Rafael Nadal remained in clay-court cruise control on Wednesday and he will be back in action–weather permitting–against Kevin Anderson on Thursday in Barcelona. Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez are also aiming for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Kevin Anderson vs. (3) Rafael Nadal
Nadal dropped a set to Kyle Edmund in his Monte-Carlo opener, but since then he has been his typically dominant self on red clay. The fifth-ranked Spaniard won his last nine sets last week 6-3, 6-1, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1, and 6-3 en route to his 10th career Monte-Carlo title and he is now trying to accomplish the same feat at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. He had no trouble of any kind in his second-rounder on Wednesday, when he drubbed Rogerio Dutral Silva 6-1, 6-2 to improve his 2017 record to 25-5 (6-0 in clay).
Up next for Nadal on Thursday is a fourth career showdown against Anderson, who trails the head-to-head series 3-0. All three previous encounters have come on hard courts, with the 14-time Grand Slam champion most recently prevailing 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-2 at the 2015 Paris Masters. Anderson was at the height of his game at that point, but he has since struggled mightily with injuries and general rust. The 6’8” South African is just 4-5 this year and toiling down at 66th in the rankings. So far in Barcelona, however, Anderson has produced solid clay-court wins over Carlos Berlocq and David Ferrer. But the toughest clay-court test of them all should see a swift end to Anderson’s week.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
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(1) Andy Murray vs. (16) Feliciano Lopez
Murray and Lopez will be squaring off for the 11th time in their careers but for the first time in more than two years when they meet on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at a perfect 10-0 in favor of Murray, who is an even more dominant 24-2 in total sets against Lopez. They have faced each other only once on clay, with the current world No. 1 having gotten the job done 7-6(5), 6-4 at the 2008 Monte-Carlo Masters.
This will be Murray’s first match of the week in Barcelona, because he got a second-round walkover from Bernard Tomic (back injury) after the Aussie ousted Dustin Brown in his opener. The top-seeded Scot is an abbreviated 13-4 this season and he has played a mere three matches since capturing the Dubai title in early March. Murray lost right away in Indian Wells to Vasek Pospisil, skipped Miami because of an elbow issue, and fell to eventual runner-up Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the Monte-Carlo third round. Lopez, who is a modest 6-8 for his 2017 campaign, ended the career of fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes with a 6-2, 6-2 victory on Wednesday. The world No. 40 could really use another win or two in his bid for French Open and Wimbledon seeding, but he has been hopeless against Murray in the past and this surface will not help matters for the underdog.
Pick: Murray in 2 with at least one tiebreaker
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Nice I/O forehand winner from Rafa!
They just showed Sugita beating PCB. He’s in the quarterfinals.
Rafa wins!
I really like how Rafa is playing. Next up is probably Zverev and the teenager will get a beating once again.
Zverev made a point of saying he wanted another shot at Rafa. He’s going to get it. He seems to be somewhat obsessed with Rafa. He wasn’t happy with how he played at MC.
I don’t think the result will be any different this time. Rafa is playing with confidence, accuracy and authority.
Match with Zverev will be competitive and interesting to watch. Rafa looking solid though. He might sweep through the clay season. Madrid is where the chance of losing is the highest.
Nah, it’s Rome not Madrid that there’s higher chances of Rafa losing. Rafa had done better at Madrid than Rome the past few years.
He always ended up having night matches at Rome when the ball was heavier and didn’t suit his topspin. At Madrid the ball was livelier though quicker but Rafa could manage that. It’s playing on home soil at Madrid so Rafa tends to do better there (even in his worst year of 2015 he still made the final).
Chung is playing well. It will not surprise me if Sascha loses before getting his shot at Rafa.
Although I realistically don’t see Zverev beating Rafa this week, it’s really nice to see someone, especially a young guy, showing competitive spirit and the desire to get a rematch! Over the years, it seemed like a lot of players weren’t REALLY backing themselves against Rafa, Nole, and Fed, especially once they went down a set or the match went to a decider. From a competitive standpoint, it was nice to see guys like Rosol, Stakhovsky, and Soderling (even if I don’t always like them as people) not backing down in big matches against Fed and Rafa. And we’ve seen it more recently with guys like Querrey, Anderson, M. Zverev, and Istomin with Djokovic and Murray. Even though Novak had had a sub-par second half of last year by his standards, it still took a Herculean effort for Istomin to beat the 6-time champion in five sets. So even though Zverev has not beaten Rafa, I’ve been impressed with his attitude and desire to win. He gives you the feeling that he truly believes he can beat the top guys. I think he is capable of beating Rafa on non-clay surfaces if he stays competitive in their matches. On clay though? I, personally, juuuust don’t see that happening. 🙂
Zverev gotta get through Chung first, though! And Chung ain’t no scrub…
Sascha breadsticked!
he likes those
Amen Kevin. +1
Ouch, premature excitement on Zverev vs Rafa. Is he chickening out before the fight?
I”m not watching, but yeah, it’s one of those times Sascha may have taken for granted that he”d get a chance at Rafa and overlooked the difficulty getting past Chung.
Zverev going home.
Looking grim. Chung still has to serve it out. Maybe Sascha can stick around and watch Chung v Rafa tomorrow, pick up some tips.
I hope Rafa gets a tough opponent here.
Wow, big win for Chung! 🙂
Happy Chung won!
Sascha should save his slender ankles for a different venue
Well, well, so Chung won! I guess the best laud plans can go awry! No chance for Zverev to have that shot with Rafa!
Maybe he will get another chance at Madrid or Rome. I don’t know anything about Chung or his game. I am thinking that Rafa most likely has never played him.