Rafael Nadal’s quest to win his 11th overall French Open title remains very much alive this year after passing the test in the quarterfinals. In the semis, he will take on Juan Martin del Potro, who is seeking to score an upset and a seat in the finals.
As mentioned, Nadal had some trouble early in his quarterfinal match with Diego Schwartzman, losing the first set before proceeding to destroy the Argentinian in the following three sets to win the match, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Against Schwartzman, Nadal put 57 percent of his first serves in play and won 60 percent of his first-serve points. Nadal also converted nine of his 18 break chances. With another Argentinian standing in Nadal’s way in the form of del Potro, the 32-year-old Spaniard will have to sustain his top form. Del Potro fed off plenty of unforced errors against Cilic, but Nadal is not the type who’ll commit plenty of such, especially on clay.
Betting on Juan Martin del Potro (+550 Moneyline)
For just the second time in his career, Juan Martin del Potro has made his way into the semis stage of the French Open after taking down Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals to the tune of a 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 score. The 29-year-old del Potro had a solid service game in the match with Cilic, putting 61 percent of his first serves in and winning 79 percent of his first-serve points. For his win over Cilic, del Potro is rewarded with a match with clay god Rafael Nadal. Del Potro, however, has known the feeling of beating Nadal before, as he has won five of their 14 matchups, though, all of those came in matches played on a hard court. Still, any win over Nadal is impressive and could be used as a moral booster. Also, for del Potro, he could use Nadal’s shaky start in the quarters to pamper his confidence ahead of an all-important meeting with an all-time great.
