Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will kick off their Madrid campaigns during second-round action on Wednesday. Nadal has an intriguing opener on his hands with Fabio Fognini, while Djokovic is facing Nicolas Almagro.
Fabio Fognini vs. (4) Rafael Nadal
Familiar foes Nadal and Fognini will be squaring off for the 12th time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Mutua Madrid Open on Wednesday. Nadal is leading the head-to-head series 8-3 and has not dropped a set to Fognini since losing a 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 stunner at the 2015 U.S. Open. The Spaniard prevailed 7-5, 6-3 later that fall in Beijing, 6-2, 7-6(1) last spring in Barcelona, and 6-1, 7-5 earlier this season in the Miami semifinals. Nadal has won four of their six previous clay-court encounters, with each of Fognini’s victories on the slow stuff having come in 2015 (Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona).
A resurgent Nadal is not looking as vulnerable in 2017. The world No. 5 boasts a 29-5 record, including 29-2 against opponents other than Roger Federer and 10-0 on clay. Nadal is coming off consecutive titles in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, where he combined to go 20-1 in total sets and 19-0 in his last 19 sets. Fognini lost his opening match in three straight tournaments following his run in Miami, but he managed to beat Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday in Madrid. Based on respective current form, nothing suggests the 29th-ranked Italian has much of a chance in this one–unless Nadal’s ear infection is more significant than expected.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
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(WC) Nicolas Almagro vs. (2) Novak Djokovic
Djokovic will be playing his first match since jettisoning his entire team when he takes the court on Wednesday in Madrid. Boris Becker became old news after the 2016 campaign and everyone else–including Marian Vajda–followed suit last week. Djokovic decided to hit the complete reset button after going just 7-4 in his last four tournaments, with early losses at the Australian Open (Denis Istomin), Acapulco (Nick Kyrgios), Indian Wells (Kyrgios), and Monte-Carlo (David Goffin). The world No. 2 also missed the Miami Masters with an elbow injury before returning in Monte-Carlo, where he scraped past Gilles Simon and Pablo Carreno Busta in tough three-setters and then fell to Goffin.
Up first for Djokovic is a fifth career ATP-level meeting with Almagro, who trails the head-to-head series 4-0. They most recently faced each other two years ago on the red clay of Rome, where Djokovic got the job done 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3. Almagro gave himself another shot at Madrid’s second seed by beating fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on Tuesday. The world No. 76 is an even 7-7 this season (5-4 on clay) and he is coming off a quarterfinal performance in Estoril. Clay will give Almagro a remote chance on Wednesday, but he will likely become impatient from failing to penetrate Djokovic’s defense and ultimately break down from the back of the court.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
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Sascha’s hair alone should win him at least two slams.
Do not discount hair. Remember Samson owed his powers to his hair!
Well his hair is helping him play pretty well right now lol. Down 5-6 in the first with Marin. Zverev was serving up 4-3 and at 30-30 Cilic hit a pass that was called good Zverev disagreed even after the ump said it was good and to be honest I couldn’t really tell but it seemed out at first. The slo mo replay showed it was super close though so I see how it could’ve been in too. Too close to call. They should get Hawkeye on the clay as soon as possible. Zverev didn’t respond well either by double faulting the next point. He and Cilic are still playing pretty solid match though. Great display of big hitting that’s for sure.
If Zverev loses the match, then Cilic haters would say Cilic was unsportsmanlike and should have conceded the point!
Hahaha. Zverev is up in the second right now anyways.
Dimitrov seems to be in good form.
Dimi beat Ivo in straight sets – 63 75.
I think Karlovic should retire, he doesn’t play tennis he just serves aces.
I still want him around. His win over RBA was so awesome to watch. For his reactions alone, I hope he keeps playing. And his reactions show he wants to keep playing.
If Rafa wins tomorrow, he’ll win the title. Tomorrow is the danger match. Kyrgios will hit HARD and go for more than usual penetration on his backhand CC whenever Rafa hits a spinny forehand. He did that really well in Rome last year.
Rafa is serving great so that is encouraging. A three-setter looks more likely.
I would say Rafa in 3 sets again.
