Rafael Nadal’s quest for a third straight Madrid Open crown remains right on track after brushing aside Italian Simone Bolelli in the third round on Thursday. Nadal will look to grab a place in the semifinals later today when he takes on Grigor Dimitrov.
Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this mouth-watering quarterfinal matchup. If you’re looking for other sports action, though, you can check out our NBA Game 3 previews of Chicago vs. Cleveland and LA Clippers vs. Houston.
[sc:Other240banner ]Rafael Nadal stormed into the quarterfinals of the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 win over unseeded Simone Bolelli on Thursday. It was a resounding performance from the Spanish maestro who needed just 72 minutes to oust the Italian.
Just like in his previous match against Johnson, Nadal’s serve was impressive once again. He converted 71% of his first serves against Bolelli and won 26 of his 34 first serve points. What proved to be the difference in the match, though, was his return. Nadal won 48% (21 of 44) of his return points against the Italian. Nadal converted four of his five break point opportunities in the third round.
Next up for Nadal is a quarterfinal clash with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. The 28-year-old has fared extremely well in his past meetings with Dimitrov, winning all five of their previous matches. Nadal destroyed Dimitrov in their last meeting at the Rome Masters last year, trouncing the Bulgarian in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Nadal is 2-0 in his career against Dimitrov on the clay courts.
Grigor Dimitrov’s strong clay-court run continued on Thursday as he upset eighth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3, in the third round. With the victory, Dimitrov is through to the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open for the first time in his career.
He will face his toughest test in the quarters, though, in Rafael Nadal. The 14-time Grand Slam champion has been on a tear in this tournament, winning his last 12 matches at the Madrid Open.
Even though Dimitrov has lost all of his five previous matches against Nadal, the Bulgarian will take heart in the fact that he has pushed the five-time champion in majority of those contests. In fact, Dimitrov has taken a set against Nadal in four of those five meetings.
For Dimitrov to record a major shock in the quarterfinals, the Bulgarian needs to dominate with his service game. Dimitrov’s serve was simply exceptional against Wawrinka as he converted 74% of his first serves. Dimitrov took full advantage of that fact, winning 59 of his 75 first serve points for an incredible 79% clip.
Dimitrov also needs to improve on his return game if he is to upset Nadal. He won just 27% (22-of-83) of his return points against Wawrinka and that simply won’t do against a tough competitor such as Nadal who is gunning for his 47th clay court title this week.
Dimitrov is 8-2 in his last 10 matches.
Writer’s Prediction
Nadal (-600) defeats Dimitrov in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.
