Rafael Nadal will take on the 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic for a spot in the quarterfinals. The Spaniard, a fixture in the business end of this event, last won the title in New York in 2017. Alexander Zverev is also in action against Diego Schwartzman.
(2) Rafael Nadal vs. (22) Marin Cilic
The bottom half of the draw has a bit of the wild west about it, with seeds dropping early and often. Yet Nadal remains firmly in place, inching his way ever-closer to the final weekend of play. He has reached the quarterfinals or better at every major since he won the 2017 U.S. Open, and he’s reached at least the semis since he captured the 2018 French Open title.
Nadal has only played two matches this fortnight, thanks to a second-round walkover. He was ruthlessly efficient in his first round match against John Millman, but his first serve was a bit inconsistent against Hyeon Chung in the third round, though he won both in straight sets.
Cilic has had some patchy results this year. Coming into New York, he was 15-13 on the season with no titles to his name. His play seems to have improved in the first week at Flushing Meadows, with a fine win over American John Isner in the third round. Cilic notched a win over Nadal at the Australian Open in 2018, but the Spaniard was forced to retire at 0-2 in the fifth set with a right leg injury.
Nadal is the heavy favorite to advance to the quarterfinals, but if he has another low first serve percentage day, as he did against Chung, he’s going to make things difficult for himself.
Cheryl pick: Nadal in 3
Ricky pick: Nadal in 3
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(6) Alexander Zverev vs. (20) Diego Schwartzman
That Sascha Zverev is in the second week of the U.S. Open is already an accomplishment. The German has never been past the third round in New York. As usual, he hasn’t had an easy time of it in the early rounds. He had a couple of 5-set matches in the first two rounds and a highly competitive four-set match in the third round against Aljaz Bedene.
By contrast, Diego Schwartzman picked up three straightforward wins to earn his spot in the round of 16. The Argentine, who won the event in Los Cabos, has played better hard court-tennis than Zverev this summer. He and Zverev have met twice and split the wins, but Schwartzman’s win came all the way back in 2014, while Zverev’s came at the Paris Masters last year.
Despite the ranking difference, it would seem that Schwartzman will actually have a slight edge on Monday. Zverev has not been able to maintain his intensity in his first three matches. Both his serve and his focus seemed to drift in and out. Schwartzman, who is in good form right now, is going to be much more likely to be able to take advantage.
Cheryl pick: Schwartzman in 5
Ricky pick: Schwartzman in 4
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WWW?
Schwartzman in four and Rafa in four
Zverev-116
With Nole out, this slam almost belongs to Rafa, 51% chance for 19th slams by the weekend whoever is the other half.
Strongest opponent in final should be Fed, and next Wawa. If it is Medvedev, 99.9% chance. This is the first time I feel Fed could become a strong rival had they meet in final.
Cilic would be just a warming up match towards later stage.
If it’s fedal final..fed is the clear fav..he has beaten Rafa the last 5 times outside clay
So what being the favourite? Favourite doesn’t always win!
Just wait and see how things turn out, there are still matches to be played!
It’s true: Fed most certainly had Rafa’s number for a couple of years now on non-clay surfaces, and it’s therefore possible that Fed has made it into Rafa’s head. However, I like Rafa’s chances (in a so far totally hypothetical Fedal final) better than at the slick and fast courts of the AO, Wimby or indoor hardcourt, where the conditions Haven been clearly favoring Roger. But there are still a few matches to be played before the two can even meet. Both of them haven’t even been tested so far. We have to wait and see. But Fed’s chances to reach the final have improved dramatically after Novak’s exit. I like his chances against all the remaining players in his half. He will war up Dimi and he has Wawa’s number. Therefore I would prefer a Fed/Medvedev meeting. That could be truly interesting, although I would favor Fed.
The Djoker wasn’t treated well by the NY crowd today, which is a shame. He deserves more respect! And I still remember how devastated Rafa was when the crowd at the AO 2014 was at first somewhat hostile when he had his back injury during the warm-up before his final – also against Wawrinka.
Sorry for the strange typos because I neglected to check autocorrect 🙁
Nadal 3-0
Federer 3-0
Monfils
Rublev
$300 @ 6.25
Nadal 3-0
Federer 3-0
Monfils
Rublev
Medvedev
$200 @ $13
rafa cruises in 3; Sasha serves big and wins in 3.
Rafa in 3 or 4; Sasha in 4 or 5 sets.
Schwartzman in five,Rafa in four
Will they open the roof for Rafa’s match? Hope the rain stops!
Ricky, u pick Schwartzman?! Ok!
It’s so boring to watch Zverev. Looks unidimensional, not unlike Djokovic.
