posted April 2, 2008 at 13:53 in Tennis Free Picks

Miami, Florida – In the bottom half of the draw, ninth seed James Blake avenged last year’s loss to Radek Stepanek in the Los Angeles final, when he topped the Czech 6-3, 6-4 to advance into the final eight in Miami. The 28-year-old American will next face World No.2 Rafael Nadal in a rematch of their Indian Wells quarterfinal of two weeks ago. BetUS currently is taking action on this thrilling quarterfinal matchup, so here is a breakdown of their matchup.

Tennis Betting Line: James Blake vs. Rafael Nadal

Match Time: Not before 03:00 PM Eastern Time, Wednesday April 2, 2008

James Blake +2½ -120 +145 Over 23½ -130

Rafael Nadal -2½ -120 -190 Under 23½ -110

James Blake (1st Set) +120 Over 10 -120

Rafael Nadal (1st Set) -160 Under 10 -120

Tennis Prediction: At the Pacific Life Open a fortnight ago, Rafael Nadal notched his first-ever career win over James Blake when he defeated the American in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. After the victory in Indian Wells, Nadal improved his record against Blake to 1-3.

The 21-year-old Nadal is contesting his fifth quarterfinal of the season. After opening the year with a runner-up finish in Chennai, Nadal went on to post two semifinal runs – at the Australian Open and Indian Wells – and a quarterfinal appearance in Dubai. His worst result was a R16 exit in Rotterdam. Nadal enters the quarterfinal with a 19-5 record for the season.

James Blake owns a 17-5 record for the season, which includes one runner-up finish in Delray Beach (l. to qualifier Kei Nishikori) and three quarterfinal appearances—Australian Open, San Jose and Indian Wells.

After losing to Nadal over a fortnight ago, Blake earns his second shot this season against the Spaniard. Will he avenge the defeat or will it be déjà vu all over again.

In spite of arriving without a title for the season in Miami, Nadal has been impressive during the hard court season, posting deep runs in all but one of the tournaments he competed thus far and as a result he has held on to his No.2 ranking in the world, sitting in second place in the ATP Points Race.

Having beaten Blake for the first time in his career, Nadal has the much-needed edge with the confidence a recent victory gives a player. Knowing he can beat him, I expect Nadal to replicate his performance of last week.

Tennis Free Picks: Take Nadal at -190 to win the match and Nadal at -160 to win the first sets.

Nila Amerova is a freelance sports writer and regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room.