Andy Murray’s unbeaten clay run continueed as he defeated an error ridden Nadal 6-3, 6-2 to claim his second career title on clay, and his first ever clay masters title in Madrid. It’s his second trophy of the season as well, as he was the victor in Munich last week and is now riding a long winning streak.
The British number one has traditionally struggled on the dirt, but this year has been a complete reverse in fortunes for Murray as he improves his clay court record in 2015 to 9-0.
After defeating Phillip Kohlschreiber, Marcel Granollers, Milos Raonic, and Kei Nishikori on his way to Sunday’s final, the biggest test seemingly lied in the form of Rafael Nadal whose clay court record Is unmatched.
The prospect of facing the king of clay hardly seemed to phase Murray, who racked up eight straight points at the beginning of the match before breaking Nadal at the second attempt. Nadal’s game was ridden with errors, as the ball flew off his racket out of the court or into the net. Murray remained consistent, and barely put a foot wrong as a stunned Madrid crowd watched their hero make some terrible errors.
When serving for the set, the so far rock sold Brit found himself under pressure facing a break point. But he remained true to himself and saved it before taking the first set point. The Madrid crowd tried to inspire Nadal into form with chants of ‘Rafa’ ringing around Manolo Santana. Despite the crowd support, the match wouldn’t get any better for the defending champion. An early break for Murray was followed by a second two games later, and the hopes of Nadal defending title were drifting further than Nadal’s shots. A solid Murray wouldn’t budge as error after error came off the racket of Nadal. La Caja Magica was left stunned as the world number three edged closer and closer to victory. Nadal managed to muster two more games despite his poor form, but any hopes of a comeback were long gone.
Murray went on to successfully serve the match out, and with that claimed his second title in Madrid (he previously won the title when it was played on indoor hard in the Fall.)
This was also Murray’s first victory over Nadal on clay, with all his previous wins coming on hard court. The head to head now reads 15-6 in favour of the Spaniard.
Nadal’s defeat means he will slip to 7th in the rankings, his lowest in a decade. It also puts him in an uphill battle to secure a top four seeding for the French Open, where he will be defending the title. This was his biggest loss on clay since losing 6-2, 6-3 to Gaston Gaudio in Bastad 11 years ago.
“I felt I had a really bad game in the first game of the second set with my serve.” Nadal said post-match.
“I committed a couple of errors, a couple of volleys. I also threw a couple of balls into the net.”
“During every single moment I was fighting and trying to give the maximum. It’s one of those days where things just don’t work out.”
Despite the tough loss, Nadal remains positive about this week.
“Well, it’s been a positive week. I am not going to lie” Nadal said.
“A week before I would’ve signed for these results of course. I’ve played a couple of good matches, especially yesterday’s match.”
“It’s one of the best matches I have played in a long time. So I cannot leave Madrid not happy. I will leave happy and just delete what happened today.”
Murray on the other hand looks like a different player on clay this year. The Brit is unbeaten on the surface in 2015, and the victory in Madrid is his biggest title on clay. With this sort of form on the red dirt, Murray will be considered one of the favourites for the upcoming French Open.
I asked Murray post-match if Amelie Mauresmo had any effect on his clay game.
“I think it’s a big thanks to all my team.” The champion said. “Obviously Amelie, but my physical trainers and physios for putting in a lot of hard work and making some pretty drastic changes to the way I’ve trained and tried to understand my body better so that I could say healthy for longer, and especially on this surface, which I haven’t done the past two or three years. I have really struggled physically on the clay.”
“Yeah, big thanks to all my team for actually accepting, okay, you felt really bad on the clay. What are the reasons for that and what can we do to make you feel better? They’ve done a great job. Yeah, obviously Amelie has been influential in that, but also the rest of my team as well for being brave enough to actually make changes. Yeah I feel much better because of it.”
Murray also believes that consistency was the reason for victory today.
“I think today I was just more consistent.” The Brit said.
“I think in the second set Rafa was starting to play better at the beginning of the second, and middle part of the set. But I stayed strong in that period of the match and he started to make some mistakes at the end that he wouldn’t normally make. That obviously helped me finish the match.”
Murray remains number three in the world rankings and heads into Rome full of confidence after his win. Nadal meanwhile will look to build his form in time for his French Open defence in a few weeks’ time.
In doubles Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea took the title over Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic 6-2 6-7(5) 11-9.
It was mens semi-finals day at the Mutua Madrid Open, with four of the world’s best fighting it out for a place in Sunday’s final.
Rafael Nadal vs Tomas Berdych
Play started with the defending champion and home crowd favourite Rafael Nadal vs Tomas Berdych.
The Spaniard won 17 straight times against the Czech before Berdych finally halted that losing streak at the Australian Open.
Berdych’s new found confidence against Nadal was apparent in the opening games, holding serve easy and hitting some good winners. However Nadal soon got a look in at 3-3, forcing the first break point of the match. Berdych saved it with an ace. Berdych’s serve came under more scrutiny towards the end of the set, and he found himself a break point down for the second time at 5-5. This time it was a big second serve that came to the rescue, as Nadal couldn’t return it.
A high quality first set fittingly ended with a tiebreak, and with momentum mostly on his side, Rafa took control. Some big forehands from the defending champion gave him an unassailable lead, and the set was soon his. 7-3 in the tiebreak to Nadal.
Nadal wielded the first break point of the second set, but like the previous two occasions Berdych saved it. Only this time Berdych saved it with a big forehand winner. The pressure was still on, and in the following point Nadal forced a fourth break point of the match. This time, the defending champion was successful, and thus the first break of the match went to the Spaniard.
As the crowd waved, Berdych saw his chances of rescuing himself disappear. At 4-1, the Czech found himself under constant pressure, and despite being able to save three break points, Berdych ship eventually sank. The world number seven double faulted on break point and from then it was academic. Nadal easily closed out the match, holding serve to love and being the first man to book his place in Sunday’s final.
Berdych played at a good level in the first set, but as the match wore on it was clear that Nadal was finding his game, and after the first break of serve the Czech’s confidence sunk.
Nadal pointed out post-match that this was his best performance for a long time.
“Well it went fine. Went really good. I think I played a very good match, best match of the tournament without a doubt.”
“Much more than that, I think it has been a long time since I played at that level. In General I’m very happy.”
Nadal improves to 19-4 against Berdych, and his title defence continues against Andy Murray.
Kei Nishikori vs Andy Murray
Andy Murray booked his second clay court final in as many weeks after a straight sets victory over Kei Nishikori.
The Brit looked to be aggressive on the return and get Nishikori moving off the bat. His first break point opportunity came at 1-1 in the first set, but on that occasion he failed to convert. At 3-3, Murray made no mistake and took the lead in the match. A second break secured the set 6-3.
Nishikori would up his level at the start of the second set, returning better and hitting less unforced errors. He managed to break Murray for the first time at 1-1, but Murray broke straight back. The match stayed with serve until at 5-4, where Murray made another successful move. A net-cord shot went wrong for Kei, and he found himself out of the tournament.
The Japanese star blamed the amount of unforced errors for his loss.
“Well there was too many unforced errors from me.” Nishikori said. “I don’t think I played too bad, but to beat Andy I was missing too much.”
“I thought I was doing well a couple of times, but overall I think he maintained his concentration pretty well.”
Andy Murray believed that he has upped his level since the last time these two met.
“I think last year I struggled a lot against the top players.” The British number one said.
“I wasn’t so confident playing against them. I still felt I wasn’t quite where I needed to be with my game. In the off season I put in a lot of hard work on my game and made a few changes and tried to get back to playing the way that I was playing when I was most successful.”
“I think today I was pretty aggressive. I tried to dictate a lot of the points, especially when he was serving and it worked well.”
Murray will now head into his second straight Clay court final. Only this time he faces the king of clay Rafael Nadal. Tomorrow will be an interesting final, and with Murray’s new found confidence on clay, maybe he can finally defeat Nadal on the surface for the first time.
The 2015 Mutua Madrid Open careened towards a conclusion on Friday as eight men, and four women took centre stage on Manolo Santana.
Maria Sharapova vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
The day began with the first women’s semi-final, and it was an all-Russian affair as defending champion Maria Sharapova faced surprise semi-finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova. Kuznetsova might have been a surprise inclusion in the semi-finals, but she was not to be under-estimated. The 29 year old has previously won two grand slam titles, including the French Open back in 2009.
Kuznetsova can play on clay, and she certainly showed that today. She came out of the blocks quickly, breaking at 2-1 and immediately putting Sharapova under pressure. The break advantage was then doubled at 4-2. The unseeded player then served out the set successfully, and in turn gave Sharapova no choice but to play three sets again if she wanted to win.
