Rafael Nadal and Horacio Zeballos will be facing each other for the third time in their careers when they battle for a place in the final of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Saturday. The head-to-head series is tied up at one win apiece, with Nadal cruising 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 at the 2010 French Open before Zeballos pulled off a 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-4 upset in the 2013 Vina del Mar title match.
That still marks the only title of Zeballos’ career, which he won by victimizing a rusty opponent. Nadal was making his first appearance since infamously losing to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon during the summer of 2012, after which he took the rest of the year off due to injury and also missed the Australian summer to begin 2013.
Nadal’s latest layoff–at various points during the spring, summer, and fall of 2016–seems to have reinvigorated him for this season. The fifth-ranked Spaniard boasts a 27-5 record, including a perfect 8-0 mark on clay that features his 10th career title in Monte-Carlo. Nadal is not slowing down in Barcelona, where he is 51-3 lifetime and also going for title No. 10. So far this week he has taken out Rogerio Dutra Silva, Kevin Anderson, and Hyeon Chung in straight sets.
A favorable draw now continues in the form of Zeballos, who has advanced with victories over Santiago Giraldo, Joao Sousa, Benoit Paire (in a third-set tiebreaker), and Karen Khachanov. The 84th-ranked Argentine had previously been a mere 5-10 at the ATP level this year.
Zeballos’ 2013 defeat of Nadal remains the only top-10 win of his career. He is since 0-3 against such opponents and 0-7 in total sets. This is obviously a much different Nadal that the surprising unseeded semifinalist will be running into on Saturday, so a swift end to his stellar week will likely be in store.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 3-4 games
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Rafa has won like 9 matches on clay without really being tested by a top player. Goffin was highest seed he faced till date and tomm Thiem could be the highest seed. Surprising he won a Masters 1000 and has reached final of a 500 without facing any top reputed player.
Hardly surprising. Andy and Novak far from their best. Kei and Raonic out with injuries. Roger busy fund raising. (easy Fedfans, that was a joke) Basically there are no top players to face.
Yes, I agree that there is a vacuum at the top of the men’s game right now. It’s not on Rafa if Murray, Novak and Stan all crashed out early at MC.
Same goes for a lesser field at Barcelona. Nishi pulled out with a wrist injury. Zverev lost to Chung. Goffin lost to Khachanov. Murray lost to Thiem.
Rafa will be facing a top ten opponent in the final in Thiem. It was always going to be either Murray or Thiem in the final.
I would think that Stan will heat up
at some point in the clay season. He’s not injured or coming back from injury and isn’t slumping like Novak. If the top two players continue to be sub par, then I expect guys like Kyrgios, Zverev, Goffin and Thiem to step up.
Rafa says he was nervous today
http://www.tennisworldusa.org/news/news/Rafael_Nadal/42911/rafael-nadal-i-didn-t-play-well-i-was-a-little-bit-nervous/
http://www.tennisworldusa.org/news/news/Rafael_Nadal/42911/rafael-nadal-i-didn-t-play-well-i-was-a-little-bit-nervous/
Rafa says he was nervous today and played short and in last game made pathetic errors
I think Rafa’s comments are interesting. He knows that he didn’t play well. I am just wondering why he was nervous. Playing Zeballos is not a challenge.
I guess it was the windy conditions that caused Rafa to miss those overheads. But if he was nervous in the semifinal, then I am concerned he will even more nervous for the final. Playing Thiem will be a lot more challenging than Zeballos.
Nny
How many times have we been apprehensive after he has faced a tough time in the SF? More often than not, no? IMO the Zeballos tussle bodes well and I reckon was the perfect preparation for Rafa.