FEDERER, NADAL ON SAME SIDE OF DRAW AT MADRID MASTERS BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 1st May 2015

FEDERER, NADAL ON SAME SIDE OF DRAW AT MADRID MASTERS BY RICKY DIMON

epa04728110 Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal in action during a training session for the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica pavilion, in Madrid, Spain, 01 May 2015. The Mutua Madrid Open runs from 01 to 10 May 2015. EPA/Chema Moya |

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could face each other in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open after they landed in the same half of the draw on Friday afternoon.

Federer, ranked No. 2 in the world, snagged the top seed by virtue of Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal. Djokovic, who has won all three Masters 1000 events this season in Indian Wells, Miami, and Monte-Carlo, pulled out citing a need for additional rest. He plans to return at the BNL Internazionali d’Italia in Rome the following week.

Still struggling behind Andy Murray at No. 4 in the rankings, Nadal was at the mercy of the draw as Madrid’s third seed. He ended up in a second section that also includes Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov, and Kevin Anderson. The Spaniard awaits either Steve Johnson or a qualifier in his opening match before possibly running into either Anderson, Bernard Tomic, or Simone Bolelli the last 16. Possible quarterfinal opponents for Nadal include Wawrinka, Dimitrov, and recent nemesis Fabio Fognini (yes, Fognini is actually someone’s nemesis right now).

Roger Federer of Switzerland serves the ball to Jarkko Nieminen of Finland during the first round match of the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open tennis Tournament in Istanbul, Turkey 29 April 2015. EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU

Should the former world No. 1 advance, a date with Federer could be in the cards for next Saturday. The 33-year-old Swiss, however, may have to make a quick recovery because is still alive at the current Istanbul Open (semifinals vs. Diego Schwartzman). Federer’s Madrid opener will come against either Nick Kyrgios or a qualifier. Other participants in the top quarter are Tomas Berdych, John Isner, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Jack Sock.

On the lower side, familiar foes Kei Nishikori and David Ferrer are on a collision course for the quarterfinals. Nishikori will kick off his campaign against David Goffin or Ernests Gulbis (that means Goffin) before potentially meeting Roberto Bautista Agut. Possible opponents for Ferrer prior to the last eight are Tommy Robredo, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and Fernando Verdasco.

At the very bottom of the bracket, Andy Murray is likely to begin his week against Philipp Kohlschreiber. Both men are currently part of the rain-delayed Munich event, which will try to resume quarterfinal action on Saturday. Murray and Kohlschreiber could go head-to-head in the Munich final, as well. Milos Raonic Feliciano Lopez, and Gael Monfils are also in the Murray-Kohlschreiber quarter.

Among the first-round matches to watch in Madrid are Tsonga vs. Lukas Rosol, Dimitrov vs. Donald Young, Verdasco vs. Garcia-Lopez, and Juan Monaco vs. Nicolas Almagro.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp, Mutua Madrid Open, Rafael Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

May 1, 2015 at 12:31 pm

-@rogerfederer, @RafaelNadal ON SAME SIDE OF DRAW AT @MutuaMadridOpen BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/6S37Q4FHyP #nadal #federer #MutuaMadridOpen