The first day of quarter-finals of the biggest tournament French Open this season so far is here for us. In the first match of quarter-finals, we have Kei Nishikori matching up against the previous champion of the tournament in Rafael Nadal. To have more insights of this ATP Kei Nishikori vs Rafael Nadal match please check out the preview below.

 

Kei Nishikori

We’ve written about Kei Nishikori a few times at this tournament. As have been said the main thing he’s been criticized for was his inability to perform at the highest stages on Master Series. Nishikori had ups and downs on his way here and each stage was harder and harder. First of all, he beat Halys in straight sets, gave one set to Tsonga in the 2nd round and were close to being eliminated in both 3rd and 4th rounds as Djere and Paire almost took him down.

Nishikori is great at defending and at long rallies so he can break most of his opponents many times in any match. On the other hand, his main weakness in the game is his weak serve. That’s why he is struggling to hold his own games and gives breaking opportunities quite often. Tomorrow will be the match which will show if Nishikori answers his critics or drops out in quarters once again.

 

Rafael Nadal

Rafa is looking unstoppable so far: he’s won 9 matches in a row including victories in French Open against Hanfmann, Maden, Londero in straight sets and one against Goffin in 4 sets. Nadal hasn’t shown any weaknesses in his game so far. However, we have to admit, he hasn’t faced any of Top10 ranked players so far. It will change tomorrow as faces 7th in the world in Nishikori. Of course, Rafa is defending his title here and won’t give up any easy games. However, Nishikori can punish mistakes as well so Nadal might be careful not to get too cocky.

 

Kei Nishikori vs Rafael Nadal H2H

Rafael Nadal won all 4 games they played on clay and hasn’t given a single set to Nishikori yet.

 

Article image is taken from https://tennis-picks.net/rafael-nadal-vs-kei-nishikori-22-04-2018/