Kuznetsova had no intention of going the distance though. The world number 29 saved break point at 2-1, before finally sealing a break advantage herself at 2-2. The 2009 Roland Garros champion continued to apply the pressure on Sharapova’s serve at 4-2, but the world number three saved all three break points. From that point it was just about closing it out for Kuznetsova, and she did it without any issue what so ever. The upset was complete, and Svetlana Kuznetsova became the first player to advance to the finals 6-2 6-4.
Serena Williams vs Petra Kvitova
The upsets just kept coming on Manolo Santana as Serena Williams was dumped out by Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-3.
The world number one couldn’t find her serve, and coupled with Kvitova’s brilliant play from the baseline we had another one sided semi-final. Kvitova had never beaten Serena in five attempts before today, but during the match you could sense that it was finally going to be Petra’s time against the world number one.
The Czech’s game was on point from the start, and a rattled Williams couldn’t find any rhythm of her own. A double break put the set beyond Serena, and Petra served it out to take it 6-2. As well as Kvitova was playing, Serena was off her game. Un-characteristic errors flew off the racket of the top seed, and her hopes of a final birth were fading. Serena had enough fight to break back at 5-2, but ultimately Petra wasn’t to be denied. Another break of serve sealed it for the world number four.
Despite the late break of serve from Serena, Kvitova ensures she remained calm. “I had 5-2, and I knew I was going to serve on more time, and with new balls. I was serving at 5-2 with the old balls and it was really tight.” “I wasn’t like ‘Oh my god’, but of course I would like to be out of the court soon. Actually in the end I broke her serve to win the match, and that was probably the easier way.”
The Czech’s whole game was on fire the whole match, but she pointed out that her serve was particularly good at 3-1 in the second set. “I think in the end of the second set she was trying to fight back. I think it was 3-1 or something like that. She had a few breaks points and I served well and played well that game. I saved my serve, which I think was very important in that moment.” Kvitova will now play Kuznetsova in the final.
Serena Williams will now move on to Rome, where she will be looking to go at least one step further than Madrid. Despite the performance today, the world number one remained positive about her tournament as a whole. “I thought I had a really good event. You know, like I said, I didn’t come here expecting to necessarily hold the trophy and I’m not. So, you know, I did the best that I could in every match, and that’s all I could do. “
Rafael Nadal vs Grigor Dimitrov
Rafael Nadal was the first player to book his place in the semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Grigor Dimitrov.
The Spaniard applied the pressure early on the Dimitrov serve, forcing three break points, all of which were saved by the Bulgarian. In his next service game however, Dimitrov wilted, and a fantastic passing shot from Nadal gave the defending champion the lead. The lead didn’t last long however as Dimitrov broke back the following game. Unfortunately, his own service troubles came back to haunt him again at 2-2, and Rafa was able to re-take the lead. The Spaniard faced more scrutiny on serve at 3-2, but this time he managed to save the two break points and keep ahead in the set. From there Nadal was able to close it out 6-3.
The second set was not as simple as Rafa would have liked. The Spaniard lost serve in his second service game of the set. Unfortunately for Dimitrov, he was playing Nadal in Madrid and the Spanish pressure soon took its toll. Nadal broke back at 3-2, prompting a racket smash from the Bulgarian due to his missed opportunity. With the crowd getting more and more solidly behind their man, Nadal pushed for the win at 5-4, and on the second match point, the king of clay proved his worth once again.
Nadal wasn’t at his best today, and I feel Dimitrov should have taken advantage of that. He won’t get many better chances to score his first win over Rafa. I think Dimitrov sensed it too hence the frustration in the middle of the second set.
Rafa in action (photo credit: Niall Clarke)
John Isner vs Tomas Berdych
Tomas Berdych set up a semi-final showdown with Rafael Nadal after a come from behind 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 victory.
Isner started the match on fire. The American hit some clean return winners, good volleys and some well executed drop shots in the opening set. Isner’s form certainly took Berdych by surprise, as the Czech looked shocked at what he was seeing. An impressive return game from Isner was the difference in the opening set, which the big American took 6-3. In the second set Berdych began serving and returning better, and forced a break point early. However Isner hit a ridiculous second serve that literally bounced over Berdych to save it. As seems to be inevitable with Isner, the set went to a tiebreak, which was closely contested. Berdych saved match point on his own serve before taking it 9-7.
The final set was even, and fittingly went to another tiebreak. But unlike the majority of the set, the tiebreak was not at all even. Berdych played strong whilst Isner seemed to fall off the rails, hence the one sided 7-1 score-line.
Berdych faces Nadal next, most likely a lot more confident than their previous meetings. After a 17 match losing streak, the Czech finally got a win over Rafa at the Australian Open. He will be looking to repeat that performance tomorrow.
Andy Murray vs Milos Raonic
Andy Murray advanced to the semi-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open with a straight sets victory over Milos Raonic. The Canadian was clearly bothered by a foot injury that forced him to withdraw from Rome next week, and Murray (ever the opportunist) looked to exploit that my moving Raonic around the court, side and side, front to back and any other direction you can think of. Raonic looked to compensate for his lack of movement by hitting huge serves averaging around the 220-230 KMH mark. Murray patiently waited for his opportunity that arose at 4-4 when he finally managed to break serve. The Brit successfully served out the set to give himself a 1-0 advantage.
The second set went much the same, with Raonic bombing serves and forehands, whilst Murray looked to use his variety to move the Canadian around. It looked like a potential tiebreak was on the horizon, but Murray had other ideas. The world number three broke against at 5-5, and then successfully served the match out to claim victory.
Raonic vs. magic Murray (photo credit: Niall Clarke)
Murray will now face Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals.
Raonic will now skip Rome in hope that his injured foot will heal. Murray stated post match that the injury altered his game plan and that he tried to capitalise on Raonic’s lack of movement. “It certainly altered the way I played the match a little bit.” Murray said. “It’s tough because he’s still serving like 220-230 kilometres an hour in altitude and going for big second serves as well.” “I felt when I was serving, I played the match well. Made him do a lot of moving. He seemed to be moving okay side to side, it was moving forward that was causing him the issues.” “So I tried to exploit that a little bit. Yeah it was still a tricky match because in those conditions you’re still able to serve like that and get a lot of free points and make it tough.”
Murray def. Raonic 6-4, 7-5.
Kei Nishikori vs David Ferrer
David Ferrer’s hopes of a masters title in his home country were thwarted by Kei Nishikori in the final match on Manolo Santana. The Japanese star dispatched of the Spaniard in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 and will now play Andy Murray in Saturday’s semi finals.
Ferrer was the one that started the better, holding to love in the opening game and then breaking the world number five in the following game. Nishikori is known as one of the best returners on tour, so despite the early break advantage nobody was writing Nishikori out of the set. He proved that theory to be correct in the following game, breaking back to level the match. Nishikori then got a lead of his own at 3-3, breaking Ferrer and holding serve to give himself the opportunity to serve the set out. Ferrer had chances to break back as Nishikori struggled to close it out, but the Japanese eventually got it done after saving two break points.
The second set opened with three consecutive breaks of serve. Both players are known for their fantastic returning abilities, so it was to be expected that there would be plenty of breaks of serve. Nishikori came out of that flurry with the lead, and from there he took control. The world number five broke again at 3-1, and then served out the match with no trouble to book a semi final place.
Business End of the Tournament Underway @MutuaMadridOpen Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic
Sharapova vs Wozniacki (Photo: Niall Clarke)
MADRID, May 8, 2015–Thursday at the Mutua Madrid open featured the men’s third round and the women’s quarter finals featuring the likes of Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and others.
Maria Sharapova vs Caroline Wozniacki
Maria Sharapova opened proceedings on Wednesday, beating Caroline Garcia in a tough three set battle. Yesterday, the world number three kicked the day off again against Caroline. Only this time it was Wozniacki, not Garcia.
Determined to improve on her performance, Sharapova came firing out of the block. Her consistent power and pressure was too much for Wozniacki to handle in the early proceedings, and the Dane lost serve early. Sharapova was relentless, continuing to hit winners and force errors off the racket of her opponent, and at 4-1 she secured a second break. The Russian then served out the set without much difficulty.
The second set started in the same vein, with Sharapova breaking again. This seemed to spring Wozniacki to life, as the world number five broke straight back, and then again at 4-3. The 24 year old upped her aggression and soon found herself level.
The third set started similar to how the second set ended, with Wozniacki on top. She soon found herself in front for the first time, but Sharapova soon whipped out that lead with a break to love. It was the momentum shift Sharapova needed. The Russian proceeded to break again at 4-3, and give herself the opportunity to serve it out. And so she did with an unreturnable serve.
Sharapova was taken the distance yet again, but like always her grit and determination got her through in the end.
Post-match, Wozniacki had some choice words about three let decision in the first set that weren’t given.
“There was three clear net calls that were not called.” The world number five said post match.
