 4:57 PM
rafa breaks in the first game of the 3rd set......this is the rafa of monte carlo we are seeing....:)
VAMOS!!!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 5:03 PM
horrible time for a double fault from Nishi. Wowzers.
cherylmurray , 6/22/10 5:04 PM
McEnroe is going overboard today praising Rafa.
ed251137 , 6/22/10 5:04 PM
ed251137...wats he saying??
vrael , 6/22/10 5:06 PM
I see that Rafa has come out to play!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep it up, Rafa!!
VAMOS!!!
Monalysa , 6/22/10 5:08 PM
Just a stream of superlatives: amazing, incredible, unbelievable, looking very, very sharp etc. etc.
ed251137 , 6/22/10 5:12 PM
This is really outstanding from Nadal. I'm extremely impressed with his serving.
cherylmurray , 6/22/10 5:13 PM
very sharp is accurate if u ask me.....thts the best way to define his level of play atm.....
vrael , 6/22/10 5:13 PM
Cant believe this. Murray has just started on Court 1. Poor scheduling!!
ed251137 , 6/22/10 5:14 PM
Andy Murray is already down a break in 1st set!!!!
Monalysa , 6/22/10 5:18 PM
Cheryl: it wasn't so good in the first set (58%) - but he's upped it progressively since.
ed251137 , 6/22/10 5:23 PM
rafa slipped....
gets broken!!
vrael , 6/22/10 5:24 PM
Please please break back Rafa, I want to go over to watch Murray.
ed251137 , 6/22/10 5:26 PM
That racket coming down at Rafa would have been funny if he was not broken. :-(
phoenix , 6/22/10 5:27 PM
nadal breaks back......VAMOS!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 5:31 PM
Yeah, Vamos!!!
phoenix , 6/22/10 5:33 PM
commentators full of praise for rafa...good signs
vrael , 6/22/10 5:34 PM
yes, i notice that too, vrael.
phoenix , 6/22/10 5:39 PM
mcenroe belives rafa has the edge over every one this time and he thinks if rafa stays healthy for 3-4 years he will join the league where federer, sampras and laver are sitting. remember this is the first week and conditions at week 2 suit him more so VAMOS rafa...really impressive....serving so well and that forehand is a killer on grass.
oh that was interesting.that last pnt, nadal didnt bother going for it and chose to stay still ! even mcenror was surprised rafa gave up on that pnt , may b he is wiser now and saves energy ...it was nt an important point so rafa shud do these things imo.
vamosrafa , 6/22/10 5:39 PM
mcenroe is bang on....rafa's greatest trouble are his knees....if he takes care of them for the next 4-5 yrs...he will certainly be closer to sampras's record atleast!!!
VAMOS!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 5:41 PM
mallorcan lawnmower starts his campaign with an impressive W....VAMOS!!!
vrael , 6/22/10 5:43 PM
Rafa was impressive. His serve was very good and fast, great improvement in that regard...his shots were deep and strong, I simply loved it! I remember Nishikori made Nole's life hard at FO, so I knew it would not be easy at all for Rafa especially knowing he did take a set from Rafa at Queens in 2008...but this time around Rafa proved he wants no surprises at all and that he is determined to do well in Wimby! VAMOS!!!
natashao , 6/22/10 5:52 PM
rafa need not wi as mayn slams as federer...if he can move to like 13-14 with a better combination , masterting all surfaces .. ... just pray he stays healthy...he is taking good care fo his knees nowadays ..
vamosrafa , 6/22/10 5:53 PM
lets see how SODA playd now..
vamosrafa , 6/22/10 5:56 PM
Great win for Rafa as Nishikori plays the best tennis of his life. Rafa's serve was on fire and he looks poised to keep that level and raise it on the late stages. He's one of the few top players who hasn't shown any nerves on the always tricky opening match.
grafight , 6/22/10 6:09 PM
Woo Hoo. Nadal won!
Kei-San has played a kamikaze tennis but the lawnmower is shaken not a single bit. Good win for Rafa hoping to get more acquainted on grass as the tournament progresses. Let's see how the other seeds fare on their respective matches. Andy is doing good too 2 sets up he just got the break at the first frame of the 3rd set.
Vamos Rafa !!!
Raindrops , 6/22/10 6:24 PM
the matador is here..
and he is here in some style!!
6 matches away from glory now!!!
vamos rafa!!!!!!!!!!
clayking , 6/22/10 6:39 PM
vamosrafa, 6/22/10 5:56 PM Busy overpowering Ginny
ed251137 , 6/22/10 6:43 PM
I'm very happy with the way Rafa plays today. Nishikori is not an easy opponent. Rafa serves 8 aces today, very good! I think every part of Rafa's game is working well today and he is not even in top gear. Hope he continues in this form going forward. It seems the grass surface is quite slippery, I see so many players slipped and fell. Rafa slipped a few times today and lost his serve partly due to that.
luckystar , 6/22/10 7:17 PM
I must say that what i a have seen so far is that even iam a Federer fan, that Nadal is the favourite to win Wimbledon. He plyed a great match today! I was thinking that mabey it is time for Federer to pass the throne to Nadal. That´s how it works, you can´t win forever. I noticed that he is becoming slower with the day, what wil lead to many more errors. Also he doesn´t hit that hard and deep before, angels are not as good as they were. I hope iam wrong and that he can pick up his game bit what i have seen so far it doesn´t look like it.
Hope that he does win a couple of more slams but i have my doubts.
taxon , 6/22/10 7:28 PM
Take heart, Taxon,
I don't think Federer is the type to retire soon even if he goes through a bad patch, and even if he does not reach again the same level of excellence he used to have. He is too wise / tenacious. There will be more Roger slams, as he will have a number of returns to amazing results. The increased age adds something at the same time as taken away.
chlorostoma , 6/22/10 8:33 PM
chlorostoma: You are quite right - unless he chooses to retire there is no reason to suppose Federer will not be lifting trophies for a some time to come - albeit not the GSs with the quite the regularity he has enjoyed to date. Knowing how to win counts for a lot.
ed251137 , 6/22/10 10:12 PM
I should add that this might depend on somebody else taking Rafa out of his path before the final!!!!!
ed251137 , 6/22/10 10:16 PM
Well... nice to see spanish warrior in blaze of glory.... Just stay healthy Rafa!!!
zare , 6/22/10 10:42 PM
Every time Rafa slipped I had a mini heart attack! But he is in great form. I am so excited for him.
Vamos!
isabeau77 , 6/23/10 2:21 AM
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Found a nice article for Rafa fans.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/409382-wimbledon-changing- of-the-guard-as-rafael-nadal-surpasses-roger-federer
cal23 , 6/22/10 4:16 AM