Kei Nishikori will kick off his Barcelona title defense on Tuesday, when he goes up against Teymuraz Gabashvili. Meanwhile, first-round action concludes with Dominic Thiem vs. Victor Estrella Burgos.
(1) Kei Nishikori vs. Teymuraz Gabashvili
Nishikori and Gabashvili will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers (qualifying included) when they do battle in round two of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Tuesday. They have not completed a match against each other since 2011, when Nishikori prevailed 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 on the indoor hard courts of Kuala Lumpur. A 2014 Delray Beach encounter ended in a first-set retirement by Nishikori, who is otherwise 2-0 lifetime at the ATP main-draw level against the Russian.
An in-form Gabashvili continued his stellar play by dismissing Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 6-4 on Monday. The world No. 85 is coming off a quarterfinal showing in Houston, where he upset John Isner before falling to Fernando Verdasco. Nishikori earned a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed. He is also the defending champion in Barcelona, so the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up will be supremely confident. Nishikori is 21-5 on the season and should get the job done in straight sets, but clay will help Gabashvili make it somewhat competitive.
Pick: Nishikori in 2 losing 8-10 games
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Victor Estrella Burgos vs. Dominic Thiem
There will be a 13-year age difference on display when Thiem and Estrella Burgos go head-to-head for the first time in their careers during first-round action in Barcelona. The clay-court spring is when Thiem did a lot of his damage last season and really started to make a name for himself. His run included a third-round appearance in Barcelona as a qualifier. The 43rd-ranked Austrian advanced to the quarterfinals in Miami last month but is coming off an opening loss in Monte-Carlo to Lucas Pouille.
Estrella Burgos, 34, has cooled off since winning the first ATP title of his career on the clay courts of Quito and backing it up with a Challenger triumph two weeks later. The 53rd-ranked Dominican has since compiled a 1-5 record at his last six tournaments and he retired in the Monte-Carlo second round versus David Ferrer because of a shoulder injury. Even at 100 percent, this would be tough for Estrella Burgos. If the veteran is still feeling the effects of a shoulder problem, Thiem should cruise.
Pick: Thiem in 3
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Anyone watching the Fer Verdasco/Rublev match? This kid Rublev has skinny legs but can play………………
‘This kid Rublev’ practiced with Rafa in Mallorca in September 2014
https://tenngrand.com/social/player-pages/rafael-nadal/comment-page-33/#comment-121312
Amaaaazing!!!!!
The skinny kid Rublev snags the first set over Fer…………….
Tell you what, I pray this kid is nowhere near Rafa’s side of the draw early doors at RG……….
No respect for reputation at all it seems………….playing Fer like a banjo.
Fer gets waxed by the kid, in straights………..
…..and the kid was cramping at the end.
https://twitter.com/jjvallejoa/status/590586637865848834
Translated: I was surprised , with 17 years he has, he is rude and disrespectful
I watched the match, how was he rude and disrespectful? By beating Fer? What did Fer want, for the kid to give him the match?
Don’t know. When asked, apparently he just said many things but didn’t specify/
I think Fer is coming across a little entitled there. I guess being shown the door by a skinny 17-year old stung…………..
I only saw the latter part of this match earlier today. I didn’t even know who this kid was, but he took it to Verdasco. The commentators on the tennis channel were full of praise. I am going to try to check out the entire match on the replay.
Things seemed fine when they met at the net, so I don’t know what Verdasco is going on about. I assume he didn’t like being beaten by a young upstart.
Now we have to see if this kid can back up this victory.
‘This kid’ is the reigning French Open junior champion.