2018 US Open Men's Semifinals: Nadal vs. Del Potro

[El Dude]

Nadal in five. Del Potro will give him some fight, but Rafa will do what he does best: do just enough to win.

 

[tenisplayrla08]

Man I hope DelPo can win this. Would love to see him back in the final. Still frustrated he's even playing Nadal. Thiem was so close. What a match. Still thinking about it. Clearly. Anyways.

I want to pick DelPo. I believe he can win. Absolutely. He's at his best. He's feelin it. He's had an easier road to the semis. He's got the game.
But I'm betting Rafa will find a way through. And again, while I hope I'm wrong, it probably won't even be as close as it was at Wimbledon. Definitely pulling for a 5 setter if DelPo loses. 3 or 4 if he wins. But I just don't have a very good feeling about this. Not because of last year's match. That was their first time playing in over a year and DelPo had missed time, yet again for the wrist or something. Was still on the comeback trail. And had a major battle of his own with Thiem. Thiem playing the role of gatekeeper the last two years. But hopefully Thiems conqueror faces the same fate as last years.

Here's to a phenomenal match!!!!

 

[mrzz]

At some point del Potro's game will click against Nadal like it clicked in the past. If it is today, than he wins in three. If not, the match is up in the air, as Nadal is not exactly dominant lately and giving chances to adversaries.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Rafa's serve looked very breakable all tournament. If Delpo has a good serving day and does not have to work too hard to hold his own serves, he gets this in 4.

 

[Front242]

Juanito in 5 hopefully, vamos Juan

If you want Del Potro to win I'd hope for less than 5 sets or he hasn't much of a prayer in the final.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Okay, so all of you are so upbeat about Delpo's chances.

I don't know what to say to be honest. If Delpo's game doesn't crash down all the way down then maybe...

Something tells me Rafa is invariably going to spoil Del Po's game again. It would be a pleasant surprise to be proved wrong though.

 

[atttomole]

Okay, so all of you are so upbeat about Delpo's chances.

I don't know what to say to be honest. If Delpo's game doesn't crash down all the way down then maybe...

Something tells me Rafa is invariably going to spoil Del Po's game again. It would be a pleasant surprise to be proved wrong though.

Not everyone of us thinks so. I think Nadal wins in 5.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Not everyone of us thinks so. I think Nadal wins in 5.

At least you can see Delpo win 2 sets, I can't see...Del Po's movement is usually substandard and he also doesn't have a BH these days. I have not watched any of his matches in this tourney tho.

 

[atttomole]

At least you can see Delpo win 2 sets, I can't see...Del Po's movement is usually substandard and he also doesn't have a BH these days. I have not watched any of his matches in this tourney tho.

He has been decent in this tournament. Obviously, he will be facing a much tougher challenge against Nadal than he has faced so far in this tournament, at least on paper.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Ralph in four.

The last three matches, Ralph had to work so hard to win. It has only hardened him and improved his immune system against potential threats. With a weak backhand that Ralph can exploit, I expect this match to be considerably easier for Rafa than either the match against Khachanov or the match against Thiem.

But, I will be rooting for JMDP in vain.

 

[DarthFed]

The extra day should help Nads a lot. He probably wins in 4 but he will have to step up a whole lot from where he's been the past few matches. When you survive two matches you "probably" should have lost it can help relax you and perhaps make him feel destined. DP's backhand still isn't great but it's a lot better than last year.

 

[Jelenafan]

I think it's crucial for Del Potro to win the first set. If he loses the first set I think he's toast.

On the bright side, Juan looked sold against Isner and his BH looked impressive to me. But again, we are talking Isner.

Form is a funny thing in these Majors, sometimes you work the kinks out before the big matches, you just don't know.
Nadal's serve has been spotty and he's blinked a bit , but as much as Juan's BH has improved, I don't like that Nadal FH to Del Potro BH pattern for Juan. I just don't see Juan belting those BH shots the way Thiem did to keep Nadal at bay.

 

[DarthFed]

Also, this is a huge match for DP legacy wise. Got to wonder how long he will hold up and as of now he has been irrelevant for 9 years. It'd be something if he can put it together and win another major. This is only his 4th major semi since winning the USO in 2009. That's why I refer to him as the "always overrated" DP. Time he shows us something and makes NYC great again.

 

[DarthFed]

Crappy start from both. Clouds equals lower bouncing but also slower play. Del Po is going to have trouble hitting through the backboard.

 

[DarthFed]

Nadal already grunting a good few seconds after most hits. Classy as ever.

 

[Vince Evert]

COME ON DEL POTRO. I WANNA SEE YOU THRASH NADAL AND THEN DJOKOVIC IN THE FINAL, TENNIS NEEDS IT

 

[nehmeth]

Nadal already grunting a good few seconds after most hits. Classy as ever.

Joao Sousa was bad too. His grunt would come as Djokovic was hitting the ball!

 

[DarthFed]

Del Po playing like he's mentally lost before he got on court. Sounds all too familiar for a certain familiar Nadal opponent I root for

 

[nehmeth]

Did not expect DP to come out this flat. Then again, I did not expect to see Ralf charging the net.

 

[atttomole]

The ball seems to be going nowhere, no matter how hard it is hit. Having watched many matches on Ashe this tournament, the ball is moving more slowly. Big hitters get frustrated because what is normally a winner is returned due to the slow conditions.