Buenos Aires QF previews and picks: Nadal vs. Lorenzi, Tsonga vs. Almagro

Rafael Nadal will be back in action on Friday in Buenos Aires, where his second match of the week will come against Paolo Lorenzi. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Nicolas Almagro are also hoping to book spots in the semifinals.

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Paolo Lorenzi

Nadal’s title defense at the Argentina Open did not get off to a convincing start on Thursday night. In a rematch of the 2015 final showdown against Juan Monaco, Nadal got the job done 6-4, 6-4 but blooped in his first serve with little speed and alarming consistency (84 percent) while getting broken three times. It was the world No. 5’s first appearance since losing in round one of the Australian Open to Fernando Verdasco.

Up next on quarterfinal Friday is Lorenzi, whom Nadal has faced only once. Their only previous encounter came five years ago on the clay courts of Rome, where the Spaniard escaped with a 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-0 victory. It has already been a stellar and hard-fought week for Lorenzi, who has advanced with three-set victories over Pablo Andujar and Diego Schwartzman. The 34-year-old Italian dropped the opening set on each occasion before fighting back. Enjoying a career resurgence of sorts, Lorenzi is up to No. 52 in the world and boasts five ATP-level match wins this season. But the underdog may be fatigued on the heels of two tough tests and Nadal will be eager to improve from what was on display in his opener.

Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 7 games or fewer

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Nicolas Almagro vs. (3) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Tsonga and Almagro will be going head-to-head for the seventh time in their careers on Friday. All six of their previous meetings have gone Tsonga’s way, including three on Almagro’s preferred clay-court surface. The Frenchman is 6-1 in total sets on clay against Almagro and he has taken 11 of their last 12 contested sets overall. Their first-ever showdown was by far the most competitive. At the 2010 Australian Open, Tsonga survived a fourth-round thriller 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7(6), 9-7. If there is any good news for Almagro, it’s that he may have forgotten his futility in this matchup given that the two veterans have not squared off since 2012.

Almagro did not make too much progress in 2015 as he returned from a bad foot injury, but he is starting to show signs of a resurrection. The 71st-ranked Spaniard advanced one round at the Australian Open and so far this week he has taken out Albert Montanes and Federico Delbonis. Tsonga earned an opening bye as the No. 3 seed before crushing Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday night. That is an impressive, statement-making victory on clay for Tsonga–one that suggests Almagro is in for another long day at the office against his nemesis.

Pick: Tsonga in 2

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