Olympics QF previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Bellucci, Bautista Agut vs. Del Potro

August 11, 2016 Ricky Match previews 182

Rafael Nadal often gets a ton of crowd support, but the Brazilian fans will not be on his side when he goes up against Thomaz Bellucci at the Rio Olympics on Friday. Roberto Bautista Agut and Juan Martin Del Potro are also aiming for a place in the semifinals.

(3) Rafael Nadal vs. Thomaz Bellucci

Nadal and Bellucci will be going head-to-head for the sixth time in their careers when they clash in the quarterfinals of the Rio Olympics on Friday. All five of their previous encounters have gone Nadal’s way and he is a perfect 14-0 in total sets at Bellucci’s expense. They have faced each other once in Rio de Janeiro, but that came on a clay court when the Spaniard cruised 6-4, 6-1 at last year’s ATP 500-point event. Nadal leads 3-0 on clay (including 2-0 at the French Open) and 2-0 on grass (both at Wimbledon); this marks their first meeting on a hard court.

Despite having not played since Roland Garros, at which he withdrew after round two, Nadal’s bid for a second singles gold medal is off to a roaring start. The No. 3 seed has not dropped a set in victories over Federico Delbonis, Andreas Seppi, and Gilles Simon. Thomaz Bellucci has punched a surprising quarterfinal ticket by taking out Dustin Brown (via retirement), Pablo Cuevas, and David Goffin. The 54th-ranked Brazilian had previously been a disappointing 11-18 for the season and 1-5 in his last six ATP tournament matches, so this result has come completely out of nowhere. Unless Nadal feels ill effects after playing three matches on Thursday, this is where Bellucci’s run will come to an end.

Pick: Nadal in 2

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Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (10) Roberto Bautista Agut

Two days off may have been just what the doctor ordered for Del Potro, who was not on Tuesday’s schedule before rain wiped out play on Wednesday. And it was a well-deserved rest for the 2012 bronze medalist, who upset world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 6-2 before beating Joao Sousa in three sets less than 24 hours later. As such, Del Potro had enough in the tank to battle back from a set deficit and defeat Taro Daniel 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-2 during third-round action on Thursday afternoon. He is now 16-8 this season, marking a methodical but productive return from yet another wrist surgery.
Delpo2
Up next for Del Potro on Friday is a second career meeting with Bautista Agut, who won their only previous contest 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 at the 2014 Australian Open. The 17th-ranked Spaniard is through to the quarterfinals following defeats of Andrey Kuznetsov (by retirement), Paolo Lorenzi, and Gilles Muller. It’s a much-needed result for Bautista Agut, who started the year on fire only to cool off during the spring and early in the summer. This will be a tough test for Del Potro because he has already endured three tough matches and the rock-solid Bautista Agut will be able to exploit the 2009 U.S. Open champion’s backhand by using his stellar inside-out forehand.

Pick: Bautista Agut in 3

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182 Comments on Olympics QF previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Bellucci, Bautista Agut vs. Del Potro

  4. Interesting that Ricky picked RBA to beat Delpo. It’s true that Delpo has had some tough matches, but he did get some rest because if the rain delay yesterday.

    The one thing that stood out is Ricky’s point that RBA will be able to exploit Delpo’s backhand in this match. Delpo can’t hit the backhand the way he used to after this latest wrist injury and surgery. But he was able to beat Novak with his forehand.

    It’s hard to pick because on paper RBA should win, but I just think that Delpo could find a way to win this one. I think it will go 3 sets.

    Rafa is meeting Bellucci rather than Goffin. Bellucci will have the crowd behind him, but as long as Rafa is okay after his three matches today, I think he should win in 2 sets.

    Reply

  7. Please do this in 2 sets Rafa!!

    Muguruza lost her doubles as well…. she is now totally relying on Rafa to get a good result at the games lol.

    Reply

    • My daughter is getting married next week Sat so I’m unable to kee up with wall to wall Olympics so when I saw the results against the Austrians I thought that was the SF?

