Rafael Nadal is most definitely pooping his pants right now at the concept of probably meeting Marco Checchinato in the final. But first, Mr. Nadal must focus, and take down his next big opponent, the gentle giant, Delpo. This matchup could be an interesting one. Rafa Nadal has lost one set in this tournament, that set falling to Diego Shortsman, an opponent who is not very formidable. Delpo could challenge Nadal, as he is the first player facing Nadal so far who has shown he can beat him. Let’s analyze the matchup.

Head-to-Head

Delpo has a 5-9 H2H with Rafael Nadal, and their sole meeting on clay went the way of the Spaniard all the way back in 2007, in straight sets. Their last meeting came at the USO, where Nadal won in 4 sets. Delpo, however, was sick during that match, and beat Nadal during the Olympics on a slow hard court in 2016. This clay matchup will be interesting, as Delpo is far superior to Schwartzman, and even Diego took a set off of Rafa. Rafa has done well on clay thus far, but has not been as dominant as last year, and thus hasn’t been dominating his opponents like last year. This may leave the door open for Del Potro.

Matchup

Delpo has obviously troubled Nadal in the past, along with other flat hitters like Dustin Brown and Nick Kyrgios. On clay, the effect of this is minimized quite a bit, but Delpo’s ball still skids on the surface. Delpo’s five wins against Nadal shows how the Argentine can bring Nadal out of his comfort zone.

Prediction:

I feel like Nadal has been slightly off his game this year on clay, and that with the damp conditions that favor Delpo over a Nadal, Nadal could be in for a hard time. I predict that Delpo will win over Nadal in four sets, but if it goes to five I’m backing Nadal. I may be stupid for predicting this, but I’m the prophet. Never doubt the prophet.