Rafael Nadal is one win away from a potential U.S. Open showdown against Roger Federer. Standing in Nadal’s way of the quarterfinals on Monday is Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Rafael Nadal and Philipp Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the 11th time in their careers at the ATP level when they clash in round four of the U.S. Open on Monday night.
Nadal is dominating the head-to-head series 9-1, including 5-0 on hard courts. Kohlschreiber’s lone victory came in their only grass-court encounter last summer in Halle, just after Nadal had captured a seventh French Open title (the German prevailed 6-3, 6-4). They most recently faced each other this spring on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo, where Nadal cruised 6-2, 6-4.
Normally a fast hard court would be thought of as a decent surface for Kohlschreiber in this matchup, but not so at the moment. Nadal is undefeated on hards in 2013 with titles in Indian Wells, Montreal, and Cincinnati. The second-ranked Spaniard is not looking back in New York, with straight-set victories so far this fortnight over Ryan Harrison, Rogerio Dutra Silva, and Ivan Dodig.
Many expected this to be a rematch of the Cincinnati final between Nadal and John Isner, but Kohlschreiber put an end to that talk on Saturday. Following wins over Colin Altamirano and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, the world No. 25 took out Isner in a fourth-set tiebreaker. Kohlschreiber is now a solid 26-17 for the season.
This may be Nadal’s toughest test of the tournament to date given Kohlschreiber’s form, but Nadal’s heavy topspin should wear down his opponent’s one-handed backhand before things get too interesting.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 11-13 games
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rafa has very little fat…the area around the hips has the most fat hehe…