      Reply

  12. They are showing Rafa’s doubles match! I just saw them fight off break points to make in 6-5!

    Some gutsy stuff from team Rafa!

    Reply

  15. They are going to a second set tb.

    I don’t know how Rafa can play this match and then play the mixed doubles and then play in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

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  16. Commentator talking about how well Rafa understands the game of doubles and how skilled he is with his volleying.

    Respect for Rafa!

    Reply

  19. Oh my God! DF to give the win to team Rafa!

    Rafa jumped on Marc on the court and kissed him!

    So happy for team rafa! They will have a shot at the gold medal!

    Seeing Rafa joyous and happy does my heart good!

    YAY!!!

    Reply

  20. wooohoooooo !!!!! SILVER MEDAL GUARANTEED! epic scenes! lopez is down on the court and crying, Rafa hugs a lying-on-the-court lopez and both are ECSTATIC! Huge adrenalin rush for RAFA!

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  22. Rafa’s going to bring gold in the doubles!! called it earlier on in the tournament 😀 😀 but I feel the mixed doubles is going to be too much for his body.

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  23. One has to be really happy for Marc Lopez! He is 34 and finally something big happens for him 🙂

    Rafa has already spent 12 hours on the court ! wow

    Reply

    • But now Rafa has to play in mixed doubles. I am worried about that. He has to play in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

      I hope he can get the mixed doubles done quickly, but I really wish he did not have to play another match today.

      Reply

    • Grats indeed, to Rafa and Marc! But Marc did win doubles at RG this year so that qualifies as big. 🙂 But this one’s very, very special whatever happens in their final. Tecau and Mercea will be tough and Rafa isn’t likely to be fresh for it. Well, Marc said earlier that he wanted Rafa to win singles and he (Marc) would take care of the doubles. 🙂

      In the words of Roger Federer in 2012, “I didn’t lose a gold. I won a silver.” This one’s for Spain and Marc. Btw, I saw Rafa’s face early in that match. It was the fighting face, the determined one. He really, really wanted this.

      Reply

        • I just wanted to join in and second vr’s sentiments regarding Ramara’s post! Great reminder about Marc Lopez winning at RG! But his emotional reaction to this win really spoke volumes! Rafa was as happy as a kid and couldn’t stop hugging Marc!

          What I appreciated very much was the female commentator talking about Rafa as a 14 slam champion being so overjoyed to have a shot at a doubles medal at the Olympics. She and others have pointed out that there are no rankings points for Olympics, no money, but a ton of pride in representing their country!

          It’s nice to see Rafa getting credit for wanting to win for his country! Nice! ?

          Reply

  24. I can’t believe Rafa will play for the gold medal in doubles!

    Marc Lopez was crying after they won, I think!

    Congratulations team Rafa! ???

    Reply

  26. Wow! Just WOW! So proud of Rafa & Marc! Such a joy for Rafans! And such a great moment!

    Way to go Champs! Go for the GOLD now! ❤️❤️❤️

    Reply

  27. Rafa in three as Bellucci will have the crowd with him and Rafa could be tired. Del Po in two as he gets through RBA (like I thought muller would?) Gilles really had great opportunity at semis here but now I’m thinking del Po gets through. Have a feeling JMDP plays a great match and gets through it in two over the fighting spaniard.

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  28. Also how awesome is Stevie J making QF? And fognini man. He had Andy 3-0 in the final set. Would’ve loved for him to win that match. Come on Stevie J!! Get the upset!! And Nishikori monfils could be epic. I picked Nishikori at start of tournament but we’ll see. I’m tempted to pick monfils now. Last time I went back on my pick was ATL when I chose Kyrgios over Verdasco at start of tourney then chose Nando when match was gonna happen but nick won and of course got the title later.

    Reply

  30. Although Delpo playing great tennis atm and resembles Delpo of old i tend to agree with Ricky that this one may go in RBA favor!

    RBA in three!

