We take a look at the selected round of 32 fixtures from the ATP Tour’s Mutua Madrid Open taking place at Caja Magica (Outdoor Clay) on the 8th of May 2019.
2019 ATP Tour | Masters 1000 Series
Mutua Madrid Open | Caja Magica (Outdoor Clay)
Selected Round of 32 Matches | 8 May 2019
Phillip Kohlschreiber (6/10)
vs Frances Tiafoe (13/10)
This promises to be your stereotypical baseline brawl, with two generations coming together for a potentially thrilling encounter. Frances Tiafoe represents the brash new wave of contemporary tennis talent. The big-serving American is actually of Sierra Leone stock originally and in 2018 became the youngest American since Andy Roddick to claim an ATP title: he won the Delray Beach title. He also showed off some encouraging all-court potential in 2018 by reaching the Estoril Open Final on clay. John Isner claimed that outside of Novak Djokovic, Tiafoe was the player who seemed to return his formidable serve the best. He just needs to find some consistency in his game. He started the year with that excellent quarter-final run in Melbourne. He also has a quarter-final at the stacked Miami event. But outside of those results, it has been more of a grind for the young American. He reached the quarters in Estoril last week and will be hoping to find some more clay-court magic this week.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have 35-year-old German veteran Phillip Kohlschreiber. The venerable German has managed to eke out every bit of talent from his fairly diminutive frame. The eight-time ATP winner actually owns six titles on clay. He has also lost in six finals on this surface, highlighting his capacity to outlast far younger opponents. He started the year in decent style, reaching the semi-finals in Auckland. A run to the final 16 of Indian Wells further underlined his evergreen status. He has already defeated World Number One Novak Djokovic, which actually preceded a three-set defeat to the Serbian in that epic Monte Carlo Masters encounter. He reached the quarterfinals in Estoril and will not fear anyone as this event progresses.
This will actually be the first-ever meeting between these two. Kohlschreiber will need to whether the onslaught that is Frances Tiafoe’s huge serve. I think that if he is able to withstand the opening salvos of this match, the experienced German will have a chance of beating the Next Gen star.
Rafael Nadal (1/10)
vs Felix Aguer-Aliasseme (5/1)
If ever there was a time to take on clay-court maestro Rafael Nadal, this may well be it. The five-time Madrid champion is yet to register a tournament victory in 2019, recording back-to-back semi-final defeats at Barcelona and Monte Carlo. Furthermore, the Spanish matador was feeling under the weather to start the week, choosing to eschew the standard press junkets this week. Nadal is the king of clay-court tennis and will no doubt enter this game as a firm favourite. But his recent run of disappointment coupled with illness could spell danger for Nadal. Dominic Theim seemed to actually play him off the court in Barcelona. Furthermore, he is coming up against one of the hottest young prospects in men’s tennis: Felix Auger Aliasseme.
Young Canadian Felix Auger Aliasseme is riding the crest of a Canadian tennis wave. The likes of Bianca Andreescu and Denis Shapovalov have helped raise the profile of Canadian tennis this season. He actually beat fellow Canadian Shapovalov in the opening round here. The 2016 junior US Open champion has had a brilliant year, reaching the Rio Open final on clay. In the process, he became the youngest ever ATP 500 finalist. But certainly, the highlight of his season was his semi-final showing at the Miami Open. He also managed to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas- the likely natural successor to the current big three- at Indian Wells. He seems remarkably composed for a man of only 18 years.
It’s perhaps not too surprising that these two have never met. Nadal is clearly the huge favourite and will more than likely sweep the hopeful usurper aside. But there’s enough in here to suggest that there is a possibility for a real upset here, especially with Nadal at an expected 1/10.
