RG: A s(ch)wanky Saturday romp
Photo by REUTERS/ Gonzalo Fuentes
Rafa took on #192 Edwardo Schwank in the 3rd round of Roland Garros. He set the tone for the match by breaking in the first game. It wasn’t like Schwank was playing poorly. In fact, it looked like he had a good strategy and was, at times, executing it very well. He just didn’t have that extra oomph one needs to have a chance against Rafa on clay. Rafa’s into the round of 16 with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
| Nadal | Schwank | |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics | ||
| Aces | 1 | 3 |
| Double Faults | 1 | 0 |
| 1st Serve % | 60% | 66% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 40/46 (87%) | 35/58 (60%) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 16/31 (52%) | 14/30 (467%) |
| Break Points Won | 5/10 (50%) | 0/4 (%) |
| Return Games Played | ||
| Points | ||
| Total Service Points Won | 56/77 (73%) | 49/88 (56%) |
| Total Return Points Won | 39/88 (44%) | 21/77 (27%) |
| Total Points Won | 95/165 (58%) | 70/165 (42%) |
| Other Stats | ||
| Winners | 32 | 25 |
| Unforced errors | 16 | 17 |
| Net Approaches | 15/20 (75%) | 18/30 (60%) |
| Serve Speeds | ||
| Fastest Serve Speed | 201 KMH | 200 KMH |
| Average 1st Serve Speed | 180 KMH | 181 KMH |
| Average 2nd Serve Speed | 143 KMH | 150 KMH |
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Vamos Rafa! Not at his best but he didn’t need to be to win. A few great shots! Hope he has a lovely birthday tomorrow!!
Happy birthday for tomorrow Rafa, hope you have a great day.
He got the job done today, it was not an exciting match but it can only get more exciting from the next match onwards. I would have loved to see more rallies like in the Istomin match. However the rally at 4-0 40-30 in the first set was fun to watch.
I hope he works on that first serve before next week. Rafa and Djoko look the strongest right now.
Vamos Rafa! Vamos Pico!
On Rafa’s performance today, I expected more but then again he didn’t need to be at his best as he has a knack for winning playing his B game. I can’t help but worry as we all know what he’s trying to achieve here. May be it’s a good preparation for his match against Monaco who incidentally just won.
Happy Birthday Rafa…may your fondest wish come true!
I’m so glad for Pico, but I don’t know if Rafa will be so keen on playing his best buddy here at RG. Always scares me when Rafa had to play one of his best friends, because he’s not that fired up then – or am I wrong? Thought he would prefer playing Milos.
Rafa doesn’t like playing big servers since it’s difficult to get a rhythm going, plus there is much more pressure to hold his own serve. So playing someone like Pico is more up his alley, and his whole game will be tested, not just his returns. He may have to run more, but so far, he really hasn’t had to do too much to win, so I think he’ll relish the chance to see where he’s really at.
Re playing a friend: It’s RG, it’s round of 16, he’s on a mission. It’s every man for himself, and both players know that.
You mean not fired up like at DC last year when he played Pico. Rafa is a professional. No worries.
Hahahahahaha!!!! Yes, Rafa is a professional, no worries. ;)
Well done Rafa… we did some simultaneous winning today:)
Now on to a lovely birthday celebration tomorrow!!!
It was interesting that the commentators on ITV in the UK said they think Rafa could or should be considered the best player in this era as he has a winning record against the best players right now. Although they did add his record against Davydenko.
Felicitaciones mi Caro Rafa. Feliz Cumpleanos.
Tu amiga en Buffalo, Nueva York
Gail W.
Well done Rafa, Nicolas, Pico and last but not least Daveeeeed x
Didn’t see any of the match since TSN here in Canada decided to air the (excellent) Ronic match instead. From the stats and the comments I’ve read so far, the match seems to have been more difficult than it should’ve been against a player ranked outside the top 100, but a win is a win. Rafa probably didn’t play his best, but he will need to next round against Pico who showed some great tennis today against Raonic. Hopefully the fact that Pico is his good friend won’t be a factor; Rafa seems to have a harder time finding/keeping his fighting spirit when playing against his buddies (his 6-0 set over Ferrer in Rome notwithstanding :)).
Speaking of which, Ferrer seems to be in a blistering form and I expect him to be Rafa’s semis opponent, and Almagro is a slight favorite against Tipsy also, so it’ll be a few tricky matches coming up for Rafa; he’ll probably have to beat 3 friends to make it to the final!
I feel we are a lot that is soooo hard to please…
Rafa plays himself into tournaments – we know that. This means he needed the claycourt push today.
So proud of him! He spoils us so.. I do hope he has a wonderful birthday tomorrow. Though Im sure he will be spending it practicing
Vamos birthday boy i love you ! :)
Schwank is an experienced claycourter, who knows how to play the surface. His only problem is his general level.
But he managed to engage Rafa in real claycourt game, with battle of deep & heavy topspins and with plenty of foxy drop shots & lobs. That’s why this match lasted that long, despite the seemingly straightforward score.
Pico will present the same type of challenge, only much harder. And Ferrer would be harder still.
The various Istomins who are hardcourt specialists have nothing with which to hurt Rafa on clay, so he can play them freely and beat them soundly with his claycourt shots & tactics, blasting winners all over the place.
This was more than solid claycourt match from Rafa.
