Bet you a virtual bottle of '67 Chateau Palmer that Ruud takes it.
As a Rafa fan as well, I don't think I can ever watch this match and look at it the same way. If he had won outright it would have been one for the rocking chair given the quality and drama, but now even watching those incredible highlights from this match feels like you're watching a movie where you know the ending and how horrific it is.
Ruud, pretty firmly. His forehand is at least as good as Rublev's and he has way more variety, so I think he will cause Marin way more trouble.
If you think Nadal is just a backcourt defensive player than you clearly haven't watched him much over the past 10 years. He's evolved his game a lot from a stronger first serve, better net play, flatter BH, etc. plus he's always liked being in control of the point rather than having to be the one scrambling. You only see him scrambling a lot because he's very good on defense and his opponents' only chance at beating him is going for all their shots and putting him in defensive positions.
I want to see Cilic in the final because I want one more GS finals matchup between the golden generation of players but I feel like Ruud is too consistent off the ground and he'll force the Croat into more errors
The American description was hilarious they just showed the players leaving and the commentator said the security took some time taking her off lol
This match turned out as I expected. Cilic will zone for a set but Ruud's consistency will eventually cause Cilic to start spraying errors and that's exactly what happened. Don't want to count chickens before they hatch but I think Ruud is an easier matchup for Rafa than Cilic given the Croat's peak abilities, weapons, and pedigree
After a slow start this year (4-4) on the surface, Ruud has had great success recently on clay. He's won two titles already and four last year on clay, albeit at the 250 and 500 ATP level. As he demonstrated against Cilic, he makes few mistakes and gives away few free points. I think he is a much tougher matchup for Nadal than Cilic would have been, Marin being a known-quality that Rafa has hammered on hard courts frequently, let alone clay. I think Rafa will win against Ruud, but I think Nadal will have to work very hard to earn it--I don't think it's a gimme in other words.
Best case scenario it's a heavy ankle sprain that will likely keep him out for a couple to few weeks. Fingers crossed that there is no structural damage as that's likely gonna require surgery