“We both stopped, and I’m like ‘Are you kidding me, you could not hear that, are you serious!’ It wasn’t like maybe or maybe not, it was clear. I think definitely there should be let machines on all courts, or they should not allow lets.”
Sharapova had little to say on the issue, citing it to Wozniacki’s behaviour during matches.
“Honestly, I think maybe one of them might have been a net cord. I don’t know about the two or three she was referring to, but I have seen this with Caroline a few times. In Singapore it was about the lighting, and there was something at the US Open as well. I think she enjoys playing the umpire and the crowd a little bit.”
Sharapova def. Wozniacki 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
Following that match on Manolo Santana was home crowd favourite Carla Suarez Navarro looking to keep Spanish hopes alive against World number one Serena Williams. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, her record of not winning more than five games in a match against Serena continued, as the American stormed to a 6-1, 6-3 victory.
Meanwhile on stadium three, Tomas Berdych dispatched of Jo Wilfried Tsonga in a heavy hitting battle. Tsonga had break points at 5-5 in the first set that he failed to convert, and was ultimately punished by Berdych, who went on to break serve at 6-5. Tsonga couldn’t muster a fight back and the second, and fell rather tamely to the Czech, 7-5, 6-2. Berdych’s remarkable consistency continues.
Wawrinka vs Dimitrov (Photo: Niall Clarke)
Grigor Dimitrov vs Stan Wawrinka
One of the most anticipated matches of the day took place on Sanchez Vicario, as Stan Wawrinka looked to avenge his Monte Carlo loss to Grigor Dimitrov.
The match was expectedly close in the opening set, with the players exchanging breaks in the middle, and holding serve comfortably the rest of the time. It went the distance, and it was the Bulgarian that pounced. Dimitrov takes the tiebreak 7-5, and the lead in the process.
The second set saw Wawrinka up his game. He looked a lot better than in Monte Carlo where he lost rather embarrassingly 6-1, 6-2. The Swiss got his reward in the second game of the set, breaking Dimitrov for the lead. Wawrinka held on to take the set comfortably, without facing any problem on his own serve.
Wawrinka looked in control heading into the third set and at 2-1, and 3-2 he had his chances to take the lead in the match. However the chances were squandered, allowing Dimitrov to keep ahead during the set. The Bulgarian patiently waiting for his opportunity, which came at 4-3 in the decider. Stan fought off two break points with two brilliant inside out forehands up the line, but third time proved to be a charm for Dimitrov. Now 5-3 up, all he had to do was serve the match out, and so he did successfully.
That was Dimitrov’s third straight victory over Wawrinka, he will now face the winner of Nadal vs Bolelli in the quarter finals.
Dimitrov def. Wawrinka 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.
Back on Manolo Santana, Rafael Nadal continued his tournament with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Simone Bolelli. The Italian gave Rafa and the crowd a scare at the beginning of the match, but Nadal saved the break points and from there it was plain sailing. The defending champion only dropped four games en route to a 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Nick Kyrgios vs John Isner
Nick Kyrgios’ run has come to an end after a three set defeat to John Isner.
The Australian struggled to get a grip on the Isner serve, and couldn’t even muster a break point throughout the match. Isner was patient in waiting for his opportunities to pounce, and when it came at 4-3, he took it on a canter.
The second set was more of what many were expecting. Very few break opportunities, and tiebreaks were the pre-match predictions of most, and that’s exactly what we got. Much like the deciding tiebreaker last night, it went fairly long and Kyrgios came out on top 9-7.
Isner however was the only player who looked likely to break in the third set, and so he did at 5-4 to seal the match. A double fault by Kyrgios sealed it for the American. I didn’t expect to see that after his play on the big points against Federer.
Isner def. Kyrgios 6-3, 6-7, 6-4
Whilst Isner was defeating Kyrgios, we had another marathon on Sanchez Vicario. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Lucie Safarova went over three hours in another epic, but in the end the Russian outlasted the Czech to claim the victory. Safarova had served for the match in the final set, and even had two match points, but they were saved by Kuznetsova who eventually went on to win the deciding tiebreak.
Following on Sanchez Vicario was Petra Kvitova vs Irina Begu. The Czech needed only two sets to dispatch of the Romanian 7-5, 6-3.
Andy Murray’s match couldn’t have gone much easier. The Brit has carried his Munich form into Madrid, and that form was good enough to demolish Marcel Granollers 6-2, 6-0.
Nishikori vs RBA (Photo: Niall Clarke)
Kei Nishikori vs Roberto Bautista Agut
Kei Nishikori has final points to defend last year, and so far the Japanese star looks set to do just that. The fourth seed routinely defeated Roberto Bautista Agut on Manolo Santana 6-3, 6-3.
Nishikori used his speed and precise shots to move the Spaniard around and hit clear winners all over the court. The first break of serve came at 1-1, and then the Japanese sealed it with another break at 5-3.
Kei’s level dipped slightly at the start of the second set, but towards the back-end of the match it picked up again, and the world number five found the required level to break Bautista Agut again at 4-3. Serving the match out didn’t prove to be too easy for Kei, as the Japanese had to save two break points before closing it out.
Nishikori def. Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-3.
The last match of the day saw Milos Raonic defeat Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 6-3.
Today we will see the men’s quarter finals and the women’s semi-finals all on Manolo Santana. Here’s the order of play…
Maria Sharapova vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Serena Williams vs Petra Kvitova
Rafael Nadal vs Grigor Dimitrov
John Isner vs Tomas Berdych
Milos Raonic vs Andy Murray
David Ferrer vs Kei Nishikori
Should be another great day of tennis. Here are some predictions…
Sharapova in 3 sets
Williams in 3 sets
Nadal in 2 sets
Berdych in 2 sets
Murray in 2 sets
Nishikori in 3 sets.
Nick Kyrgios’ Wild Wednesday @MutuaMadridOpen Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic
Wednesday saw a packed line-up at the Mutua Madrid Open, with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray taking centre stage.
However, it was a young Australian who stole the headlines today.
Nick Kyrgios vs Roger Federer
Nick Kyrgios has added another big name to his impressive list of wins, after coming from a set down to beat Roger Federer in an epic on Manolo Santana.
The 20 year old saved multiple match points in a marathon tiebreak that needed 26 points to finally be settled.
Kyrgios couldn’t have asked for a better start. The young Aussie broke in the opening game of the match to give himself an early lead.
The lead lasted until 5-4, where Federer upped his game and broke back. The set then went all the way to a tiebreak, where Federer romped to a 7-1 victory. There was some controversy, as an over-rule on Kyrgios’ first serve caused a debate between the 20 year old and the chair umpire. Kyrgios was later given a code violation warning.
With momentum on his side, Federer broke early in the second set and looked in control. However, Kyrgios had other ideas, and soon found himself level in the set. Like the opener, the second set went all the way to a tiebreak, but this time the result was different. Kyrgios raced into a 5-0 lead, and had multiple set points at 6-2. Federer managed to save three of them, but on the fourth attempt Kyrgios held strong.
The match was finely poised heading into the decider. The service games were quick, and no break points were to be found. It was only fitting that it would end with yet another tiebreak.
Federer (Photo: Niall Clarke)
Despite the crowd being firmly on the side of Roger Federer, Kyrgios drew first blood in the breaker. Federer recovered the mini break, and it stayed with serve until Kyrgios got the mini break at 8-8. However he couldn’t convert, much to the delight of the pro Federer crowd. Kyrgios would get another opportunity to serve for it again at 13-12 and this time he made no mistake.
It was an incredible match from the 20 year old Aussie. One he described as the biggest of his career, and that includes a victory over Nadal at Wimbledon last year.
“It was exciting.” Said Kyrgios. “I found it tough to get some sleep last night, knowing I was going out there.”
“But before the match I wasn’t nervous or anything, I was just excited to get out on court. I have been playing well recently on the clay, so I knew I had a good chance to go out there and do well. I just stuck to my game and served well, and I got the win.”
“I think this was my best win. He has proven he is the best, he can play on any surface, and he’s the leading grand slam winner. It’s definitely ranked one in my best wins.”
Post-match, Federer commented on Kyrgios’ ability to play on the big stage, and rise to the occasion.
“He likes the big stage, and he has nothing to lose. He has no fear and has a great game, and he can rely on his serve to keep him in the match regardless of how he plays from the baseline. All he needed to do was string a few good shots, and a few good points together, and that’s all that really matters. No doubt about it, he’s impressive.”
Federer also stated “I couldn’t return his first serve.” It was a weapon that Kyrgios thought was a key to his victory today.
“My serve is my weapon. When I am serving well and got a good rhythm on my serve, I think it’s tough for anyone to find their rhythm out there. Even against Roger I thought I served well, especially in the second and third set. I think that was key today.”
Kyrgios also spoke about rising to the occasion in big matches.
