There was a point in Juan Ignacio Londero’s career at which he seriously considered stopping to participate in ATP Tour events because of financial issues. Well, his decision to stick to the top circuit of competitive tennis is now paying off, as he’s deep into the 2019 French Open. He has a chance to enter his name into tennis folklore if he could take down Rafael Nadal in the fourth round this coming Sunday. Going into the match, the sportsbook favors Nadal by a mile, with -5000 odds to make it through the round, while Londero is priced at +2000.
Whatever happens on Sunday, Londero can call his trip to this year’s French Open a success, as this is just the first time in his career that he has made it to the main draw, even reaching the fourth round. Londero came out on top of his third-round match against Corentin Moutet, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Londero edged out Moutet in an aggressively-played match in which both players had at at least 60 percent of net points won. Being that aggressive against Nadal may not be the best of ideas for Londero, so he’ll have to choose his points of attack carefully. Having won three straight matches at the French Open, including one against a veteran in Richard Gasquet in the second round, give Londero a much-needed boost of confidence heading into showdown with Nadal, whom he hasn’t faced before.
The big story about Nadal in the third round was that he surprisingly dropped a set to David Goffin in a 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. That’s more of a hiccup for Nadal, though, and just proof that he’s just human. Nadal put 58 percent of his first serves in against Goffin and won 78 percent of his first serve points. He also won 70 percent of his second serve points. Nadal was fantastic in protecting his serve, as he only allowed Goffin to have two chances to convert a break point (1-for-2). Conversely, Nadal went 5-for-10 on break points won. Is Nadal in for a surprise against Londero, whom he hasn’t faced before? Let’s just say that Nadal pulverized his first two opponents in the 2019 French Open, both of whom he had not also faced prior to this tournament. After manhandling Goffin, the Spaniard is now 89-2 at Roland Garros.
