Rafael Nadal says it’s not easy to reclaim the Mutua Madrid Open title – Tennis News
King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, thinks that it will not be an easy task to recapture his crown at the Mutua Madrid Open this week.
Nadal said, “The best players of the world are here, there's no possibility of having an easy draw. If you play well you will have your options but if you don't, you won't. It's quite easy to be out of the tournament early so the
options are just taking it day by day.”
The Spaniard opens against Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko (formerly ranked third in the world) in the second round of this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.
It is pertinent to note that Davydenko has defeated the current world number two in six of the 10 meetings between these two. Nadal has failed to topple the Russian in the last four matches between these two rivals but the one
thing which goes in the former’s favour is that all of these four were on hard courts. Most recently, the Spaniard lost to Davydenko in straight sets 3-6, 2-6 in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open semi-final last year.
The 10-time Grand Slam winner can expect to face compatriot, Fernando Verdasco, in the round of 16 and Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic in the last eight.
He added, “I have to play my maximum game, at the top of my possibilities and if I do that I will get through. I will try. When I serve, I also serve well - it's quite difficult to break me when I serve - but, as I said, day after
day, that's all I keep thinking. I have to keep focused.”
The world number two, Nadal, is coming into this season’s second Masters 1000 event on clay courts in supreme form, as he has not lost even a single set on his favourite surface so far. The Spaniard thrashed Serbian juggernaut,
Novak Djokovic, in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final. He snatched his record seventh crown at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell by prevailing over countryman, David Ferrer, 7-6(1), 7-5 in the title match.
The Spaniard will try to reclaim his title at the Mutua Madrid Open which he won in 2010. He lost his crown last year, after getting surprised by Djokovic in straight sets 5-7, 4-6 in the title match. Nadal will also try to shorten
the gap in ranking points for the number one spot.
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