    Although could not see Rafa play i believe Rafa high on confidence to beat Belluci n 2!

    Vamos!!!

    Reply

  32. Whoops, got that backwards. Rafa/Mugu gave the walkover to Steps/Hradecka. Apologies. I’m guessing Rafa just couldn’t do it.

    Reply

  33. I am relieved that Rafa and Mugu gave their opponents the walkover. I think it was always going to be too much.

    I don’t want to see Rafa sacrifice his chances in singles and doubles. He’s been playing so well and now he’s got at least a silver in doubles and a chance to medal in singles with a win against Bellucci.

    Rafa needs to rest now and be ready for tomorrow!

    Go for it, champ! ?

    Reply

      • I just like to see fair play ; something Fedal fans know nothing about obviously. It would have been an abomination if they would have delayed the mixed doubles competition a whole day just for one man to try and play. Had he lost in singles or men’s doubles that probably would have happened. Since he won both he would still have been faced with 3 matches tomorrow so he did the sensible thing and withdrew.

        Reply

  35. I just watched TSN Sportscentre and all the highlights were calls that went against Canada with no replays on the court. Nestor said afterwards they may have won if hawkeye would have been available.

    Reply

    • I think Rafa will win the doubles gold. The road to the singles gold is thorny. He is playing aggressive, his backhand seems great but his forehand is not at 100% and is error prone …..Rafa wants to enjoy the Olympics experience..I just want to watch Rafa playing with joy and passion…I have really missed him…any medals he wins are all bonus

      Reply

      • @ Mary 6:22AM,

        Thank you for the fair and objective view! I am on vacation and it’s impossible to watch tennis while on the boat in the open sea but I follow the live score and analyze statistics. I too was worried about Rafa’s FH UEs! I saw the highlights and noticed Rafa hitting BHs solid and deep panting some lines along the way. Nice to see!
        In yesterday’s match I thought Rafa started off rather nervous allowing for Simon to break back and having way to many errors! However I read in the assessments of the match that there was too much wind and the thus weather may have been the factor.

        I agrree with you! I too want Rafa to enjoy on the court and win at least one Gold. After such dissapointing last few years that would be the sun at the end of the tunnel. And the gained confidence would help the USO performance!

        Vamos Rafa!

        Reply

    • Pfffttt. They “may” have won if Pospisil hadn’t forgotten how to play during the tb’s. Two double faults and bonking your partner on the head with the ball? The only egregiously bad call was in their last service game, which they won anyway. Rafa/Marc were having a hard time even winning points during their return games – until the tb’s. As for Rafa’s dtl bh on the next to last point, Nestor’s far from the best player to have been fooled by Rafa’s dive bombing topspin.

      Nestor’s probably developed a complex by now. This is the 3rd time Rafa/Marc have beaten him, twice in a title match and now for a medal.

      I do think it was disgraceful that a Hawkeye court was not available for a medal match. So did Rafa, who had requested Hawkeye for the match.

      Reply

      • Yep. Hawkey should be mandatory in matches for a medal! Then these “stories” about bad calls would be avoided and Rafa&Marc would fully enjoy their fair and square win!

        Reply

  37. Nadal will win gold in doubles. He will win againt Belucci in 2 sets and I am taking singles one at a time now because a lot can change in a day here at the games.

    I wouldn’t put too much stock into the Simon match because the conditions were really tough. It was so windy at times and the ball was moving like crazy…. I don’t think Rafa even attempted the CC-DTL forehand combo often enough because of the wind. His forehand was safer than it was against Seppi but he still tried to get good length and missed sent some of them long. There were also some uncharacteriatic forehand shanks.

    I was glad to hear Murray saying that he found the conditions very tough and it was tought to be aggressive.

    The fact that Rafa was still able to go for his backhands shows how much confidence he has in it. The backhand DTL is in full flow and hia new serving position is not being exploited by even those returns that land deep to his backhand because he is so quick onto it and pulls the trigger. Rafa is under no pressure to guard his backhand which is a massive relief!

