Rafael Nadal is like a fine wine and gets better with age.
After fully recovering from injuries that have affected him in the past, he is starting to regain top form again and looking to gain valuable ranking points in the Asian swing of the ATP World Tour. In the China Open, he is seeded No. 2 and threatening to win his first hard-court singles title on the ATP World Tour since Doha in 2014.
Nadal’s 6-1, 7-6 (6) win over Adrian Mannarino was entertaining affair and one which the better offers sites seemed to have the odds right on.
Nadal may be 30 years of age but has not showed a lack of fitness of late. Against Mannarino, Nadal won nine of the first 11 games. Mannarino fought back and managed to force a tiebreaker in the second set. Nadal used his experience and skills to his advantage and manage to close out the match.
After the match, Nadal blamed himself for taking his foot off the gas in the second set to allow Mannarino back in with a chance. After winning the first set so convincingly he thought he could stroll through the second but his opponent was having none of it. He made Nadal push himself to the limit to finish the match without it going past the second set. Betting offers sites have now reduced the odds of the 14-time major tournament winner since the win. The quarterfinal will take place on Friday and Rafael will face Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria.
Rafael Nadal vs. Grigor Dimitrov Quarterfinal
It is not going to be an easy match for Nadal against Dimitrov as the player has already reached three finals this year. It was a tough battle for the Bulgarian to get through to the quarterfinals as he faced Lucas Pouille who was ranked sixth. Dimitrov was extremely close to losing as he was only two points away from losing the match. He managed to find the determination to fight back though and ended up winning 6(3)-7 7-6(0) 6-4 in a grueling match that took nearly two and a half hours to complete.
Dimitrov will need to show the composure and determination he did in the last round if he is going to beat Nadal. If he does not play at the top of his game, Nadal will take full advantage and the match could be over before he knows it. Nadal has played well all year and I fully expect him to dispatch Dimitrov to reach the semi-finals and then the final itself. Experts are backing him to go all the way to win the China Tennis Open 2016.
