Needless to say, that is a quite a coup for a 250-point tournament that has no other top-10 players in the draw. Eleventh-ranked Grigor Dimitrov is the No. 2 seed and has an opening-round bye along with Federer, Pablo Cuevas, and Santiago Giraldo.
Federer awaits either Jarkko Nieminen or Marsel Ilhan in the last 16. Ilhan is not only from Turkey, but he also resides in Istanbul.
“First I will have to pass the first round,” Ilhan commented. “My Finnish competitor (Nieminen) is a very experienced player. I hope I will get to play Federer. I [have] played (Stan) Wawrinka and (Novak) Djokovic before; now it’s Federer.”
In addition to the Ilhan-Nieminen winner, Federer’s path could also include Mikhail Kukushkin in the quarterfinals and possibly either Giraldo, Diego Schwartzman, or Jurgen Melzer in the semis. Teenager Andrey Rublev, who advanced one round last week in Barcelona, also finds himself in the top half of the bracket.
Dimitrov will kick off his campaign against Andrey Golubev or Nikoloz Basilashvili. An in-form Andreas Haider-Maurer is in the same quarter, while potential semifinal opponents for Dimitrov include Cuevas and Thomaz Bellucci.
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Lets see how Federer and Dimitrov play on clay, they should at least reach the final here with possibly Federer winning the title in 3 sets.
Tough draw for Federer yet again!!!!
How many times???
At least there are no cry babies there who abandon their families.
Djokovic has withdrawn from Madrid Masters.
Yes…should be Fed and Baby Fed in the Finals….will be a fun match to watch if it comes to pass.
What is so tough about Feds draw hawkeye? I think he has this in the bag.
Gobble gobble gobble, gobble gobble.
#Gobble
I have to believe that it will be Fed and baby Fed in the final here.