Barcelona Final: Nadal vs Ferrer
Who do you think is going to take the final?
Also, -6 Nadal or +6 Ferrer (or maybe better ML), 19.5 under/over?
Submit your votes
Also, -6 Nadal or +6 Ferrer (or maybe better ML), 19.5 under/over?
Submit your votes
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nadal -6Comment -
Ferrer +6Comment -
Nadal -738.Comment -
Nadal will win but -738 is way to much. I can forsee a 64 64 type of match so the +6 might be good with FerrerComment -
Nadal is about as automatic a bet as there is in sports when he is playing on clay. He's won an astonishing 104 of a 105 matches on clay. Matches on clay are rarely competitive, even among the top players he's faced. Just in the past month, he has beaten Ancic, Ferrer, Davydenko, and Federer all on clay and in straight sets.
The road in Barcelona has been smooth sailing to say the least. I was really looking forward to a matchup between Nadal and Nicholas Almagro in the semifinals as I feel Almagro is a serious dark horse to win the French Open but somehow he lost to journeyman Dennis Germalmeyer. He has yet to be seriously tested and I think he's been broken a total of one or two times in his 4 matches so far.
As I mentioned in a previous post, Ferrer has played a number of matches now in the past 3 weeks starting with Valencia (a week in which Nadal was not playing), Monte Carlo, and now Barcelona. Ferrer won in Valencia, reached the QF in Monte Carlo, and now finds himself in the finals at Barcelona. Certainly an exhausting 3 week stretch for DF.
DF beat Stanislas Wawrinka in the semifinals to get here in straight sets but it was no easy match as Ferrer rallied from a 5-3 defecit in the 1st set and faced 2 sets points in that round in the decisive tie breaker in which he won 10-8. He eventually broke the Swiss #2 early in the 2nd round and took the match.
RN and DF most recently met in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo where RN won in straight sets. However, the 2nd set saw DF play some inspired tennis and he jumped out to an early lead only to squander it away and lose the set and match. Despite the fact that DF has now played 13 matches (?) in a 3 week stretch, one of Ferrer's strengths is his endurance and his ability to sustain long rallies forcing his opponent into difficult shots. He possess a strong forehand and covers the court well enough to keep his opponent from settling in.
On the other hand, Nadal is the greatest clay court player in the histroy of tennis. There is nothing he does wrong on this surface. His court coverage is amazing, his ability to play both from the baseline and at the net, his forehand and backhand, and his ability to return almost everything that comes his way. With Nadal, you literally have to earn every point.
I think though we might see a surprise here though today as something tells me that Ferrer will be extra competitive. I have a system I use in other sports that has been successful and I am going to apply it here in this matchup.
Still debating between a straight up Ferrer victory or a Nadal 2-1 victory. Either way, I think Nadal will be severely tested as I feel that Ferrer still has the energy to compete with Nadal.Comment -
Nadal is the greatest clay court player ever, I think that is all we need to know.Comment -
It's not even fair how good Nadal is. In fact, Ferrer is one of the top 5 clay court players out there and he's getting blown out of the water here in the 3rd set. Nadal is getting ready to serve out the set at 6-1.
Congrats Nadal ML/ -6 backers/Nadal 2-1 set victory/Ferrer +1.5/# of games over
I wish I woke up in time to place that set bet of Nadal winning 2-1
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6-1,4-6,6-1....what happened in set 2? nadal got tired?Comment -
Pretty sad that Nadal wins 2 sets to 1 and Ferrer can't even cover the +6Comment -
I thought Ferrer winning the 2nd set was more a psychological issue for him since he blew a double break lead in Monte Carlo. Even here he was up 4-2 and Nadal came back to make it 4-4 and the DF broke Nadal to go up 5-4 and eventually 6-4.
Once DF took the 2nd set, he was content to have won a set off of him which quite honestly is a victory in and of itself. DF could have certainly shown a little more fight though. Hard to imagine having the ability to take a set of Nadal and then losing the 2 other sets 6-1.Comment -
You are talking about a guy has lost 1 match in his last 105 matches on clay and a guy who has an overall record of 170-22 on clay.
Yes I am sure DF would have preferred to win outright, but I think he'll be able to take some solace in the fact that he was very competitive with Nadal on clay and played better than he did at Monte Carlo. Most guys never take a set off of him on clay. He hadn't taken a set off of Nadal on clay in almost 3 years. Remember, Ferrer will be a trendy choice to win RG so he needs the confidence. He has the 6th best odds of winning it in. He took a big step today IMO.Comment -
who beat nadal on clay?Comment -
May 20, 2007 ... Federer beat Nadal 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the final of the Hamburg Masters on Sunday to win his first clay-court title in two yearsComment -
Roger Federer d. Rafael Nadal 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 on May 20th, 2007 in Hamburg, Germany.Comment -
Nadal again shows he is unbeatable on clayComment
yeah, it is pretty sad that ferrer won set 2 and just let nadal to roll him over in the 3rd set.