Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will continue their French Open campaigns during fourth-round action on Sunday, both against Argentines. Nadal awaits an in-form Juan Ignacio Londero, while Federer faces Leonardo Mayer.
Juan Ignacio Londero vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
Londero will be Nadal’s third opponent outside of the top 70 in the first four rounds of the French Open when they square off on Sunday. The 11-time champion made mincemeat out of little-known qualifiers Yannick Hanfmann and Yannick Maden before having a tougher time with David Goffin during a 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory. On the heels of a disappointing start to the clay-court season but not an entirely alarming one given his knee issues in March, Nadal is 8-0 in his last eight matches with only two sets lost and 10 sets won by either a 6-0 or 6-1 scoreline.
At 25 years old, Londero is just now emerging on the scene. The Argentine had never won a single ATP-level match prior to 2019 but has now picked up 13 such victories, surging to No. 78 in the world and soon to be in the top 60. Londero made mostly routine work of Nikoloz Basilashvili and Richard Gasquet before outlasting French wild card Corentin Moutet 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in a wild atmosphere on Friday evening. The recent Cordoba winner is clearly an emerging force on clay, but he will be fatigued both mentally and physically and he now heads to an unprecedented stage.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games
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Leonardo Mayer vs. (3) Roger Federer
Federer and Mayer will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers on Sunday. Although Federer has won all three of their previous meetings, one was especially memorable. In their first-ever encounter at the 2014 Shanghai Masters, the Swiss saved five match points before prevailing 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(7). He has since defeated Mayer 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 at the 2015 U.S. Open and 6-1, 7-6(6) at last summer’s Cincinnati Masters.
An all-37-year-old matchup could have been in the cards, but Mayer ended Nicolas Mahut’s run via a 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4, 7-6(3) decision on Friday. The 68th-ranked Argentine preceded that result by beating Jiri Vesely in straight sets and Diego Schwartzman in four. Federer has not dropped a set while ousting Lorenzo Sonego, Oscar Otte, and Casper Ruud. The 2009 champion’s clay-court form is looking good in his return to the surface for the first time since 2016, and he will likely cruise once again as a heavy favorite over another unseeded opponent.
Pick: Federer in 3 losing 11-14 games
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Lucky: I don’t ever remember Rafa struggling in windy conditions before this year, when it seems to have happened a few times. Normally, hitting with a lot of topspin is a benefit to playing in the wind. Maybe it’s just his serve that is affected, at least physically.
Yeah it’s his serve, remember MC this year? I think it’s only this year after his injury. In the past, he normally could deal with the wind quite well.