    Also, he is even willing to hit ROS winners off second serves even at 40-30 type points….that indicates he is working on making it a permanent part of his game.

    Today’s match will be beautiful to watch because Rafa will have more chances to hit backhands DTL and he will go for a lot more. He likes doing that against lefties and it is a killer shot. Bellucci will suffer a lot due to that shot today.

    Reply

      • Hawkeye, include me in that group…he is undoubtedly hitting ot better than ever and more importantly, he is making it a proper weapon…the benefits it will bring to his overall game will be significant.

        Remember how his baseline game transcended to new heights when he made the forehand DTL a regular shot… players have been too accustomed to CC patterns with Rafa and they can’t handle him when Rafa is hitting DTL that well. For now, he needs to get his forehand back…

        Reply

    • vr,

      Thanks again for your thoughtful, fair and balanced analysis of Rafa’ s game yesterday.

      I do think that the windy conditions affected him. Murray also struggled against Fog. I did try to look for the cc forehand and DTL forehand combinations that you noticed, but did not see them as much.

      Simon always manages to get so many balks back and has that deceptively quick movement. I thought the first set might be close, but once Rafa win it in a tb, he seemed to take charge in the second set. Simon seemed to lose his focus after that first set.

      I think the game changer is how Rafa is hitting his cc backhand. That is a very good sign!

      I like Rafa’s overall court positioning and his aggressive ROS stance. I expect him to beat Bellucci in 2 sets and have a chance to play for another singles medal.

      I am cautious about his chances in singles because of the lack of match play. So it’s one match at a time, I think he has a really good shot at the gold in doubles.

      Reply

  38. More likely since all the bad calls went against Canada there was a conspiracy to help Rafa win. There was clearly a ball mark visible on the court and the chair umpire refused to change the call. At one point Nestor told Rafa that he would give them the point then asked how big a margin the ball was out. TSN subtitled his comment lol.

    Reply

  39. I want to see how the crowd reacts when Rafa takes Bellucci to the wood shed this afternoon. Rafa should leave Rio with 2 gold medals.

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  40. U.Toni’s interview with Cadena SER (Spanish Radio) on Thursday

    ¤¤ Toni: “It was difficult to compete at a high level and this medal was quite unthinkable, hence so much satisfaction.”
    Toni: “Marc is Rafa’s best friend on Tour. It’s awesome that they play together and already have won a medal.”
    Toni “Rafa wanted to play mixed doubles, but the doctor told him it wasn’t the best for his health.”
    Toni: “The doctor said that playing for 6 hours isn’t the best for Rafa’s wrist and his body. It’s better to stop.”
    Toni:”[Rafa] isn’t at 100% but the level has increased every day. We’ll face the match against Bellucci, hoping for a win.” ¤¤
    (Translated by GSS)
    https://twitter.com/carrusel

    Reply

    • I am glad that Rafa’s Doctor told hm not to play mixed doubles. The commentators were talking about how many hours Rafa had been playing and then having another match after two matches in one day.

      Uncle Toni sounds positive about how Rafa is doing. I just hope that Rafa can keep up the great level of play.

      Reply

  50. It’s a left serve, different look today. Probably step back a bit and then return…. Bellucci having it so easy due to poor ROS and the crowd going crazy now.

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  57. This is not even worthy of a chocolate, let alone bronze/silver/gold medal. Rafa, you MUST improve right here right now, you are not losing this!

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  59. Defensive skills coming to the rescue! I hope he can relax now….the backhand is not even at 60% of what it has been this week

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  68. Very positive start….he is hitting the ball much better off both wings..backhand now at 75-80% to what it was in previous matches.

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  71. See, this is one issue with his new serving position….he’s lost that big up-the-middle serve in the Ad Court…. it is his biggest serve

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    • I just got home to see that Rafa is in the third set. So this hasn’t been an easy match for him.

      Up a break!

      Come on Rafa! Bellucci has the crowd behind him.

