Bad News, Juan Martin Del Potro Withdraws From Rafael Nadal Match with Hip Injury

Bummer, but a smart choice. You’re gonna run playin against Rafa….hard. Any slight hip issue will bring the game down dramatically. Hope its a small thing, hope he can do Rome and of course FO.

May 5th, 2011 at 10:39 am

Ok, JM, heal that hip and get ’em next time!

May 5th, 2011 at 10:44 am

just tragic.

May 5th, 2011 at 10:45 am

Jeeez, I was really drooling for this one:(

May 5th, 2011 at 10:47 am

too bad… Del Potro injury rate is not good for his future career…

May 5th, 2011 at 10:52 am

Poor Juan. As Queen said, I was drooling for this one too. Playing Rome could further exacerbate the injury. Best to wait for FO.

May 5th, 2011 at 10:58 am

Tom – Should “psyically” be “physically” unfit to play?

May 5th, 2011 at 11:02 am

@Anna, Yes! Updated. I thought that word looked funny when I wrote it.

May 5th, 2011 at 11:06 am

I thought Nadal had a tough draw at the beginning of the tournament because he would have to beat Delpo and then probably Melzer who when he is on is dangerous. Well, Delpo has pulled out and Melzer lost already so it has turned into a cakewalk.

May 5th, 2011 at 11:10 am

Props to Tom for being one of the first Tennis blogs to post about Delpo’s injury. As usual…mostly in front of the tennis news….

Fed just finished off X man, and props to him also giving a better performance off a long 3 setter less than 24 hrs prior. No doubt he is fine shape stamina wise.

May 5th, 2011 at 11:22 am

@skeez, thanks!

I’ve added a translated quote from JMDP.

May 5th, 2011 at 11:30 am

What a drag. He knew he had this injury in his first match, when he played Youz. He was talking about it then. In a way, it’s too bad he didn’t pull out then, so that maybe Cilic or at least someone would have played Rafa.

May 5th, 2011 at 11:30 am

I hope Delpo is not going to be like Tsonga or Monfils, both of whom are very injury prone. Delpo’s only 20 and he’s had back issues, a serious wrist injury which required surgery, and now this hip thing. I hope it isn’t serious, and I wish him a speedy recovery. Maybe he will have to manage his schedule a little better; he played a lot of small tourneys (San jose, Memphis, Delray) – the reason for which was obvious and smart – to boost his rankings. And oddly he looked SO strong yesterday versus Cilic, that I seriously thought he’d give Rafa a run for his money, but it’s true that Cilic basically didn’t make him move, whereas Rafa definitely would. Anyhow, sad news. :( Get better JMDP!!!!

May 5th, 2011 at 11:39 am

What kind of hip injury flares up after you beat Cilic 6-3 6-0?

May 5th, 2011 at 11:46 am

Turns out Nadal’s draw wasn’t so tough for him after all. He gets away with an easy pass through to the next round.

May 5th, 2011 at 11:47 am

Congrats to bethany mattek sands and her second big win of this tournament. She is one of my new favs as she was really nice to colino5 in miami,complimenting his hat, talking to him and posing for photos.

May 5th, 2011 at 12:23 pm

Choice hitting going on in Tsonga versus Soda contest early on!

May 5th, 2011 at 12:58 pm

Kimberly – I’d love to see BMS win this tournament. US Davis Cup team would be dead in the water if it weren’t for her. She has the right stuff, just needs a boost of confidence to push her up the rankings. Great attitude on and off the court.

May 5th, 2011 at 1:13 pm

Bummer. Nadal has no opposition in his quarter.

May 5th, 2011 at 1:57 pm

If you’re not watching Soda and Tsonga, you should be! :) It’s first set tiebreak, 6 all, monster hitting and matched so evenly. A real treat in my opinion!

Have been peeking at Murray Bellucci too, still on serve in the first set.

