Acapulco final preview and prediction: Nadal vs. Querrey

Rafael Nadal made a mockery of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel draw’s bottom half, but his final opponent from the other side of the bracket is nothing short of a shock.

No matter than Querrey famously took down Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last summer. Acapulco’s top half not only included Djokovic, but was also home to Dominic Thiem, David Goffin, Nick Kyrgios, and Juan Martin Del Potro. But it is Querrey who emerged thanks to victories over Kyle Edmund, Goffin, Thiem, and Kyrgios. The 40th-ranked American ousted Kyrgios 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the semifinals, one day after Kyrgios upset Djokovic 7-6(9), 7-5.

“Sam is playing great,” Nadal assured. “He’ll be coming into the match with a lot of confidence.”

Querrey can be confident in his current form, but not much about his past history against Nadal is encouraging. Although Nadal has defeated Sunday’s opponent only once in straight sets, he is sweeping the head-to-head series 4-0 overall. Their most recent meeting was the most lopsided of the four, with Nadal cruising 6-4, 6-2 last spring on the clay courts of Madrid.

The world No. 6 has made similarly light work of all challengers this week. He punched his ticket to the title match by beating Mischa Zverev, Paolo Lorenzi, Yoshihito Nishioka, and Marin Cilic. Nishioka managed to force one tiebreaker, but Lorenzi and Cilic combined for a futile five games in four sets against Nadal. The Spaniard is now 12-2 this season, including a runner-up performance at the Australian Open, and 14-0 lifetime in Acapulco (4-0 on hard courts).

“It just gets tougher from here because Rafa has been playing great all year,” Querrey admitted. “So I’m going to talk with my coach and leave it all out on the court.”

There are no secrets about what Querrey must do from a tactical standpoint: serve huge and at a high percentage, dictate rallies with his forehand, and keep points short. But executing that plan against Nadal is easier said than done; just ask Cilic, whose style is similar to–and often better than–that of Querrey.

Pick: Nadal in 2 losing more than 8 games

[polldaddy poll=9680622]