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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And I mean Kygrios having to beat Mischa in three sets, Kygrios wasn’t awesome in that match; as I said, Kygrios was erratic, we don’t need to big him up.
@Luckystar,
I am not trying to be unkind or disrespectful, I kind of like ur passion for tennis and support 4 Rafito but i don’t have the time to respond to that nonsense again.
How u can see someone else’s fault and not see yours( I am referring to Kyrgios & Nadal) it’s hypocritical & dishonest if you are not joking or repping your guy.
Stanley, I don’t know what you mean! You’re the one who keep belittling Rafa, yet you’re here telling others they’re belittling Kyrgios or his opponents? Who’s the hypocrite here?
And, how’s Steve Darcis awesome when he had to retire against Kygrios? Aren’t you being hypocritical or simply not being realistic here?
Don’t have the time.
Andy Murray vs Nick Kyrgios H2H 6-1 when you add all their matches.
http://www.tennisexplorer.com/mutual/murray/kyrgios/
Hope Rafa plays the way he played against Isner! Hope Rafa comes out thinking that he won 2GS this year and that, while it sure would be nice to add one more title to his record, this tourney is only relevant for adding points to stay year end No1 and for preparing for the WTF! Fed did not even bother playing 500 tourney so even if Rafa loses somehow today from an on-fire unpredictable Kyrgios it should not hurt his confidence!
Rafa is playing well but with big hitters it can easily go either way! I just hope Rafa serves better than in his other matches here and moves Nick away from the baseline… Nick does not allow his opponents gain any rhythm so I hope Rafa goes to the net more often…And, of course, I hope the weather is nice in Beijing and the roof stays open!
Vamos Rafa!
Natashao says AT 7:53 AM:” Fed did not even bother playing 500 tourney…”
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He didn’t ‘bother’ to play in Beijing or Tokio because these tournaments weren’t in his schedule. He hasn’t played there after 2006.
He will ‘bother’ to play in Basel.
Yeah, so will Rafa….
If N. Kyrgios loses this match it’s not a big deal this an ATP500 tournament. N. Kyrgios has smoked rafa in a Grand slam( Wimbledon) but rafa hasn’t so he is the Bigger man even if he loses.
http://www.tennisexplorer.com/match-detail/?id=1212265
In that match Nick Kyrgios to win was at 9.00 odd, R. Nadal to win at 1.10 odd lol!!! Haha!!!
In that link I posted you can watch the highlight, it is interesting and nice.
I will talk to you guys later, I have to go now.
Take care!
Congrats David Goffin on winning the Japan Open, commies to Mannarino, good week for him taking out Cilic ….
With this win, Goffin has gone up to no.8 in the race so he has very good chance to reach and stays in top ten this season and maybe makes the WTF. Well done, Goffin!
(The final.)
Keep your mind sharp and focused, stay confident, be strong and show your warrior spirit, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLm5oM4X0AA8D5e.jpg
already 5 deuces in game 2? hehe frazzling.
Started watching 2-1 onward. BP rafa now! Vamos!
Rafa has the upper hand here. This will be really hard for NK unless he can serve like a man possessed throughout the match.
VR, Rafa seems able to neutralize Kyrgios’ serve and that frustrates Kygrios. I mean Kygrios is serving > 200 Kph but Rafa returns them with interest!
The only thing about Rafa now is his poor BP conversion!
LS,
Yes! And how good is Rafa’s counterpunching. He is defending with such great depth and then any short/neutral ball, he POUNCES on it! Of course his improved second serve gives him more security in his service games as well. 1st serve is also awesome at the moment.
This is painful to watch. Kryois is such a talent but a head case.
What separates a great player from a another gifted player with unlimited potential is mental frame. This aspect is as important as serve, volley, bh, FH, returns all combined together. Nadal, Fed and Djoko have both of them.
Rafa won 80% of second serves!!!! These are insane numbers! Have never seen even Fed racking up these numbers behind second serve consistently! And, the scary thing is that it keeps improving!
Kyrgios getting a tennis lesson.
NK does well to reach 15-40 but then Rafa SLAMMED the door with perfect serving!
This is the best I have ever seen Rafa play on such a quick surface. He is ticking ALL the boxes and trust me, my list is very long!
Rafa just broke kyrgios serve. He must continue being miserly and errors will pop up from nicks racquet.
Defence from nadal is too good
Rafa is CRUSHING NK. Wow, this is a masterclass! Do you see the length on Rafa’s CC forehand? There is NOTHING Kyrgios can do to attack them. In cincy, he was getting such easy balls!
Oh I wish that I could see it! The ac is out and I had to go to a hotel because they can’t fix it until Monday. I don’t have the tennis channel!
I am just following the score! Wow! It looks like Rafa is playing well.
Rafa has played a stunning match though. Better than any match in the US Open.
Rafa would have defeated ANYONE today. He has found that perfect balance today and his aggressive best trups anyone’s in my opinion. At least on an outdoor hard court.
Yes VR, couldn’t agree more! Rafa at his aggressive best can beat anyone, at least on outdoor courts.
I am so frustrated to not be able to see this! Rafa must have brought his best! To have such a lopsided score in the final against Krygios is unreal!
Rafa is going to finish this year in grand style! So happy for him! No one can say this draw was easy! He faced Isner, Dimi and Krygios!