The dream of tennis fans to see a Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer showdown in the finals of this year’s Wimbledon ten years after their legendary title match remains very much alive. Will Nadal do his part in keeping that hope afloat with a win over Juan Martin del Potro? Or will del Potro spoil it for everyone? At press, the sportsbook favors Nadal (-300) to make it through to the semi finals.
After making the semifinals in Roland Garros, del Potro goes deep again in another Grand Slam tourney, as he now finds himself in the quarterfinal round at Wimbledon. The 29-year-old Argentinian got by Giles Simon in the fourth round, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-6, Tuesday to set up a date with Nadal. Del Potro wowed against Simon with his fantastic service game, overpowering his opponent with 27 aces and 78 winners. Despite that, he was not able to have a cakewalk against Simon, partly because of his errors. Del Potro committed 63 unforced miscues, almost doubling Simons’ total of 35. Del Potro also converted on just four of 20 break point chances. He will have to improve on those against a dangerous opponent in the form of Nadal. Don’t expect del Potro to cower under the pressure of facing the No. 1 player in the world. After all, he has won five of 14 career matches against the Spaniard, though. Moreover, del Potro has the most wins by player that hasn’t been ranked No. 1 ever against the No. 1 players in the world.
Betting on Rafael Nadal (-300)
For the first time since 2011, Nadal has reached the quarters at Wimbledon, so it must feel sweet for him to beat Jiri Vesely in the fourth round via a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 score. Nadal must also be feeling relatively fresh, as he has yet to drop a set in the tournament. Nadal was not threatened at all by Vesely, who absorbed a total of 37 winners from the Spaniard. The 17-time Grand Slam champion only had 12 unforced errors and put 68 percent of his first serves in while converting 78 percent of those into first serve points. Nadal is clearly on a roll. He is 2-0 in his career in grass matches against del Potro. In 2011, he turned away the Argentinian in the round of 16 of that year’s Wimbledon, earning a 7-6(6) 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4 victory. The last time he shared the court with del Potro, Nadal took his opponent out of the semifinals of last year’s US Open with a 4-6 6-0 6-3 6-2 come-from-behind triumph.
