2011 Mutua Madrid Open: Rafael Nadal vs. Juan Martin Del Potro – Preview
World number one, Rafael Nadal of Spain goes one on one against the 32ndranked Argentine, Juan Martin Del Potro in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open, being played at Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain on Thursday
afternoon. An action-packed contest is anticipated as the two in-form players battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 1000 event.
The ‘King of Clay’, Nadal routed out his second round opponent, the world number 24, Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 to step into the third round. On the other hand, the unseeded Argentine wiped out Marin Cilic
of Croatia to meet Nadal in the round of 16 at Madrid.
A highly intense contest is expected between the two top class players, as they both are sustaining their winning streaks on clay-courts. The top ranked Spaniard is well reckoned for his master class on the clay surfaces all around
the world and it is deemed to be the toughest task for any professional tennis player to defeat Nadal on a clay court. He is currently running a 35-match winning streak on his favourite surface, not losing a contest since the Roland Garros two years back.
Nadal last lost to Sweden’s Robin Soderling in the fourth round at the 2009 French Open and has won 35 matches on clay since then.
The Argentine made a comeback to the professional tennis after a long layoff due to his persistent wrist injury. He broke into the winners’ circle this year by winning the ATP title at the Delray Beach, defeating the erratic Janko
Tipsarevic. Del Potro is the other player who hasn’t lost a contest on clay court since the French Open last year and is retaining a seven-match winning streak. The Argentine lost to Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the Roland Garros and was sidelined from
rest of the ATP season in 2010 for the reason of injuries. He made a strong comeback this year and is still to lose a match on clay.
Taking in view of their head-to-head record, Nadal clearly appears a superior competitor than Del Potro, leading 5-3. The top ranked Spaniard defeated Del Potro in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, in their most recent encounter in the
semi-final at Indian Wells. The two men had faced each other once on the clay court in 2007 edition of Roland Garros, where Nadal stood victorious against the Argentine in straight sets 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.
It is difficult to predict the possible winner of the match between the two top quality performers, but the pressure of competing against the world’s best player is always very taxing. Del Potro must be very confident about his
game, as he won a clay-court title last week at Estoril and will be eyeing to replicate his performance against Nadal in the third round at Madrid. Nadal has already won two championship titles this year and his dominancy over the clay surface can never be
underestimated. However, it must be kept in mind that Del Potro had suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the Spaniard in their only encounter on clay.
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