It’s great to be Rafael Nadal nowadays. Not only will he take over the No. 1 ranking next week for the first time in three years, the Spaniard’s road to glory in Cincinnati this week has also been paved wide open. Nadal’s the only member of the top 6 in the draw for the Western & Southern Open with Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer all withdrawing because of injuries.
There are no gimmes in tennis, though, and Nadal knows that fact fully well. Just last week, he suffered a shock exit in the third round of the Rogers Cup at the hands of 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov. Nadal will look to bounce back strongly this coming Wednesday when he locks horns with Richard Gasquet in the second round of the Western & Southern Open. The 15-time Grand Slam champion will be licking his chops at the prospect of facing Gasquet as he has fared extremely well against the Frenchman in his career. Nadal has won all of his 14 previous meetings with Gasquet. Talk about dominance.
Richard Gasquet barged into the second round of the 2017 Western & Southern Open with a resounding 6-4, 6-4 victory over John-Patrick Smith on Monday. It was an impressive showing by the 31-year-old, who needed one hour and 25 minutes to eliminate the Australian qualifier. Providing the impetus for Gasquet’s victory was his excellent serve. He won 72 percent of his first serve points against Smith.
For Gasquet to grab his first victory against Nadal this coming Wednesday, he needs to continue his solid return play. Gasquet won 43 percent of his receiving points in the first round against Smith with the Frenchman converting four of his 10 break point chances. That will be crucial as Nadal’s serving the lights out this season. He is ninth in the ATP Tour in serve rating with an incredible 289.0 clip.
Writer’s Prediction
Nadal (-650) extends his winning streak against Gasquet to 15 matches with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
