Rafael Nadal faces Davis Cup teammate Fernando Verdasco in the last sixteen of the Cincinnati Masters.
‘Nando’ has never had too much luck against Nadal on the tour, he’s never beaten his compatriot in eleven matches going all the way back to a small challenger event in 2003. Throughout their careers, Nadal has always been fairly convincing better and the closest Verdasco has ever got was in that thrilling 2009 Australian Open semi-final, regarded as one of the best matches of the past decade.
Verdasco was on his way to the top ten and he matched Nadal forehand for forehand over five pulsating hours of tennis before eventually succumbing 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4.
Unfortunately for him, natural order was soon restored and Nadal crushed him 6-0, 6-1 in the Monte Carlo final last year and again 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in the US Open quarters.
If Verdasco is ever going to score a win over Nadal, he may not get a better opportunity than this. The French Open champion has looked far from vintage so far this summer, losing to Ivan Dodig of all people in Montreal and he looked shaky in his second round win over Julien Benneteau yesterday. Verdasco has enjoyed a couple of impressive results this week but for him, beating Nadal is as much about overcoming a mental hoodoo as outplaying him on the court.
