Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray will kick off their Barcelona campaigns on Wednesday with respective matchups against Rogerio Dutra Silva and Bernard Tomic. Tomic is coming off a solid first-round win over Dustin Brown.
Rogerio Dutra Silva vs. (3) Rafael Nadal
Nadal set a single-tournament Open Era record by winning his 10th title in Monte-Carlo last week and he will now try to accomplish the same feat at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The nine-time champion is 48-3 lifetime in Barcelona and 47-2 in his last 49 matches at this event. Nadal is 24-5 this season (24-2 against opponents other than Roger Federer) after dropping just a single set in Monte-Carlo while beating Kyle Edmund (three sets), Alexander Zverev, Diego Schwartzman, David Goffin, and Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
The fifth-ranked Spaniard aims to continue his hot streak on Wednesday with Dutra Silva on the other side of the net. Their only previous encounter came at the 2013 U.S. Open, where Nadal dominated 6-2, 6-1, 6-0. Like Nadal, Dutra Silva is at his best on clay and spends as much time as possible on this surface. The 69th-ranked Brazilian has captured two Challenger titles on the red stuff already in 2017 and he opened in Barcelona on Tuesday by crushing Renzo Olivo 6-1, 6-1. Dutra Silva, however, is 0-3 lifetime against top 10 opponents (0-9 in total sets) and an especially bad 0-8 against top 20 opponents (0-22 in total sets). The heavy underdog will almost certainly be the victim of another thorough beatdown on Wednesday.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
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(1) Andy Murray vs. Bernard Tomic
Murray’s first extended period as the No. 1 player in the world is not off to a fun start as he heads into second-round action in Barcelona. Murray, who finished a year in the top spot for the first time in his career last fall, is a modest 13-4 this season and stands at 11th in the race to London almost four months into the 2017 campaign. After missing the Miami Masters with an elbow injury, the Scot began his clay-court swing with a third-round loss in Monte-Carlo to Ramos-Vinolas, the eventual runner-up.
Up first for Murray on Wednesday is a fifth career meeting with Tomic, who trails the head-to-head series 4-0 (all on hard courts). The 41st-ranked Australian is a hopeless 0-9 lifetime in sets against Murray following a pair of setbacks in 2016 (6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4) at the Aussie Open and 6-4, 6-4 in Cincinnati). Tomic had been 2-7 this year and a disastrous 0-6 in his last six matches prior to this week, but he managed to beat Dustin Brown 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 on Tuesday. A steep step up in competition, however, should send Tomic back to his losing ways in emphatic fashion.
Pick: Murray in 2 losing 5-7 games
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who ya got?
Murray will have to work harder than Nadal for this one.
Nadal in 2 losing 4-5 games.
Murray and Rafa in straights losing 5-7 games.
I still can’t believe that Tomic beat Brown! What is even more unbelievable is that I actually picked Tomic to win that match! He
But now things are going to get serious. I expect Murray to dispatch Tomic in routine fashion.
Rafa should have an easy time of it with Ditra Silva, losing 5-7 games.
Hmm it seems like your site ate my first comment (it was super long) so
I guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m
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Study Ricky’s style. On balance, less is more.
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Nadal in 2 losing 4 or under and Murray in 3
THREE???
Stay focused, remain confident and enjoy the game, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-VCECLWAAMlm0E.jpg
B.Tomic has withdrawn.
Wednesday’s revised OOP:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-VJV9oXUAAFjc3.jpg
expected
It’s 3 pm in Barcelona, and I don’t see any scores yet… Do they have a long rain delay or something?
Yes, there has been a rain delay. Now they are drying courts:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-V1r78XoAAAuvz.jpg
nice win for Murray
LOL!
I wondered if I missed Rafa, but now I see that there was a rain delay and Rafa will be up next.
Vamos Rafa!
Nice moment as Rafa walks out on the court that has just been named for him!
i dont like it one bit
What about active coaches commentating live matches (McEnroe, Gimelstob, etc)?
Or active media sitting in player boxes?
What about tennis tournaments named after gambling sites (when ATP concerned with match fixing)?
Or giving wild card invites while a player is still banned (or just after)?
What about player agencies having ownership of tournaments?
What about active players being tournament directors?
Sorry, with our without these much worse examples of potential conflict, I fail to see a serious conflict naming the court after an active legend and how it might be abused.
So. What exactly don’t you like about it?
Rafa having an easier time than Murray today.
Not to mention this gem…
ESPNTennis‏Verified account @ESPNTennis 2h2 hours ago
Hours before Maria Sharapova takes the court for the first time in 15 months, her Sugarpova stand can be seen on the grounds in Stuttgart.
https://twitter.com/ESPNTennis/status/857232685214904320
#WrongOnSoManyLevels
Tennis has more conflicts of interest than any other sport.
Nice volley from Rafa!
Easy hold for Rafa’s first service game.
1-0
Rafa gets the early break. He’s come out looking sharp. Nice depth on his ground strokes.
Rada running Dutra Silva all over the place.
Rafa up 3-0.
Rafa just bullying Dutra Silva off both wings.
Rafa up 4-1.
Beautiful DTL backhand winner from Rafa.
Rafa is focused and hitting both his forehand and backhand with precise accuracy.
Dutra Silva out of his depth here.
Rafa gets the breadstick 6-1.
I am thinking, poor Dutra Silva to run into Rafa…he has solid clay court game, can stay in the rallies, doesn’t make a lot od errors, but with the King of Clay on the other side of the net he stands no chance and all he gets is lopsided match…and I like it! ?