Viña del Mar: Shaking off the rust
Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images
For his return to tour singles, Rafa played #128 Federico Delbonis of Argentina today. Looking rusty, a bit unsure, and cautious, Rafa was broken in the very first game. He started settling in, however, and broke in the 4th game to put the match back on serve 2-2. He blew some break points in his next receiving game, but it was the 7th game that kept going and going with neither player being able to put together two points in a row. Finally, up an ad, Rafa he a lovely forehand winner to earn the break and go up 5-4. Rafa served it out to take the first set 6-3.
Rafa sweats a lot, serves pretty well, looks better as he goes, wins 1st 6-3. Some rust in movement, but not in overhead. #atp
— Steve Tignor (@SteveTignor) February 6, 2013
Set two started off very differently from the first – Rafa broke in the first game and gave us a nice fist pump, vamos, hop combo.
Leaping fistpump for Nadal after he breaks to open the second. Got the sense he started today with some doubts, but he’s gaining steam now.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) February 6, 2013
Rafa gaining steam is a beautiful thing. He went steamrolled his way to an easy hold and then broke at love for a 3-0 lead. In no time, Rafa was serving his first match win in a long time. On his first match point, he sent a forehand long to drop to deuce. A nice serve earned him match point #2. And that was the match point he needed: Rafa defeats Delbonis 6-3, 6-2.
Stats:
| Nadal | Delbonis | |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics on Serve | ||
| Aces | 4 | 3 |
| Double Faults | 0 | 4 |
| 1st Serve % | 72% | 71% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 23/36 (64%) | 28/50 (56%) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 11/14 (79%) | 8/20 (40%) |
| Break Points Saved | 0/1 (0%) | 7/11 (64%) |
| Service Games Played | 9 | 8 |
| Statistics on Return | ||
| 1st Return Points Won | 22/50 (44%) | 13/36 (36%) |
| Second Return Points Won | 12/20 (60%) | 3/14 (21%) |
| Break Points Won | 4/11 (36%) | 1/1 (100%) |
| Return Games Played | 8 | 9 |
| Statistics on Points | ||
| Total Service Points Won | 34/50 (68%) | 36/70 (51%) |
| Total Return Points Won | 34/70 (49%) | 16/50 (32%) |
| Total Points Won | 68/120 (57%) | 52/120 (43%) |
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Thank you for the write up!!! Why am I both surprised and yet not, that Rafa would start the way he did. Hope the knees are doing fine. It’s just GREAT to see Rafa back!!!
Yeaah was a bit dicey in the first set and I was very nervous just like him. The rust seem to go and confidence swung in. Still not sure what to make of his knee. Noticed he wasn’t running too much for any of the drop shots. Loved the outfit – so much better than yesterday. He obviously didn’t leave his attire on the plane after all.
Lovely vivacious Rafa. Vamos xxx
So happy he’s back. Hope knee ok after match though. So lovely to see and hear him play live again. Too many replays in last 7 months. Vamos Rafa!!
So good to see him back. The first set was I think tougher than the score of 6-3 suggests: Delbonis played pretty well in patches against a nervy Rafa. I was reminded of his book, in which Tio Toni describes him ‘like a steam train, slow to start and needs to work up to full speed’. Definitely got some rust to shake off. Loving the short shorts!
Way to go Rafa, so glad he is back on the tennis court and back WINNING! Havent seen the outfit yet – need some pictures and videos pls :)
Vamos and long may it continue
There’s a picture of his outfit in the post… Well, the top. Same shorts as yesterday.
If anyone has a link to the replay, please post!!! Thanks!
they are replaying it on tennischannel at 8 p.m., if you get it…
I don’t unfortunately…will have to wait for YouTube…
or miri….
I liked both of his ‘kits’ – Doubles and Singles; w/shorter shorts, showing off his muscular legs. Remembering pirate pants progression to today. He worked hard, improved with each passing game; 2nd set he was on a roll for sure. So good to see him back on court and winning.
Bring back the pirates – hate the shrgt shorts – love to see him back. Need to buy in the tranquilisers though….
Love the short shorts. The pirate costume is passe. Glad to see him back, although to me his movement reminded me of the Rosol match, stilted and clunky. Hope he loosens up.
