Dominic Thiem of Austria in action during his third round men’s single match against Jaume Munar of Spain at the 67th Barcelona Open Trofeo Conde de Godo tennis tournament in Barcelona, Spain, 25 April 2019. EPA-EFE/Enric Fontcuberta
Nadal beats Ferrer one last time in Barcelona, Jarry keeps run going into quarterfinals
By Ricky Dimon
Rafael Nadal vs. Dominic Thiem is worthy of a French Open final. Heck, it was the French Open final just last year.
At the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, however, Nadal and Thiem have to face each other in the semis on Saturday afternoon. That highly-anticipated showdown became a reality on Friday, when Nadal took care of Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-5 and Thiem defeated Guido Pella 7-5, 6-2.
Nadal served at 75 percent against Struff and struck three aces without double-faulting. The second-ranked Spaniard is now two wins away from a 12th Barcelona title.
“It was a pressure match because he’s a very aggressive player; difficult to be on rhythm with him,” Nadal said of Struff. “I’m happy for the victory, happy to find a way to win that match and I hope to be ready for the semifinals. 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.”
Thiem, who also suffered a surprising loss in Monte-Carlo (to Dusan Lajovic, while Nadal fell to Fabio Fognini), has raised his level considerably this week. The Austrian completely hit Pella off the court, especially in the second set to seal the deal after one hour and 40 minutes.
“It’s always one of the biggest challenges possible in tennis to play Rafa on clay, to play him at the tournament which he won already 11 times, with his own crowd [behind him],” Thiem commented. “So it’s going to be unbelievably tough. But we had great matches in the past, and I think we are both playing quite well so I hope that’s the same case tomorrow. I think we can expect a good match.”
It should be better than the 2018 French Open final, in which Nadal hammered Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. In a best-of-three situation, the underdog will likely have a better chance.
Draw
Rafael Nadal…..d. Mayer…..d. Ferrer…..d. Struff
Dominic Thiem…..d. Schwartzman…..d. Munar…..d. Pella
Kei Nishikori…..d. Fritz…..d. Auger-Aliassime….d. Carballes Baena
Daniil Medvedev…..d. Ramos-Vinolas…..d. McDonald…..d. Jarry
Seeds
1. Rafael Nadal: vs. Thiem in semifinals
2. Alexander Zverev: l. to Jarry in third round
3. Dominic Thiem: vs. Nadal in semifinals
4. Kei Nishikori: vs. Medvedev in semifinals
5. Stefanos Tsitsipas: l. to Struff in third round
6. Karen Khachanov: l. to Pella in second round
7. Daniil Medvedev: vs. Nishikori in semifinals
8. Fabio Fognini: WITHDREW
9. Denis Shapovalov: l. to Garin in second round
10. David Goffin: l. to Struff in second round
11. Gilles Simon: l. to McDonald in second round
12. Pablo Carreno Busta: l. to Paire in second round
13. Grigor Dimitrov: l. to Jarry in third round
14. Frances Tiafoe: l. to Munar in second round
15. Lucas Pouille: l. to Ferrer in second round
16. Felix Auger-Aliassime: l. to Nishikori in third round