Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem are on a collision course for the French Open semifinals. They first have surprising fourth-round matchups on their hands against Sebastian Korda and Hugo Gaston, respectively, on Saturday.
(Q) Sebastian Korda vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
The good news for Nadal is that he has been so good for so long that he is now playing against opponents who idolize him. By his own admission, the bad news is that means he is old. Whatever the case, the 19-time Grand Slam champion will be going up against one such opponent–Korda–in the French Open fourth round on Saturday afternoon. The 20-year-old American had never won an ATP-level match prior to this fortnight, but he qualified for the main draw and followed up that success with defeats of Andreas Seppi, John Isner, and Pedro Martinez.
Nadal did not come close to dropping a set during victories over Egor Gerasimov, Mackenzie McDonald, and Stefano Travaglia. The second-ranked Spaniard has been in fine form even though conditions for him in Paris are not ideal in September and October as they are in May and June. That does mean Korda has a chance, but the world No. 213 is the kind of player who can withstand the patterns that make Nadal so ruthless on clay. Korda stands at 6’5”, hits a big ball, and wields a rock-solid two-handed backhand. It’s hard to see Korda winning a set, but it may not be a complete beatdown.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games
(WC) Hugo Gaston vs. (3) Dominic Thiem
Thiem and Gaston will also be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers, which is no surprise given that Gaston had also never won a match on the main tour prior to this event. A wild card has proven to be life-changing for the 20-year-old Frenchman, who has made the most of his opportunity in the form of victories over Maxime Janvier, Yoshihito Nishioka, and Stan Wawrinka. Although Wawrinka had been showcasing good form through two rounds, Gaston managed to pull off a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 stunner on Friday.
It only gets much, much tougher for the world No. 239 on Sunday. Thiem has been the second-best player at the French Open over the past three year years, including two runner-up performances (both to Nadal). Fresh off his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, the third-ranked Austrian has gotten right back in gear to beat Marin Cilic, Jack Sock, and Casper Ruud all in easy straight sets. Consistency and defense has sometimes been enough to break Thiem down at times, but based on how well he is playing right now the only way to beat him–or even compete with him–is meet fire with fire. Gaston certainly does not have the offensive tools with which to do that.
Pick: Thiem in 3
I really don’t care about the conditions to be honest bcos if Rafa is playing well he will adjust accordingly. I’m more concerned about his state of play rather than the conditions he plays in……and if he is playing WELL Sinner/Zverev really does not have any chance!! Period!!!
Vamos Rafa!!
Right on Mona!😀
Zverev is doing a good job at handing over his serve right now…
Is Zverev overrated? He frequently plays dodgy matches..
His lack of strategy today in giving Sinner the same ball over and over again and not mixing things up was quite bizarre..
Zverev likes things his way!! If things are not going his way he lacks the fight!!!
https://twitter.com/benrothenberg/status/1312764725919387648?s=24
This is crazy…zverev says he has fever n can’t breathe…I thought they test all players n he is symptomatic
R u kidding me right now?!
Looks like it’s a regular sore throat and cold, possibly strep?. I’m sure he’s still negative for Covid 19 or he wouldn’t be allowed to play. People still get other viruses. Have you got your flu shot yet?
Ah ha!! Nope!!! My flu shot is all that sun in the Caribbean!!
God knows who all zverev practised with
If this is true it’s disgraceful.
If he was that ill how could he possibly play four sets with no signs of illness?
The RG protocols make clear if you have a fever you shouldn’t attend the stadium. Even if it isn’t covid he could infect someone else.
Very irresponsible. Anyone who breaks protocols should be banned from playing the next slam.
😠ðŸ˜
https://twitter.com/maxjgao/status/1312754679093305344?s=21
Seb korda is each of us Rafa fan 😃😃
He was begging for rafas banana shot around the post to go in😂😂
The love affair between Korda and Rafa is threatening to get out of control..
Rafa has given him signed shirts now and Korda says Rafa and his cat are both “super nice..”
💜💜💜
Holy cow! World no 239 takes a set off the prince of clay!!!
Dom is about to explode!
Dom seems to have been losing a lot of points around the net..
Yes!! Theim needs to calm down and just play his game or else he sill end up losing! He is panicking!
I.just got back and Gaston is up by a break!! Dom is really losing his cool…
Gaston wins the third set. I honestly think Dom is about to explode..!
Mr thiem seems to be paying the price for his us open title
The crowd seem to be getting to.him…
Why so..how is it linked .he will win it eventually
What on earth is going on with Thiem? Is this guy going to take it to a fifth set?
Dom has really really got rattled nny. He is making incredible mistakes..
Good God we are going 5!
Dom is completely losing his game…
Omg! Surely gaston is not going to do a gaudio to thiems coria🤨🤨🤨
C what I mean? Theim just needs to play with calm! He just keeps beating himself! Well let’s c what he does in final set, I’m still not giving up on him! In the end it might be just the match he needs.
Surely gaston is not going to do a gaudio to thiem’s coria🤨🤨
The commentator is asking ‘ I wonder where Rafael Nadal is right now?’ Sigh! I swear these ppl r in love with Rafa, lol!
So, Gaston is the ‘real Ruud’.
Thiem gets a break😀 diego vs thiem shoudl be a humdinger
Very unconvincing by Dom. Playing a long match right now surely isn’t what he wanted…
Gaston turns out to be full of guile, like a Murray. I mean he’s able to beat Stan, and pushes Thiem to five sets, and both of them are power players!
The guy is very smart, using the drop shots so often and passing Thiem at the net with his DTL shots, so impressive. He actually exposed and exploited the flaw in Thiem’s game. Thiem played from far behind the baseline, and so drop shots against him really worked for Gaston. Thiem was rushed and so he overhit often when getting to those drop shots.
Schwartzman will be a tough opponent for Thiem now, as Schwartzman is physically fresh, could run after every shot and is so quick.