ATP Barcelona Open 2021: Pablo Carreno Busta vs Rafael Nadal –Preview, Head to Head and Prediction
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Rafael Nadal and Pablo Carreno Busta
Rafael Nadal will take on Pablo Carreno Busta in the Semi-final of the ATP Barcelona Open 2021. Nadal is currently the World no.3 on the ATP rankings and Busta is the World No.13.
Match Details
Tournament: ATP Barcelona Open 2021
Match: Rafael Nadal vs Pablo Carreno Busta
Round: Semi-final
Date: 24th April, 2021
Prize Money: $77,789
Venue: Barcelona, Spain
Surface: Clay Court
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Rafael Nadal: Match Preview
Rafael Nadal has not started this clay court swing as he usually does, with a lot of confidence and a bit of arrogance. There seems to be something off with his game. His first tournament on clay this year was the Monte Carlo Masters, where he got beaten in the Quarter-final stage. Andrey Rublev played a good match but was aided aplenty by Nadal’s unforced errors and terrible serving.
At the Barcelona Open so far, barring the most recent encounter against Cameron Norrie, he has not looked like his usual self. The solidness of the Nadal game is missing. The first match he played in the tournament was against a relatively unknown Ilya Ivashka, a match that Nadal needed three sets to win, 3-6 6-2 6-4. His second match was against Kei Nishikori.
In that match Nadal again was taken to three sets, winning 6-0 2-6 6-2. It wasn’t until the Quarter-finals against Norrie, that he looked at ease, and that showed in the results he won in straight sets, 6-1 6-4. His opponent in the Semi-finals is fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. Busta has seen his stock rise in the last few months.
He had finished last year strongly, he reached Semi-final of the US Open and the Quarter-final of the French Open. He was ousted in the third-round of the Australian Open, but came back and won the ATP 250 tournament in Marbella.
In this tournament, he has beaten Jordan Thompson in the first round, Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the second round, both players in straight sets. In the Quarters he had a real battle against Diego Schwartzman, the fourth seed from Argentina, but in the end the Spaniard prevailed in three 6-4 3-6 7-5.
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Rafael Nadal: Head-to-Head
Nadal and Busta have faced each other seven times on the tour, and the head to head is 7-0 to Nadal. The last meeting between the two was in the Quarter-finals of the Paris Masters in 2020, Nadal won that contest 4-6 7-5 6-1.
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Rafael Nadal: Prediction
Nadal is slowly showing signs of coming back to his best, but he is not completely there yet. Nadal’s natural game, heavy top spinning forehand or backhand, is usually a difficult ball for Busta to negotiate as Busta usually likes to hit flat winners. This natural difference is playing styles, suits Nadal and that is why he is 7-0 up on the head to head.
But Busta can run and his cardio vascular game is top notch. Can be an interesting contest, but Nadal will prevail in the end.
Match Prediction: Rafael Nadal will beat Pablo Carreno Busta in three sets.
Also Read: ATP Barcelona Open 2021: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Jannik Sinner – Preview, Head to Head and Prediction
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Auri Ghosh
(652 Articles Published)