      Reply

      • NNY, it has been on his racket throughout…his level was really bad in the beginning..he’s improved gradually…now playing well

        Reply

        • vr,

          Thanks for the update. I went back and read your comments throughout the match and it was helpful. That first set sounded ugly!

          Rafa HAS to hold here!

          Reply

    • YES!

      4-1 Rafa!

      Great, gutsy hold from Rafa!

      I am here watching this match and live blogging! Just for the record! Getting the score right! For sure!

      Come on Rafa! You can do this!

      That was some good nerves from Rafa, considering that the crowd sounds like it’s s soccer match!

      Reply

  82. WELL DONE CHAMP. He handled the pressure and is in the semi…. he has a shot at winning a silver against the winner of RBA-Delpo.

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  85. That was a great match for Rafa to win because he was so out of sorts at the beginning I didn’t have any hopes of him winning.

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  86. It was 2 winners 10 UE in set 1… so 18 winners and 15 UE in sets 2 and 3…not bad… he is inconsistent… forehand esp…backhand was so passive in set 1 but then he started hitting those bombs in sets 2 and 3!

    If it is Delpo tomorrow, he will need to be a lot more consistent and aggressive.

    Reply

    • True…If it is Delpo tmrw Rafa will have to quit this passive policy…We can expect Rafa to be nervous but fatigue can play a significant role since Delpo spent more hours on court than Rafa.,,

      Reply

    • Thanks for the stats. That really tells the story. Maybe it’s best that I didn’t see the first set. But then it’s good to know that Rafa was able to play better and come from behind to get the win.

      I absolutely agree that Rafa will have to vex ready and play consistently well against Delpo. I don’t know if fatigue will catch up with Delpo or not. It’s possible. But Rafa knows how dangerous he is and what he needs to do.

      It should be a good match!

      Reply

  94. And the Rio gold medal in men’s doubles goes to..Rafa Nadal and Marc Lopez!!!!!!
    ?
    Vaaaaamooooos Rafa! Vaaaaamooooos Marc!
    ? ? ? ?

    Reply

    • Augusta please share pictures videos etc. of the celebration and the ceremony when it comes! Would love to see Rafa’s lovely smile ??

      Reply

      • I knew Rafa would go all out to win the doubles gold!!! What a proud moment for Rafa! I don’t care if he wins gold or not in singles. I am more concerned about his wrist. This Rafa can win USO if he doesn’t damage his wrist. Vamos Rafa! You have made my day!!!

        Reply

  97. Yes! Vampoooooos!

    Bravo team NadalLopez! So proud of you!!!
    How great you are! Goold medal!!!!❤️??

    That’s the way! Love you!!!

    Reply

  99. Holy cats!!! Major props to Rafa/Marc! Very, very proud to be their fan. Well, I would still have been proud if they’d lost in the 1st round. But what an example of the Olympic spirit, sportsmanship and friendship! How wonderful that they could do it together.

    Reply

    • That was not an easy match! They had to break back after being broken late in the third set!

      Fighting all the way! What a win!

      I am SO happy for Rafa and Marc!

      I hope to see the trophy ceremony! That would be wonderful!

      What a special moment

      ☝? ?

      Reply

    • Exactly! They are true heroes!

      It was long, demanding, exhausting match! Rafa and Marc fought so hard, never giving up! It paid off!

      I’m so happy for them!

      Reply

  100. Wow, Gold for Spain in men’s doubles! Well done to Rafa and Marc, big big congrats!! Vamos!

    Rafa can now concentrate on his singles match. Go for gold again Rafa!

    Reply

  104. Darren Cahill ‏@darren_cahill 2h2 hours ago
    Zero point zero hint of Rafa saving himself physically for singles in ANY doubles match he played. He knows nothing but 100% #inspiration

    Reply

  105. Josh Meiseles ‏@jmeistennis 2h2 hours ago
    Rafa Nadal joins Nicolas Massu as the only men to win Olympic gold in both singles and doubles. #Rio2016

    Reply

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