Delpo will beat Nadal

Having beaten Nadal in a semi before and now fitter than before, I reckon that Delpo will come triumph in the last 16 encounter with Nadal.

Delpo has a respectable 3-5 h2h against him and with few matches under his belt, he is gaining back his old confidence which helped him in winning the 2010 US open by beating Nadal and Fed.

It will be good for the sport if Delpo wins tomorrow as it will open the race to no. 1 wide open.

Let's hope and pray for the best.

wow I actually have a nagging feeling that your wish may come true.

Either way if Del Potro is anywhere near his best form again it could be a great match.

Now that is a bold prediction and full respect is due to back it up.

However,

I just don't think Delpo will have enough in his game to trouble Nadal. Nadal has the stronger defence out of the 2 and if Nadal attacks and moves Delpo around the court, I can only see one outcome.

It is a cracking line-up tomorrow.

wow wrote:Having beaten Nadal in a semi before and now fitter than before, I reckon that Delpo will come triumph in the last 16 encounter with Nadal.

Delpo has a respectable 3-5 h2h against him and with few matches under his belt, he is gaining back his old confidence which helped him in winning the 2010 US open by beating Nadal and Fed.

It will be good for the sport if Delpo wins tomorrow as it will open the race to no. 1 wide open.

Let's hope and pray for the best.

What's Delpo's best win on grass ever? Probably against Clement in 2009...
His game does not match very well with grass, but more importantly: he doesn't care.
If he serves well we could see 1 or 2 tie breaks but that's about it.

Rafa in three

gallery play wrote:

wow wrote:Having beaten Nadal in a semi before and now fitter than before, I reckon that Delpo will come triumph in the last 16 encounter with Nadal.

Delpo has a respectable 3-5 h2h against him and with few matches under his belt, he is gaining back his old confidence which helped him in winning the 2010 US open by beating Nadal and Fed.

It will be good for the sport if Delpo wins tomorrow as it will open the race to no. 1 wide open.

Let's hope and pray for the best.

What's Delpo's best win on grass ever? Probably against Clement in 2009...
His game does not match very well with grass, but more importantly: he doesn't care.
If he serves well we could see 1 or 2 tie breaks but that's about it.

Rafa in three

Agree.

I think Nadal in 5. Delpo's shots are going to be tough to time for Rafa.

Expect Rafa to slice a lot tomorrow but if Delpo start to be confident, anything could happen.

Maybe wishful thinking as usual from me but Delpo has the weight of shots to trouble Nadal.

This idea that Del Potro can't improve his performances on grass is hogwash.

Anyone remember Lendl? Also Borg and Nadal aren't exactly what you would call "born grass court players".

Tenez wrote:
Expect Rafa to slice a lot tomorrow

Well, that would be a big mistake of team Nadal. If Rafa uses the slice (which isn't his best shot to say the least, he'll usually use it if he panics), Delpo will actually have a decent chance to win. Those slices allow him to stay close to the baseline and will give him the time and space to pull the trigger.

I wonder how long the rallies will be..Don't think Nadal fancies much rallying with Delpo

newballs wrote:This idea that Del Potro can't improve his performances on grass is hogwash.

Anyone remember Lendl? Also Borg and Nadal aren't exactly what you would call "born grass court players".

Delpo is still on his way back, winning Wimbledon is not on top of his wish list at the moment.
He'll try to improve on grass later on in his career

Don't think Del Boy is quite there yet. Rafa in 4 for me.

If they meet again at the US Open though could be a very different story...

Wouldn't totally rule it out but Rafa will start as massive favourite. If Del Po serves well he stands a chance.

Del Potro will be lucky to get to 1 tie break. to be honest. What people don't realise is, hitting flat and big on grass isn't effective as on hard courts. Nadal has the best movement on grass perhaps with Federer and on this surface, that's key. Wishful thinking Wow and yet again you'll get disappointed. Watching Nadal on grass you'll see he doesn't bother much with power on the shots but tries to get more spin and angles on the shot. He just knows how to play on grass and why it's likely he will leave many disappointed yet again by winning title.

legendkillar wrote:Now that is a bold prediction and full respect is due to back it up.

rafa took nearly 2 hours to get a break point on world no. 99 ranked Giles Muller. If Delpo can maintain high percentage of same serve that he does have the weapons to hurt Nadal in a tie break. Also, Delpo unlike Federer is not owned by nadal and has the confidence of beating him.