“I guess it’s why you play the game. To play on these big courts against these big players. He’s the greatest of all time no doubt, and when you grow up watching these players, you just want to go out there and face them.”
Kyrgios will go on to face John Isner in the next round. As for Federer, he doesn’t yet know if he’ll play Rome next week.
Rafael Nadal got his tournament off to a good start. The defending champion defeated Steve Johnson 6-4 ,6-3 on Manolo Santana.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova were all in action.
Maria Sharapova vs Caroline Garcia
The Manolo Santana proceedings opened up with the defending champion Maria Sharapova facing a tough battle against Caroline Garcia. Sharapova had never lost to the Frenchwoman in three meetings prior to this match.
Throughout the duration of the first set, it didn’t look like that would change. The Russian broke at 1-1 to secure an early lead, but Garcia quickly broke back to level proceedings. The third consecutive break re-stablished Sharapova’s lead at 2-2. From there it was looking like it would be all Sharapova, who broke against at 4-2, before serving the set out successfully.
Fortunately for the spectators, Garcia didn’t give up the fight, and what proceeded was a rugged battle until the end. Sharapova’s serve was under more scrutiny in the second set, and Garcia was holding more frequently and comfortably. The Frenchwoman got her reward at 3-2, breaking the Sharapova serve. The lead only lasted one game, as an ever game Sharapova broke straight to love. The match stayed on serve for a couple of games, though at 5-4 Sharapova came under pressure from her opponent. The Frenchwoman’s shots were finding their mark, and she broke for the set at 5-4 to take us to a decider.
For the umpteenth time, Sharapova found herself in a three set battle. The world number three fought off break points at 2-1 with some clutch play before finding herself with a break opportunity in the following game. Garcia proved resilient as she saved the break point with a big ace out wide. Sharapova upped the pressure as the set went on, and the resistance of her opponent was finally broken at 5-5. The defending champion then served out the match to claim victory after a long two and a half hour battle.
Speaking in her post match press conference, Sharapova said: “In the third it really just came down to a few points. She (Garcia) was the much more aggressive player in the third set, and she was going for a lot.”
“I could have had a higher percentage of first serves, but even on good second serves she stepped in and hit some really good shots, so there was not much I could do.”
“My intention was to get in the points on her serve, not go for so much on the return, and be a little more patient. I think at the 5-5 game it really helped me.” Serena Williams vs Victoria Azarenka
Immediately following the Sharapova vs Garcia marathon, was another interesting clash on Manolo Santana. World number one Serena Williams faced former world number one Victoria Azarenka.
The opening set passed by miraculously without a single break point. Neither player could make any impression on the others serve, and therefore a tiebreak was needed to settle the opening set. Serena found herself a double mini break and 5-1 down in the breaker, but the world number one proved why she is the best by reeling off six straight points to take the opening set.
The first break point of the match mustered up the first break. Williams looked like she may go on and take control from here, but Azarenka had other ideas. The Belarusian came from 40-15 down to break back and level the score in the second set. Things then turned, and soon Azareenka found herself serving for the set after breaking Williams at 4-3. She did it successfully, after a failed drop shot attempt by Williams.
The third set was expected to be tight, and a battle and thus it was. Although what happened, is something nobody would have predicted. Serena broke early in the set, although her lead was soon cancelled out at 3-1. At 5-4, Williams found herself with a match point on Azarenka’s serve, but the Belarusian held on to save it. The following game, the world number 31 broke the serve of Williams, and thus gave herself the opportunity to serve out the match. It was not long before Azarenka found herself 40-0 up and with three chances to seal the match. Unfortunately for Vika, the tightened up, and missed her chances to finish it there. One shot missed by millimetres, and the fine margins in tennis came to the forefront once again. The set went to a tiebreak, where Serena took advantage of a depleted Azarenka to easily win the tiebreak 7-1. If only the whole match was that easy.
“I think overall it was a great match.” Azarenka said post match. “ I think the only negative part is the result.”
“On the last match point, the matter of winning or losing was like 1 centimetre. But I got to try and look at the positives.”
Elsewhere in the women’s, Petra Kvitova brushed aside Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 6-4. Irini Begu meanwhile beat Barbora Strycova 6-4, 6-4. Caroline Wozniacki continued her good form with a straight sets victory over Agnieszka Radwanska. The world number five faces Maria Sharapova next. Out on Manolo Santana Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame Sam Stosur in three sets 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 in another long match. Carla Suarez Navarro kept Spanish hopes alive with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 win over Ana Ivanovic. Lucie Safarova was also victorious over Roberta Vinci.
The last match to take place on Manolo Santana was a Munich final rematch between Andy Murray and Phillip Kohlschreiber. The Brit got the better of the German in Kohli’s home country in a match full of rain delays. Murray managed to yet again defeat Kohlschreiber in three sets, although this time he finished it off in much simpler fashion, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0.
On court Sanchez Vicario, David Ferrer got his Madrid campaign off to a winning start with a 6-4, 6-0 win over compatriot Albert Ramos. Grigor Dimitrov then came from behind to defeat Fabio Fognini to set up another clash with Stan Wawrinka. One of the Spanish hopeful’s Feliciano Lopez was dumped out in two tiebreak sets by Leonardo Mayer. Fortunately for the home crowd, Marcel Granollers was on hand to upset Gael Monfils 7-6, 6-7, 6-4. Out of all the marathons of the day this was longest, lasting over three hours. The final match on the second court featured world number five Kei Nishikori against David Goffin. The Japanese star needed three sets to beat the Belgian, and his reward is a Manolo Santana match against Roberto Bautista Agut.
There was plenty of action on the outside courts, with the likes of Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych and John Isner in action. The big serving American needed three sets to get past Thomaz Bellucci 7-6, 6-7, 6-1. Tsonga on the other hand was pushed all the way by Jack Sock, but eventually the Frenchman overcame the American 6-3, 1-6, 7-6. Berdych had less trouble with Richard Gasquet. The Czech came through 7-6, 7-5 out on court 4. Luca Vanni’s run was halted by compatriot Simone Bolelli, who came from a set down to claim victory.
Thursday, we will see if Kyrgios can back up his win over Federer as he faces John Isner. Rafael Nadal faces Simone Bolelli. There is an all-Spanish affair on Manolo Santana as David Ferrer goes up against Fernando Verdasco. There is plenty of action on Sanchez Vicario and Stadium 3, with Dimirov vs Wawrinka and Tsonga vs Berdych being feature matches.
On the women’s side it’s quarter final day. Caroline Wozniacki vs Maria Sharapova is the highlight of four matches. That match will start things up on Manolo Santana. That is followed by Carla Suarez Navarro vs Serena Williams. Elsewhere Petra Kvitova faces Irina Begu, and Svetlana Kuznetsova faces Lucie Safarova.
Tuesday’s proceedings on Manolo Santana began with a big hitting WTA affair between world number four Petra Kvitova and Coco Vandeweghe.
The intentions of both players were clear from the get go; hit harder than my opponent and overpower her. That precisely what happened, as big shot after big shot came off the racket of both players. The heavy hitting led to some fantastic shot-making and some wild errors, but perhaps shot of the set came by the way of finesse from the American. On the defence, Vandeweghe pulled off a drop shot winner that certainly caught Kvitova by surprise. As the set went on, Kvitova began to make in-roads on the big serve of The American. The break finally came at 5-4, after a Vandeweghe back-hand went long.
Kvitova looked in control heading into the second, but there is a reason why she is known as Three-Setova. Soon the match turned in Vandeweghe’s favour. Two breaks of serve were enough for the American as she stormed to a second set victory.
With the score now level, the match was nicely poised heading into the third. With their style of play, peaks and blips were to be expected, so it was really down to who can peak at the right time. Using her experience in these occasions, it was Kvitova who made the move, breaking at 4-3 and serving the match out to complete a three set victory.
Gael Monfils is always a dark horse candidate for a deep run in these events, and he kicked off his tournament against a re-surging Viktor Troicki. The Serbian had served a suspension for doping last year, and was looking to rebuild his ranking to where it once was. The enigmatic Monfils always provides entertainment, so this was certainly one of the match-up’s to see.
Troicki came out of the blocks firing with some huge serves, but soon Monfils established his authority on the match. The Frenchman’s defence proved too tough to hit through for the Serb, who was left frustrated by the speed of his opponent. Monfils then brought the power to earn a second break of serve, with some huge winners off both wings. The set was sealed in under half an hour, 6-2 in favour of La Monf.
Clearly frustrated by his opponent, Troicki was slipping further, and it wasn’t long before Monfils went ahead in the second set. The early break in the second set signalled the end for Troicki, and left Monfils in cruise control. His emphatic victory was rounded off in style, as the Frenchman bageled his opponent.
