Viña del Mar: Doubles afterthought
Photo by César Pincheira/VTR Open
Rafa finished his day in Viña del Mar by playing in the doubles final with Pico. Sadly, it was a pretty quick match as they lost to Paolo Lorenzi and Poritio Starace 2-6, 4-6. And so it goes. On to Brazil!
Stats:
| J Monaco/R Nadal | P Lorenzi/P Starace | |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics on Serve | ||
| Aces | 1 | 1 |
| Double Faults | 1 | 1 |
| 1st Serve % | 69% | 73% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 25/39 (64%) | 24/38 (63%) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 5/17 (29%) | 11/14 (79%) |
| Break Points Saved | 4/8 (50%) | 5/6 (83%) |
| Service Games Played | 9 | 9 |
| Statistics on Return | ||
| 1st Return Points Won | 14/38 (37%) | 14/39 (36%) |
| Second Return Points Won | 3/14 (21%) | 12/17 (71%) |
| Break Points Won | 1/6 (17%) | 4/8 (50%) |
| Return Games Played | 9 | 9 |
| Statistics on Points | ||
| Total Service Points Won | 30/56 (54%) | 32/52 (62%) |
| Total Return Points Won | 17/52 (33%) | 26/56 (46%) |
| Total Points Won | 47/108 (44%) | 61/108 (56%) |
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Double whammy for Rafa but it’s a good start. I know that if he had just enough matches this would not happen, so they can rejoice now, for this will not happen again…at least NOT ON CLAY anyway.
Looks like the second serve points won stat was decisive.
On to Brasil and the indoor clay!
One step at a time; one match, one week. This has been a good week after 7 months off the circuit. He did great. He is learning what he can do and let the healing continue. He starts tomorrow in Brazil. He has perseverance and determination. Good qualities; good man.
Proud of you Rafa! Great effort, one step at a time. You’re back! Wonderful to see you on clay again…will only get better and better!
The doubles loss is no surprise at all; tiredness must have been a factor on Rafa’s part. Before my stream died the players were already on court; I thought there was going to be an hour’s break for rest but apparently not. Perhaps he/they just wanted to get the match over and done with. Ah well, next stop: Brazil. Vamos Rafa!
The singles match loss was a blow to Rafa. He hadn’t planned to stay on court for that long and again having to contend with the Zeb guy and at the end of it all he lost. So in the doubles, he was just showing up.
Still, it was a good start to his come-back.
We move on and the next stop is Brazil. Good luck, Rafa.
I think he did so well and didn’t the poor love loo tired at the end of it all. Buena suerte in Brazil.