Rafael Nadal will look to maintain grass-court momentum when he begins at Queen’s Club on Tuesday against Alexandr Dolgopolov. Stan Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios are also set for a tough first-round matchup.
(5) Rafael Nadal vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov
Nadal and Dolgopolov will be facing each other for the seventh time in their careers when they clash in round one of the AEGON Championships on Tuesday. The head-to-head series stands at 5-1 in favor of Nadal, but plenty of entertainment has taken place since the Spaniard dominated their first four encounters. Nadal triumphed 6-3, 7-6(3) in the 2014 Rio de Janeiro final before Dolgopolov pulled off a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) upset a month later at the Indian Wells Masters.
If Nadal was expected to emerge from a season-long slump on his old stomping grounds of European clay, he may be in line to deliver a big surprise on a more unlikely surface. The world No. 10 captured just his second title of 2015 last week on the grass courts of Stuttgart. It is a surface on which Nadal has never played Dolgopolov, who has also been in lackluster form this year. The 79th-ranked Ukrainian has lost three matches in a row and has not been past the second round of a tournament since Miami. Dolgopolov is coming off a routine setback against Philipp Kohlschreiber in his Stuttgart opener, so his confidence cannot be high at the moment.
Pick: Nadal in 2
[polldaddy poll=8933080]
Nick Kyrgios vs. (2) Stan Wawrinka
Wawrinka will play for the first time as a French Open champion when he takes the court on Tuesday at Queen’s Club. The fourth-ranked Swiss began the season on fire but was in completely mediocre form heading into Roland Garros. Out of almost nowhere, he lifted his second Grand Slam winner’s trophy by upsetting Novak Djokovic in the final to cap off a run that also included defeats of Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Solid but unspectacular on grass, Wawrinka is up against an opponent who is especially dangerous on fast surfaces. Kyrgios, who has never faced the No. 2 seed, reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in his first appearance at the tournament last summer. The 28th-ranked Australian has not been great of late, but he generally loves the limelight–and a showdown against Wawrinka at a 500-point event certainly qualifies. Although Kyrgios will make this competitive, the favorite’s serve and backhand will be the difference.
Pick: Wawrinka in 3
[polldaddy poll=8933185]
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CHmNVWQVEAA0HLt.png
Wawrinka/Kyrgios, what a damp squib that was………………
Krygios didn’t even break sweat.
If Rafa gets this title, would he be considered as a potential winner for Wimbledon? I wonder…
he will be…
where is every one?
where is every one???
where is every one?
I predict Stanimal (The Player Formerly Known As CryBaby) will reach Wimbly finals this year.
#LateBloomer
Stanimal has reached QF or better in six of the last seven slams.
#RealDeal
The Special One (Jose Mourinho) in the house watching Another Special One (Rafael Nadal) play……………
Former King of Spain, Juan Carlos, also in Rafa’s box.
oh marvellous rafa gets broken….
Dolgo’s unothordoxy is just so annoying………….
feeling nervous again…
Yes, I just tuned it and it’s already nervous time. Dolgo isn’t giving Rafa any breathing room.
Thank goodness I can finally see Rafa play live! However, this is kind of what I feared with Dolgo. He has come out and just kind of taken it to Rafa.
It’s tougn when Rafa gets broken early. But he should be able to find the answers.
i too feared this…
Bad serving day for Rafa so far. Dolgo rushing him……….
rafa is making the crowd nervous, let alone me….
Okay, some good serving and Rafa gets on the board. Maybe now he can get himself going.
rafa isn’t playing like a man who just won a grass court title
The problem is that grass suits Dolgo’s game with his big serving. He’s come out of the gate blasting and Rafa has to get it together.
that was a better game from rafa…striking the ball with more authority…
Dolgo’s just hitting the ball so sweetly at the moment, nothing Rafa can do about it…….