This US Open is so strange. Those that r expected to win lose and those expected to lose win, lol!!! GREAT!!!!!!
To top it off, both defending champs don’t even make it to the quarters, lol!!! Me? Done with predictions!!!
Zverev is just a joke now. What an absolute waste of talent. A 3-time Masters champion and WTF champ, who beat a Big 3 guy en route to most of those big titles, should NOT lose to a lesser player EVERY…DAMN….TIME!! Diego is a great player, and losing to someone like him OCASSIONALLY is fine. But it’s not occasionally with Zverev- it’s every single tournament. And it’s sad. It would be one thing if he was always losing to top-5, or even top-10, players. But he always loses to player who are waaay below him in terms of ranking and accomplishments. No offense to Diego, but he will probably never really come close to winning even 1 Masters title, let alone 3 of them AND the WTF. I don’t understand what it is about the Majors that is so difficult for Zverev, but it’s pretty frustrating to witness…
On the other hand, Diego is such an inspiration. The guy is so tough, so professional, and is ALWAYS punching above his weight (literally and figuratively). Just amazing. Zverev should spend more time with guys like Diego. Is Zverev had the mentality of Diego, I bet he’d have won a Major by now. And if Diego had the physical gifts that Zverev had, who knows what he could accomplish!
This is indeed strange and disappointing. Yes, Diego Schwartzmann is an inspiration (like Goffin), who makes the very best of his gifts. The same cannot be said about Zverev. As you said, Kevin – with his physique, natural gifts and talents he should simply NOT lose against a player like Schwartzmann – especially since Zverev had already done better than expected after his recent bad results. He really had the chance to do well and go much further than everybody expected. He is still young, but I start to doubt that Zverev will ever become a stable No 1 contender, as many experts have predicted.
And I wonder if he will ever solve his bewildering problems with the slams. He seems to be unable to win a couple of best-of-five matches in a row. Also, his ability to solve problems during a match and change tactics if necessary seems to be underdeveloped. He has no Plan B if things don’t go his way. And during best-of-five matches there is a higher chance that not everything works out as planned all the time. Zverev seems to lack certain mental resources.
AZ’s WTF win was legit but when he won his Masters titles other guys did the heavy lifting. Thiem beat Rafa in Rome 2017 and Madrid 2018 then fell to Zverev. Fed did not play clay those years. In 2017 Canada Rafa lost to Shapo early, and Fed was a bit of a mess – back problems I think. Djokovic was a non factor those years. So those three Masters titles look a lot more impressive than they were.
That’s a bit unfair to Schwartzman, who looked unbeatable in Los Cobos .
Certain Next Gens need to sort their attitudes out ,its like they expect everything handed to them on a plate.
Stay focused, remain confident and be strong, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EDfdWNtWwAEehvA?format=jpg&name=medium
Schwartzman is on another level right now. I think he’s incredibly under appreciated and I don’t think many fans realize just how insane he is to be 5 foot 7 and hit the ball as big and as consistently as he does. He’s going to be a mighty test for either Rafa or Cilic. Meanwhile Monfils is in fine form as well and should reach the semis.
I agree Schwartzman doesn’t get the appreciation he deserves. He’s so steady on his groundstrokes, consistent serve, somehow covers the court better than most – and keeps his ranking inside the top twenty! And he always looks happy. But sad to see Poor Sascha’s slumping miserably.
Zverev is having serious problems with his second serve. The last count I heard on ESPN was 17 double faults! Unbelievable! When the serve is not working, then the whole game suffers. Watching Zverev lose a match that he should have won, I had the feeling that he may be burning out. Coming up too quickly and all the hype, then not being able to get it done at the slams. He let that match get away from him. All credit to Diego for staying in it and just hitting his shots and taking his opportunities. I knew he would give it his all. I found myself thinking about how Zverev is the more gifted and talented player, yet he just can’t get out of his own way.
Zverev needs to sort out the serve problems and get down to basics. He has the game to succeed in this sport and it would be a shame if it is wasted. He also has to win more efficiently and not get caught up in these long early round matches. Too much energy expended in the first week of a slam and then there is nothing left when it is needed most.
He’s struggling , but I agree with Benny though .Schwartzman deserves a lot more credit not just for this win.
Rafa got the early break and then gives it back. I never like to see that. This is the first decent player Rafa has faced. He needs to raise his level of play.
Okay Rafa! He gets the break back! Now hold!
If Rafa’s serves were better I would feel a lot more confident about his chances of raising the trophy! He makes me so so nervous when he is serving!
Mona,
It’s like you read my mind! That is exactly what I was thinking! I cannot relax when Rafa serves.
😱