RICKY’S PREVIEWS AND PICKS FOR WEDNESDAY IN PARIS: FEDERER VS. RAONIC AND NADAL VS. VERDASCO

Written by: on 31st October 2018
Rolex Paris Masters 2018 Tennis Tournament
RICKY'S PREVIEWS AND PICKS FOR WEDNESDAY IN PARIS: FEDERER VS. RAONIC AND NADAL VS. VERDASCO

epa07130862 Fernando Verdasco of Spain returns the ball to Jeremy Chardy of France during their first round match at the Rolex Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 30 0ctober 2018. EPA-EFE/IAN LANGSDON  |
Fernando Verdasco of Spain returns the ball to Jeremy Chardy of France during their first round match at the Rolex Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 30 0ctober 2018.  EPA-EFE/IAN LANGSDON

 

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal may have difficult openers on their hands at the Rolex Paris Masters on Wednesday. Federer is facing Milos Raonic during second-round action, while Rafael Nadal collides with countryman Fernando Verdasco.

 

Ricky previews the action and makes his predictions:

 

Milos Raonic vs. (3) Roger Federer

Roger Federer of Switzerland attends a training session at the Rolex Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 30 0ctober 2018. EPA-EFE/IAN LANGSDON

Federer and Raonic will be squaring off for the 15th time in their careers when they meet again in the Paris second round on Wednesday night. The head-to-head series stands at 11-3 in favor of Federer, who has taken two in a row on grass against the Canadian (6-4, 6-2, 7-6(4) in the 2017 Wimbledon quarterfinals and 6-4, 7-6(3) in this summer’s Stuttgart title match).

 

Raonic almost missed another date with the all-time great, but he managed to outlast Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 7-6(5) after two hours and 53 minutes on Tuesday night. Although Raonic is now a decent 32-15 on the year, for the most part it has been a disappointing 2018 campaign for the world No. 21. Federer is coming off a title last week in Basel, where he was rarely at his best but still got the job done for his ninth career title at his home event. The third seed may not be at his dominant best these days, but Raonic also isn’t in peak form and the underdog could be fatigued following the thriller versus Tsonga.

Pick: Federer in 3

 

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Fernando Verdasco

Nadal is back in action for the first time since retiring against Juan Martin Del Potro in the U.S. Open semis. The Spaniard may have been tempted to shut down his season due to a knee injury, but a neck-and-neck race with Novak Djokovic for the year-end No. 1 ranking plus a desire for some indoor practice prior to the Nitto ATP Finals (an tournament he has never won) likely sent Nadal on his way to the Paris Indoors.

 

Speaking of events at which he has never lifted the trophy, this Masters 1000 is one. Before the world No. 1 can even think about triumphing this time around in what is his seventh appearance in Bercy, he will have to survive a 20th career encounter with Verdasco. Nadal is dominating the head-to-head series 16-3, but they have split their last six encounters at three wins apiece. Despite Verdasco’s relative success of late, he is on a two-match losing streak against Nadal with consecutive Indian Wells losses in 2016 and 2017. The world No. 27 earned another shot in this matchup by defeating Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday. With Verdasco in solid form right now and Nadal likely displaying some rust, expect a competitive contest.

Pick: Nadal in 3

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @TennGrand.

 

Topics: , , , , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.