Kyrgios will get help on his serve because of the altitude but Rafa will find a way again.
you don’t think Raonic/Goffin/ Nole or anyone from the other half can be a threat?
No, of course those players will be threat, esp Djokovic. I just think he will reach the lofty standards in this tournament as well once he beats Kyrgios. It is a great chance for Rafa to stop his losing streak against Djokovic if both players get there.
Agreed. As many probably know by now, my pick is Nick but if Rafa wins, he should be able to get the title. Personally I believe the winner of their match will win the tournament. Nobody is playing better at this event than Kyrgios and Nadal.
It’s time Kyrgios improves his ranking. Not fun playing him in the third round!
I agree that the match with Kyrgios is the big one for Rafa. I really appreciated reading what Rafa had to say about the match afterwards. He has no problem being honest when he plays poorly.
I think Rafa is right about surviving these matches and hanging tough and finding a way to win. I think these kinds of matches can give a player real confidence and belief. When you win a match that you could have lost, when you did not have your best tennis, that’s a good thing to be able to fall back on.
Rafa knows what to expect with Kyrgios. He also knows that he has to play well to be able to deal with him. I like to think he will come out ready. We’ve seen Rafa have a lousy match and then come out strong in his next match.
I just am hoping for the best for Rafa’s next match.
yes. He has a night match tomorrow , which has its pros and cons. I am really hoping he can dig out the victory tomorrow.
I should qualify what I said in my previous post. I do think Kyrgios is a big challenge. However, I do think other challenges remain ahead for Rafa if he gets past Kyrgios. I don’t think he automatically will win necessarily.
Rafa has to get past Raonic or Goffin and then possibly a semifinal meeting with Novak, At this point in time, I would welcome it.
Night match? ? #bombsaway
Night match is an advantage for Kyrgios. Plus, Rafa has very little recovery time and is probably still ailing. He could still win, but Nick has the edge here.
Paire is going to knock out Stan…
Wow, I mean there’s no way of guessing Paire or Stan …if it’s not a GS.
Stan just lost to Paire. Don’t know what’s up with Stan. But Paire did play well.
Zverev up a break in the third set against Cilic!
Love watching Sascha!
Paire-Cuevas R3
Nny
I’m watching the third set:
Sascha is really the real deal. It’s a pleasure to watch 😀
He’s very cool.
He faces Berdych next. I think Sascha has already beaten Tomas once.
rc,
You know I am so glad you are here! I love watching Zverev! Cilic was playing great, just hitting the cover off the ball, but Zverev has a way of coming up with the most brilliant shots at the right moments in matches. He took this match away from Cilic. He’s also sassy and the way he wags his finger when he hits a great shot for a winner, just love that attitude! Like he’s good and knows it! But not in an obnoxious way!
That’s why I have my eye on him. He has qualities that you see in the great champions, I get nervous with the tennis channel commentators talking him up so much, but it’s hard not to take notice of him.
He has the gene and the shots, but he has this mental toughness that you don’t see in someone so young. He doesn’t give up, doesn’t quit. I see him winning matches that he could easily have lost.
Gee, can you tell I am a fan?
?
He has the game and the shots! *
HeheHe 😀
Nny,
I”m happy to share in your enthusiasm for dear Sascha and agree. He is something special.
I think he’s handling the hype very well so far. He has his brother and lots of disciplinarians in the family that
Have instilled the right work ethic. Very different from the likes of Tomic, Gulbis, ect.
Imo, Kyrgios > A Zverev in talent; A Zverev > Kyrgios in attitude.
Kyrgios has the varieties and good hands; Zverev still has some ways to go where those are concerned. Both Kyrgios and Zverev can hit hard and move quickly to cover the court well, but Kyrgios has a much better serve.
The commentators at the Cilic/Zverev match were comparing Kyrgios to Zverev; they felt that Kyrgios would do better than Zverev at the slams, whilst Zverev would do better at the Masters, because they felt Zverev could play with consistency whilst Kyrgios couldn’t.
