Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will begin their final tournament prior to the French Open on Wednesday, with both men going up against Frenchmen. Nadal is taking on Gilles Simon and Federer is facing Jeremy Chardy.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Gilles Simon
Nadal and Simon will squaring off for the seventh time in their careers when they do battle in round two of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at 5-1 in Nadal’s favor, but they have faced each other only once on clay. That was their most recent encounter, won by the Spaniard 6-3, 6-4 at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Masters. Simon’s lone victory came during his memorable second half of 2008 run, which included a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(6) semifinal upset of Nadal on the indoor hard courts of Madrid.
Simon played his way into this matchup by trouncing Italy’s own Filippo Volandri 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday. The Frenchman is still a disappointing 7-10 this season and will in all likelihood just barely manage to maintain a seed for Roland Garros, currently at 30th in the world. Nadal is coming off a title in Madrid, where he got past Kei Nishikori via a third-set retirement on Sunday. The world No. 1 is not as dominant on the red stuff right now as he has been in the past, but last week should give him some confidence as he looks to three-peat in Rome.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
[polldaddy poll=8043269]
Jeremy Chardy vs. (4) Roger Federer
Federer and Chardy will be going head-to-head for just the second time in their careers but also for the second time this season. Their only previous meeting came in January in the Brisbane semifinals, with Federer prevailing 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3. Chardy advanced on Sunday in Rome with a 6-4, 6-4 ousting of Robin Haase. The 47th-ranked Frenchman is a decent 15-11 for the year, which includes only two first-round losses in 12 tournaments.
This is, of course, Federer’s first appearance since his wife gave birth to twin boys last week. The Monte-Carlo finalist and 2013 Rome runner-up is 28-5 on the season with additional runner-up showings in Brisbane and Indian Wells to go along with a title in Dubai. The Swiss’ focus may not be entirely there right from the start, but his 2014 form is far superior to that of last year and he should not have too much trouble getting the best of Chardy.
Pick: Federer in 2 losing more than 8 games
[polldaddy poll=8043266]
Why are all of the tennis streams either broken or just terrible for this match.
#BlessingInDisguise?
What really stinks is that assuming Rafa wins here, his next two matches will likely be at night.
#PleaseDontTakeMySunshineAway
Really getting tired of seeing Rafa look skyward over the last few weeks.
Down 0-40, Rafa plays like he knows he can.
Fight Rafa!
Rafa is playing daytime tomorrow. Nole has the night match.
Up 5-4 playing short moon ball again.
#BetweenTheEars
Simon is beginning to annoy me…………
No. Rafa’s doing it to himself. Simon is 6-10 on the year. Please.
Almugro et. al.
What’s Simon bleating about?
https://twitter.com/SI_BTBaseline/status/466669013574356993
Rafa playing aggressive when facing 3 break points…a very good sign…Simon running like a rabbit out there…I can’t blame Simon for not giving up…he must have watched the Madrid final…
That MP says it all.
Nothing to do with Simon. Flubs a 2nd serve MP into the bottom of the net.
Hitting. Too. Short.
Rafa’s cooked…….
When you hit that short, any opponent looks “great”.
except for that last point. 1-2
OK I’m beginning to annoy me so I will stop.
Vamos Rafa. Win ugly. Just. Win.
17 C and dark in Roma ATM.
Simon takes the 2nd set………
Fully deserves to take it to a 3rd, does Gillou………
Or is it Rafa who deserves not to win in 2. Sigh.
It’s the chances not taken, @chloro, the chances not taken…………
I hear you, ritb. But aren’t they Rafa’s today? Gillou is capable of being a very tough contender but Rafa just isn’t playing the way he usually can.
Yep, it’s Rafa who has not taken his chances………..
C’mon Rafa!
Vamos!
this is ridiculous…why do we have to go through this again…Rafa is working against himself…