Reilly Opelka vs Rafael Nadal Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Italian Open

Prediction published on 14/05/2021, 18:14  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 14/05/2021 at 19:14 in Tennis Predictions

Rafael Nadal has won this title on nine previous occasions. Saturday sees him take on big serving Reilly Opelka for a place in the final of the Rome Masters, Friday saw him in good form as he avenged last week's loss to Alexander Zverev. He won in straight sets this time, though his opponent had eight break points in the second set. Nadal had earlier this week had to go to three sets to get past Denis Shaovalov. A win in Rome will be his second tournament win of the year after his success in Barcelona 

His opponent is unseeded Reilly Opelka who is ranked 47th in the world. He will be back in the top 40 after his efforts this week in Rome. It's not been a great year for Opelka who after a win over a player ranked outside the top 1000 in the world, lost his next six matches. His form has been impressive in Rome this week and he's served 77 aces while beating Richard Gasquet, Lorenzo Musetti, Aslan Karatsev and in his quarter final, Fredrico Delbonis. The 6ft 11in American has shown little form on this surface in the past, just imagine what he could be like on grass at Wimbledon. Nadal can win this match in straight sets to add yet another title to his huge collection. A bet on a tie-break might be a winner too considering Opelka's serve.