ATP Barcelona - Saturday Schedule: Rafael Nadal faces Dominic Thiem
Kei Nishikori will face Daniil Medvedev for the fourth time in career. The Japanese player leads head to head meetings 2-1 having won in the last year's Monte Carlo Masters in three sets and this year's Brisbane final. Medvedev beat Nishikori in the last year's Tokyo semifinals and he then went on to win his biggest title in career. Nishikori is a two-time Barcelona Open champion having won in 2015 and 2016, while Medvedev is playing his second semifinal in a row after losing one to Dusan Lajovic last week in Monte Carlo.
RafaelNadal and Dominic Thiem will face each other for the 12th time in career. The Spaniard leads head to head meetings 8-3 and he won their last match in a last year's fifth-set US Open meeting. Thiem beat Nadal thrice, all on clay: 2018 Madrid, 2017 Rome and 2016 Buenos Aires. Nadal and Thiem already faced in Barcelona once, in 2017, with the Mallorcan triumphing in a straight-set final. Nadal seeks his 12th final, he has won all the previous ones. After his win over Jan-Lennard Struff, Nadal said: "It was a pressure match because he's a very aggressive player, difficult to be on rhythm with him. I'm happy for the victory, happy to find a way to win that match and I hope to be ready for the semi-finals. I'm trying to be focused every single moment because one mistake, and you lose the set against this kind of player. I'm happy the way that I managed it."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2GC8dG6
No comments