Rafael Nadal will look to put his recent bad form behind him in his home tournament at the Mutua Madrid Open. With Novak Djokovic opting out of playing Madrid for the second year in a row Nadal will certainly be feeling less pressure in his French Open preparations.
Spotlight on Rafael Nadal in Madrid
The King of Clay will enter the Mutua Madrid Open next week in search of his first clay-court title in the 2015 European clay-court swing; a rare position for the two-time Madrid Champion who has usually put his regular stamp on the clay-court season by now.
The 28-year-old has currently slipped down to world number 5 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, and with a total of 1,600 points to defend in Madrid and Rome, the next two weeks will prove pivotal in Nadal’s preparations to claim a record 10th French Open crown in the second Grand Slam of the year.
Nadal has been seeded 3rd at this year’s Madrid Masters, behind Roger Federer and Andy Murray. It will be the home favourite’s 13th appearance in Madrid and he will look to get out of the blocks early with a potential first round clash against American Steve Johnson or a qualifier.
Nadal will face a bigger task further down the line should his fellow top-teners Stanislas Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov make it through their early rounds. These two top 10 players will look to pose Nadal a big threat should they meet in the quarter-final stages.
Nadal’s biggest threat however lies in the semi-final stage, where top seed Roger Federer is lurking. Federer goes into Madrid with added clay-court confidence, having taken the Istanbul title on Sunday.
The King of Clay will be looking to add a familiar element to his game this week in Madrid, having recently revealed he will be switching back to his old racquet frame for the rest of the 2015 season. Perhaps this change could spark a resurgence in the some-what subdued Spaniard.
Nadal will be looking to make it 11 years in a row with at least 1 title on the European clay-court swing, something which will stand him in good stead if he is to enter Roland Garros as a clear favourite.
Nadal will definitely head into Madrid with some confidence and will be the favourite after Novak Djokovic chose not to play due to a niggling shoulder injury he wants to get rid of before his own Roland Garros preparations begin in Rome.
With Djokovic missing, the unparallelled support of his home fans and his old racquet in his hand, the spotlight is well and truly on Rafael Nadal in Madrid. Maybe this week could spark the return of the Spanish warrior we have been used to seeing since he first burst onto the scene in 2005. One thing is for sure, it will definitely make for an interesting build up to the second Grand Slam of the season.
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