NOTE: This is my own version of draw analysis on 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open. In this self-version of draw analysis, I will pick who I think will be 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open Men's Champion.
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid, the last warm-up event leading to 2010 French Open is here again and top players are back to play at The Caja Majica to give tennis spectators great matches.
World No.1 Roger Federer, the defending champion and the top seed, will try to defend the crown that earned him Roland Garros title last year, by defeating world No.3 Rafael Nadal in last year's final. But Federer's game has been one of the storylines lately, giving up matches he should supposedly win, losing to a player he usually beat to score wins over him, and failing to close out points or matches when needed. How Federer will be fair in this event? Will he be able to defend his title?
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| Roger Federer 2009 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open Men's Champion |
World No.2 Novak Djokovic, who pushed Nadal into tight three sets in the semifinals last year before succumbing is not entered in this event, as he retired in his previous match at Belgrade, giving Nadal the number two seed. Nadal who captures his 17th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 shield at Rome, is targeting to break Andre Agassi's record of 17 titles. With his current form that thrashed his opponent that block him, he is as strong as never had a knee injury that took him 11 months before he captures his first title of the year at Monte-Carlo. Lying at the bottom half of the draw, will the Federer-Nadal rivalry be resumed in this event?
With players starting scored wins over Federer and players still catching up Nadal on clay, who will clinched the title in this event staged at The Magic Box for the second year?
The Quarters - Part 1
With a first round bye, Federer will begin his title defense against the winner of the wildcard Carlos Moya and unseeded Benjamin Becker match. Should Federer has the confidence to beat Moya if they meet, he will possibly face Swiss No.2 Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round, that is, if he wins his opening match against Marcel Granollers and advanced if he take on either Leonardo Mayer or Julien Benneteau in the second round. World No.8 Andy Roddick, at bottom part of this quarter, opens his match in the second round as he take on either Lukasz Kubot or Feliciano Lopez. Roddick with a perfect winning record against Lopez, will most likely meet the winner in the second round match between Mikhail Youzhny and Ernests Gulbis, if they able to get past their opening matches against Lukas Lacko and Albert Montanes, who stunned Federer in straight sets in the semifinals at Estoril, respectively. Federer will possibly meet again Gulbis for the second ATP Masters 1000 on clay, if Gulbis overcome Roddick. This will be their third meeting this year and their third meeting overall tied at one match win a piece. Will Federer gets revenge of his recent loss to Gulbis at ATP Masters 1000 Rome and then take the lead?
Semifinalist: Federer
Match to watch: Both Gulbis and Montanes upset Federer in Rome and Estoril, respectively. As both are in Federer's quarter, they will clash in the opening match. Which one of them will advance to the next round and will likely meet Federer again?
Match to watch: Both Gulbis and Montanes upset Federer in Rome and Estoril, respectively. As both are in Federer's quarter, they will clash in the opening match. Which one of them will advance to the next round and will likely meet Federer again?
The Quarters - Part 2
World No.4 Andy Murray received a first round bye and opens his match either a qualifier and Pablo Cuevas. Two dangerous players who will clash for a place in the third round to meet Murray, Russian Igor Andreev and Sam Querrey, who opens their match against Victor Hanescu and against a qualifier, respectively. With Querrey most likely to advanced, as his recent performance on clay only implies he can be a contender. With Murray leads Querrey in their head-to-head record, the American could possibly post his first win over Murray considering his recent form. Former top 10s Marin Cilic and David Ferrer could meet in the third round, that is, if Cilic who is given a first round bye, awaits the winner of the match between Eduardo Schwank and Paul-Henri Mathieu and if Ferrer wins his first match against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, he could be stopped by Marcos Baghdatis, who opens his match against Swiss Marco Chiudinelli. The winner will set up a clash against Querrey. Will Ferrer be able to repeat his performance at Rome that brought him to the finals?
Semifinalist: Ferrer
Player to watch: After losing at the 2010 Australian Open, Murray has never been the same player that brought him to the finals in the first Grand Slam of the year. On clay, he's never been the same player that brought him to the last eight at Roland Garros last year. Will he be able recover from the slump he is experiencing right now?
Player to watch: After losing at the 2010 Australian Open, Murray has never been the same player that brought him to the finals in the first Grand Slam of the year. On clay, he's never been the same player that brought him to the last eight at Roland Garros last year. Will he be able recover from the slump he is experiencing right now?
