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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who ya got?
Hey Ricky? I wrote a post o the WTA page yesterday and it had too many links in it, I realized after it posted into MODERATION. The links are about upcoming WTA tournaments. Could you please approve it or do what you wish with it.
Thank you!
done. Thanks for the heads up.
wow that was fast!!!!
Rafa in 2
Zverev in 3
I am with rc’s predictions!
Pliskova cost me a lot of money. I’m very worried about this Nadal match. I put over two grand just to win 600 to cover my pliskova loss. You can say I’m a degenerate but if Nadal is not supposed to lose then it’s not gambling.
Thats why you don’t put money on a multi of 4 matches with 1.81 odds. Unlucky man, hope you regain your money. Bet wiser next time.
Thanks for the sympathy
Rafa in two and Kyrgios in three
Nadal in 2 easly, and Zverev to win a match 🙂
Rafa and Sasha in two
Ben, why do you have a different pick than everyone on tenngrand.com and most bettors?
Why did you pick Kyrgios in 3?
Let’s be honest- that Zverev vs. Kyrgios match really could go either way. If you weigh all factors, it’s really 50/50… Zverev may be safer bet simply because he’s been way more consistent this season and won big titles, but I personally believe that when Kyrgios is really on, he can be nearly unplayable on a court like this. Hey have played three times this season, all on hard court, with Kyrgios winning two. Back-to-back tournaments. If Kyrgios is on like he has been, I really think this match could go either way. But he’s just so unpredictable. Zverev definitely feels like the safest bet…
I want A. Zverev to win but whoever wins will win the Beijing title.
A. Zverev or N. Kyrgios will defeat R. Nadal/G. Dimitrov.
G. Dimitrov will be hard for A. Zverev or Kyrgios to defeat but either player will smash R. Nadal IF IF IF IF Rafito makes it to the finals.
This will be the real US OPEN finals not that fake, my goodness that was…
If my one and only Rafa wins Beijing, my oh my RESPECT 4 real BUT Rafito won’t win Beijing because all the Kevin Anderson’s are out, it’s time 4 the BIG BOYS to ball and they will ball to the end believe me.
I wish i was the one playing Rafito in the semis, i will smoke him in 2 easy sets, 6-3, 6-2 no 6-1, 6-2 that’ how it’s done.
Enjoy the matches OK, plz don’t get it twisted.
best player won US Open Stanley
zverev , kyrgios , dimitrov had their chances but they eliminated .
it means your RAFITO was the best player
so stop talking nonsense here and give your match prediction , not comment on a finished tournament. NO one cares that .
I go with Rafa in 3 and Sascha in 3 .
Rafa and Dimitrov practised in RNA before USO a lot . So that wont help grigor to defeat Rafa IMO
about kyrgios and zverev , they have the modern times rivalry just like FEDAL and rafa-nole .. Zverev is just one step ahead than Kyrgios but it will likely be a very very close game
Good one saint jimmy, you get Rafa in 3 correct when most of us thought Rafa would win in straight sets. Well done!
Keep your mind focused, remain confident, be strong and fight bravely, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLhGMpZW4AAQPAi.jpg
Adrian Mannarino is playing really well, he lost the 1st set but he is the better player in this match.
3rd set just started, if he loses the match it doesn’t matter he has impressed me, he is a good player.
He will play K. Anderson in Shanghai, i hope he wins but he might be fatigued.
Kevin Anderson sucks lol!
#USOPEN
just checked A. Mannarino is up 2-0 in the 3rd set, Rafito is leading 3-1 but he might still lose lol!
Too early 4 Rafans 2 celebrate, cos even if my Rafito wins this match he will definitely lose to A. Zverev or N. Kyrgios.
Saintjimmy.
Hmm…
R. Nadal is something else, i don’t give him enough credit.
This guy is good, Rafito is really really GOOD but not ThE BEST.
Well he is the best at the moment, not even Federer has made 3 GS finals this year ….
Rafa is ON FIIRE!
Grigor said before the match that he loves the conditions here because the courts are ‘pretty fast’. Still, Rafa is doing extremely well here.
And hes so good at saving break points at the moment, he seems really confident, and backs himself in tight moments ….
Nobody comes close to him in saving break points when he is playing his best tennis. He can do that all day long despite not having the luxury of hitting huge serves and aces consistently.
Rafa’s backhand is close to its peak at the moment.
To be very honest, this Rafa , even on a very quick surface, is stronger than the Rafa we saw the AO. This is more like the Rafa of the later stages of USO.
Remember how evenly stacked Dimitrov was against Rafa in that AO SF? Yes, it is not 100% okay to compare matches like this, but one thing I can totally see is how much more aggressive Rafa can get. The AO Rafa was very high but was a bit further from his best level. His groundstrokes, 2nd serves are now at a different level of aggressiveness.
Agree with you VR. Rafa as at now is much better than the Rafa of early 2017 on the HCs. At least Rafa doesn’t look lost out there, anticipating well where the opponent(s) is/are going to place his/their shots.
The two things that I don’t like about Rafa is that 1) he has the tendency to hit right back at his opponents and expecting them not being able to handle his shots but many times he hits his shots too short (as he’s playing from way behind the baseline most of the time) that his opponents could just step in to take them and return with interest; 2) he returns serves at his FH corner by standing too far back, allowing his big serving righty opponents to hit their serves out wide so often, many times he struggled to even get his racket on their serves. He was having this problem against Fed at AO and Muller at Wimbledon. IMO, he should stand closer to the baseline on his FH corner while returning serves, this way he’s making his opponents think twice before they serve out wide. He had successes vs Raonic at the AO while doing that.