Madrid favorite Rafael Nadal continues his clay-court campaign against Alexei Popyrin during third-round action on Thursday. Meanwhile, 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem takes the court against Alex de Minaur.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (Q) Alexei Popyrin
Had the rankings held up, top seed Rafael Nadal would be facing a red-hot Italian Jannik Sinner on Thursday. Instead he will take on Aussie qualifier Alexei Popyrin, who dispatched Sinner in straight sets in the second round. Of course, based on the way Nadal dismantled Carlos Alcaraz in his first match this week, it might not have made a difference either way.
Popyrin is ranked a career-high 76th in the world. The Aussie had a good start to the season–including the title in Singapore–but hasn’t played particularly well on the dirt coming into Madrid. Fortunately, Madrid has been kind to players who aren’t playing that well on clay, as big servers move through the draw and dirtballers are sent packing.
With Nadal playing in front of the home crowd and impressively bolstered by his hard-fought, well-earned title in Barcelona, it’s hard to imagine this as anything but a straight-set win for the 13-time Roland Garros champion.
Cheryl pick: Nadal in 2
Ricky pick: Nadal in 2
(3) Dominic Thiem vs. Alex de Minaur
Dominic Thiem came into this week off a six-week break, during which he nursed a sore knee and attempted to find motivation after a lackluster fourth-round ouster at the Australian Open. But any doubts about his form or fitness were promptly dispelled after his 6-1, 6-3 second-round shellacking of Marcos Giron. Thiem is still in need of match play ahead of the French Open, but he made a good start this week.
Alex de Minaur has already dropped a set. The Aussie went three against wildcard Jaume Munar, but second-round opponent Lloyd Harris retired down a set and 3-0 in the second. Unfortunately for the Aussie, he has not historically fared well against Thiem. The two men have met three times; de Minaur is 0-3 for his efforts, with just a single set won in a 2018 Davis Cup match.
Thiem is bound to have a few hiccups on his way back, but this is a match the Austrian knows how to win.
Cheryl pick: Thiem in 2
Ricky pick: Thiem in 3
Go Rafa!!!
WWW?
Keep calm, remain focused, stay confident, be strong and show your fighting spirit, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E0sXOtpWQAI34S_?format=jpg
Rafa in 2; thiem in 2…and how about a “Go Dawgs”! for John Isner’s gutsy win over RBA!!!
Popyrin could end up being Australia’s no.1 player.
Well, well, well. Nadal has ben broken twice in one set. The signs of vulnerability are there.
Sorry he was down 3 break points in his first service game. It wasn’t a break.