Nadal Has Madrid Open Final in Sight

Rafael Nadal is a win away from his third consecutive Masters final, and a chance to bid for his 18th career Masters Shield. Standing in his way is compatriot, Nicolas Almagro, who is through to his first-ever Masters semi-final.

The bulk of the betting trend, more likely than not, is going to fall in line with Nadal's odds. Almagro’s chances of toppling Nadal, the King of Clay, are slim to none; especially when the scion is playing the way he is right now, at what are unattainable heights for most players.

Nadal takes a 13-0 mark on the European clay-court swing and an overall 29-4 mark on the season into the Madrid Open semis. In addition, Nadal takes a solid 5-0 head-to-head edge over Almagro, comprised of a 3-0 edge on clay, into their upcoming encounter.

Almagro to win a set of Nadal is going to be tough as lifetime he has only won a set in 13 played. Nevertheless, Almagro is playing some of his best tennis this season, which suggests, theoretically, he might (stress on the might) nick another set today. 

Fact is Nadal is by and large the better play. For Almagro to win this match he would have to play lights out tennis and show that he believes he deserves to win – both are scores that he struggles with in high stake matches.