An all-Spanish clash is set for Friday in Abu Dhabi after David Ferrer takes down Stanislas Wawrinka on the opening day of play. Meanwhile, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga sets up a showdown against Novak Djokovic.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. David Ferrer
Ferrer kicked off the 2013 Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Thursday by defeating Stanislas Wawrinka 7-5, 6-1 in exactly one hour. The win set up an all-Spanish quarterfinal clash between Ferrer and Nadal.
The friendly foes have faced each other on 26 previous occasions, including six times last season and twice in a two-week span during the fall swing. Ferrer prevailed in Paris before Nadal exacted revenge in London as the world No. 1 improved his record in the head-to-head series to 21-5. The Abu Dhabi court is playing fast, so this could be more competitive than their past history against each other suggests.
Pick: Nadal in 3
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (2) Novak Djokovic
Andy Murray’s unofficial return to tennis resulted in a 7-5, 6-3 loss to Tsonga on Thursday. Both players held serve throughout the first 11 games of the match before Tsonga struck from just about out of nowhere with a perfect backhand lob as his opponent served at 5-6, 30-40.
The Frenchman is through to a semifinal matchup against Djokovic, whom he has faced 16 times. Djokovic is 11-5 in the series, including 7-5 on hard courts. They squared off twice last season, with Djokovic cruising to straight-set victories in Indian Wells and Shanghai. The second-ranked Serb may not be interested in winning so convincingly on Friday, but he should do enough to advance.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
Leave a Reply