R1 previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Carreno Busta, Del Potro vs. Kudla

February 15, 2016 Ricky Match previews 54

Rafael Nadal will be looking to bounce back from a Buenos Aires semifinal loss when he takes the court in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday. In Delray Beach, Juan Martin Del Potro is beginning his latest comeback against Denis Kudla.

Rio Open: (1) Rafael Nadal vs. Pablo Carreno Busta

Nadal and Carreno Busta will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the second time this season when they meet again in round one of the Rio Open on Tuesday. This is already the two Spaniards’ second first-round showdown of 2016, having previously faced each other at the same stage in Doha. Nadal survived that encounter 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1 to improve to 2-0 lifetime at the expense of his good friend and occasional doubles partner. They previously went head-to-head at this same Rio event last year, when Nadal got the best of a second-round contest 7-5, 6-3.
Nadal 2
The world No. 5 is off to a rough start this season after showing signs of an uptick in form last fall. He got clobbered by Novak Djokovic in the Doha final, lost in round one of the Australian Open to Fernando Verdasco, and is coming off a surprising clay-court setback at the hands of eventual champion Dominic Thiem in the Buenos Aires semis. Carreno Busta has endured some rotten luck in terms of draws this year. Since running into Nadal in Doha, the world No. 66 has lost first-rounders to Nick Kyrgios (at Kyrgios’ favorite event, the Australian Open) and Thiem (in Buenos Aires). Now he has to face Nadal again. There is no reason why Carreno Busta cannot be competitive given his opponent’s relative lack of dominance at the moment, but Nadal will be eager to get back on track and should be able to do so against a player who owns nowhere near the kind of firepower boasted by Thiem.

Pick: Nadal in 2 losing more than 8 games

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Delray Beach Open: (WC) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Denis Kudla

Del Potro will be making his highly-anticipated return to tennis when the former Delray Beach champion (2011) contests his opener on Tuesday. The 27-year-old Argentine has not played since the Miami Masters last March because of recurring wrist problems. He is set for a first-ever meeting with Kudla, who registers at a solid 65th in the world and has a decent three ATP-level match victories to his credit this season.

It is, of course, almost impossible to gauge Del Potro’s level at the moment. His previous comeback is really the only indication of what the 2009 U.S. Open winner might bring to the table.  After missing almost all of 2014, Del Potro played in Sydney last January and beat Sergiy Stakhovsky and Fabio Fognini before falling to Mikhail Kukushkin. He then lost to Vasek Pospisil in straight sets in Miami. This is a big match for Kudla, too, so expect some tight moments from both competitors in what could be an up-and-down affair. In the end, Del Potro may have to settle for the victory that is simply being back on a tennis court.

Pick: Kudla in 3

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54 Comments on R1 previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Carreno Busta, Del Potro vs. Kudla

  21. The tennis channel is showing Delray Beach now. Delpo is playing in his first match since coming back from the latest wrist injury.

    Nice to see the big man back in action!

    It sounds like Rafa’s match was stopped due to rain. First set stats look great.

    Reply

  29. Broken back twice in the second set…same old…obvious improvement in depth and precision of Rafa’s shots but certainly not sufficient enough to deal with more serious players…but it’s a step forward and that is what counts…
    Good it’s done in 2 and I can get some sleep now ?

    Vamos Rafa! Please keep your head together! You will face a difficult opponent next! I bet Almagro will leave his all on the court…

    Reply

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