The tennis action never stops, as the 2015 French Open is in full swing towards crowning a new champion at Roland Garros. Rafael Nadal’s quest for a 10th French Open title is off to a good start with his first round victory in straight sets over Quentin Halys. Nadal’s opponent in the second round will be fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, who prevailed against Alexandr Dolgopolov in four hard-earned sets.
Read on below for our preview of the second round match between these two fiery competitors. And don’t miss out on the other action happening in Rolland Garros. Head on over here for our preview of the second round bout between Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek.
All eyes are on Rafael Nadal as he vies for his unprecedented 10th title in the French Open. A win in Paris would also make it his sixth straight victory at the historic Grand Slam event. His unparalleled record of 66-1 at Roland Garros places him as the top contender of the tournament for the past decade.
[sc:Other240banner ]But Rafa’s performance this 2015 season has been subpar. He only has one title for the year (Argentina Open), and already has nine losses. What’s even more baffling is that five of his defeats this season were played on clay, which is the surface where he’s supposed to dominate. The last time the “King of Clay” lost more than five matches on dirt was back in 2003, where he lost six matches that entire season.
Nagging back and knee injuries may have been the cause of Nadal’s mediocre performance this season, but none of those ailments seemed to have bothered the lefty in his first match at the French Open.
Nadal coasted to a convincing 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 first round victory over hometown wild card Quentin Halys this Tuesday. The Spaniard converted 82 percent of his points on first serve, and also turned in 14 out of 16 of his attempts at points on net. Halys also played a part in Nadal’s win, as the Frenchman committed 52 unforced errors in the match.
Next up in the second round for Nadal is fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. Nadal’s record against Almagro is 12-1, and 10 of his 12 victories were won in straight sets. Their last match was at the Barcelona Open earlier this year, which Nadal won in straight sets by converting half of his break point attempts.
As Rafael Nadal continues to grab everybody’s attention at Roland Garros, another Spaniard looks to pull another upset in the second round.
World No. 154 Nicolas Almagro came out on top this Tuesday with a highly-contested 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) first round win over 69th-ranked Alexandr Dolgopolov. Dolgopolov had more aces and total points won in the match, but also committed 35 unforced errors that helped the Spaniard in pulling off the upset.
Almagro needs to play a near-perfect game in the second round against Nadal. And just like Rafa, the 29-year old is at his best when playing on dirt. Almagro has won 67 percent of his career matches played on clay, but only has an 11-8 record on that surface this season.
Having won just one match in 13 meetings against Nadal doesn’t help Almagro’s case either. In fact, two of his 11 losses this season were against the King of Clay. The only match that the 12-year veteran won over Nadal was at the 2014 Barcelona Open. In that match, Nadal converted just 5 of his 18 break point attempts, whereas Almagro won 4 out of his 7 own break point chances.
Writer’s Prediction
Rafa’s quest for glory continues, as he dispatches Almagro in straight sets.
