Upset potential as Madrid top seeds face tough opening matches
Today sees both the No.2 and No.3 seeds at Madrid take to the court for their opening encounters with both big names aware that they will face an uphill task to progress in this ATP Masters 1000 event
Defending Champion and world no.4 Alexander Zverev looks to get his season back on track with a brutal encounter against clay court specialist and Spanish favourite David Ferrer who is playing in his last tournament ever on the ATP Tour.
Ferrer has already overcome another Spanish player in Roberto Bautista Agut and he will smell blood in what will be his final outing on the ATP Tour. Ferrer will see this match with Zverev as a perfect match up as he will have nothing to lose, the crowd will be behind him and Zverev is in the middle of a slump in form.
Zverev will either see this match as his opportunity to get his season back on track with a hard fought win and plenty of court time, or he’ll be concerned that another early exit is on the cards and another failure to defend his ranking points from last season.
World No.2 Rafa Nadal takes a step into the unknown with his first ever match against Canadian wonder-kid Felix Auger Aliassime. Whilst Nadal is supremely confident on clay, his season has not gone to plan and he has yet to score a tournament win in 2019.
In contrast, the young Canadian is having a breakthrough year having risen to No.30 in the world after starting they year at No.108. A run to the semi finals of Miami and the final of Rio have given him incredible confidence and most commentators are predicting a long and illustrious career for this superb athlete.
Nadal on the other hand has been struggling, with talk of injuries and stomach upsets. He’s also distracted by political problems within the ATP Tour. He won’t want another early loss in this final tournament before he attempts to defend his Roland Garros mens singles trophy for a record 12th time.
A day of exciting matches await the fans in Madrid!
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Today’s schedule at the Madrid Open:
