Rafael Nadal will continue his Bastad campaign when he faces Mariano Navone in the quarterfinals on Friday. In Gstaad, an impressive slate of quarterfinal competition includes Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Matteo Berrettini.
Nordea Open: (WC) Rafael Nadal vs. (4) Mariano Navone
Playing in his fifth clay-court event of his 2024 comeback, Nadal is off to a strong start in Bastad. The 38-year-old Spaniard did not drop a set against either Leo Borg or Cameron Norrie and no set was more competitive than 6-4. This marks Nadal’s first quarterfinal appearance since January in Brisbane (lost to Jordan Thompson), but he at least managed to make a fourth-round run at the Madrid Masters.
Up next for Nadal on Friday is a first-ever meeting with Navone. Having previously never played a match at tour level, the 23-year-old Argentine is 14-11 this season and up to 36th in the rankings. A two-time ATP runner-up (Rio de Janeiro, Bucharest), Navone got an opening bye this week and then disposed of Sumit Nagal 6-4, 6-2. Although Nadal probably has to be considered the favorite in this one, you never know what he is going to bring to the table on any given day at this point in his career. The former world No. 1 will have to bring his best if he wants to get past a clay-court opponent of Navone’s caliber.
Pick: Navone in 3
Swiss Open Gstaad: (3) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. (6) Matteo Berrettini
Auger-Aliassime and Berrettini will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers on Friday in the Gstaad quarterfinals. The head-to-head series stands at 4-2 in favor of Berrettini, who is 2-0 on grass, 2-0 indoors, and 0-2 on outdoor hard courts.
As those records indicate, the surface generally dictates the outcome of this matchup. Although clay would seem to favor Auger-Aliassime (at least compared to grass), Berrettini has achieved plenty of good results on this surface over the years and has been effective on it in 2024. The 82nd-ranked Italian captured the Marrakech title this spring and has advanced in Gstaad with straight-set victories over Pedro Cachin and Daniel Elahi Galan. Auger-Aliassime did well to defeat Yannick Hanfmann on Thursday, but the 23-year-old Canadian has been all of the place this season and Berrettini is a much more dangerous opponent.
Pick: Berrettini in 3
