Nadal vs Almagro French Open quarter-final preview
The impressive Spanish contingent at the French Open has now been whittled down to just two, Rafael Nadal and Nicolas Almagro, who now face one another in the quarter-finals.
While you could probably count on one hand, and then have a few fingers spare, the number of people who doubted Nadal would reach the final eight, Almagro’s achievement was a little more unexpected.
What makes the 19th seed’s appearance next to Nadal’s name in the quarter-finals even more impressive is that he reached this stage of the competition after a fourth-round victory over the more fancied Fernando Verdasco.
Verdasco, who had won the title at the Barcelona Open earlier in the spring, was rated by many as one of the best chances at thwarting yet another Nadal versus Roger Federer final at Roland Garros, but Almagro’s almighty forehand put paid to that possibility as he sent Verdasco packing from Paris 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 on day nine.
Seventh seeded Verdasco committed 38 unforced errors for the match compared to Almagro’s 25, while the latter blasted 34 winners to seal the victory in two hours and 12 minutes.
He won’t have it so easy against Nadal, an opponent that Almagro is yet to defeat in six previous matches, with four of them having taken place on clay, and the most recent loss occurring in the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters 1000 this spring, where Almagro took the first set off the eventual champion before Nadal won the match 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Asked whether he will be employing the same game plan against Nadal in Paris as he did in Madrid, Almagro replied, “I think I will try to play at the same as Madrid, but I need to play more than one set and a half. Here I need to play five sets. I think it will be difficult to beat him, but I will try at the same every time I play him.”
For his part, four-time French Open champion Nadal has, in his opening four matches, given every indication that he’s in the kind of form that will once again result in a close encounter with the Coupe des Mousquetaires in a few days time.
The world No. 2 has taken some of the top-spin from his shots this year in a slight adjustment to his clay court game, and it’s a tactic that has served him well so far at Roland Garros this year, where he hasn’t dropped a set in four matches so far.
“It's [the match against Almagro] going to be complicated; he's going to be very aggressive,“ Nadal said after booking his place in the final eight. “As far as I'm concerned, I'll try and play my way and do my best. I'll do my best so that he feels a bit uncomfortable.”
There’s little doubt Nadal’s best will be good enough.
Prediction: Nadal in straight sets.
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