I’m with you Karen, don’t like the short shorts either, not too sure on the pink with the purple shirt …. but hey we all like different things except Rafa of course x
SUCH AN AWESOME FEELING…..RAFA BACK ON COURT ON HIS BELOVED CLAY AND WINNNNNNINGGG!!!
Wooot!!!!
But I hope knee is good.. Im loving hiz shorter shorts!!VAMOSS!!!
Despite the fact he missed out on the first slam of the year, it’ll probably work out better for Rafa in the long run. Coming back after such a long time off will entail inevitable rust and confidence issues, and it’s much easier working yourself back into shape while playing against lower ranked players than running into top seeds as he would have in a slam.
His level of play in the second set was promising and, barring any health issues, there’s a good chance he’ll be firing on all cylinders in time for the FO warm-up tournaments, fingers and toes crossed!
Happy that Rafa is back on the court! Haven’t seen the match yet. But thanks for all the match tweets. Not surprised he had to shake off the rust (and probably nerves too)
Can’t wait to get home this weekend to watch the “first” match back and many more!
Very happy for the win and that I got to watch it, too!!! Rusty but still formidable in the end. And I noticed he does not towel that much when serving even though sweat is running off his face. I think he is seriously shortening his service time which is good given the new rules. Vamos Rafa!
Wonderful to have him back.
What an emotional match it was.. Rafa started nervous but he found his ryhthm and won his first singles match after such a long time..
Wonderful to see him enjoying the match ,the leaps and Vamoses. His eyes said all.
I loved his grey short shorts – interesting combo with lavendar and orange..
VAMOS RAFA ! Enjoy the tournament.. Have a great time in SoUth America.
Full singles match for those who havent seen it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R5kluHq9zmI
*
It was great seeing him playing singles on a tennis court again.
I see that many people chose to highlight the minuses. I’ll go for the pluses.
I saw many great forehands, cross-court and down-the-line. Some backhands down-the-line too. Loved the way he gradually built confidence around those two shots. He improved the serve in the second set, starting to serve down the T, and managed an excellent service game for a 4-0 lead. Most importantly, he seemed to enjoy being on court, with all the fist pumps and vamosing.
It’s true that he’s got a lot to improve on, especially in the movement (I only saw him sliding once or twice) and consistency (too many times a winning forehand was followed by a stray one)departments. But, for all the time that we waited for him to play, we could be pleased that he’s out there and trying his best.
Loved very much his answer to the RG question asked in the presser.
Didn’t have time to say it after the doubles match, so I’m saying it now. Welcome back Rafa!
People what you thinks Rafa play in Indian Wells and Miami or no?
Rafa looked a bit rusty in his movement hit the ball short at times as expected but there was plenty of vintage Rafa in the match. I was a bit worried after the first 3 games but once he settled down he played much better than I expected for a first match after a long time out. The win will be good for his confidence and the knee held up which is great news. It’s so great to see him back and my enthusiasm for tennis is restored and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.
I think he will play one of the hard court tourneys not both. More likely IW than Miami. He can’t avoid them completely as most of the tour is on hard courts. Hopefully his knee will strengthen by the time IW comes around.
I am not happy with Peter Bodo saying that only real Rafa fans missed him during his absence and not tennis fans in general. I hope he is not anti-Rafa.
Yes, I read that one too. I know he is not a big Nadal fan(he says so himself) so I usually read his articles with a lot of distance but this one I found downright mean and almost insulting.
Back on yesterday’s match though, Rafa did pretty well considering the circumstances, don’t you think?
dk, the thing with Pete Bodo is that he is the absolute king of “arguementative journalism” he loves to pick a fight and stir the pot. It seems to me that he makes the most outrageous claims about players just so people will post and tell him what a nut case he is, and so fan commenters will jump in in defence and haters will argue with defenders… he’s the tennis equivalent of a shock-jock.
Sometimes he can be quite funny, but you really have to be in the right frame of mind to read Bodo. If you enjoy arguing, he’s your man, otherwise skip his articles. Don’t take what he says personally though – he’s just having a stir. Leave him to it.
