Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are set for a blockbuster quarterfinal showdown on Friday in Rome. Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Haas are also looking for a place in the last four.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (7) Andy Murray
Nadal and Murray will be facing each other for the 19th time in their careers but for the first time in almost three years when they do battle in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 13-5 in Nadal’s favor, including 4-0 on clay. They squared off five times in 2011 (Nadal won four, Murray won the last one in the Tokyo final) before going all of 2012 and 2013 without a single encounter.
It has already been a respectable week for Murray, who booked his spot in this showdown by taking out Marcel Granollers and Jurgen Melzer in straight sets. The Scot’s only previous clay-court event in 2013 resulted in the loss of his second match to Santiago Giraldo in Madrid. Nadal, meanwhile, needed three sets to get past both Gilles Simon and Mikhail Youzhny. The top-ranked Spaniard is once again looking to get over the quarterfinal hump after falling at this stage in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona before capturing the Madrid title. With Nadal having already spent six hours and two minutes on court this week, Murray should be competitive.
Pick: Nadal in 3
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(15) Tommy Haas vs. (12) Grigor Dimitrov
Haas and Dimitrov will be squaring off for the third time in their careers on Friday. They have split their two previous meetings; Dimitrov scored a 6-3, 6-2 victory at the 2011 Los Angeles event and they faced each other again on hard courts in 2013–this time with Haas prevailing in the 2013 Washington, D.C. quarterfinals.
Both men have to be satisfied with their Rome showings regardless of the quarterfinal outcome. Haas took out Andreas Seppi and Igor Sijsling then upset world No. 3 Stanislas Wawrinka. Dimitrov battled past Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Ivo Karlovic before avenging a Madrid loss by ousting Tomas Berdych. Thirteen years the German’s junior (23 to 36), Dimitrov should have just a little bit more left in the tank and his athleticism and defensive skills should prove to be the difference in an extremely entertaining affair.
Pick: Dimitrov in 3
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Sanju. You say Rafa’s 2nd serve is a liability. Are you saying this based on the stats alone. If so you have to look beyond the raw figures. It may be a lower % than normal but over and over again this week and in Madrid he saved BPs with clutch serving on the 2nd serve.
See the points won on 2nd serve..they are very low right..He can do far far much much better
RT @scambers73: “Excellent performance from @andy_murray last night but overriding thought: how tough it is to beat @RafaelNadal on clay, at his best or not”