Monfils def. Troicki 6-2,6-0
Tsonga vs Rosol (Photo: Niall Clarke)
Jo Wilfried Tsonga vs Lukas Rosol
After an injury to Donald Young forced his match against Grigor Dimitrov to be cut short, Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Lukas Rosol took to court earlier than expected.
As you would expect between two big servers and heavy hitters the points were mainly kept short and sweet. Neither player could make any real impression on the other’s serve until late in the first set. Tsonga’s return was getting better and it allowed him to break for the first set 7-5. The Frenchman’s momentum continued into the second set, where he broke early to give himself a commanding lead. From there Tsonga remained unschathed as he held on to his break advantage and secured victory.
Tsonga def. Rosol 7-5,6-3
Before the night session began, there were also victories for Maria Sharapova, Fernando Verdasco, and Jack Sock on Manolo Santana. Sharapova made easy work of Mariana Duque-Marino 6-1,6-2, whilst Verdasco came from a set down to topple compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The Spanish fortune soon when Jack Sock defeated Pablo Andujar in straight sets, 6-4,7-5. The American had to hold off a comeback from the Spaniard in the final set, before completing his victory. Sock led 5-2, and had three match points before finally sealing it.
On Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, play opened up with Victoria Azarenka battling Alija Tomljanovic for a second round match against Serena Williams. Despite the potential threat from Tomljanovic, Azarenka didn’t have too much trouble dispatching the Croatian 6-3,6-3. A injury hampered Donald Young didn’t pose a threat to Grigor Dimitrov. The American pulled out midway through the second set with a back injury that had been troubling him the whole match. Dimitrov advances, 6-4, 3-0 ret. There were also straight sets wins for Milos Raonic, Roberto Bautista Agut and Richard Gasquet.
The stadium 3 crowd were treated to a triple threat of WTA action. Firstly, Barbora Strycova routinely defeated Varara Lepchenko in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. After Monfils demolished Troicki, an in form Karolina Pliskova saw her momentum haulted by Caroline Garcia. The Frenchwoman was able to break the big serve of Pliskova four times en route to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 victory.
Ana Ivanovic claimed her biggest win of the season with a straight sets victory over Elina Svitolina. The world number 7 announced post match that she had split with her coach Dejan Petrovic less than a year since their partnership began.
“On the weekend we decided to stop.” Said the 27 year old. “We had little bit different views on my game. I felt that was what made the big difference today, as I made some adjustments to my game and I felt today on court it was my real game.”
“It’s always tough, but sometimes you have to make the tough decisions.” Ivanovic added.
The Serb has no immediate plans to hire a coach, and will continue working with her sparring partner for the meantime.
“I still got my sparring partner with me. For this to happen during a tournament is not ideal, but I am going to stick with my sparring partner for the moment and try to work with the experience I have.”
To round off the singles on Stadium three, Phillip Kohlschreiber dispatched qualifier Alejandro Falla in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.
In other action from around the courts, Martin Klizan withdrew from his match against Marcel Granollers with a wrist injury after being down 5-2 in the opening set. There were wins for Leo Mayer, Nick Kyrgios, Albert Ramos, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova too.
Wawrinka (Photo: Niall Clarke)
Stan Wawrinka vs Joao Sousa
The final offering of the day came on Manolo Santana as Stan Wawrinka looked to replicate his 2013 form here against Lucky Loser Joao Sousa. Both players weren’t in the best of form heading in, but to Sousa it didn’t matter.
The Portuguese broke immediately, with errors spaying off the racket of Wawrinka. The set stayed with serve until it came to crunch time for Sousa. Unfortunately for the world number 52, he couldn’t hold his nerve at the crucial moment, and his chance to seal the set went by. The set ended with a dominating tiebreak from Wawrinka. The Swiss star’s form was picking up at this point, much to the frustration of Sousa.
At the start of the second set, both players complained to the chair umpire about the lighting, but in the end it would be lights out of Joao Sousa. Wawrinka failed to break earlier in the set, but at 5-5 he didn’t make the same mistake. Stan soon found himself with two match points, only he failed to convert them. After saving break point, the world number nine sealed the victory on the third attempt. You know what they say… Third time’s a charm.
Wawrinka def. Sousa 7-6,7-5.
So that wraps up another day in Madrid. The ATP’s big guns kick off their tournament’s tomorrow, with Federer, Nadal, Murray and Nishikori taking to court.
The day’s proceedings opened up with what promised to be a close encounter between Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and Spain’s own Garbine Muguruza.
Muguruza came through her opening round match without much trouble, breezing past Maria Theresa Torro-Flor 6-1, 6-1. Kuznetsova knocked off number eight seed Ekaterina Makarova in her opener, so she was full of confidence herself.
It was interesting to see how Muguruza would deal with the pressure of playing in front of a home crowd for the first time since she announced that she will be representing Spain, and not Venezuela.
The Spaniard did not start well, spraying a lot of errors. Kuznetsova’s more consistent brand of tennis was paying off against the power of Muguruza. The 20 year old showed why she is considered one of the WTA’s brightest prospects on occasion, but it was clear that she was not on her A-game. Despite some resistance, Kuznetsova wrapped up the first set 6-3, and looked in control.
The Russian’s momentum carried in to the second set when she broke early, putting Muguruza in trouble. But as the seats in the Manolo Santana court filled, the crowd’s involvement in the match grew. Rallying behind their girl, the home support lifted Muguruza and with that the level of the Spaniard began to rise. Less unforced errors, and more winners came off the racket of the world number 20 and she broke back at 3-4 much to the delight of the Madrid crowd. The rise of Muguruza, put Kuznetsova under pressure and uncharacteristic errors started the spew from the Russian. The match quickly escalated into a mental battle towards the back end of the second set, and it was Muguruza who rose to the occasion. At 6-5, some good play from the Spaniard include some blistering returns set up set point, which she took the first time of asking.
With the match level, the result was finally balanced heading into the third set. The Madrid crowd were lifted by the rise of their home player, but their spirits were soon deflated. Kuznetsova began to show more of the tennis that we saw in the opening set, whilst Muguruza seemed to have gone back into error-mode. Kuznetsova led throughout the set, but the Spaniard never stopped fighting. Again Muguruza broke at 4-4, but the end result of this set would be a lot different. At 5-5, a poor game by Muguruza was summed up with a double fault on break point. Serving for the match, Kuznetsova only needed one match point to finish it off as Muguruza hit a return into the net.
In the end, Kuznetsova deserved the victory as she was the more solid of the two. Muguruza showed what she is capable of, but overall was too error prone which ultimately led to her downfall against the more consistent Kuznetsova.
“Well it’s not been a really good match” Muguruza said post match. “Both of us didn’t play really good tennis.”
“But I had my opportunities and I didn’t go for them. It’s Kuznetsova. She’s a good player.”
Next on Manolo Santana was world number five Caroline Wozniacki taking on Cristina McHale of the USA.
It was the American that got out of the blocks the quickest, breaking to love in the opening game. The lead didn’t last long though, as Wozniacki broke back at 2-1 to level the score. It was in vein however, as McHale quickly re-established her lead the next game. The American’s serve would come under scrutiny at 4-3, where she valiantly saved five break points. The plucky Wozniacki was game as always, and on the sixth attempt, the Dane eventually broke back to make it 4-4. It was from this point that Wozniacki began to take control. The world number fives movement was spectacular as always, and the over-turn was soon completed as she wrapped up the first set 7-5.
From then on it was one way traffic, as McHale’s confidence from the first half of the opening set had evaporated. Wozniacki’s defence continued to be excellent, and she wasn’t without her winners too. In the end, what looked like a close match ended up being the exact opposite. A bagel finished the job for Wozniacki, who gets off to a good start in her Madrid campaign.
Wozniacki def. McHale 7-5,6-0
Strebotnik/Garcia vs Shvedova/Dellacqua
I left the Manolo Santana court to check out what was happening on the outside courts. One name caught my eye, and that was Yaroslava Shvedova. I have followed her career, and always thought she was very talented and big underachiever. I decided to see that talent in person, as this may be my only chance to see her in Madrid.
I joined the action as Shvedova and Dellacqua took the opening set 7-5. At the start of the second, it was Garcia/Strebotnik who came out brightest, holding to love then breaking the following game. However, Shvedova and Dellacqua soon re-focused and broke back to love the following game. There were some absorbing rallies and excellent shot-making from all four players, particularly Shvedova, whose net play was on point for the duration. That play was rewarded with a break at 2-2, and the pair held on to take the match in straight sets 7-5, 6-4.
It was nice to see Shvedova show off her talent in person, and on top of that she stayed and signed every autograph for kids, and took photos with her fans in attendance. That was good to see.
