NOVAK DJOKOVIC JOINS RAFA RAFAEL NADAL IN MADRID MUTUA MASTERS OPEN TENNIS THIRD ROUND & NICK KYRGIOS TAKES OUT STAN WAWRINKA – PLUS PICKS BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 4th May 2016

NOVAK DJOKOVIC JOINS RAFA RAFAEL NADAL IN MADRID MUTUA MASTERS OPEN TENNIS THIRD ROUND & NICK KYRGIOS TAKES OUT STAN WAWRINKA - PLUS PICKS BY RICKY DIMON

epa05289711 Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic celebrates his victory 6-2, 6-4, against Croatian Borna Coric during their Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament second round match played at the Caja Magica Tennis Center in Madrid, Spain, 04 May 2016. The Mutua Madrid Open runs from 29 April until 08 May 2016. EPA/CHEMA MOYA |

Novak Djokovic bounced back from an opening loss in Monte-Carlo to beat Borna Coric 6-2, 6-4 in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Wednesday afternoon. Djokovic saved the only break point he faced before advancing in one hour and 18 minutes.

A much more competitive contest saw Nick Kyrgios upset familiar foe Stan Wawrinka 7-6(7), 7-6(2). In a match that featured zero service breaks, Kyrgios served at 71 percent and Wawrinka fired 11 aces. The 21-year-old Aussie saved four break points (all in the first set), while the fourth-ranked Swiss did not face a single break point.

Kyrgios gave back two mini-breaks in the opening tiebreaker, but he finally crossed the line by winning a crucial return point at 8-7. The world No. 21 benefited from some good fortune in the second ‘breaker, winning consecutive points with a shot off the line and then a net-cord winner to seize complete control.

Djokovic will go up against Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday. Rafael Nadal, who advanced one day earlier by rolling over Andrey Kuznetsov, will battle Sam Querrey for a place in the quarterfinals.

Ricky’s preview and picks:

(5) Rafael Nadal vs. Sam Querrey

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal in action against Russian Andrey Kuznetsov during their Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament first round match at the Caja Magica Tennis Center in Madrid, Spain, 03 May 2016. The Mutua Madrid Open runs from 29 April until 08 May 2016. EPA/J. J. GUILLEN

Nadal and Querrey will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers on Thursday. Although Nadal is a perfect 3-0 lifetime, Querrey has managed to be competitive on every occasion against the Spaniard. The American fell 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3 at the 2006 Cincinnati Masters, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-3 at the 2008 U.S. Open, and 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 a few weeks later in a Davis Cup collision on the clay courts of Spain.

Fast forward eight years and Querrey will be hard-pressed to make the proceedings so interesting this time. The world No. 37 has never really taken off since being saddled with lofty expectations early in his career–around the time he was busy giving Nadal some trouble. Querrey is, however, enjoying a solid 2016 campaign. He captured a title in Delray Beach and boasts a 16-7 record following three-set wins this week over Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Lucas Pouille. Nadal is aiming for his third straight winner’s trophy during this clay-court swing and his fifth title in Madrid. The world No. 5 is coming off triumphs in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona.

Querrey has the big serve-and-forehand combination that can keep Nadal on his back foot, but the underdog has spent almost four hours on the match court through two rounds and–even in Madrid–would much rather face Nadal on grass or a lightning-fast hard court.

Pick: Nadal in 2

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (15) Roberto Bautista Agut

Spain’s Roberto Bautista returns the ball against his countryman Feliciano Lopez during their second round match of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica courts in Madrid, Spain, 04 May 2016. The Mutua Madrid Open runs from 29 April to 08 May. EPA/J. J. GUILEN

Djokovic and Bautista Agut will also be facing each other for the fourth time in their careers on Thursday. All three of their previous meetings have gone the way of Djokovic, who won mostly straightforward affairs in Dubai in 2013 and 2014. A much more entertaining and high-quality battle saw Bautista Agut steal a set at last summer’s U.S. Open before going down 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. The 17th-ranked Spaniard is the midst of his best year on tour, even though he has cooled off a bit over the past few months. Bautista Agut, who owns 2016 titles in Auckland and Sofia, improved to 21-8 by surviving countryman Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 on Tuesday.

Djokovic’s only loss not by retirement this season came at the start of this clay-court swing when he dropped his Monte-Carlo opener in shocking fashion to Jiri Vesely 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Still, the world No. 1 is 29-2 with four titles–including at the Australian Open. With the top seed back on track after beating Coric and Bautista Agut merely searching for the form that was on display in January and February, an upset is entirely unlikely.

Pick: Djokovic in 2