Nadal vs del Potro: Will Juan get tired

FROM ROLAND GARROS – Rafael Nadal played excellent ball on Thursday, beating down Diego Schwartzman 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. 6-2. He was mediocre during the first hour on Wednesday. Then, the rain came and they went home. When they returned, Nadal rose up. His forehand was huge, his serve and his return were heavy. He was in control again.

Now Nadal will face against Juan Martin del Potro, who outlasted Marin Cilic in four grueling sets. DelPo is so intense now, and plus — and this is the most important about the Argentine — his two backhander is better all the time. A few years ago, he could only chip his one-hander, because over the past seven years, he had to go to deal with the doctors who led him to the surgery table — three times.  He admits that here and there, his left arm and his shoulder could be sore, but at least at Roland Garros, his body looks very good.

However, DelPo and Nadal will have to play again on Friday in the afternoon, about 24 hours after they won, so they should be OK for the first couple hours. But after that, Delpo might start getting tired. If so, Nadal will pound him.

Before that, Dominic Thiem and  Marco Cecchinato will face off. Clearly,  Thiem is the favorite, but the Italian stunned Novak Djokovic, 6-3, 7-6(4), 1-6, 7-6(13). Cecchinato is really hungry, he is pretty fast and he can muscle up from the backcourt. Thiem has a tremendous spin, with slice, and he can bend down at the net and put it away. The Belgian has been here three times in the semis at RG. It is time for him to reach the final, but if Cecchinato gets into it early, he could shock Thiem.

The women
Sloane Stephens is so solid, she is thinking all the time, she changes her tactics, she cracks it, or she can spin it very deep. She beat her friend Madison Keys 6-4, 6-4, and now she has reached the final at RG. She will face Simona Halep, who out hit Garbine Muguruza 6-1, 6-4.

At times, Halep will back off, but during the afternoon, she moves forward when she could and she would rip her backhand and forehand very deep, crosscourt, or straight, or down the middle. It was an amazingly performance.

Whether the No. 1 Halep can finally win a major on Saturday, that is questionable, because she can be tense. Moreover, Stephens is super steady, and will go for it when she has to. On Friday, we will break it down on tennisreporters.net.

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