The Quarters - Part 3
Fernando Verdasco will play his first match in the second round after receiving a first round bye. His opponent could possibly be Ivo Karlovic, that is, if he gets past Evgeny Korolev. Jurgen Melzer will face a qualifier in his opening match and could possibly meet David Nalbandian in the second round, if Nalbandian able to get past Tomas Berdych. Should both Nalbandian and Verdasco advanced their second round matches, they will face each other for a quarterfinal berth. Like Verdasco, Robin Soderling also received a first round bye. The Swede could possibly meet Nicolas Almagro, if he gets past Viktor Troicki. This will possibly be the fifth meeting between Soderling and Almagro as the two meet four times in 2009, with split results on clay. Having said that, Soderling will most likely to advanced, might sets up a meeting with Juan Monaco, that is, if Monaco wins over Simon Greul in the first round and possibly Thomaz Bellucci in the second round, who opens his match against Pere Riba. This will be a tough quest for Verdasco, will he be able to overcome the tests coming along his way?
Semifinalist: Soderling
Player to watch: Nalbandian, coming from the injury that sidelined him for a while is back at Madrid. The conqueror of both Nadal and Federer opens his match against the tricky Berdych. Let's see how fair will his performance be at Madrid.
Player to watch: Nalbandian, coming from the injury that sidelined him for a while is back at Madrid. The conqueror of both Nadal and Federer opens his match against the tricky Berdych. Let's see how fair will his performance be at Madrid.
The Quarters - Part 4
In this quarter part of the draw where Nadal will begin his quest to clinch his 18th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and finally break Agassi's record. Nadal's opening match foe could possibly be a qualifier or Italian Andreas Seppi. This will be their sixth career meeting and their fourth on clay with Nadal winning their three previous encounters. This match is much likely for Nadal to win. If Nadal gets through, he could take on either John Isner or Philipp Kohlschreiber, who both play their opening matches against a qualifier. In the other half of this quarter, Frenchmen Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Gael Monfils will try to win their matches to meet in the third round. With Tsonga received a first round bye, he could have a possible encounter with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round, as he opens his match against a qualifier. Monfils, on the other hand, plays his first match against fellow Frenchman Stephane Robert. If Monfils gets through, he will take on either Fabio Fognini or Philipp Petzschner. Though Tsonga and Monfils leads Garcia-Lopez in their career meetings with 2-0 and 2-1, respectively, both Frenchmen can be vulnerable on clay, thus Garcia-Lopez will most likely to advanced and earned a place in quarterfinals where Nadal awaits. With Nadal's current form, Garcia-Lopez will have a tough time to score a win over Nadal?
Semifinalist: Nadal
Player to watch: Monfils has not been showing such kind of performance that brought him to quarterfinals at Roland Garros last year. His early exit performances has been mounting lately. Will he be able to show strong performance again at Madrid and shake up the draw?
Player to watch: Monfils has not been showing such kind of performance that brought him to quarterfinals at Roland Garros last year. His early exit performances has been mounting lately. Will he be able to show strong performance again at Madrid and shake up the draw?
The Semifinals
Federer vs. Ferrer: This will be their 10th encounter, their fourth on clay, with Ferrer has yet to win a match against the Swiss Maestro. Given Federer's current form, will Ferrer be able to finally earn his first win over The Mighty Fed? Ferrer in tight straight sets.
Soderling vs. Nadal: With his stunning performance, Soderling gave Nadal his earliest exit at Roland Garros last year to be widely considered as one of the greatest upsets at Roland Garros. To be able that win has no fluke, Soderling repeat that win over Nadal in Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at London. With such consecutive wins by Soderling, he is one win away to tie Nadal in their head-to-head record which Nadal currently leads 3-2. This will be their sixth meeting, their fourth time on clay, will Soderling be able to break Nadal's sharpness once again, given Nadal's current form? Nadal in straight sets.
Finalist: Ferrer, Nadal
The Finals
It's a one-way rivalry between these two Spaniards as Nadal leads 11-3 over Ferrer. This will be their 15th encounter overall, their 10th meeting on clay, with Ferrer sole win on clay was in 2004 at Stuttgart. Also, this will be their fourth meeting this year, all at ATP World Tour Masters 1000, their third meeting on clay with Nadal emerges victorious in all occasions. Ferrer hasn't been close to Nadal on clay, will this be his chance to resume his winning ways over Nadal on his favorite surface? Nadal in straight sets.
Champion: Rafael Nadal
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