Rafael Nadal has continued to steamroll all clay-court challengers and now it is a qualifier, Martin Klizan, who stands in his way of the Barcelona semifinals on Friday. Quarterfinal action also includes David Goffin vs. Roberto Bautista Agut.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (Q) Martin Klizan
Nadal and Klizan will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they collide in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Friday. The head-to-head series has been intriguing from start to finish, with Nadal leading 2-1 and not one contest ending in straight sets. Following four-set victories by the Spaniard at the French Open in 2013 and Wimbledon the ensuing year, Klizan scored a 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3 upset on the hard courts of Beijing later in 2014. Something similarly competitive would come as a significant surprise, because Nadal has won an amazing 40 consecutive clay-court sets dating back to Roland Garros last spring. The world No. 1 recently cruised to title No. 11 in Monte-Carlo and he is on course to do the same in Barcelona following victories over Roberto Carballes Baena and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Due mostly to physical problems but also to poor play, Klizan is struggling down at 140th in the rankings. But getting a couple of qualifying matches under his belt has clearly done wonders for his game, as he parlayed that success into main-draw defeats of Federico Delbonis, Novak Djokovic, and Feliciano Lopez. Klizan has always been a force at the 500-point level and his style works well on clay, so this will be tougher for Nadal than his third-round contest–which is not saying a lot.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
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(4) David Goffin vs. (8) Roberto Bautista Agut
Goffin and Bautista Agut will be facing each other for the fifth time in their careers at the ATP level and for the second time in as many weeks when they meet again on Thursday. Since dropping their first two encounters, Goffin has leveled the head-to-head series at 2-2 thanks to a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(3) triumph on the indoor hard courts of Sofia in 2017 and a 6-4, 7-5 victory at the recent Monte-Carlo Masters. The 10th-ranked Belgian’s trip to the last week’s quarterfinals sent a message to the tour that he is truly back from an eye injury and ready to make serious noise once again on clay. Goffin has played with fire so far in Barcelona, but he punched his ticket to the last eight by making three-set comebacks against Marcel Granollers and Karen Khachanov.
Unlike many Spaniards, Bautista Agut is a quintessential all-court player who is doing fine work on clay but certainly is not a specialist on the surface. Although the 15th-ranked Spaniard struggled in Indian Wells and Miami, he is 4-1 on the red stuff in 2018 following Barcelona wins over Ivo Karlovic and lucky loser Pablo Andujar. A steep step up in competition has often been trouble for Bautista Agut and that will likely be the case again in this one, especially given Goffin’s form over the last set and a half against Khachanov.
Pick: Goffin in 2
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