World number two and second seeded Rafael Nadal will face Argentinian world number 15 Diego Schwartzman in the Rome Masters 2020 quarterfinals. The match will be held on Saturday, September 19, starting at around 8.30 pm local time (7.30 pm BST). Get the live streaming options of this Rafael Nadal v Diego Schwartzman match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Rafael Nadal v Diego Schwartzman Head to Head
As rivalries go, this a non-rivalry. There have been nine previous occasions on which Nadal and Schwartzman have played each other including once in the Davis Cup and Schwartzman has won a grand total of two sets. Yep, not matches, but sets.
It’s 9-0 in favour of Nadal, including four wins on clay with the last having come at the 2018 French Open where Schwartzman won one of those two sets.
But, 9-0.
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Nadal Propels to Quarterfinal
The Spaniard has spent less than three hours on court so far dispatching both his opponents from the first two rounds. After having crushed Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round, Nadal brought about his three bread-stick in as many sets when he took the opener against Dusan Lajovic 6-1.
Lajovic fought a bit in the second set, but Nadal came through in a ruthless fashion, winning the second set 6-3.
And it isn’t like Lajovic is a mug on clay. Far from it. His sole ATP title came on clay and eight of the 11 Challenger and Futures title had won as a youngster were also on the same surface.
Nadal was having none of it though as he raced to a 6-1, 4-0 lead in the match. A late comeback from the Serb only delayed the inevitable as the Spaniard notched up a second win since returning from the pandemic break.
And speaking of inevitable, can Schwartzman stop Nadal from making it his 10th win over the Argentine?
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Schwartzman a Clay Court Specialist Too
With 18 of Schwartzman’s 19 titles across the ATP, Challenger and Futures circuit having come on clay it’s fair to say the world number 15 loves to play on clay. And against anyone else, he might have given himself bit of a chance.
Against Nadal, unfortunately, Schwartzman will need to shake himself out of his issues to have even a minute percentage of that same chance. His appalling record against the Spaniard means he would have to do a lot better than what he did in his third round win.
Schwartzman took the lead against Hubert Hurcaz by winning the first set but fell to a loss in the second. The Argentine then came back to pouch a tough third set to seal his quarterfinal berth following a straight-set win over John Millman in the second round.
What he would hope to do is to conjure up his inner belief and remember the finals he made on clay over the last two seasons, the 2018 French Open quarterfinal and his biggest career win on clay which came against Dominic Thiem in 2019 in Buenos Aires.
And it might still not be enough.
Nadal v Schwartzman Prediction and Tip
Nadal is 1/40 to win this and even the games handicap has Nadal at -7.5 pegged at 11/10 – that is the purported gulf between the two players. Could have a few more games than usual though.
Tip: Over 16.5 games in the match: 8/13 (bet365)
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The Italian Open 2020 will be played from September 14 to September 20. You can watch & bet on the Italian Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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