On Delpo's so far non achievement on grass, well don't we all know that this is the shortest duration surface on the tour and a lot of players do not get to play it on lot. 2nd week Wimby is more like RG now and Delpo has decent record at RG, so considering that do expect a fightback.

In delpo's own words- Do you want me to play possum or what?

Good luck Delpo!

newballs wrote:wow I actually have a nagging feeling that your wish may come true.

Either way if Del Potro is anywhere near his best form again it could be a great match.

Keep your fingers crossed. In Delpo we believe

gallery play wrote:

Tenez wrote:
Expect Rafa to slice a lot tomorrow

Well, that would be a big mistake of team Nadal. If Rafa uses the slice (which isn't his best shot to say the least, he'll usually use it if he panics), Delpo will actually have a decent chance to win. Those slices allow him to stay close to the baseline and will give him the time and space to pull the trigger.

I wonder how long the rallies will be..Don't think Nadal fancies much rallying with Delpo

But that's how Hewitt troubled Delpo last year sending him low balls that were tough to pick up for his big frame.

I am curious of how this match will pan out.

Looking @ Delpo's previous Wimbledon performances doesn't tell you anything, before he got to the 2nd round at best: now he's in the 4th, already a lot better this year. Delpo himself has only dropped one set so far (which in any case was very close, a tie breaker and lost in near darkness). There's actually a lot to suggest that this will not only be a great match but also that Delpo can take a set off Nadal. That's definitely my prediction, Nadal will drop at least one set to Delpo, whether he beats Nadal, hard to say, I'd say unlikely but not impossible.

The match will definitely be interesting if Delpo were to take the first or second set off Nadal because that changes the dynamic of the match. Anyway, it's not a huge deal if Delpo's not up to the job (which is damn tricky), after him, Nadal may be facing Berdych, Murray and then either Federer/Djokovic. All of those players are tough opponents. Berdych will be under less pressure in a quarter finals and could easily take sets off Nadal, next up Murray, again, has the ability to challenge Nadal, and Murray will perform better than last year and of course Federer/Djokovic, both of them great players who will definitely challenge and can beat him.

The only safe thing to say is that from now on, till next Sunday, it only gets tougher and tougher for Nadal and that's without doubt, a fact! Let's see how he gets on, it won't be easy!

Delpo has the capability to beat Rafa, but it may not happen in this Wimbledon. Delpo has not yet arrived after injuries. He has had good showing, but no good enough to beat the top four. Moreover, it is grass, not the hard court of U.S. Open. His big serves would give as much trouble as Muller's did. But flat shots from the baseline may not succeed on a consistent basis. Spectators might take his side, but that would not rattle Rafa beyond a point.

Delpo has and can beat Rafa-- if this was a Masters I would certainly believe Delpo could do it.. but this is a slam.. five sets .. Rafa is not easy to beat over five sets... if it had been hard court maybe.
Im sticking with Rafa... Rafa still may not be on his best form... but he is still hungry

Haddie-nuff wrote:Delpo has and can beat Rafa-- if this was a Masters I would certainly believe Delpo could do it.. but this is a slam.. five sets .. Rafa is not easy to beat over five sets... if it had been hard court maybe.
Im sticking with Rafa... Rafa still may not be on his best form... but he is still hungry

If it was a Masters and he was to beat Rafa it would be his first Masters title.

But it isn't and I doubt if it will go past four sets with Rafa winning.

However a good test for Del Potro to see how far he has progressed since the start of the year.

Im expecting a really good match with possibly Rafa getting a touch of his usual "secondsetinitis" (blast it though that I have to go out)... but there should be some tight games. Also Delpo has had a bit of a tight schedule this week... the longer the match goes on the more it is in Rafa´s favour. (barring any more slip-overs!!!)

Haddie - do you get BBC coverage and the lovely Greg R over there in Spain?

Yes I do sl... I get BBC 1 and 2 but none of this (press the red button for anything else) Its cable tv and so we have what we are given.
Normally I can watch most other tennis tournaments on Teledeporte the Spanish tv... whose coverage is pretty good... albeit all in Spanish. But because BBC have the rights on this one they are not doing so.