May 5th, 2011 at 1:59 pm

Alright, no one has said it yet… LOL DID THEY PAY EM OFF TO PULL OUT?!? Not wanting their boy NADAL to lose bad!? :P

joking aside, I hope JMDP is alright. Clay court – really puts strain on injuries. At least on a hardcourt you can end games quick… wish em well!

May 5th, 2011 at 2:01 pm

Ah Bellucci just broke Murray for set one. Murray is in “swearing” mode. : /

This Soda vs. Tsonga tiebreak – big serves and hitting. It took (I think) 8 set points for Soda to win the first set, which lasted 81 minutes.

May 5th, 2011 at 2:06 pm

anna, me too. She’s so nice. but always been in the shadow of the williams. Well without them i think she’s the us best player right now!

May 5th, 2011 at 2:08 pm

i knew tsoda v tsonga was gonna be a cracker!

didn’t realize bellucci would be on fire!

muzza hasn’t given up. neither has jo willi

my computer battery is about to start burn up, lol….streaming both matches.

May 5th, 2011 at 2:27 pm

Geeee, from whence did Bellucci come? Haven’t heard a peep from him and today he plays a great match versus Muzza! And it’s not that Muzza is playing terribly, but Thomaz has been able to play clutch when he’s needed to.

Meanwhile, Tsonga and Soda are still locked and loaded, firing away, on serve in the second…

May 5th, 2011 at 2:39 pm

Where’s margot lately; we need her cheering on Muzza! Haven’t heard from her for a couple of days. :( margot, come back!

May 5th, 2011 at 2:40 pm

Arrrrgh Murray did fall apart at the end there; I knew something was up when he started cursing in set one. Meanwhile congrats to Bellucci for a big win; he did play well. But if Murray had played Monte-Carlo-like, he could have won!

May 5th, 2011 at 2:45 pm

Andy Murray…Hoped to compete with Nadal and finised on Bellucci. What a sad story.

May 5th, 2011 at 2:45 pm

muzza : (

that was a bellucci i haven’t seen. (except on a practice court at IW) he’s had some great clay results. but he has been cold. not anymore, apparently! wow, impressive…his groundies. didn’t realize he could change direction with such power. he was playing like djokovic. very impressive from bellucci. curious to see if he can do that next match.

mr. dimples wins!

May 5th, 2011 at 2:59 pm

all the best to delpo. i hope he’ll be in good health for FO.

May 5th, 2011 at 3:05 pm

Yes too bad he didn’t pull out and let Cilic move on but maybe he thought it would go away. I have a feeling this guy is going to go the way of Nalbandian and be sidelined half of his career..too tall perhaps?
Anyways Bellucci came through wonderfully .Good for him .Not much to say about Murray is there???

May 5th, 2011 at 4:05 pm

If delpo was to have a shot against Nadal, surely it was going to have to be in Madrid. That’s what makes his withdrawal so irritating.

Caught a little of Belluci, he overpowered Murray. He reminded me slightly of his great compatriot, Kuerten, actually. Very composed, something inevitable about his progress. Those whiplash forehands, landing inches inside the baseline and climbing to Murray’s shoulder – the Scot was struggling.

Annoying he is in the wrong half – I reckon he could give Nadal a run for his money. Hard to see why he hasn’t done better. What’s the problem? In the head, I suppose, as usual…

May 5th, 2011 at 4:14 pm

Why did they put world #2 vs. a Spaniard on a lesser court?

May 5th, 2011 at 4:47 pm

So the quarters are set: Fed vs.Soda; Nole vs. Ferrer; Berdych vs.Bellucci; and Rafa vs.Llodra. Rafa has it good until the semis, due to this walkover. I wasn’t 100% sure Rafa would win this event, but now it is looking very much like he will. Not sure Soda can beat Fed and Nadal back to back. Not sure Fed can beat Rafa either, although of all the clay surfaces this is Fed’s best shot I suspect. Anyhow, for me, I just hope Nole can get his first win on clay over Ferrer and pass Lendl’s record. Go Nole! Get the semis anyhow.

May 5th, 2011 at 5:01 pm

Tomas B. Vs Thomaz B!
Roger (Batman) vs. Robin!
Rafa vs. Mika (snooze)
David vs. Novak ( can novak finally beet him on.clay?)!