I arrived back on Manolo Santana for the conclusion of a fascinating battle between home crowd favourite Feliciano Lopez and Germany’s Benjamin Becker (No relation to Boris). The stadium was now a lot fuller, and the atmosphere was up a few notches as Becker levelled proceedings by taking the second set 6-3. Lopez had previously won the opening set 7-5.
Momentum was firmly with the German at this point, and much to the disappointment of the crowd, Becker broke early in the decider. The match stayed with serve until 4-3, but it didn’t pass without controversy. The Spaniard was given a point penalty for shouting profanities at his box, which as expected was met by jeers from the crowd. The moment, if anything seemed to spur the crowd on, as a chant of Feliciano rang around the stadium. With the crowd now more invested than ever, Lopez used that energy positively, and broke at 4-3 to level the score. The wheels soon began to come off Becker, and the German’s level sank lower and lower.
With momentum and the crowd firmly behind the Spaniard, Lopez broke to love at 5-4 to cap off his incredible come back.
Lopez spoke afterwards about the point deduction: “Well I think sincerely my behaviour was not the correct one for a tennis player. I think I committed errors. I said the big F many times. The first warning I didn’t realise he gave me a warning, and that’s why I was so surprised when he told me I had to go to the other side and I have a point penalty.”
Lopez def. Becker 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
Fognini Cincinnati (Photo: Dave Gertler)
Santiago Giraldo vs Fabio Fognini
As the sun disappeared into the clouds over La Caja Magica, it was time for the fourth match on Manolo Santana and another case of which Fognini will show up? Will we see the motivated Fabio, or the lackadaisical Italian?
From the get go, it became clear that Fognini was hungry for the victory. The first break of serve came at 2-2, and it was the Italian that got it. From then, it was looking like it would be all Fabio Fognini, as he was in the ascendency. A second break of serve took the set beyond the reach of Giraldo, and Fognini served it out for 6-2.
The second started in the same vein with Fognini breaking early, and securing a double break for 4-0. It was looking bleak for Giraldo, who at this point was looking like he’d be on the receiving end of a one sided beat down. Fortunately for the Colombian, his level raised and Fognini’s dropped, allowing Giraldo a way back into the match. The world number 49 recovered one break back and came close to levelling the score in the second set, but Fognini recovered from 0-40 down to keep his break advantage. Giraldo was under pressure at this point, and had to serve to stay in the match, but on the second match point, Fognini claimed victory.
An all-American clash finished my day at La Caja Magica. World number one Serena Williams faced Sloane Stephens, who had recently given Serena a tough match in Indian Wells.
Serena was a woman on a mission though, and soon raced into the lead. After 35 minutes, the first set was wrapped up 6-4 in favour of the world number one.
Stephens hit some good shots, but her play was not rewarded with Serena’s power being too much for the world number 38. Despite some clean winners off the racket of Stephens, she could even win another game as Serena’s supremacy was firmly asserted.
Williams def. Stephens 6-4,6-0
There were also wins for Agnieszka Radwanska, Lucie Safarova, Roberta Vinci and Sam Stosur in the women’.
Meanwhile in the men’s, the USTA had a good day with victories for Sam Querrey, John Isner and Steve Johnson. Luca Vanni upset Bernard Tomic, whilst there were also victories for Sousa and Bellucci.
2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 16 (Madrid) Staff, Tennis Atlantic
The second clay court Masters event (and fourth overall) of the 2015 ATP season has arrived, as our experts make their picks for the Mutua Madrid Open, which will be covered live, and on-site by Tennis Atlantic this week.
Madrid
2015 Mutua Madrid Open Predictions
Steen Kirby’s Picks
Round 2 Matches: Federer vs. Kyrgios, Bellucci vs. Isner, Tsonga vs. Sock, Gasquet vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Johnson, Tomic vs. Bolelli, Dimitrov vs. Giraldo, Janowicz vs. Wawrinka, Ferrer vs. Cuevas, Garcia-Lopez vs. Cilic, Bautista Agut vs. Kokkinakis, Goffin vs. Nishikori, Raonic vs. Monaco, Mayer vs. Lopez, Monfils vs. Klizan, Kohlschreiber vs. Murray Round of 16 Matches: Federer vs. Isner, Sock vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Bolelli, Dimitrov vs. Wawrinka, Ferrer vs. Garcia-Lopez, Bautista Agut vs. Nishikori, Monaco vs. Mayer, Klizan vs. Murray Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Dimitrov, Ferrer vs. Nishikori, Monaco vs. Klizan Semifinals: Federer vs. Nadal, Nishikori vs. Klizan Final: Federer vs. Nishikori Champion: Nishikori
Niall Clarke’s Picks
Round 2 Matches: Federer vs. Kyrgios, Chardy vs. Isner, Tsonga vs Andujar, Gasquet vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Johnson, Tomic vs. Anderson, Dimitrov vs. Giraldo, Sousa vs. Wawrinka, Ferrer vs. Ramos, Garcia-Lopez vs. Vesely, Bautista Agut vs. Kokkinakis, Goffin vs. Nishikori, Raonic vs. Almagro, Mayer vs. Lopez, Monfils vs. Klizan, Kohlschreiber vs. Murray Round of 16 Matches: Federer vs. Isner, Tsonga vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Anderson, Giraldo vs. Wawrinka, Ferrer vs. Garcia-Lopez, Bautista Agut vs. Nishikori, Raonic vs. Lopez, Monfils vs. Murray Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Tsonga, Nadal vs. Wawrinka, Ferrer vs. Nishikori, Raonic vs. Monfils Semifinals: Federer vs. Nadal, Nishikori vs. Monfils Final: Nadal vs. Nishikori Champion: Nishikori
Jeff McMillan’s Picks
Round 2 Matches: Federer vs. Gimeno-Traver, Bellucci vs. Isner, Tsonga vs. Sock, Gasquet vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Johnson, Tomic vs. Bolelli, Dimitrov vs. Giraldo, Janowicz vs. Wawrinka, Ferrer vs. Cuevas, Verdasco vs. Cilic, Bautista Agut vs. Querrey, Goffin vs. Nishikori, Raonic vs. Monaco, Mayer vs. Lopez, Monfils vs. Klizan, Kohlschreiber vs. Murray Round of 16 Matches: Federer vs. Isnr, Tsonga vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Bolelli, Dimitrov vs. Wawrinka, Ferrer vs. Verdasco, Bautista Agut vs. Nishikori, Monaco vs. Lopez, Monfils vs. Murray Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Dimitrov, Ferrer vs. Nishikori, Monaco vs. Murray Semifinals: Berdych vs. Nadal, Nishikori vs. Murray Final: Berdych vs. Nisihkori Champion: Nisihkori
Joe Craven’s Picks
Round 2 Matches: Federer vs. Kyrgios, Chardy vs. Isner, Tsonga vs. Andujar, Gasquet vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Johnson, Tomic vs. Bolelli, Dimitrov vs. Giraldo, Janowicz vs. Wawrinka, Ferrer vs. Ramos-Vinolas, Verdasco vs. Cilic, Bautista Agut vs. Querrey, Gulbis vs. Nishikori, Raonic vs. Almagro, Mayer vs. Lopez, Monfils vs. Klizan, Kohlschreiber vs. Murray Round of 16 Matches: Federer vs. Chardy, Tsonga vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Bolelli, Dimitrov vs. Wawrinka, Ferrer vs. Verdasco, Bautista Agut vs. Nishikori, Raonic vs. Mayer, Monfils vs. Murray Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Dimitrov, Ferrer vs. Nishikori, Raonic vs. Monfils Semifinals: Berdych vs. Nadal, Nishikori vs. Monfils Final: Nadal vs. Nishikori Champion: Nadal
Chris de Waard’s Picks
Round 2 Matches: Federer vs. Kyrgios, Chardy vs. Mannarino, Tsonga vs. Andujar, Gasquet vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Johnson, Tomic vs. Bolelli, Dimitrov vs. Fognini, Janowicz vs. Wawrinka, Ferrer vs. Cuevas, Garcia-Lopez vs. Cilic, Bautista Agut vs. Querrey, Goffin vs. Nishikori, Raonic vs. Almagro, Mayer vs. Lopez, Monfils vs. Klizan, Kohlschreiber vs. Murray Round of 16 Matches: Kyrgios vs. Mannarino, Andujar vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Bolelli, Dimitrov vs. Janowicz, Ferrer vs. Garcia-Lopez, Bautista Agut vs. Nishikori, Raonic vs. Lopez, Monfils vs. Murray Quarterfinals: Kyrgios vs. Berdych, Nadal vs. Dimitrov, Ferrer vs. Nishikori, Raonic vs. Monfils Semifinals: Berdych vs. Nadal, Nishikori vs. Monfils Final: Nadal vs. Nishikori Champion: Nishikori
Nishikori and Nadal are clearly the names to watch, while Federer and Murray are predicted by many to crash out, likewise with Wawrinka, and no one believes in Berdych.
