Nadal vs Melzer French Open semi-final preview
As the French Open continues to throw up more than its fair share of surprises, Rafael Nadal finds himself facing Jürgen Melzer in the semi-finals.
The 29-year-old Melzer reached the final four of a Grand Slam with a five-set victory over Novak Djokovic in the quarters, coming from two sets behind to end the third seed’s title ambitions after four hours and 15 minutes of play.
While there’s much to celebrate for the Austrian after that victory, there’s also little time to dwell on it as he prepares for an even tougher match in the semis.
Nadal may have been challenged by Nicolas Almagro early in his quarter-final match, but showed all the hallmarks of the champion player that he is to take control of the crucial points in the match – namely in the one-sided tiebreaks in both the first and second sets.
The four-time French Open champion may have tweaked his game a little this year, taking some of the topspin off his ground strokes, but that small alteration to a winning formula have worked in his favour so far at least.
Against Melzer, who Nadal has defeated in both their previous matches, the second seed’s command of the clay court should prove to be the decisive factor.
However, with characteristic modesty, and perhaps taking nothing for granted after his fourth round loss to Robin Soderling last year, Nadal wasn’t about to get carried away with his chances of making a return to Philippe Chatrier Court for the final, even if his next match is against a player with no previous experience at this stage of a major.
“I want to be focused on each match, and I've seen that my next opponent is very solid. I've seen him play, and well, some of you might think it's a surprise he makes it to semi-final,” Nadal told reporters.
“But trust me, if he made it to the semi-final it's because he played extremely well. He has an extremely good level, and he is a very dangerous player.”
The 22nd seed has indeed showed that at Roland Garros this year, and not just with his victory over Djokovic in the quarter-finals. Melzer announced himself as a contender in the third round, when he dismissed ninth seed David Ferrer in straight sets before defeating unseeded Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili (who knocked sixth seed Andy Roddick out in the third round) in his fourth-round match.
Melzer has, in stark contrast to Nadal, who was still a teenager when he won his first French Open title, taken the long way round to reach the final four at Roland Garros.
“I'm a good tennis player. It was just a few links here and there were missing,” Melzer said of why it has taken him this long to mature into a Grand Slam semi-finalist. “For me, it was never a question of talent. It was more in the head.”
It’s certainly a case of better late than never for Melzer, who in Paris this year has finally lived up to the promise he showed in winning the Wimbledon boy's singles title back in 1999.
Nadal though has a proven pedigree in the concluding stages of the Grand Slams, and nowhere more so than at the French Open. Melzer may have dug deep to turn his quarter-final into a fight and then a victory, but it’s difficult to see the world No. 27 repeating that performance against the King of Clay.
Nadal may not be looking ahead to a potential final against Soderling just yet, but come the end of his semi-final match the Spaniard should be able to turn his attention to regaining his grasp on the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
Prediction: Nadal to defeat Melzer in straight sets.
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