Firstly, congrats to Rafa and Pablo both. More so for Pablo. This guy was granted a wildcard into the tournament. Ranked 113 he has made it to his first semifinal appearance in a masters. I think he’ll have a very tough time against the pumped up Rafa, but I hope he’s able to play his heart and soul out on the court!
“Very happy for being able to reach my first [Masters 1000] semi-finals in my career, especially here in Madrid. Â I think that I cannot ask for anything else.” P.A.
Okay, so back to what’s bugging me-today’s match. I thought David played one of his best matches this year minus the last set. I say that because he was giving the Clay-god a super tough time in the first two sets. In fact David was causing Rafa to make errors that we normally don’t see from him! I thought that this would be David’s first win over Rafa on clay since 2004. The Valencian was up a break in the second set. I think when Rafa was able to level things out, the match just “clicked” for him. Rafa played the tiebreak better. The third he literally ran away with.
Guess who came to watch! CR7 with Irina and Sergio Ramos
I was so freakin’ excited with the way things were going for Ferru early on in the match. He was on fire! I suppose at the end of the day I am relieved that he didn’t just give away the match to Rafa. (It could have been worse.) Not sure if I really want to call it a “choke”. I get this tiny lil feeling in me that when David is super close to winning a match like this or in Miami, he gets super excited mentally and that impacts his next few moves which end up being disastrous. Anyway best of luck to him in Rome.
I’m really excited for Fernando and David. Those two are in the semis and will face Peya/Soares on Saturday.
Good luck to all those guys. As for all of my followers, have a lovely weekend. 🙂
Spanish Armada 
Actually, what you describe as not being able to deal with your feelings in very exciting moments is more or less what they call a “choke”…
Anyway, pretty much everyone was expecting a 6-1 6-2 or something along that line. What he did far exceeded my expectations.
I really think his mistake was in the second set, then the bagel was not very important. Losing that way or another, in this case, didn’t make much difference… and he had a lot of game points, it really wasn’t an execution. I really thought he looked very tired, too, the match against Haas had taken its toll.
Overall, it’s difficult to get over the disappointment of him being so close to beating Rafa, and still failing, but I think we should focus on the positive aspect: he took a set off him, which hadn’t happened in a long, long time, and he played some really great tennis compared to the rest of the season.
I also want to keep in mind this incredible match against Haas.
I could only see live scores, but I did groan when D lost that advantage he had in the second set: I really agree that was a big oops. Had hopes when he rallied to force a tie break… But how did he totally loose it to get a bagel? Sorry was at work so didn’t see match…
Hi Carol!
I buried my face in my hands when he was making those mistakes in the second set. In the third set, Rafa the ‘clay-god’ came to life and was playing really well. Ferru just made a lot of mistakes when it came to returning the ball. His first serve % was 46 and Rafas was 86%.
*have a good weekend.
I know what u r saying makes complete sense. I just HATE using that word with him. A lot of people call him a choker…and I love him so much (as a player). I don’t like saying anything negative about him. And yes I realize I’m being extremely biased. You’re probably right about what you said, but I cant find it in me to say that he choked it. (it’s just how i feel about him)
I also wanted to stay positive about the fact he played a better than usual match against Rafa on clay. It’s unfortunate for Ferru that his opponent is a beast on clay.
There’s still time before Roland Garros. I don’t want him to tire out completely before that starts. I hope he does well in Rome.
Hope you’ve been well. 🙂 t c
I really wish Ferru had beaten Rafa. The defeat reminded me a lot of the Miami final – then it was one point away, this time two points – he’s getting so close. It’s a shame that Ferru didn’t hold onto his break advantage in the second set, but that set was pretty even with both players struggling to hold serve. But he fought really hard – he did so well breaking Rafa when he was serving for the set, something that definitely doesn’t happen to Rafa often! He made the wrong choice of shot with that forehand putaway at the end of the second set, but I doubt other players would’ve been able to win the point the way Rafa did – his defence on a claycourt is amazing! I think the third set bagel was just because Ferru was so tired by then, he’d put everything he had into the first two sets.
But I’m pleased he was able to play at such a high level for two sets. I was worried before the match that it was going to be a repeat of the Acapulco final, and it was anything but that. Really competitive – and the closest Rafa was pushed all week. The Haas match was brilliant too – great tennis then from both players. 🙂
Hi Katie.
I think a lot of us would have liked to see Ferru in the final. Not because there’s anything wrong with Rafa. It just would have been nice for David to reach a prestigious final in his homecountry.
It was sad to Ferru fade away in the third set. I think he gets sort of mental block when it comes to playing the top 4 *sometimes*. He’s proven he can beat those guys (minus Fed) in the past!
And boy was I happy that it wasn’t a repeat of the Acapulco final. People are saying Rafa isn’t playing his best…but I wanted to think that Ferru was playing even better! 😉