The ATP quality player heavy Mutua Madrid Open qualifying concluded Sunday with five seeded players, and two unseeded players filling out the qualifying spots, while a lucky loser was also placed in the draw, due to Tommy Robredo pulling out of the tournament with an injury.
Aussie young gun Thanasi Kokkinakis improved to a remarkable 13-0 in qualifying at the ATP level this year as he scored big wins over Matteo Viola and Janko Tipsarevic to qualify. Tipsarevic has been improving his results since returning from injury, and he’s had success in Madrid before, but Kokkinakis was clutch and won a third set tiebeak 7-4 to advance in three sets, after dropping the second set.
Daniel Gimeno-Traver continued his tremendous run of form over the past few weeks on clay, the 29 year old Spanish grinder, who reached the final in Casablanca, the semis in Bucharest, and the quarters in Istanbul, will now have a chance to improve his results at the Masters level. He rolled over Javier Marti and Marsel Ilhan, as neither were a challenge compared to Roger Federer, who he took a set against in Istanbul.
Alejandro Gonzalez of Colombia was 1-4 in his last five matches on clay going into the Madrid qualifying, but he scored a pair of quality wins, as he defeated Kenny De Schepper in 3 sets, and then upset Joao Sousa in 3 sets as well. Sousa would later be placed in the draw as a lucky loser though, so his day wasn’t entirely ruined. Gonzalez has struggled this season, but perhaps this run in qualifying can be the spark he needs to carry him into the summer.
Albert Ramos will be another Spanish player in the main draw of Madrid, the 27 year old lefty with his spinning shots beat Ivan Dodig via 3rd set retirement and then rolled over Ricardas Berankis to qualify. He’s actually struggled on clay this year, but historically it’s been his best surface, and he’s looking to make some noise in the main draw. Right now he’s been very unpredictable.
Thomaz Bellucci, is another left handed qualifier, the Brazilian beat Michael Berrer, and then Federico Delbonis (in a nailbiting third set tiebreak), to qualify, he comes off the quarterfinals in Istanbul and he’s a threat on clay as well.
The unseeded qualifiers were Alejandro Falla, a Colombian veteran (and lefty), and Luca Vanni, an Italian veteran having his career best year in pro tennis. Falla, who has been poor on ATP main draw clay over the past three seasons (4-13 since 2012), will have a chance to improve that record. He upset Sergiy Stakhovsky, and then beat Roberto Carballes Baena, a Spaniard, to qualify. Vanni, who had a miracle run to the Sao Paulo final as a qualifier not that long ago, beat Carlos Berlocq and then Nicolas Mahut in three sets to snap a four match losing streak and place himself in his first ever Masters 1000 main draw.
Gimeno-Traver has been drawn against Nick Kyrgios in a highly anticipated round 1 clash of in-form warriors, Bellucci has been given a winnable match against Jeremy Chardy in round 1, Gonzalez will face American Steve Johnson, Vanni will do battle with non-clay courter Bernard Tomic, Falla will face a fatigued Philipp Kohlschreiber, Kokkinakis will have a great chance to beat Sam Querrey, Ramos will face Istanbul finalist Pablo Cuevas, a possibly fatigued opponent, and Sousa will face Jerzy Janowicz as the lucky loser.
2015 ATP Madrid Preview, Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Tennis Atlantic’s Niall Clarke, and Adam Addicott will both be in Madrid this week as credentialed members of the press, and they will be providing us with fantastic onsite coverage of the second clay court Masters event of the season, this one of course at the Magic Box in Madrid. As an appetizer for that, here is a preview, and some predictions for the men’s draw.
2015 ATP Madrid Open Preview
Mutua Madrid Open ATP World Tour Masters 1000* Madrid, Spain May 3-May 10, 2015 Prize Money: €4,185,405
*denotes joint ATP/WTA event
Top 8 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Roger Federer (2)
2: Andy Murray (3)
3: Rafael Nadal (4)
4: Kei Nishikori (5)
5: Milos Raonic (6)
6: Tomas Berdych (7)
7: David Ferrer (8)
8: Stan Wawrinka (9)
Novak Djokovic is the notable absence here, as the world number 1 cited fatigue in skipping Madrid, and he’s never liked playing at the venue anyway. In addition, Gilles Simon, Tommy Robredo and Andreas Seppi are the only other notables missing from the draw.
First round matchups to watch:
Nick Kyrgios vs. (Q)Daniel Gimeno-Traver
Both players are in great form going into this match, Kyrgios raced to the Estoril final in a surprise, though he lost rather routinely to Richard Gasquet, and DGT was a finalist in Casablanca, a semifinalist in Bucharest, and most recently a quarterfinalist in Istanbul before qualifying for Madrid with a pair of routine wins. They have never met before, and DGT has more experience on clay, while Kyrgios has more talent, and both should be about equally fatigued. I have Kyrgios winning, but it should be close, and it’s an interesting match.
Sock and Andujar have a split hard court h2h, while Andujar won a round in Munich, only to retire in his next match (previous to that the Spaniard reached the 500 series final in Barcelona on home soil with a shock run). Sock is playing his first tournament since taking the title on har-tru clay in Houston. The outcome of this match likely hinges on Andujar’s health, but it still presents a good opportunity for Sock to beat a solid clay court opponent, who is in some level of good form. If Andujar is healthy, he’s the favorite given his experience on the surface, but Sock has plenty of potential and he could well get this win, as it’s always notable when an American can win a match on European clay.
Fabio Fognini vs. Santiago Giraldo
This time last year, Giraldo was on-fire but he’s struggling now, and he will face off with the unpredictable Fognini who crashed out in the quarterfinals of Munich last week. Giraldo beat Fognini in Sao Paulo this year, and that evened their clay court h2h 3-3. Giraldo likewise won a round in Istanbul and then lost in an upset, and over their past two tournaments Giraldo is 2-2 and Fognini is 3-2, thus everything on paper makes this seem like an open match. It’s a hard prediction to make, but when Fognini isn’t facing Nadal (who he has beaten twice this year), I don’t trust him, and thus I have Giraldo winning.
Fernando Verdasco vs. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez
Verdasco is 3-0 at the ATP level on clay against GGL, but he’s lost two straight matches on clay, while GGL won Bucharest, and then comes off a semifinal result in Estoril. Over the past two weeks, Garcia-Lopez has beaten notable names Gael Monfils, Kevin Anderson and Borna Coric, however he may be fatigued from playing so many matches. Both are home players so they should feel comfortable with the home cooking in Madrid, and it’s hard to predict, but you have to go with Garcia-Lopez’s form at the moment and I have him advancing in the battle of talented shotmakers.
(9)Marin Cilic vs. Jiri Vesely
The Croat Cilic has never faced the Czech Vesely, and it’s an interesting matchup, as both are lanky hitters with a good amount of power but questionable movement. Cilic reached the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo with a pair of wins, but cooled off and was upset in Barcelona, while Vesely has been in good form on clay, reaching the final in Bucharest, and also a semi in Casablanca already this clay court season. He hasn’t beaten any top names on the surface this year, and he struggled in Munich, but I’d still give him an outside shot to upset Cilic if the Croat continues to be rusty coming off of injury. Cilic is the favorite, but watch out for Jiri here.
Juan Monaco vs. (WC)Nicolas Almagro
Monaco beat Almagro in a high quality contest in Buenos Aires this year, but he’s just 2-5 overall on ATP clay against the Spaniard, who will be playing on home soil of course. Monaco is 2-2 on European clay in his past four matches, while Almagro reached the quarters in both Casablanca and Estoril. Almagro has not been quite up to par with his former self, but neither has Monaco, as both were formerly reliable top 20 players who maximized their games, now with their current versions it’s a 50/50 matchup, and I’m going with Monaco as I felt Almagro did not play that well in Estoril.
Top Half:
3 time Madrid champion Roger Federer, who won the Istanbul title, will open with either Kyrgios or DGT and NK could catch Federer on the downswing and pull off a huge upset, though he may be too fatigued from Estoril. Federer has struggled in Istanbul, dropping a pair of sets to much lower ranked players, and those are worrying signs for the Swiss champion. That said, given this is clay, I don’t have the confidence to pick Kyrgios, and he could even lose to DGT as mentioned. Federer beat DGT in three sets in Istanbul.
Look for Federer/Kyrgios to advance to the quarters over John Isner most likely, as the American has a weak draw of Adrian Mannarino, and a qualifier Thomaz Bellucci/Jeremy Chardy. Chardy is struggling, and the qualifier Bellucci may have a shot here as well. Isner is actually 0-2 against Chardy, and they have never met on clay. Isner won a pair of matches in Monte Carlo to reach that same R16 stage though. Bellucci has beaten Isner before on clay, and he comes off quarterfinals in Istanbul.
