Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will continue their Madrid campaigns on Thursday with respective intriguing contests against talented, colorful opponents. It’s Nadal vs. Frances Tiafoe and Federer vs. Gael Monfils in the third round.
Frances Tiafoe vs. (2) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Tifoe will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they battle for a quarterfinal spot at the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday. Their only previous encounter came in the quarters of the Australian Open, where Nadal dominated 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Having faced the 17-time major champion once before will only benefit Tiafoe, but going up against him on clay and in Spain is something the 21-year-old American certainly has never done. It did not work out well for Felix Auger-Aliassime, who lost 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday.
With that victory, the second-ranked Spaniard improved to 18-4 this season as he bids for a sixth Madrid title. Tiafoe has picked up an impressive 11 ATP-level wins in 2019 and is on the brink of French Open seeding at 37th in the rankings. He reached the Estoril quarterfinals last week and so far in Madrid has taken out Nikoloz Basilashvili and Philipp Kohlschreiber in three sets. As if the odds were not already stacked against him heavily enough, this will be a case of somewhat fatigued Tiafoe staring at a well-rested Nadal on the other side of the net.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
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(4) Roger Federer vs. (15) Gael Monfils
The jury is still out on Federer’s clay-court game as he heads into third-round action in Madrid on Thursday. On the heels of an opening bye, Federer did not have to do much against an injured Richard Gasquet during a 6-2, 6-3 whitewash. That marked the 37-year-old’s first match on the slow stuff since the 2016 Rome Masters as he prepares for his first French Open appearance since 2015.
Next up for Federer is a 14th career meeting with Monfils, who trails the head-to-head series 9-4. Surprisingly, this rivalry has been all even dating back to 2010–when the Frenchman started to reverse what had been a hopeless 0-5 record against Federer. They split eight encounters between the fall of 2010 and the spring of 2015, with Federer most recently prevailing in a four-setter at the 2015 French Open. The four-year drought is over thanks to the Swiss’ defeat of Gasquet combined with Monfils’ victories over Andreas Seppi and Marton Fucsovics. Madrid’s 15th seed is an awesome 18-4 this season, but injuries and random mental walkabouts in the middle of matches continue to be an issue. Monfils, who dropped his opening set 6-1 to Fucsovics, will have plenty of chances in this one but may not be solid enough in the pressure-packed moments.
Pick: Federer in 3
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