Madrid Open Wednesday Preview: The Men’s and Women’s Match of the Day - UBITENNIS

Madrid Open Wednesday Preview: The Men’s and Women’s Match of the Day

The King of clay will get his campaign at the Caja Magica underway on Wednesday.

By Matthew Marolf
4 Min Read

It’s a loaded schedule on Wednesday in Madrid.  Every remaining woman in the singles draw will take to the court, as all third round matches are played and the quarterfinals will be solidified.  On the men’s side, twelve of the sixteen second round encounters will be decided. With so many matches on the docket, here’s a preview of what appear to be the most intriguing of the day in each singles draw.

Rafael Nadal vs. Gael Monfils

This will be Nadal’s opening round match in his home country’s biggest tournament of the year.  He arrives while on one of the best clay court streaks of his illustrious career. Rafa has won 19 straight clay court matches, and 46 straight sets, dating back to 51 weeks ago in Rome.  Who will be the first man to at least take a set away from the greatest clay court player of all-time? At first glance, Monfils does not appear to be a leading candidate. He’s only defeated Nadal twice in their 15 career meetings.  However, Monfils has taken a set off Nadal in each of their last two meetings, including two years ago on clay in the Monte Carlo final. When Monfils is at his best and plays agressively, he has the type of game that can disrupt Nadal’s.  The problem is I’m not sure if Monfils is 100%. He retired from Indian Wells due to a back injury, and didn’t play again until last week in Munich, where he lost in the opening round. Even if Monfils were to wrestle a set away from Nadal, it seems highly unlikely he would get two.  Nadal will be a heavy favorite in what will hopefully be an entertaining match.

Karolina Pliskova vs. Sloane Stephens

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These are the winners of two recent big tournaments on the WTA tour: Miami and Stuttgart.  Are they also two of the top contenders for the French Open title? Pliskova is currently on a seven match winning streak on the clay, and is a defending Roland Garros semifinalist.  Stephens went on an eight match losing streak following her US Open triumph, but rebounded to beat three top ten seeds on her way to the Miami title. Can Sloane find similar success outside the US?  There’s no good reason why not, as she can play on the clay. She’s a career 14-6 at the French Open. Stephens easily won both of her previous matches against Pliskova, but they haven’t met in almost three years, and have never played on clay.  Given her current win streak, as well as the faster conditions (due to the altitude in Madrid) favoring her style of play, I lean towards Pliskova here. That being said, this match should be a good contrast of styles, and could have considerable implications come a few weeks from now in Paris.

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