RICKY DIMON REPORTS FROM MONACO, ROGER FEDERER BACK IN ACTION IN MONTE-CARLO, RAFA NADAL TO FACE DOM THIEM AT THE WORLD’S BEST BACKDROP OF A TENNIS STADIUM

Written by: Staff on 13th April 2016

RICKY DIMON REPORTS FROM MONACO, ROGER FEDERER BACK IN ACTION IN MONTE-CARLO, RAFA NADAL TO FACE DOM THIEM AT THE WORLD'S BEST BACKDROP OF A TENNIS STADIUM

epa05257005 Novak Djokovic (R) of Serbia returns the ball to Jiri Vesely (L) of Czech Republic during their second round match at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament in Roquebrune Cap Martin, France, 13 April 2016. EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER |

The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters draw has been surprisingly decimated heading into third-round action. David Ferrer withdrew prior to the start of the tournament, citing a calf injury. Tomas Berdych bowed out on Wednesday and even world No. 1 Novak Djokovic lost his opening match. The defending champion fell to Jiri Vesely in three sets in the second round.

Despite such carnage, Thursday’s schedule is still jam-packed with intrigue. Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and many others will be aiming for spots in the quarterfinals.

Ricky previews and makes his predictions for three of the best matchups:

(5) Rafael Nadal vs. (12) Dominic Thiem

Nadal and Thiem will be facing each other for the third time in their careers on Thursday. Thiem was overwhelmed in a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 loss at the 2014 French Open, but a much-improved Austrian fought off one match point before scoring a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) upset earlier this season in Buenos Aires. That is one of 26 wins for Thiem this season, good for second most on the ATP Tour behind Djokovic. The world No. 14 has advanced this week with three-set defeats of Jan-Lennard Struff and Taro Daniel.

Rafael Nadal of Spain serves the ball to Alijaz Bedene of Great Britain during their second round match at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament in Roquebrune Cap Martin, France, 13 April 2016. EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER

Although Nadal has not been at his best of late, the Spaniard is still an eight-time champion in Monte-Carlo (not to mention a nine-time winner of the French Open, among many other clay-court accolades). Seeking his first triumph at this tournament since 2012, Nadal kicked off his week in style by rolling over Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday. Thiem has been less than 100 percent in Monte-Carlo because of a foot injury but was able to recover from a set deficit against both Struff and Daniel. Nadal, though, will be nowhere near as generous if the 22-year-old gets off to another slow start.

Pick: Nadal in 2

(3) Roger Federer vs. (14) Roberto Bautista Agut

Federer and Bautista Agut will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers on Thursday. Although the sample size remains small, this is presently one of tennis’ most lopsided “rivalries.” Federer is 4-0 lifetime at Bautista Agut’s expense and none of their previous encounters has been competitive. The 34-year-old Swiss coasted at the 2014 U.S. Open, the 2014 Shanghai Masters, Wimbledon in 2015, and the Cincinnati Masters last summer while churning out set scores of 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, and 6-4.

Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball to Guillermo Garcia Lopez of Spain during their second round match at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament in Roquebrune Cap Martin, France, 12 April 2016. EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER

Based on what has taken place so far this week, more of the same could be in the offing. Federer had not played since the Australian Open due to both minor knee surgery and illness, but he showed no real signs of rust in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Tuesday. Bautista Agut beat fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 7-6(4) before outlasting Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 in two hours and 54 minutes. The 14th seed is an outstanding 20-6 for the year, but he has cooled off considerably since winning two titles in the first five weeks. He is also 0-19 in his last 19 matches against top-10 opponents other than Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Pick: Federer in 2

(15) Gilles Simon vs. (4) Stan Wawrinka

Wawrinka and Simon will be colliding for the sixth time in their careers on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at 3-2 in favor of the Swiss, who has won both of their previous clay-court contests. He got the job done 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2 at Roland Garros in 2012 before winning in much more routine 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 fashion at the same event last spring. Simon is 2-1 against Wawrinka on hard courts after most recently prevailing 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 at the 2014 Shanghai Masters.

Wawrinka, the 2014 Monte-Carlo champion, struggled in Indian Wells and Miami but is now back on what has to be considered his favorite surface. The world No. 4 showed signs of a slight back issue against Philipp Kohlschreiber on Wednesday but otherwise looked good in a 7-6(2), 7-5 victory. Simon has enjoyed an extremely routine start, having dismissed Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4 and Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3. The Frenchman is still a mediocre 11-7 for the year. As long as Wawrinka is 100 percent, he is likely to give Simon another free lesson on clay.

Pick: Wawrinka in 3

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

Topics: 10sballs.com, ATP Monte Carlo, Dominic Thiem, Gilles Simon, Men's tennis, Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roberto Bautista Agut, Roger Federer, Sports, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News

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gaironesha2 says:

April 13, 2016 at 2:51 pm

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