Buenos Aires QF previews and picks: Nadal vs. Delbonis, Robredo vs. Almagro

Rafael Nadal’s quarterfinal match in Buenos Aires will come on Friday against Federico Delbonis. Tommy Robredo and Nicolas Almagro are also trying to earn  spot in the last four.

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Federico Delbonis

Nadal and Delbonis will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they meet in the Argentina Open quarterfinals on Friday. Their only previous encounter came two years ago on the clay courts of Vina del Mar, where Nadal cruised 6-3, 6-2. The fourth-ranked Spaniard struggled last week in Rio de Janeiro and lost in the semis to Fabio Fognini, but he started this week with easy by crushing Facundo Arguello 6-4, 6-0 on Wednesday.

Delbonis, who won a quarterfinal doubles match against Nadal on Thursday, advanced to the last eight with victories over Pablo Carreno Busta and Paolo Lorenzi. The 59th-ranked Argentine captured his only ATP title during last year’s Golden Swing (in Sao Paulo) and he was a recent quarterfinalist in Rio. This is unlikely to be a complete walkover, but Nadal should be comfortable at this point in Buenos Aires with a singles match and two doubles efforts already under his belt.

Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 8-10 games

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Nicolas Almagro vs. (2) Tommy Robredo

Almagro and Robredo will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers and for the second time on the current Golden Swing. They just faced each other earlier this month in Sao Paulo, where Almagro got the job done 6-3, 7-6(1) to seize a 6-1 lead in the head-to-head series. He has won five of their six clay-court clashes.

After missing much of last season due to injury, Almagro if off to a decent start this year. The 89th-ranked Spaniard is 4-4 for his 2015 campaign with Buenos Aires wins over Pablo Andujar and Albert Ramos. Robredo has begun the season in extremely slow fashion, but he benefited from a favorable second-round draw and hammered Renzo Olivo 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday. Almagro will obviously present a much sterner test, just as he did in Sao Paulo.

Pick: Almagro in 3

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