Familiar and unfriendly foes Rafael Nadal and Lukas Rosol will face each other again on Wednesday in Paris. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is also in second-round action against Roberto Bautista Agut.
(Q) Lukas Rosol vs. (7) Rafael Nadal
Nadal and Rosol will be squaring off for the second time in as many weeks when they clash in round two of the BNP Paribas Masters. They just met in the Basel first round, with Nadal storming back from a set and a break down to prevail 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4). The former world No. 1 leads the head-to-head series 3-1, having lost to Rosol only at Wimbledon in 2012. Nadal has since won three in a row–including last summer at the All-England Club.
From just about out of nowhere, Nadal has picked up plenty of momentum heading in the last regular-season tournament of 2015. But it won’t be Nadal’s final event, because he qualified with room to spare for the World Tour Finals. The sixth-ranked Spaniard finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in Beijing, reached the Shanghai semifinals, and made a run to the Basel title match (lost to Roger Federer in three sets). Nadal’s 11-2 record in tournament action during the fall swing is the second best showing of his career, having previously compiled a 10-0 post-U.S. Open mark in 2005 (did not play the year-end championship).
It has already been a stellar week for Rosol, who had to qualify just to get into the main draw. The 66th-ranked Czech then held off Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 on Tuesday. Although Rosol is playing decent tennis, Nadal has raised his level even in the short time since they last played each other. A more confident Nadal on a surface slower than that in Basel is a disaster waiting to happen for Rosol.
Pick: Nadal in 2
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(9) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Roberto Bautista Agut
Tsonga and Bautista Agut will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Wednesday. Their only previous encounter came earlier this season at the Rogers Cup, where Tsonga survived a 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-5 thriller. Bautista Agut has done well to get another shot at the Frenchman. The 24th-ranked Spaniard has played a ton of recent tennis, having finished runner-up in back-to-back weeks in Moscow (to Marin Cilic) and Valencia (to Joao Sousa). But he got right back in gear to overcome Pierre-Hugues Herbert 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday.
A former champion (2008) and runner-up (2011) of this event, Tsonga earned an opening-round bye as the ninth seed. The world No. 10 has been inconsistent this year but he has posted some outstanding results of late–a title in Metz and a runner-up performance in Shanghai. It would not be surprising to see him put on another show on indoor hard courts in front of his home fans. A worn-out Bautista Agut is likely to get powered off the court in this one.
Pick: Tsonga in 2
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