Friends will become foes in two different third-round matches at Roland Garros on Saturday. Rafael Nadal is continuing his campaign against fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers, while Dominic Thiem is facing Alexander Zverev.
(4) Rafael Nadal vs. Marcel Granollers
Neither Nadal nor Granollers has dropped a single set or even been pushed to a tiebreaker as the two Spaniards head into third-round action at the French Open on Saturday. They know a thing or two about those kinds of scorelines in their own head-to-head history, too. Nadal is a perfect 4-0 lifetime against his countryman and has won all eight of their total sets without requiring a single tiebreaker. Their first clay-court encounter came four years ago in Rome, where the former world No. 1 dominated 6-1, 6-1. Another battle on the red stuff was just recently waged last month in Barcelona, where Nadal cruised 6-3, 6-2.
When the draw for this Grand Slam was unveiled, Nadal was on course for a showdown in the last 32 against none other than Fabio Fognini. But those designs evaporated in a hurry, as Granollers took care of the Italian 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 in round one. The world No. 56 then coasted to a two-set lead at the expense of Nicolas Mahut on Thursday before the Frenchman retired with a knee injury. Nadal has advanced with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 rout of Sam Groth that preceded a 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 victory over Facundo Bagnis. The nine-time Roland Garros champion and recent Monte-Carlo winner does not look susceptible to major upsets right now, whereas he did throughout 2015 and earlier this season. Granollers knows he has very little chance in this one–a sentiment that will only enhance the beatdown.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games
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Alexander Zverev vs. (13) Dominic Thiem
Thiem and Zverev will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the third time in the last four weeks when they meet again on Saturday. This emerging rivalry is one that is becoming commonplace and one that will be expected to remain that way for the next decade. For now, though, Thiem is sweeping the series even though both of their contests have been competitive. The 22-year-old Austrian prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the Munich semifinals before triumphing 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 in the Nice title match.
As the scoreline suggests, a worn-out Zverev ran out of gas in his latest effort against Thiem. The 19-year-old German has played 36 matches this season (with a 23-13 record), but a few days off in between Nice and the French Open have appeared to offer a revival. So far this fortnight Zverev has earned four-set wins over Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Stephane Robert. The world No. 41’s heavy workload, however, pales in comparison to that of Thiem–who has more wins (38) than Zverev’s total number of matches. In fact, Thiem is second on tour in that category this season behind only Novak Djokovic. The world No. 15 added to his count earlier this week by disposing of Spaniards Inigo Cervantes and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, surrendering just his opening set to Cervantes along the way. Grand Slam experience and the clay-court surface favor Thiem, who should be able to once again get the best of Zverev in a high-quality affair.
Pick: Thiem in 4
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beginning to wonder about thiem as the future. how can you be at the very top if you are not a predator?? he only has to see a break point to turn into a pussy cat.
zverev takes the first set on a tie break. some horrible play by thiem. i do not want to see much more of these endless feeble backhand slices…
I’ll still take Thiem in 5
He’s the fitter of the two.
Bound to be nerves on both sides.
Don’t forget Amy this is only their second encounter.
both looking too far ahead no? now that the route to the semis is wide open…
thiem takes a break point!!
zverev breaks thiem with his first break point.
he’s the one out there who looks more like the predator.
but yes i agree that thiem is physically stronger and that could determine the outcome.
thiem on song now with errors everywhere from zverev..
second set thiem who looks in control now.
i so miss rafa watching this…i don’t see anyone who will be as great as rafa or fed or nole anywhere…
I checked the score to see that Thiem won in four sets. He’s got an opportunity now since Rafa had to withdraw.
I hope to see it later if it’s replayed. But it’s hard to get excited with Rafa out of RG.
I keep thinking about the moment when I saw him beat Federer in his first SF at Roland Garros. It was his19th birthday and I was hypnotised by the famous butt and the way he prowled to and fro on the service line like a predatory panther. Little did any of guess then he would go on to lift the trophy nine times. I still can’t believe fate has denied him the chance to make history with a tenth win on his beloved Chatrier court.
#So near: so far
That is disgusting ed.
there is no-one out there who has what rafa has. not even close.
we’ve been spoilt by this golden generation with rafa at the head of it. as i said before, there are no players out there to rival rafa, fed, nole IMO. it’s not just the individual players but the great rivalries.