May 5th, 2011 at 5:07 pm

Novak seems to be in outstanding form. He was so superior today against GGL it was almost ridiculous. Superb playing. I think he will beat Ferrer this time!

May 5th, 2011 at 7:01 pm

Grendel- Delpo’s withdrawal was indeed very disappointing. This was the first match of the clay season that I really got excited about. I was really looking forward to it for the reason you stated even though Nadal would probably have beaten Delpo albeit in a very tight contest.

I don’t know if Bellucci would have tested Nadal had he been on the other side because of his inconsistency. He played pretty well against Nadal at RG last year and, one presumes, the faster conditions in Madrid would have helped him even more. He is a very talented shot maker and can generate a lot of power but he makes a lot of errors too. Today, he made very few errors and Murray just allowed him to dictate play. I expected Murray to do well in the faster conditions but he probably wasn’t ready coming off an injury. Also, he had never played Bellucci before and that can sometimes be very tricky.

Yes, Bellucci showed admirable composure but that is not always the case. Did you notice Guga’s former coach, Larri Passos, in his box? I don’t remember seeing him in his box before. Maybe, Daniel can throw some light on when he was taken on board. I hope Bellucci benefits a bit from the alliance even though you, and President Frew, are generally skeptical about such matters:)

By the way, ManU have another shot at Barca and I get the feeling that they will somehow win it this time even though Barca are firm favorites. However they must first take care of a resurgent Chelsea at Old Trafford next Sunday. Despite being so good at home all season, I get the strange feeling that ManU could end up losing that crucial game.

May 5th, 2011 at 7:29 pm

“David vs. Novak ( can novak finally beet him on.clay?)!”

Too much has been made about Ferrer’s H2H on clay against Djokovic. The fast conditions make Madrid a rather unusual clay event and Djokovic will probably win against Ferrer quite comfortably. In fact, Djokovic will easily be my favorite to beat Ferrer in any clay event if he remains in the kind of form he has been in.

May 5th, 2011 at 7:36 pm

My answer to that question,.tennislover, is yes. just stirring up the excitement :)

May 5th, 2011 at 7:41 pm

i’m disappointed this blockbuster didn’t happen but i’ll be even more disappointed if delpo doesn’t play in the french open!!?!

correct me if i’m wrong, but didn’t cilic beat delpo the last time they played? (aussie open wasn’t it?) it was time for payback :)

go delpo go!!

May 5th, 2011 at 7:46 pm

tennislover – agree Djokovic should certainly beat Ferrer. As for Belluci, he is positively Verdasco like, isn’t he, considering what he can do, and what he tends to do. The way he generates power is the exact opposite of someone like del potro, isn’t it, it seems so fluid and effortless. Not that I am against delpo’s way, not at all, I think he is incredibly exciting. There are different ways of peeling a banana, eh?

Oddly enough, I tend to agree with you on both counts on Man U’s 2 days of destiny. Re Barcelona, my feeling is about as far from being rational as it is possible to be. It’s just that everyone is so certain Barcelona will win, you can’t help feeling an upset is possibly in the air. Noone expected Barcelona to teach Man U such a comprehensive football lesson on the last occasion they met, and so…
w.r.t Chelsea, they are like those villains you always expect to come sneaking through at the end. There is something dreadfully inevitable about them, and the appalling John Terry shouting his mouth off is strangely intimidating. You can’t help feeling he’s probably right. I trust you are not a Chelsea fan, b.t.w. You strike me as a man of wit and discernment…..

May 5th, 2011 at 8:04 pm

Great day of tennis tomorrow. I expect Fed to handle Soderling and Novak to handle Ferrer. I only hope its more exciting than the Ferrer/Rafa matches.

May 5th, 2011 at 8:18 pm

really? ferrer beating djokovic, this djokovic..nah! staright set win for djoko…i think djoko fans should only worry about rafa.