As for the lovely Greg R .. and Prat Cash but fortunately I do have a very good volume control on my tv I turn it up when McEnroe and Boris and Tim Henman are commentating

Haddie-nuff wrote:Yes I do sl... I get BBC 1 and 2 but none of this (press the red button for anything else) Its cable tv and so we have what we are given.
Normally I can watch most other tennis tournaments on Teledeporte the Spanish tv... whose coverage is pretty good... albeit all in Spanish. But because BBC have the rights on this one they are not doing so.

As for the lovely Greg R .. and Prat Cash but fortunately I do have a very good volume control on my tv I turn it up when McEnroe and Boris and Tim Henman are commentating

The volume control will also come in handy when the likes of Sharapova & Co are playing

Greg isn't so bad if you can get past his Fedal fawning and nasal accent.

Prat, on the other hand, should be shot.

On grass, in a slam and with Del Potro still not really back to his best form after almost a year lay-off, I can't see anything other than a Nadal win. Could be 4 sets and maybe with a tie break or two if Del Potro serves really well.

As others have said, if J-MDP was obviously fit and in form, and it was a hard court match, it would be somewhere very close to a 50/50 call.

Prat, on the other hand, should be shot.


Pass me the gun... bags i first

I am really really nervous about this match - what a tough draw Rafa has. I am sure Toni and Rafa has a game plan to beat Del Po.

My take would be - Rafa to slice the balls to Delpo's backhand to keep the balls low - difficult for tall and double handed backhand. Rafa also needs to serve out wide - no need to serve big but just place it wide to take Delpo out of the court. Delpo is slow very slow on court. Dropshot might work too. Today Rafa has to play variety - his topspin bounce is almost perfect height for Delpo to hit. Therefore he needs to play different today. I can't concentrate at work

Today Rafa has to play variety
----------------------------

That would make the news!

superochog wrote:I am really really nervous about this match - what a tough draw Rafa has. I am sure Toni and Rafa has a game plan to beat Del Po.

My take would be - Rafa to slice the balls to Delpo's backhand to keep the balls low - difficult for tall and double handed backhand. Rafa also needs to serve out wide - no need to serve big but just place it wide to take Delpo out of the court. Delpo is slow very slow on court. Dropshot might work too. Today Rafa has to play variety - his topspin bounce is almost perfect height for Delpo to hit. Therefore he needs to play different today. I can't concentrate at work

Superhog I think Rafa knows what he has to do... and though some dont recognise it he has the ability to change his game when need be.. ihe certainly has no problems against Federer

Touchè Haddie

Haddie-nuff wrote:

superochog wrote:I am really really nervous about this match - what a tough draw Rafa has. I am sure Toni and Rafa has a game plan to beat Del Po.

My take would be - Rafa to slice the balls to Delpo's backhand to keep the balls low - difficult for tall and double handed backhand. Rafa also needs to serve out wide - no need to serve big but just place it wide to take Delpo out of the court. Delpo is slow very slow on court. Dropshot might work too. Today Rafa has to play variety - his topspin bounce is almost perfect height for Delpo to hit. Therefore he needs to play different today. I can't concentrate at work

Superhog I think Rafa knows what he has to do... and though some dont recognise it he has the ability to change his game when need be.. ihe certainly has no problems against Federer

I know but I am scared ..... will be watching from behind the sofa

Rafa in 4, whatever people say Del Potro still doesn't look comfortable on grass to me, while Rafa is in the top 2 grass court players in the world (fence-sitting, me? ). Del Potro may well nick a set, and it will be tight, but I'm backing Rafa in four. And as the Rafa fans on here know, my predictions with Rafa are usually pretty good

Superchog.... move over is there room for two

MfC

Predicting a Nadal match victory at Wimbledon is usually a fairly safe bet - by my reckoning, he has a record of 29-2 since 2006, with the only losses being against Federer in finals.

BTW, Federer's record over the same time is 34-2 (more matches because he hasn't missed a tournament with injury), with losses to Nadal in the 08 final and Berdych in the QF last year. Kind of proving your point about the best 2 grass court players.

Del P is the kind of player who could get on a hot streak and knock anyone off court, but I don't think it is likely to happen today.

I have not read all the comments here but I for one DO NOT think JMDP has the necessary game to beat Nadal. Many expect this to be a thrilling encounter but such matches are usually an anticlimax.

