Nadal vs Young: Rafa may be tested by in-form American

Rafael Nadal enjoyed a smooth return to grass when cruising past John Millman at Wimbledon but may get more of a work-out from Donald Young in round two.

Nadal has struggled on this surface in recent times and comes up against a solid, in-form opponent who is comfortable playing on the big stage.

Looking at the Nadal vs Young odds, 17/25 for the American underdog with 8.5 games start on the handicap betting is hard to resist.

A Look At Rafael Nadal’s Betting Odds

Nadal obviously commands the utmost respect after totally dominating the clay-court season, winning 24 of 25 matches on his favourite surface and picking up titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid before a 10th French Open triumph.

However, the Spaniard missed this tournament last term, went out in round two in 2015 and hasn’t got past the quarter-finals since 2011.

Although a two-time champion at SW19, Nadal’s last four trips here have ended with defeats to players outside the top 100 in Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis, Nick Kyrgios and Dustin Brown.

Reflecting on his first grass match in two years, having sidestepped Queen’s to rest, Nadal admitted to “playing more safe” and trying not to make mistakes when beating Millman 6-1 6-3 6-2.

This looks a much tougher contest, though, and we like 19/20 for over 30.5 games in our Nadal vs Young betting tips.

A Look At Donald Young’s Betting Odds

Young was far from disgraced in quarter-final losses at Queen’s and Eastbourne, going down 4-6 5-7 to Marin Cilic and 2-6 6-7 to Novak Djokovic.

Those solid efforts followed on from reaching the final of the men’s doubles at the French Open, so the 27-year-old is clearly in decent nick.