May 5th, 2011 at 8:26 pm

Dominika CIBULKOVA (SV)
vs
Petra KVITOVA (CZ) – I reckon that could be a most flavoursome encounter.

Stakhovsky put up a good show against Ferrer.

ALL Federer matches tend to be exciting these days. You just never know what to expect. Of course he could beat Soderling. But so could Soderling beat him. That one is surely up in the air.

And meanwhile, if he beats the Sod, guess who’s waiting around the corner. Yes, it’s the big bad wolf alright. Do we really want that encounter again? I suppose it depends where you’re coming from…

May 5th, 2011 at 8:48 pm

happy of goerges today grendel! impressed with her composure when serving for the match. hope she keeps it going.

petra vs cibulkova could be good. maybe petra talent is finally coming out.

May 5th, 2011 at 8:55 pm

s/b happy “for”..long day!

May 5th, 2011 at 8:56 pm

NO. i won’t watch a FEDAL. especially on clay!

May 5th, 2011 at 9:01 pm

go na li and julia gorgeous!

May 5th, 2011 at 9:05 pm

contador – a fedal could all what fed needs to spark something in him :)

May 5th, 2011 at 9:07 pm

jane, Polito is 22. (I know! Already!)

And congratulations to Bellucci for the upset. The 1, 2, 3 , 5, 6, and 7th seeds are in quarters, plus Llodra. MAndy was the 4th seed.

May 5th, 2011 at 9:07 pm

*be*

May 5th, 2011 at 9:08 pm

Grendel, you know some of us always want FEDAL.

Even if it’s only in semis, instead of the final, where it belongs.

Sigh.

May 5th, 2011 at 9:09 pm

LOL..too many margaritas, kimmi…usually my motto is don’t post if i’m toast…..happy cinco de mayo. da mayo? or de mayo…my spanish is terrible

May 5th, 2011 at 9:10 pm

ha-ha contador – yap, feels like too many of those actually.. must be the federer effect! can he fizzle the soda tomorrow?

May 5th, 2011 at 9:17 pm

i dunno….. ; ) look at my bracket. i have no clue ….hahahaha

tsoda popping today. he had a tough match v tsonga and was blasting the forehand. it was going in for a change. fed had an easy one. i’d watch a nadal v soda.

May 5th, 2011 at 9:26 pm

first time for bellucci to reach qtr final of masters 1000. finally that talent is showing some promise. if only he can sort out his head!!

If he beats berdych then i had say something is happening to him..i like bellucci but always disappointing.

too bad for muzza but congrats to bellucci..

May 5th, 2011 at 9:32 pm

Berdych has been far from his Wimbledon form since, well Wimbledon, unfortunately for him. He was solid in one match against Rafa (Miami?) but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him tossed by any hot hand. Jeez, that sounds dirty.

May 5th, 2011 at 9:36 pm

M, “jane, Polito is 22. (I know! Already!)” oops, I think I get mixed up with Delpo because he lost all of last year! Well anyhow, hope he can be well soon and avoid further injuries that cause stop-starts in his momentum!

contador, “I don’t post if I am toast” Lol, good one and words to live by.

Why does that Sands player wear that black football makeup under her eyes? It always freaks me out when I see that, ha ha. She must look scary to her opponent, like a linebacker or warrior.

Btw, can anyone tell me what cino de mayo is? An American holiday celebrating…?

May 5th, 2011 at 10:16 pm

I played awesome in the yellow dress. Too bad sharp ova wont be wearing it for too many matches at RG as it looks like she is not going to play too many matches there at this rate! The dress is very feminine. Almost like a tutu at the bottom so if ur not frilly it’s not the dress to wear.

Watching the soderling replay, tsonga does not move well on clay. Both these guys are crushing the ball. These guys are definitely playing hard court tennis on clay, yes? Fed should be able to move better than tsonga on the clay, tsonga didn’t seem to really have his balance.

Definitely noticing the change in court speed, unless it’s just these two hitting so hard it looks faster. Montecarlo seem dramatically slower, so slow rafa and other players shots couldn’t even penetrate the court

May 5th, 2011 at 10:24 pm

Wow, bellucci is really impressive. Either that or Murray played so bad he made him look impressive.