Very well put Robert. It was surprising to see on twitter how many Rafa fans were saying how badly he was playing. A lot of credit has to be given to Schwank, watching the match makes you realise how he was able to be beat Karlovic and Mayer. It should be noted that in 2010 his ranking was as high as about 43, so he’s no slouch. He played a great match and still lost in straight sets. Take the first set for example, that was hard fought and showcased one of Rafa’s biggest strengths on clay which is his ability to squeeze the life out of his opponents whilst winning a set 6-1:)
Absolutely L. Swank is a g. clay courter or sure, he is no push over, I somehow knew this was going to be a little tought for Rafa.. still a wins a win right and in straights, he has to improve’ no?
thanks robert – goo insight . Like you I thought the variety of shots and playmaking in this match was great – Schwank mad rafa run, lots: , to the net for a drop shot, back to retrieve a lob, crosscourt to take on a returned volley…and frankly I thought rafa responded amazingly. SOmetimes I just watched him move, not following the ball in play at all – and it was beautiful to see. And rafa at the net, under pressure from a good volleyer with his own quick hands…… Different than Istomin style hard hitter, but real “clay” stuff.
I noticed that when he had errors in his shots they were long – which I think is good. The depth he is getting on his shots so far in the tournament is excellent – and some”flat” cross court backhands today that were really zipping. It must be so difficult to play against him….it’s not just the amazing banana shots down the line, but the variety in spin and pace. VERY interesting though was the UK commentator who mentioned that he hadn’t seen rafa use a sliced backhand in the tournament – conspicuously absent. His interpretation was that the balls this year are fantastic for rafa – allowing him to get incredible feel for th ball on all shots….so he’s feeling very comfortable coming over the top and flattening out his backhand rather than having to slice.
A pity he isn’t playing raonic. Ok, I know some of u guys would be worried about rafa taking the risks of losing against a big server like Raonic. But to me the risks would be worth it to see a great match up. Raonic is going to be a thorn in everyone’s side on fast surfaces as long as he keeps healthy….so even better to meet him on clay.
Monaco rafa should be a great clay court match too though …but rafa in straight sets??
Still would like to se Rafa improve his backhand down the line his tendency being to push the ball down the line or slice it there.He could surprise his opponents that are expecting a cross court shot or a neutral reply to the middle of the court.He needs to drive the fall with pace a la Djokovic, or Berdych, or Soderling.Even better would be to learn and hit the backhand inside out.Only Djokovic, Soderling and Murray do it well. I see more ladies using the shot too. With more variety in his backhand from the backcourt( not worry about his passing shots from this wing) and better serving I’d be less worry about the second week and an eventual final with Djokovic.
Vamos (almost) Birthday Boy! Bit of a crazy tennis day … it was hard to stick with just one match. From what I saw Rafa started well and was always a few steps ahead of Eduardo who played well but just not in the same stratosphere as Rafa. Vamos7!
Yes, I must admit I didn’t stick to watching Rafa’s match, as there was so much good stuff to watch. Well done, Rafa!
A Bloody Mary is quite close in colour, sia. Not exactly but bloody close enough, i’d say ;)
Oops! I think we can see what happened in my attempt to reply to sia’s post. Please forgive me, i’m a new girl :)
I’m off to find ingredients for a scarlet firey drink to keep me sane for next week’s matches.
That is a great plan, sia. I think I will join you! !Vamos, Responsibly!
So happy he will be spending his birthday in Paris and not Mallorca. From what I saw of the match his first serve was stil a problem. He really needs to sort it going into the 2nd week when he will be meeting higher quality players and I do hope he does. As for the rest of his game I think he is looking pretty awesome.
Nole is looking good as well which concerns me , I agree he and Rafa are playing the best tennis so far.
Unlike last year I cannot see federer taking nole out in the semi’s , Roger has not been that impressive so far IMO.
Happy 26th birthday Rafa, have a great day with your family and team.
Congrats for today’s Win! Happy Birthday! Good luck for your next Game. Go Rafa and Win!!!
Happy birthday champion!!. At least Saturdays game showed how fit Rafa is. All that fast movement. While he wins at the olympic tennis they should let him try for the 100 metres too.
Sorry Keith.. I love Rafa do death! BUT I’m more importantly a Jamaican and there is NO way I’m going to put Nadal to best a Bolt or a Powell at the moment. He’ll push them though
Great analysis @John F, @L, @Robert. Schwant wz definitely no pushover. I think he tested Rafa in someways. that wud attest to Rafa’s smile at the end of the match(watch out for d post-match interview, u know Rafa is always objective abt himself). Again, the more i reflect on Rafa/Monaco match up, the more i hope monaco is too tired from his tussle wt Raonic to play a competitive match wt Rafa.He did give Djoker problems in Rome.
While Raonic is still finding his groove on clay, Monaco dines and wines on it and knowing he practices often wt rafa tells us he understands his pattern of play(hope he forgets).In retrospect, however,Rafa hasn’t been doing badly wt big servers(Djoker;Rome, Istomin,Schwank) maybe these are not big serves as Raonic/Isner’s but i am sure he can cope.
Hopefully, Rafa wins his up-coming matches in not more dn 4sets.
and ultimately he makes a 7th RG title a belated birthday gift from Rafa to himself.
‘Best wishes on your Bday! Rafa4Life!!