Barcelona: 2nd round romp
Screen grab courtesy of Inés
Rafa started his 2012 Barcelona title defense by playing #78 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez today. I didn’t watch the match so have no idea how Rafa was playing, but looking at the score, there’s no way he could have been playing badly unless Garcia-Lopez was channeling my shot making abilities (aka, I have none). Rafa’s through to the next round: 6-1, 6-2.
Did anyone get to watch the match? What did you think about it?
Stats:
| Nadal | Garcia-Lopez | |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics on Serve | ||
| Aces | 0 | 1 |
| Double Faults | 2 | 2 |
| 1st Serve % | 55% | 63% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 17/21 (81%) | 16/38 (42%) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 10/17 (59%) | 11/22 (50%) |
| Break Points Saved | 1/2 (50%) | 9/15 (60%) |
| Service Games Played | 7 | 8 |
| Statistics on Return | ||
| 1st Return Points Won | 22/38 (58%) | 4/21 (19%) |
| Second Return Points Won | 12/22 (55%) | 7/17 (41%) |
| Break Points Won | 6/15 (40%) | 1/2 (50%) |
| Return Games Played | 8 | 7 |
| Statistics on Points | ||
| Total Service Points Won | 27/38 (71%) | 26/60 (43%) |
| Total Return Points Won | 34/60 (57%) | 11/38 (29%) |
| Total Points Won | 61/98 (62%) | 37/98 (38%) |
| Other Stats | ||
| Winners | 18 | 14 |
| Unforced errors | 15 | 34 |
| Net Approaches | 3/5 (60%) | 8/10 (80%) |
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Rafa played really well. He had worse % in 1 st serves than in MC, but I don’t think he needed more. The FH was really on fire and Willy had many problems to deal with the heavy FHs. Willy played well the 2 games he won in the 2nd set, specially the one in his serve, by saving 5 BPs.
In summary, I’ve liked very much what I’ve seen from Rafa. Onto the next round!
Yeah agreed with above..Rafa’s 1st serve percentage was wayy lower than it was in Monte Carlo,but guess it’s enough to win..with Fed and Nole not in Barcelona this week, i guess Rafa’s toughest opponent could be Murray (then again Andy is unpredictable!)..
VAMOS RAFA! :o)
Yeah murray and ferrer are his only real competition as far as i can see. Verdasco is too inconsistent.
I would bet quite a bit of money on Rafa winning barcelona.
Love you Rafa
Rafa did enough to win comfortably. Always lovely to see him back on home soil, in that cosy el Godo club. I’m gonna have tennis on my TV tomorrow although I don’t mind the Spanish stream if it were more stable ;D
Vamos Peachy Rafa!
oh, I didn’t watch the match either :(
tried to catch from live-score, but LOADING INTERFACE 85% until Rafa’s match is over. doh!
thanks for the match summary above…
nice to know that Rafa through to the 3rd R so well (from the score)
VAMOS Rafa!!! :)
Very well baby. 6-1, 6-2 it’s OK and if @SpanishRNfan said that Rafa played very well I’m happy. Next round. Vamos Rafa!
The spanish stream was way unstable (needed to re-load every few minutes), but from what I managed to see, Rafa did an excellent job against an opponent who at no time posed any kind of threat to him. A welcome surprise: blue water bottles!!
I only watched part of the match, my streaming was awful. Rafa played very well, apart from that break in the second set, during which Garcia Lopez stepped it up on a couple of short shots by Rafa. Or at least that’s what I think happened since my streaming was on and off all the time.
VAMOS !!!! :)
beautiful groundstrokes with consistent deep by rafa, AND GGL was not playing bad at all – simply, he was outclassed. and mind you, GGL has in the backhand his biggest weapon, so is a kind of player who could hurt Rafa. not today.
only bad point his serve, which, being his least natural and comfortable shot, probably needs extra focus, which Rafa did not have, and did not need anyway, today.
happy that, of all the improvements in MC, he kept the depth in his strokes and the aggressive court positioning, not to mention the backhand, which he’s been hitting all right. and that forehand, omg, totally on fire!
totally share the same impressions!
Great description of what I saw today too. I thought his performance was impressive- although my stream stopped before he was broken in 2nd set.
I must say that I am very, very worried about those knees for Rafa. I have seen other magnificent athletes whose careers were cut short because of chronic knee problems. It will be a great loss for tennis if that happens with Rafa. I really do not understand the rationale of retaining an ATP schedule packed with back to back tournaments and over proportioned with hard court events when it plays havoc with the bodies of the players. What an unnecessary waste of all that magnificent talent! I really hope fans and players will press for a more realistic schedule and I hope, hope that the doctors can work some magic for Rafa and his knees. He certainly provides the on court magic for our entertainment.
here’s the link of match highlights. there were some pretty nice shots!
Thanks for the link. The quality of that video is really good and Rafa’s footwork is sublime!
Thanks for the highlights! I loved the super slow motion on the hot shot! :)
Between work & bad stream, I couldn’t watch much either but I could tell Rafa’s game was solid. GGL stepped it up at 4-0 and elongated the match by saving 5 break points which seemed to make Rafa grumpy (or grumpier). Too bad the highlights ended at 4-1 in the 2nd.
: ) welcome! it’s a pleasure to share good video of Rafa! he’s coming back!!!
Thought he played really well from what I could see. He seemed to be hitting to a very good length and with a lot of power and confidence. The only thing that worried me slightly is that he seemed a bit grumpy and I’ve just read that his knee was bothering him a little, but he says it’s nothing to worry about.Fingers crossed that it isn’t a problem and that he doesn’t over-exert himself this tournament. Just go steady sweetie! xx
Oh really? I hope it isn’t serious. He’s just found his game, that would be a shame!
Is it possible the first % was lower because — since he was feeling pretty comfortable about being in control – he was going for bigger/faster serves? I.e., it was good time to experiment with the faster serve. We’ve seen him do that before.
I think consistency is always going to be an issue for Rafa when he’s going for more on the serve so we should expect that it may fluctuate from match to match. Even in the final on Sunday his 1st serve % dropped quite a bit from the 1st to the 2nd set. I think what’s most important is that he’s able to manage it especially from a mental perspective. He can’t afford another IW2011 meltdown:/
I second that, no repeat of IW 2011 please, the serve was a total liability all year long…
but here are my two cents:
to serve as well as he did in MC final he needs an outstanding focus, which understandably, and as much as he keeps saying that GGL is a very dangerous player, he wasn’t having today;
possibly the knee problem limits the legs’ contribution to serving, which is: if he has to go for it, like last Sunday, he does, but if he can avoid it he (wisely, IMO) avoids it, thus serves pushing less with his legs and thus being less proficient with his less natural stroke.
Hair shorter? My theory: Uncle Toni ‘ “No haircut until you won a title!” hahaha
Rafa always seems to play much more confidently and aggressively in Barcelona than in Monte Carlo. I suppose he’s always on a bit of a high coming from just winning in MC and there’s the extra motivation with it being his home tourney. It also seems he plays with less pressure here than at the bigger clay tourneys. Last year I also felt that his best matches on the clay, apart from in the Davis Cup, were played in Barcelona. I still remember the spectacular performance he gave against Monfils:)
Well I hope his knee ( s ) hold up. With out wishing to diss other players, so long as his body holds together he will win most of the time. I know people who need new knee joints and who might get them. I would like some scientist to find a permanent fix for his tendons and joints. Rafa is unlucky to suffer from physical pain most of the time and chronic problems in this area. His talent and ambition or ” Illusion ” to triumph are never in doubt. I get a lot of pleasure from Rafa tennis and so hope it will continue many years.