When JMDP did manage to beat Nadal he was not recovering from injury and I believe that has set him to back a lot. When JMDP played Djokovic in Paris he he stopped running and chasing down balls as he kept pulling up. He seemed nervous to run perhaps due to his past injuries and seem to hesitate a lot. That sort of play won't win u a match against Nadal. Fortune favours the brave I am afraid and so I think it will be Nadal in straight sets.

Nadal is playing ridiculously well. Say this to some Nadal fans and they would say no he's not. He is playing as well as he did at the USO 2010 where he reached the final without dropping a set. I cannot believe how he struggled on clay this year at the French but is cruising on the grass.

Personally I think its due to the court speed being ridiculously slower than the last couple of years. It may explain why Spanish players are now doing pretty on the surface.

To get back to the original point, NO WAY is JMDP going to beat Nadal.

I was having a conversation at Wimbledon a few days ago with an ex player who is now in the commentary box who had some very interesting opinions. This person believes its Nadal's title and that Murray will bow out in the semis at best.

FedsFan

"This person believes its Nadal's title and that Murray will bow out in the semis at best."

Well, at least they understand how to read a draw then...

I'm not convinced Rafa is playing at the top of his game (although he certainly isn't playing badly), he's just not been tested very much so far. We'll know a bit more after this match, both with regard to J-MDP's potential as a grass court player and as to how well Rafa is playing.

Oh, and I don't think the courts are particularly slower than they've been for the last 3 or 4 years at least - the same comments / criticisms have been going at least that long, and yet we still have a couple of essentially S/V players out-performing their ranking (Lopez, Llodra), so it can't be playing THAT slow.

wow wrote:
It will be good for the sport if Delpo wins tomorrow as it will open the race to no. 1 wide open.

The race to no. 1 will not be 'wide open' if Nadal is beaten by Del Potro, Djokovic will be guaranteed the #1 ranking post-Wimbledon in that case. The race for #1 will, in fact, go on if and only if Nadal gets through.

A very interesting match awaits. Ultimately, Del Potro will have to play out of his skin to win, but he's dangerous and this is possible. Like at RG versus Djokovic he may show his ability but fall short.

Wasn't I right in saying that Nadal would slice a lot v Delpo?

I thought he would use the slice alot. I agree with you their Tenez. Not sure that Delpo handles slice well at all.

I must confess that I was very surprised that the giant del Potro was able to win a set off Nadal on grass. To me that showed he was back to his very best form of USO '09. He will prove a big threat in the next Major.

I now hope, and fully expect, Nadal to crush Murray on Friday and go on to win his 3rd Wimbledon crown.

Slicing adds variety, and makes a 6'6' guy have to dip low.
Looks like Delpo received one slice too many...

I thought Delpo done well to get a set. He is certainly nearing his form before his injury. The US Open will be interesting for sure.

Lol. He's not back to his "very best"

If he was then he wouldn't have struggled with Gilles Simon the round before.

A fully fit Delpo would have won the match today.

If you read my post it said 'nearing'

Not sure a fully fit Delpo would've won the match. Run him a close 5 sets maybe, but as the poster above said, the slice undone Delpo.

Rubbish. This is grass and he was playing a Legend of the game (who only had one foot for part of the match).

I dont think Delpo could have played much better to be honest...grass exposes people who dont move as well as the besy. He did well but you always felt Nadal has that higher gear he could slip into.

michael_o wrote:Rubbish. This is grass and he was playing a Legend of the game (who only had one foot for part of the match).

One foot - and where was the other one

dummy_half wrote:On grass, in a slam and with Del Potro still not really back to his best form after almost a year lay-off, I can't see anything other than a Nadal win. Could be 4 sets and maybe with a tie break or two if Del Potro serves really well.

As others have said, if J-MDP was obviously fit and in form, and it was a hard court match, it would be somewhere very close to a 50/50 call.

hahaha - Spot on.

Although I would have relished a Delpo win but Nadal just got saved by the skin of his teeth. Guest 82 got it spot on and well done but rest who were discounting delpo, he has shown that he is up there amongst the tennis elite and will win multiple slams.

I am not sure as how Nadal's ankle is going to hold up in the tournament as injuries are creeping back into his game.
Mardy fish will be easy meat for him but Andy won't be easy to get past.

Andy Murray for Wimby!