*looks up at post and tries to find the name Bodo or any mention of him or his article* *finds none*
Hint: if you don’t like something, don’t give it any attention. It just gives the object of your dislike more power over your day/mood/life. So, if Bodo rubs you the wrong way, don’t read him – ignore him. And especially don’t talk about him in comments here when he’s off-topic!
Oops, sorry miri, we shuda known better, silly us!
I was a bit worried after the first two games, but he became better by the point afterwards. He was too nervous to convert all the break points immediately, but he managed in the end and was more comfortable afterwards.
I thought his serve was good after all this time away. Returns weren’t great but in a nutshell it was a better performance than the one I personally expected.
I think it isnt only Rafa fans miss Rafa, in that regard Bodo clearly has a bias but there some stuff in Bodos article that he is spot on.Rafa and his team lost credibility through out the years and not even some of his fans believe what they say anymore about his knees and injury problems.
Yesterday match ı think he did well for a player who didnt played a competitive match about 7 months.He has to move better and his the ball deeper against better players though.I think he clearly needs more practice and match play to find his rhythm and confidence which is understandable.
Saw the second set of Rafa´s match. Lovely to have him back on the courts, and tennis have sooo missed him, as we can see and read almost everywhere.
Welcome back, Rafa, it hasn´t been the same without you, even if you have just begun your way back to competing again.
Your presence, your style of play, your smile and all the “Rafa stuff”, you do out there, I welcome all that with the biggest smile on my face.
As long as you enjoy yourself and get a good feeling of the knee,
I am happy and grateful to be able to watch you play again.
Thanks for all those beautiful Rafa pictures, Miri! They are stunning. I am so happy that our Rafa is back in town. I am still pinching myself and it was wonderful to seee him playing singles yesterday. Rafa started nervously but his game picked up nicely in set two. May he build on this, and he will gain confidence and tha is just what Rafa needs! Vamos Rafa!
Didn’t realise how much I’d missed the shirt/trouser pulling, hair straightening, fist pumping and that stare (especially after being 2 games down in the first) so good to see him back.
In the first 4 games I didn’t notice any shorts pulling and I was getting worried, but then it all came back along with some typical Rafa shots. ;-)
It is good to have Rafa back and winning, no matter how small the tournament. Glad he didn’t have to go to challengers level to scrape off the rust. Seeing as how he has repeatedly mentioned IW as one of his favorite tournaments of the year (he can be with colm) and he has mentioned it many times in the last couple of months and the big one he wants to be ready for (once he realized he would not play Oz), it seems certain that he will play IW. I can’t imagine him skipping any Masters 1000 tournaments after he gets up a head of steam, so IMHO he’ll play Miami as well. He is listed as being one who’ll be there although Roger is not…Let’s hope he is judicious in his play selection, successful in his continued return, and vindicated (once again) over the naysayers who love to count him out. Bodo says he’s not a fan; good for him. He is likely one of those who thinks Rafa plays too hard to be able to have a career that will go into his late twenties, but also criticizes his less than forthcoming attitude about his injuries. Rafa has the right to reveal as much or as little as little as he chooses. Over-reporting could boost the confidence of his competition just as if he laid out his game plan…It is Rafa’s body and he knows when he feels able to return and has suffered a few times from playing when he shouldn’t out a love of his sport. I wish people would lay off and just take his word for what it is…as much as he WANTS to share. I think he has a pretty decent track record of honesty. Let’s be careful about pointing the finger at someone for selective sharing; it’s vastly different from dishonesty. No matter what anyone says, the great majority of players, volunteers, umpires, coaches, and fans missed Rafa. Each tournament he missed had multiple stories about the lack of color with no Rafa. Okay, that’s enough…he’s back…yay!!!
Here are my favourite stats from the match: “0″ double faults, 72% first serves in, & 79% points won on 2nd serve. :D
64% of first serve points won is nothing to sneeze at either, but i expect/hope that with a bit more match play and shaking of the rust that number will improve. With 72% of first serves in, especially on clay, you would think he will get a better return from it. Even with all of the mistakes and slow start it was still a great match for first one back.
I hope he can keep up the good serving % even against more experienced opponents. Guess we’ll have an idea of that playing Gimeno-Traver next and if he gets to play Chardy later on. So glad to see him back playing!!!