Rafael Nadal will begin his quest for French Open title No. 11 when he takes the court against unexpected opponent Simone Bolelli on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Ernests Gulbis qualified for the main draw and will meet Gilles Muller.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (LL) Simone Bolelli
There are an unbelievable eight lucky losers in the main draw of the French Open; well, seven confirmed so far and an eighth if Marco Trungelliti signs in on time before Monday’s action begins. The unluckiest of them all was one of the first ones in, as Bolelli will have the misfortune of facing none other than Nadal–the 10-time Roland Garros champion and current world No. 1. Bolelli already knows all too well how tough of a task this is. He lost to Nadal at this event, also in the first round, via a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 beatdown in 2012. The Spaniard is sweeping the overall head-to-head series 5-0 and he has won 11 consecutive set since dropping the opener of their first-ever encounter on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam in 2009.
Bolelli won his first two qualifying matches over Tommy Robredo and Yasutaka Uchiyama before getting blown out by Santiago Giraldo 6-0, 6-2. The 129th-ranked Italian, who got in when Alexandr Dolgopolov pulled out, is now looking for his third ATP-level victory of the year following a quarterfinal performance in Estoril as a qualifier. Nadal is 79-2 lifetime at the French Open and also 19-1 on clay this season, so there is no reason to think anyone outside the top players in the world–and maybe not even them–has a chance against the 31-year-old. Nadal’s last nine sets against Bolelli have read 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, and 6-2; something similar should transpire in this one.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 5-7 games
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(Q) Ernests Gulbis vs. (29) Gilles Muller
Among those who did not need lucky-loser spots in the field of 128 were two formerly relevant performers who have since fallen off the tennis map: Bernard Tomic (who is scheduled to face Trungelliti) and Gulbis. The latter, who reached the French Open semifinals in 2014, is struggling down at 160th in the rankings and has not yet won an ATP-level match in 2018. From just about of nowhere, however, Gulbis qualified by beating Stephane Robert, Stefano Travaglia, and Alessandro Giannessi.
Up next for the Latvian on Monday is a second career showdown against Muller, who won their only previous meeting 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, 7-6(5) at the 2011 U.S. Open. The Luxembourgian’s favorite part of every season (grass) is about to begin, but for now he is still stuck on a surface that is the least conducive to his game. Muller has won just a single tournament match since the end of February and he has dropped his last six sets dating back to the Monte-Carlo second round. Even though Gulbis is not what he was during his brief prime, an upset is possible and even probable because of Muller’s slump and especially the surface.
Pick: Gulbis in 4
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I sometimes think a little bit of swagger on Rafa’s part would be great. 😉
Me too.
The tie break was spectacular! It showcased some of the best shots of the tournament so far. Bolelli was great and can be proud – but Rafa was a tick better. The way he erased all those set points was indeed magnificent. Hopefully he will get used to the court.
littlefoot,
I agree with you! I have watched my recording of the TB twice now. Rafa fought to erase those set points and came up with the shots when it mattered.
Well done, Rafa!
😀
There is still a lot of tennis to be played. I’m guessing Rafa is emulating Fed’s strategy i.e. conserving energy for the long haul by doing just enough to get the win. Rafa’s serve has never been his strong point. Thank goodness it didn’t let him down in the dying moments of the 3rd set TB.
Even though Rafa doesn’t have Fed’s serve, he has an uncanny ability, like Fed, often to come up with a big serve when he really needs it.
Maybe it’s just me but I was never nervous about this match! Even with Rafa fighting off those break/set points I thought he would make it in straights…I don’t know why I feel so confident about Rafa even in these early rounds, I am never like that…But this time around even if Rafa is to meet a rejuvenated Novak I feel he will beat him without problems…