Three Spanish players will be in quarterfinal action on Wednesday at the U.S. Open. Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo are squaring off in an all-Spanish showdown, with the winner to go up against either David Ferrer or Richard Gasquet.
Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo will be going head-to-head for the seventh time in their careers and for the first time since 2009 when the two Spaniards collide in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Wednesday. Nadal has won all six of their previous encounters, including four on hard courts. The world No. 2 is 13-1 lifetime in sets against Robredo.
This was, of course, supposed to be the 32nd meeting between Nadal and Roger Federer, but Robredo derailed those plans on Monday evening with a 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-4 upset. The 31-year-old preceded that triumph with victories over Marinko Matosevic, Frank Dancevic, and Daniel Evens. Finally armed with a clean bill of health, Robredo is 35-17 for a resurgent 2013 campaign and he is back up to No. 22 in the world.
Nadal, though, is even more on fire than Robredo–and everyone else–this season. This fortnight’s No. 2 seed is 57-3 for the year and undefeated on hard courts (titles in Indian Wells, Montreal, and Cincinnati). So far at the U.S. Open, Nadal has dismissed Ryan Harrison, Rogerio Dutra Silva, Ivan Dodig, and Philipp Kohlschreiber. The 2010 champion has dropped only one set and his serve has not yet been broken.
“I’m happy to see him come back after injury,” Nadal said of Robredo. “He’s playing a very good tournament. He will come to the match with confidence and I hope I will be ready.”
Robedo is the one who will have to be ready, having endured a few tough matches in the earlier rounds and obviously an emotional win over Federer–even though it lasted just three sets. As past history suggests, this is not a good matchup for the underdog. Nadal can grind from the baseline all day with Robredo and the 12-time slam champion has a much easier time finishing points both with forehands and at net.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 11-13 games
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I certainly did not pick Stan to win this. Clay yes, but HC I thought Andy would do it.