Rafael Nadal’s quest for a fifth Madrid Open title is right on track after beating American Steve Johnson in the second round on Wednesday. Nadal will look to seal his place in the quarterfinals later today when he takes on the ever-dangerous Simone Bolelli.
Read on for a complete preview of this much-anticipated third-round showdown. If you’re looking for other sports action, though, you can check out our sleeper picks for the 2015 Players Championship here.
Rafael Nadal barged into the third round of the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open with a dominant 6-4, 6-3 win over Steve Johnson on Wednesday. It was a solid performance from the Spanish star who needed just 74 minutes to defeat the American.
[sc:Other240banner ]With the victory, Nadal extended his record of wins on clay against American opposition to 10-0. Key to Nadal’s win in the second round was his impeccable service game. He never faced a single break point the entire match as his first serve was right on target against Johnson. Nadal converted 83% of his first serves and won 31 of his 38 first serve points. His return was also exceptional as he broke Johnson’s serve a total of three times.
Next up for Nadal is a third-round clash with Italian Simone Bolelli. The 28-year-old has fared extremely well against Bolelli in the past, winning all four of their previous meetings. Nadal thrashed Bolelli in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, in their most recent meeting at Basel last year.
Simone Bolelli survived a major scare on Wednesday, edging past Italian compatriot Luca Vanni in the second round, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. With the win, Bolelli is through to a Masters 1000 third round for the first time since reaching the third round of the 2009 Monte Carlo Masters.
The road to the finals is bound to get tougher for the Australian Open doubles finalist, though, as standing in his way in the third round is “The King of Clay” Rafael Nadal. The 14-time Grand Slam champion loves playing in this tournament, winning his last 11 matches here.
Bolelli has faced Nadal just once before on the clay courts, meeting the Spaniard in the first round of the French Open back in 2012. Nadal handed Bolelli a beatdown at Roland Garros, destroying him in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.
The good news for Bolelli is that this current version of Nadal is more vulnerable than ever. Nadal has failed to reach the finals in his last two clay court events, losing to Novak Djokovic in the semis at Monte Carlo and to unheralded Fabio Fognini in the round of 16 at Barcelona.
For Bolelli to spring a surprise against Nadal in the third round, the Italian needs to improve on his service game. He only converted 69% of his first serves against Vanni in the second round. Getting his first serves in will be crucial in his bid to upset the defending champion Nadal.
Bolelli is 6-4 in his last 10 matches.
Writer’s Prediction
Nadal (-2,000) defeats Bolelli in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
