Sunday, 3 July 2022

Day 8 Preview: Nadal Faces Van De Zandschulp In Roland Garros Rematch

Monday's play at Wimbledon will complete the fourth round, setting the quarter-final stage at The Championships. Only four seeded players remain in a wide-open bottom half of the men's singles draw, led by second seed Rafael Nadal, with Nick Kyrgios among the unseeded contenders.

Both men will compete on Centre Court on Day 8, when Nadal faces Botic van de Zandschulp and Kyrgios takes on Brandon Nakashima. Eleventh seed Taylor Fritz will meet Australia's Jason Kubler on No. 1 Court, while 19th seed Alex de Minaur battles Chile's Cristian Garin on No. 2 Court.

In doubles action, third seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski seek a quarter-final place as they take on Australian Open finalists Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell, while seventh seeds John Peers and Filip Polasek meet ninth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares.

View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw | View Schedule

[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. [21] Botic van de Zandschulp (NED)

As the lone Top-10 seed remaining in the bottom half of the draw, Nadal will be quietly confident of his chances to reach his sixth Wimbledon final (and first since 2011). His performance in a straight-sets third-round victory against Italian Lorenzo Sonego only added to that belief.

"[It was] my best match, without a doubt, since the tournament started," he said at his post-match press conference. "[I made] an improvement today. I made a lot of things much better than previous days: the determination, the way that I managed to play more aggressive, going to the net plenty of times."

He will need a similar performance to see off van de Zandschulp. The 26-year-old Dutchman has backed up his breakout run to the 2021 US Open quarter-finals with consistent performances this year at the Grand Slams, reaching the third round at the Australian Open and Roland Garros before going one better this fortnight. Nadal dismissed him at the French with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory.

"He's a player that has been improving unbelievably [in] the last year," the Spaniard said of his opponent. "It was a good challenge at the French... He's a complete player with a lot of great things, and I need to keep going the way that I played today. Playing aggressive and playing with the right energy.

"He's a tough opponent, but we are in fourth round. That's the way that it should be."

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Van de Zandschulp flashed his grass-court credentials in June by reaching the semi-finals at The Queen's Club, his best result among three events on the surface ahead of Wimbledon. He entered The Championships with a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 25.

Tasked with stopping Nadal from completing the third leg of the Grand Slam after the Spaniard's triumphs at the year's first two majors, van de Zandschulp hopes those grass-court reps provide an advantage.

"He didn't play so many matches on grass the last couple of years," the Dutchman said following his four-set win against Richard Gasquet. "You see him struggle a little bit. Of course he's winning the first few rounds.

"But I think maybe I can hurt him on the grass courts here."

Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs. Brandon Nakashima (USA)

After getting past fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a spicy third-round showdown, Kyrgios will enjoy his first taste of Centre Court this fortnight against #NextGenATP American Nakashima. One of three Aussies still standing in the bottom half (De Minaur, Kubler), Kyrgios is bidding for his third Grand Slam quarter-final and his second at Wimbledon after reaching that stage in his 2014 debut.

While he could meet his countryman De Minaur in the semi-finals, the 27-year-old is not looking beyond his next assignment.

"Nakashima won easily today in straight sets," Kyrgios said of the American's dominant third-round win against Daniel Elahi Galan. "To do that at Wimbledon on grass is not easy. He's obviously playing well. I'm not looking past that."

But the Aussie is playing some of the best and most consistent tennis of his own career this season, including consecutive grass-court semi-finals in Stuttgart and Halle last month. Asked if he felt he could win his first Grand Slam singles title this week, he answered in the affirmative.

"I feel great," he said after downing Tsitsipas on Saturday. "I'm ready to go again if I [needed] to play tomorrow... Round by round, if I keep doing my things, I feel good."

Kyrgios At The Majors Best Result
Australian Open QF (2015)
Roland Garros R3 (2015-16)
Wimbledon QF (2014)
US Open R3 (2014, 2016, 2018-19)

Nakashima, playing in his second Wimbledon, is through to the fourth round for the first time in his sixth main-draw major appearance. The World No. 56 sits in eighth place in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan and earned his joint-best result of the 2022 ATP Tour season by reaching the 's-Hertogenbosch quarter-finals last month. He also reached the Roland Garros third round this year before falling to eventual semi-finalist Alexander Zverev in his best previous major showing.

[11] Taylor Fritz (USA) vs. Jason Kubler (AUS)

Fritz has quietly cruised into the fourth round to match his best major result. It was a momentous occasion when he reached that stage at this year's Australian Open; he was brought to tears as he advanced to the last 16 at a Slam for the first time in his 22nd main-draw attempt.

After reaching a career-high of No. 13 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings following his Indian Wells triumph in March — his first ATP Masters 1000 crown — the Southern California native now expects to be a regular in the second week at the Slams.

The American hit 20 aces in a third-round win over Alex Molcan, calling it "one of the best serving matches I ever had", earning an opportunity take the court on his home nation's Independence Day.

Australia's Kubler returned to the Top 100 last month after a pair of strong ATP Challenger Tour performances in the United States. He won the title in Little Rock in May before reaching the final in Orlando in his last competitive outing before Wimbledon. The 29-year-old retired in the third set of that Orlando final, just as he did against Fritz after three sets at the 2018 US Open in their only previous ATP Head2Head meeting.

Kubler had never been beyond the second round at a Grand Slam in seven previous appearances and earned his first tour-level win on grass this fortnight.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

[19] Alex de Minaur (AUS) vs. Cristian Garin (CHI)

De Minaur will be relieved to face a man who does not hail from Great Britain after battling past home favourites Jack Draper and Liam Broady in his past two matches. The popular Aussie might even be able to count on the No. 2 Court crowd's support thanks in part to his relationship with Briton Katie Boulter, who reached the third round in the women's singles draw.

Playing in the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time, De Minaur is seeking to equal his quarter-final run at the 2020 US Open.

Most of Garin's best results have come on clay, but he is through to the Wimbledon fourth round for the second straight year. The World No. 54 owns an 8-8 career record on grass, including a 3-2 mark this season. One of those recent defeats came opposite De Minaur, who claimed a 6-3, 6-3 decision on his way to the Eastbourne semi-finals two weeks ago. 

The Aussie has yet to drop a set in compiling a 3-0 record against Garin in the pair's ATP Head2Head series, with the other wins coming at the 2019 US Open and the 2021 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.



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