It’s a battle between two 34-year-old veterans today, when World No. 14 David Ferrer and Nicolas Mahut meet in the second round of the 2016 Wimbledon Championship. Which of these veterans can outwit and outdo the other? Will it be the far more successful Ferrer, or will it be Mahut, who’s arguably the better grass-court player?
Read on below for an in-depth look at this promising encounter. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to check out our preview of another second-round showdown between Roger Federer and Marcus Willis.
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David Ferrer’s dominance was on full display during his first-round encounter with Israeli Dudi Sela on Monday afternoon. That match was completely lopsided from the get-go, as the 13th-seeded Spaniard blasted his way towards an easy 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 victory in just 74 minutes of play.
To further illustrate how brilliant Ferrer’s efforts were, he won 79 percent of his first serve points against Sela. The Spaniard also won 72 percent of his second serve points in the opening round and converted seven of his 13 break point opportunities. The main thing now for Ferrer in today’s second-round matchup with Nicolas Mahut is to sustain his form and aggressiveness.
Obviously, it’ll be easier said than done, but the three-time Davis Cup champion can garner confidence from the fact that he defeated the Frenchman, 6-4, 6-4, in their only head-to-head meeting back in 2011 at the Paris Masters.
Ferrer, who is priced at +10,000 to win in it all in this week’s tournament, has split his last five matches overall.
Unlike David Ferrer, Nicolas Mahut needed a bit more time to finally overcome a robust effort from his opening-round opponent, Brydan Klein, on Monday. Mahut started off slowly with the Briton managing to take the first set to a tie break. But the higher-ranked Frenchman showcased his excellent composure on grass, eventually cruising to a 7-6(0), 6-4, 6-4 victory.
However, a better performance must come from Mahut if he is to beat Spain’s David Ferrer. In particular, Mahut’s got to do a better job at the receiving end especially since it seems like Ferrer now has a much-improved first serve. The World No. 51 only converted 39 percent of his receiving points against Klein in the first round.
Also, Mahut will need to lessen some of his mistakes. He might not be able to afford to commit more than 20 unforced errors again versus an opportunistic and battle-tested competitor like Ferrer.