Kyrgios > just about everyone else in talent. Plus, he might be the perfect size/shape for a modern tennis player. He’s got the power of the bigger guys, but a step up in movement from Raonic, delpo, Cilic, even Zverev. Still not sure how injury prone he will be, but if he commits to a strict conditioning and diet regimen, he should be fine. The question is all about his head.
Kygrios is injury prone. I think he has to pick and choose what to play carefully in order to prevent or reduce injuries.
Zverev is two years younger than Kygrios so in two years with the help of his elder brother, maybe Alex could pick up some net skills, some varieties.
Fed is almost 22 when he picked up his first slam title; we’ll see if Kygrios and A Zverev could do the same, now that the big four are getting older and not the players they used to be.
Stan is being Stan. Since making the Madrid final in 2013, he is 1-4 at this event. Yet since that Madrid final, his french open results have been a quarterfinal, semifinal, and champion. Only in 2014 did he have an RG hiccup with the round one loss to GGL, which was the typical first grand slam win (Aus Open 2014) letdown, like Kerber at last year’s RG.
I’ve given up trying to predict Stan, because his form seems pretty random to me. Who predicted (before the tournament) that he would win the USO last year? The one thing that seems pretty clear, more than 3 years after his first slam victory, is that he only brings his best tennis at the slams. Otherwise he surely would have won more than 1 masters 1000 in 3+ years. He just doesn’t seem able to motivate himself until the stakes are really high.
I agree with Lucky about Kyrgios having the edge in talent over Zverev, whereas Zverev has the edge in attitude. Good point!
Zverev is still young and has time to work on aspects of his game. But he has a mindset that I think is crucial for a future champion. That’s not something you can teach.
Nik definitely has the serve. But he is two years older than Zverev. Zverev just turned 20 and has time to mature and work on his net game and conditioning. But I think he has enormous potential and hopefully has a good team behind him.
Kyrgios has a few issues, one being injury prone and the other is demeanor on court, behavior and also whether he is willing to make the commitment required to succeed st the highest levels in this sport.
Kyrgios has the game, he’s got the natural ability and talent. He should be contending for slams in the near future, but a lot is in his head.
Stan the Man gone. Beaten by Paire 75 46 62.
Zverev will surely win a slam sometime. Kyrgios also will, I think. Anyway now that the big 4 are getting old, others are going to snatch some slams.
Zverev and Kyrgios will both win Wimbledon at some point imo
grass is Zverev’s worst surface….
Was once Rafa’s until he made five straight Wimby finals in five attempts winning two titles.
and nobody said “Nadal is a future Wimbledon champion” before he won his first French
Zverev is too young to pass judgement on in terms of grass. Takes time to learn
Really? I guess I thought because he beat Roger on grass last year. Roger was coming back from the injury layoff though. Yeah I guess you’re right. I still could see him winning it though.
I’m still waiting to see what people see in Zverev.
Zverev is like a Delpo, but not with Delpo’s awesome power though his FH and BH are hit with power too. He’s quicker around the court than Delpo is, but Delpo has a calmer demeanor, tough mentality. Delpo has all the champions qualities, Zverev has yet to prove he has those.
I think we could compare Zverev to Delpo or Cilic for a start, to see what he has achieved compared to those two when they’re at his age. Zverev may be more fortunate than those two, when he’s yet to hit his peak and may do so after the big four are gone (or no longer the force they used to be).
Yes Zverev is a lot like Delpo in his early days so he will grow his game because he is good around the court and he’s got a good serve but, so far, I don’t necessarily see a dominant player. He struggles to win nearly all his matches. He should plead for the tag of future #1 to be lifted off his shoulder so that he doesn’t have that baggage whilst he is developing his game.
Rafa said playing Kyrgios here could be more complicated than playing him on a hard court! The altitude does take confidence away from him.
As is still too often the case, Rafa is only playing himself.
Murray LOL.
I had my doubts he’d be able to back up becoming top dog this year.
Everybody in a bit of a funk but one guy who’s gonna have a banner year.
Aside: why does Ricky rarely predict Murray matches? Discuss.
I mean he’s no. 1 in the world. Surely picking his matches is warranted?
Murray at no. 1 is like Rodney Dangerfield.