Thomas or thomaz? I’m going with berdych.

May 5th, 2011 at 10:48 pm

“What kind of hip injury flares up after you beat Cilic 6-3 6-0?”

@Eric – One that’s been bothering you since the semifinals of the prior tournament.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2011/05/18/Madrid-Thursday-Del-Potro-Withdraws.aspx

“Thomas or thomaz?”

Tomasz! Vamos, Bellucci!

May 5th, 2011 at 11:08 pm

Tennislover, answering your question, Larri was always behind Bellucci developing as a player, every since he was a promisse, 5 years ago. He is Bellucci coach.

But we in Brazil are very spoiled regarding sports. We only want too cheer for the best, if we have soemone in specif sports, as volley and Soccer for example. After Sena died almost nobody watched Formula 1 anymore.

With Guga it was the same. I remember the frenesi and being happy people were talking tennis, even though they didn’t know what deuce means in the score. But when he had injury problems people very fast forgot that he was n. 1 and only were upset and angry cause he wasn’t winning anymore.

Bellucci has weapons to be top 10, monster forehand, good solid serve and is also a lefty. I remember him giving a hell of a fight to Rafa in that RG match you mention, at least in set 1. But his problem is in his head, he needs to mature faster. Maybe is the pressure in Braizl where everybody want him to win RG and follow Guga`s steps. Hard, considering he is playing in Fedal era.

Nonetheless, it’s a great win agaisnt a top 10 player, and he can go a little further into semis, where he will lose to Djoko. Sometimes, all this players needs is a bunch of good wins and bang!

May 6th, 2011 at 12:06 am

M,

Thomaz, with a strong azssss in the end!:)

May 6th, 2011 at 12:08 am

M

I know that you are utterly sincere in having both Federer and Nadal as your two top pin up lads. You love their tennis, their this, and also their that.
But whilst this made sense tenniswise when they were both tilting for the crown, these days the crown is contested by only one of them. Not only has the crown changed hands, the crown prince is somebody else altogether. And it is he who will be primarily in the mind of Mr.Nadal, not Mr.Federer – who will simply provide the occasion to render the h2h even more lopsided.
Doesn’t this affect your view of Fedalism? I mean at best, it seems to me, a Fedal match will now be a nostalgic affair. Hard to see it being much of a match.

However, there is of course the “this”, not to mention the “that”…

May 6th, 2011 at 6:35 am

Grendel- It is nice to know I am not the only one getting those feelings although I am really not bothered about the result. All I want is a pulsating contest and I don’t think Sir Alex will spoil it by emulating Mourinho’s tactics. The trouble is that there appears to be no other way but to outwit them tactically unless Barca have a seriously bad day.

No, I am not a Chelsea fan but I like how they have made it so interesting late in the season. I admire Terry in some ways. He seems to exemplify the British bulldog spirit much in the manner of a Darren Gough or Freddie Flintoff and which, as you say, can be intimidating.

I am not a ManU fan either -I presume you are a big fan- but I really admire their achievements and incredible consistency. Initially,it used to be difficult for me to digest their success and I used to feel that they, and Sir Alex, were incredibly lucky somehow. This gave way to grudging acknowledgement as I soon realized how stupid it was to attribute so much success to luck. Nowadays, I tend not to oppose them as much and regret not appreciating some of the great United sides of the past. When it comes to English football, I am more of a neutral if that is possible. I personally like the Gunners’ playing style though. Their “invincibles” team did play some beautiful football. I am genuinely puzzled by their apparent lack of ambition. It appears they are happy not to splurge too much and run into debts even if it compromises their footballing success. They could learn a thing or two from ManU about how to reconcile footballing and commercial success.

Your Dasco-Bellucci comparison is probably apt. I agree regarding Bellucci’s effortless power although he is not quite like Berdych who generates incredible power while seemingly just stroking the ball gently.

