When Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro set foot on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court on Friday, fans will be making a lot of noise, expecting to see a show. That’s exactly what they’ll get when the two former US Open champions meet undoubtedly.
Nadal v Del Potro Bet365 Odds to Win
Nadal v Del Potro Preview
Last night, defending US Open champion Rafael Nadal was tested to the limit by Austrian 9th seed Dominic Thiem. The match lasted nearly five hours and saw Rafa come back from losing a set to love for the fourth time in his career to win 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5). It was the first time the Spaniard won a match after such a horrible start.
Earlier in the day, Juan Martin del Potro faced hard-hitting John Isner. The 2009 champion defeated the American 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 to set up a semi-final clash with Nadal. The Argentinian’s struggles with wrist injuries are well documented, but when he’s on top of his game and feels healthy like he has been during this tournament, del Potro is on par with the ruling trinity (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic).
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, del Potro beat Djokovic and Nadal on his way to a silver medal. He lost in the final to Andy Murray but got his revenge the next time they met in international competition, beating Murray in five sets in his native Scotland to send Argentina into the Davis Cup final. There, del Potro came back from two sets down to defeat Marin Cilic in Croatia, clinching his country’s first ever Davis Cup title.
Last year, del Potro reached the US Open semifinals, beating Federer along the way. This year, he defeated Federer to win Indian Wells and reached the French Open semi-finals. It’s just a matter of time before he wins another big trophy again.
Nadal v Del Potro Bet365 Odds to Win
Rafael Nadal 1.61 (3/5)
Juan Martin del Potro 2.3 (13/10)
Nadal v Del Potro H2H
Nadal beat del Potro in the US Open semi-finals last year. He did so again this year in the semi-finals of the Roland Garros and in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. The last time del Potro won was in the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro. Nadal leads the all-time series 12-5 and has won eight of the last ten matches. Del Potro did beat Nadal en route to his 2009 US Open title, though. Additionally, all of his five victories have come on hard courts.