Tomas Berdych has been on fire this year, the Monte Carlo finalist (most recently), is most likely to face Richard Gasquet, who he is just 1-2 against on clay in his opening match. Gasquet is a current finalist in Estoril, and he’s playing well, though his back has been giving him problems. Presuming he stays in the draw, Gasquet will need to defeat non-clay courter Ivo Karlovic to reach the second round. Given how well he’s played all season, Berdych should be safe to reach round 3, where he will face either Andujar/Sock or Lukas Rosol/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The Munich and Bucharest quarterfinalist Rosol has played decently well as of late, while Tsonga has lost two straight. He still should win the mathc against Rosol as he beat him last year on clay, and I’ve picked him to do so, before falling to Sock in an upset, as I feel Sock is playing well enough right now to pull off a pair of upsets, before falling to Berdych in round 3. No matter, a Federer vs. Berdych quarterfinal is the most likely outcome of this interesting section of the draw.
Four time and defending champion Rafael Nadal has been struggling this season, but he still should be safe against Steve Johnson/qualifier Alejandro Gonzalez in his opening match. In the third round, his opponent is uncertain, the seed Kevin Anderson lost early in Estoril and is not a clay court player, later falling to Simone Bolelli in Sunday action. Bolelli is an unpredictable player who is decently good on clay (a quarterfinalist in Bucharest) just below Anderson in the draw. Also here is Bernard Tomic who has lost two straight on clay, but has the talent to excel in theory. I look for Tomic to beat a qualifier, and then Bolelli to beat him. Nadal should then beat Bolelli, as he has done four times previously.
8 seed Stan Wawrinka, a former finalist here, is struggling mightily and appears dazed and confused on tour right now, still Jerzy Janowicz is the type of opponent he’d like to start with, as he’s a high risk power player, not a reliably smooth ball striker, and thus should spew enough errors to give Wawrinka a chance to get his footing in the match. Janowicz will need to defeat lucky loser Joao Sousa and end a two match losing streak on clay to get the Wawrinka matchup. Wawrinka is just 3-4 since winning Rotterdam, but he’s beaten JJ on clay before and more likely I see Wawrinka going out to either Grigor Dimitrov, who beat him in Monte Carlo, or the Fognini/Giraldo winner in round 3.
Dimitrov is an interesting case, he will open with Donald Young, who is poor on clay, and he should be favored against either Fognini or Giraldo. He beat Fogna in Monte Carlo, and he’s simply better than Giraldo, that said, he lost in the semis of Istanbul in an upset, and was poor in that match, so his form is a question mark. That said, given the h2h, Dimitrov should be motivated at the Masters level to also beat Wawrinka and setup a quarterfinal against Nadal.
Andy Murray, in the hunt for his first ever clay court title in Munich still, where he is a finalist, could very well face his opponent in that Munich final, Philipp Kohlschreiber in a rematch, presuming Kohli stays in th draw coming off a busy week of long matches in Munich, and beats qualifier Alejandro Falla In that rematch, I have Murray winning, given fitness, and the fact I have him winning in Munich too. Murray could be posed with trouble in the third round as Gael Monfils lurks. Monfils pulled out of Munich, citing a knee injury, but he’s been playing well when healthy and will open with the struggling Viktor Troicki before facing Martin Klizan or Marcel Granollers. Klizan is also in good form, as the Slovak reached the semis in Barcelona, and won Casablanca (Monfils reached the semis in both Monte Carlo and Bucharest). With both players coming off a break, I’m favoring Klizan to advance, but that match could very well go either way with such unpredictable players, and I’d favor Klizan or Monfils over Murray in round 3. Murray is 2-1 on clay against Monfils but they have always battled on the surface, and Murray played a lot of tennis in Munich. Klizan and Murray have never played, but I favor the clay court form of the big hitter. Klizan is the quarterfinalist in my draw.
5 seed Milos Raonic will have a tough match right away and is in danger of exiting the tournament at the hands of the Almagro/Monaco winner. Monaco has beaten Raonic on clay (and is 2-0 in the overall h2h), while Raonic has beaten Almagro on clay, and is 2-0 against him. Raonic reached the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo before retiring in that match, and he’s deceptively a quality player on clay, that said, the retirement is a question mark, and I’m going with an upset with Monaco reaching the third round over Raonic. Raonic/Monaco/Almagro would all have the edge to reach the quarters, the seed Feliciano Lopez is struggling mightily on clay, as he’s suffered early exits as of late, though his first round opponent Benjamin Becker is not a clay courter either. Leo Mayer could be the round 2 opponent of Lopez/Becker, but he’s been pedestrian this season, and has lost two straight on clay after a great run on the surface last year. Gilles Muller reached the quarters of Estoril, winning two matches on clay for the time in multiple seasons, and Muller/Mayer is a harder match to pick than one would think. Still I have Mayer reaching the third round in a very weak section, and then falling to his countryman Monaco.
Defending finalist Kei Nishikori will face David Goffin or Ernests Gulbis in his opening match. Gulbis has lost four straight matches and has been in free fall this season, while Goffin reached the quarters in Munich but has been pedestrian as well as of late. Nishikori, the Barcelona champion, should frankly demolish either player (most likely Goffin), and he dismantled Goffin in Miami 6-1 6-2 not too long ago. Nishikori will also be a strong favorite over most likely Roberto Bautista Agut in round 3. RBA has a weak draw of Marius Copil, a wild card, and Sam Querrey/qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis. Nishikori won a 3 setter against RBA in Barcelona and RBA comes off the semis in Munich. Nishikori, the more complete player, is likely to face David Ferrer in the quarters.
Ferrer, who has only reached the semis in Madrid (twice), opens with either qualifier Albert Ramos or current Istanbul finalist Pablo Cuevas, Cuevas is in great form but could be tired, while Ramos has been unpredictable. Ferrer is 2-0 against Cuevas and he was a semifinalist in Madrid, after previously reaching the quarters in Monte Carlo. Ferrer could have a tougher matchup against either Verdasco/Garcia-Lopez or Cilic/Vesely, in round 3. GGL, presuming he beat Verdasco, just beat Vesely in Bucharest, and he’s 1-1 against Cilic. Given current form, I’m going with Garcia-Lopez into the third round before falling to Ferrer, who has beaten him three times previously on clay.
Dark Horses: Nick Kyrgios, Fabio Fognini, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Martin Klizan
Jack Sock should do well in the top half, but Kyrgios has the most upside potential, if he does play his best, he could shock Federer, and run all the way to at least the quarterfinals, on the heels of his run to the final (and perhaps a title) in Estoril. Clay is not his best surface, but the Aussie young gun is on the rise, and there is little doubt he has top 10 ability, and will eventually get there, perhaps sooner rather than later, the Madrid draw gives him a chance to notch another remarkable result for his age.
Fognini is incredibly unpredictable, and likely loses in round 1 to Giraldo, but he still has great upside potential. If he catches fire, he could beat Giraldo, upset Dimitrov and then defeat likely Wawrinka to setup another rematch with Nadal, who he has beaten twice this year (most recently in Barcelona). It’s not likely any of that happens, but he has the clay court ability if he can keep his head on straight and put in the effort to get it done.
Garcia-Lopez may be fatigued but he’s been in great form on clay as of late, and if he beats Verdasco and Cilic/Vesely, he could also upset Ferrer and reach the quarters, on home soil, anything is possible if he finds his inspiration and is fit enough to get it done.
Klizan will have tough tests in Monfils, and likely Murray in order, but if he gets past that murderers row, the draw opens up with a winnable quarterfinal against Monaco/Almagro/Raonic waiting in the wings, and a chance to reach his first ever Masters semifinal. He could even reach the final, though Nishikori/Ferrer/other would of course be the favorite.
Quarters:
Federer d. Berdych
Nadal d. Dimitrov
Klizan d. Monaco
Nishikori d. Ferrer
Federer has never lost to Berdych on clay, thus even though he’s playing so well this season, I don’t feel like he’ll get over the hump. Nadal is 5-0 against Dimitrov, so again I feel like he gets lucky and reaches the semis, Klizan just beat Monaco in sets in Barcelona, and Nishikori beat Ferrer in their only meeting on clay here in Madrid last year.
Semis:
Federer d. Nadal
Nishikori d. Klizan
Nadal should have the edge, but I feel Federer is an actual superior player right now, and he’ll expose and take advantage of a weak Nadal, Nishikori should beat Klizan again or any other player to each the final.
Final:
Nishikori d. Federer
Nishikori won the only clay court h2h meeting against Federer, and I feel no matter who his opponent it is, be it Federer, Nadal, Berdych or another player, that he will win this title. He was solid in Barcelona, and he would have won last year if he hadn’t injured himself. Clearly it’s a venue he enjoys and he’s rising overall, so a maiden Masters 100 title would be well deserved.
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