Can Medvedev and Fritz continue their clay winning streak? A Preview
In one of four third-round matches scheduled for Tuesday in the women’s draw, top seed Simona Halep is scheduled to play Coco Gauff. Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka and third-seeded Karolina Pliskova will also compete against Paula Badosa and Bernarda Pera, respectively. The night session will begin with a match between fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina and young Estonian Anett Kontaveit, followed by a match between 2015 Mutua Madrid Open champion Petra Kvitová and Elise Mertens.
Taylor Fritz, the winner of Sunday’s BMW Open in Munich, is 13th-ranked and looking to reach the Madrid Masters quarterfinals for the first time. He faces Garin, a habitual semifinalist at this level whose recent form has been hot and cold as he searches for consistency on his preferred clay surface.
Tiafoe hopes to back up his Montpellier title success with another deep run in Madrid, while Cachin looks to break into the top 50 on the world rankings after a career year thus far in 2021. The courtside drama won’t end there; among others in action today will be Stan Wawrinka taking on Marton Fucsovics; Lucas Pouille facing Casper Ruud; Kei Nishikori versus Hugo Dellien; Felix Auger Aliassime taking on Cameron Norrie; and Andrey Rublev up against Thiago Monteiro. This promised to be another exciting day of knockout tennis in Madrid!
The Russian star aspires to improve the consistency of his performances on clay courts, and his combination of patience and aggression could help him do so. His one-handed backhand is always an asset when playing on the soil, and throughout the season, he has displayed impressive serving statistics. Due to Rafael Nadal’s injury, Medvedev may be able to capitalize on the situation and make significant runs in this year’s clay court tournaments. He needs to raise his game, but if he can keep improving every day, he might go far in Madrid and possibly even Roland Garros later this month.
Having not lost a set since the semi-finals of Monte Carlo last month, Medvedev is now in the running for a second Grand Slam title and could face Rafael Nadal again. The Russian tennis player has an 8-7 record against the King of Clay, but he came out on the losing end of their match here in 2019, despite having defeated him at this event in 2016. Undoubtedly, both players desire success on clay, and Madrid will provide the ideal platform for one of them to be crowned champion. If it turns out to be Medvedev, then we can confidently state that he is back to his best after an injury-plagued 2020 season. Get on the best tennis betting sites right away to start backing your favorite team and player and to stay current.
The 22-year-old will leave it all on the court against Cachin, who just defeated Hubert Hurkacz in a stunning upset in the first round. Eight months ago, the Argentine veteran was ranked outside of the Top 100, so this match will feature two athletes at vastly different points in their careers. If Cachin can build on his victory over Hurkacz and take advantage of Tiafoe’s dearth of match play, the match in Madrid could be a nail-biter.