A blockbuster semifinal lineup on Saturday in Beijing pits Rafael Nadal against Grigor Dimitrov and Alexander Zverev against Nick Kyrgios. Only Grigor Dimitrov needed three sets to get through his quarterfinal contest, as the other three title contenders mostly cruised.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (3) Grigor Dimitrov
Nadal and Dimitrov will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the China Open final on Sunday. The head-to-head series stands at a dominant 8-1 in favor of Nadal, who is 5-1 against Dimitrov on hard courts. Interestingly, though, Dimitrov’s lone win over the Spaniard came at this same Beijing event just last year via a 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal decision. Of course, Nadal is not the same player this time around. Back up to No. 1 in the world, the 31-year-old recent captured the U.S. Open title for his second Grand Slam triumph of 2017 and he is an awesome 59-9 this season. So far in Beijing, Nadal has taken out Lucas Pouille, Karen Khachanov, and John Isner–surrendering one set to Pouille in the process.
Likely on his way to joining Nadal at the World Tour Finals, Dimitrov has advanced this week with defeats of Damir Dzumhur, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Roberto Bautista Agut. The eighth-ranked Bulgarian is now 38-15 for his 2017 campaign. Dimitrov, however, needed three sets to scrape past both Dzumhur and Bautista Agut, while Nadal turned in his best performance of the tournament against Isner on Friday. The lopsided trend in this matchup has every reason to continue.
Pick: Nadal in 2
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(8) Nick Kyrgios vs. (2) Alexander Zverev
Zverev destroyed one of his good friends (Andrey Rublev) in the quarterfinals and he will be facing another one in the form of Kyrgios on Saturday. The two current and future stars have collided three times in their ATP careers–all this season. Kyrgios leads the head-to-head series 2-1, having prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in Indian Wells and 6-4, 6-7(9), 6-3 two weeks later in Miami. Zverev exacted a measure of revenge by getting the job done 6-4, 6-3 at the Montreal Masters.
As those results suggest, Kyrgios was on fire earlier in the year but now it is Zverev who is the more in-form of the two. The 20-year-old German has soared to No. 4 in the world thanks in part to a title in Montreal and a preceding Masters 1000 triumph on the clay courts of Rome. Zverev is 51-16 this season following Beijing victories over Rublev, Kyle Edmund, Fabio Fognini. A hip injury derailed Kyrgios’ summer, but the 19th-ranked Australian is getting back in business this fall. He played well at the Laver Cup and booked his spot in the Beijing semis by beating Nikoloz Basilashvili, Mischa Zverev, and Steve Darcis (via retirement). A steep step up in competition against a red-hot adversary will likely bring about an end to Kyrgios’ week.
Pick: Zverev in 3
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