Italian Open 2021: Rafael Nadal vs Reilly Opelka preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (2) Rafael Nadal vs Reilly Opelka

Date: 15 May 2021

Tournament: Internazionali BNL d'italia 2021

Round: Semifinals

Venue: Rome, Italy

Category: ATP Masters 1000

Surface: Red clay

Prize money: €2,082,960

Match timing: Not before 1 pm local time, 11 am GMT, 7 am EST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Rafael Nadal vs Reilly Opelka preview

Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal will take on Reilly Opelka in the semifinals of the 2021 Italian Open on Saturday.

Nadal played some of his best tennis of the week to oust Alexander Zverev in just under two hours on Friday. The Spaniard was made to work hard for a majority of the points in the quarterfinal encounter, but he was up for the challenge.

Nadal began emphatically to set up a 4-0 lead in the opening set. Zverev then broke back once and threatened to do so again, but the 34-year-old held firm to close out the set 6-3.

The second set arguably produced some of the best tennis seen this week at the Foro Italico. Nadal and Zverev kept exchanging furious blows, but it was the Spaniard who defended better - especially off his own serve.

The German created an impressive 10 break point opportunities in the match, but Nadal saved nine of them with some extremely clever tennis. Having realized that Zverev was thriving on pace, the 34-year-old kept varying his spins and speeds to negate his opponent's counterpunching abilities.

Nadal is now into his 12th semifinal in Rome, a stage where he is unbeaten so far. He will next take on Reilly Opelka, who has made it to the last four of a Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career.

Opelka beat Federico Delbonis 7-5, 7-6 (2) in his quarterfinal fixture on Friday. Unsurprisingly, the American was utterly dominant on his serve as he racked up 18 aces while also saving all the break points he faced.

The 23-year-old, however, exceeded expectations in the return department, chalking up 19 winners with his booming groundstrokes. All combined, Opelka hit 41 winners to thoroughly dwarf Delbonis' tally of 16.

Rafael Nadal vs Reilly Opelka head-to-head

This will be the first meeting on tour between Rafael Nadal and Reilly Opelka, so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.

Rafael Nadal vs Reilly Opelka prediction

Reilly Opelka

Reilly Opelka has struck a whopping 77 aces so far in Rome, and is yet to drop a set. Such numbers automatically make you the favorite going into most fixtures, but not against Rafael Nadal on clay.

If the Spaniard is having a good day in the semifinals, all that Opelka can hope for is to land his first serve and pray.

The American's best chance to inflict some damage on Nadal would be to take his backhand on the rise and attack the Spaniard's forehand, which has been a little vulnerable on occasion lately. But Opelka's backhand is his weaker wing, so he is unlikely to be able to consistently use it for offense.

All things considered, Nadal's brutal power and all-court skills might prove too much to handle for his young opponent on Saturday.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal to win in straight sets.