By the way, even though I don’t deserve it, I am extremely flattered by your compliment coming as it does from a person who I probably admire the most on this blog. Your range and depth of knowledge -of a wide variety of subjects- is quite formidable and, I daresay, occasionally intimidating. I have also immensely enjoyed your posts written in the lighter vein like the one describing the scene at a race course……and only you could have written about the royal family being an absurdity one couldn’t consciously invent:)That was, as Skeeze would say, a classic.

May 6th, 2011 at 10:52 am

Daniel- Thanks a lot for your response! I didn’t know that Larri had been Bellucci’s coach for five years. I have watched him play whenever I have got the opportunity in the last two years and I somehow can’t quite recall Larri sitting in his box. Maybe my memory is playing tricks with me.

I have always been a huge fan of your soccer team and I absolutely loved Senna’s on-the-edge driving. I was a teenager when he died and I actually cried that day. I am surprised to know about the lack of interest in F1 in Brazil because Barrichello and Massa have done pretty well -they appear to be very popular too- and Interlagos always seems to attract vast crowds whenever the race takes place there. It is one of my favorite circuits and I still remember very vividly how, on this very circuit, Schumacher drove like an absolute genius-pretty much in the manner of a Senna-in his last race before his “retirement”.

I was a Guga fan too. I remember Kafelnikov describing him as an artist or painter after a loss at the RG and Guga modestly saying that he wouldn’t say so if he saw him write. It is a pity that Bellucci is under so much pressure from his countrymen just because Guga was such a good player. He struck me as slightly different from the other youngsters when I first watched him and have tried to follow his progress. Physically, he seems to be maturing but, as you and Grendel hint, it really is the mental side which separates the men from the boys as it were. I hope he can put together a string of wins soon so that he starts believing more in his ability.

May 6th, 2011 at 11:06 am

tennis lover – everyone likes being complimented, it’s like being stroked, isn’t it – but I am absolutely not learned, I am something of a beachcomber. Like a lot of people with dodgy childhoods, I have found solace in obsessive reading.

About John Terry, yes, he is very impressive, incredibly effective – and, I strongly suspect, a natural bully. That’s how he comes across to me, anyway. I agree with you absolutely about Berdych, the man with the velvet touch. He’s a bit rigid, though, don’t you think – whilst Bellucci seems to be one of these elastic type players. You seem to know cricket – how about David Gower, or was he before your time?

May 6th, 2011 at 3:23 pm

Grendel- Yes, Berdych’s rigidity is a bit of a liability for him and his movement, maybe because of his height, is not as good as it should be. He really hasn’t improved much since I first saw him and that is a shame because he seemed to have Safin-like potential.

I used to be mad about cricket when I was a kid. I can’t believe now how I used to hide myself in some corner of the house to listen to the Test Match special on BBC radio and to enjoy Brayan Johnston and his chocolate cakes although I liked CMJ more. In case I missed it for some reason, I’d anxiously wait for sports round up to know the scores and other details. It was a bit crazy.

I was a big fan of Gower’s lazy, languid style of batting. He was, and still is, so graceful and elegant both on and off the field. I love his commentary even more. Some people are blessed to remain graceful and elegant in whatever they do. Gower is surely one of them. Mark Waugh was another cricketer who not only batted beautifully but fielded quite beautifully as well. He made very difficult catches look ridiculously easy and did so in a very stylish and effortless sort of manner.

As a kid, I was more in awe of Viv Richards’ destructive batting though. Gavaskar’s ability against the mighty Caribbean bowling attack amazed me too even though I could barely appreciate the technical nuances of batting at that time. I don’t know about you but I think Carl Hooper could bat beautifully on his day. I immensely enjoyed Brian Lara’s batting. There was a touch of genius about him and I’d probably pick him as my favorite batsman of the last 20 years. Gilchrist could also destroy any bowling attack. Of the current players, only VVS Laxman seems capable of exquisite strokeplay and I enjoy the destructive ability of a Gayle or a Sehwag as well.

May 6th, 2011 at 7:26 pm