Day 2 at the Mutua Madrid Open has style to spare: Gael Monfils and Grigor Dimitrov will both be in action as well as the talented youngster, fresh off his run in Estoril, Alejandro Davidovic Fokina.
ATP Mutua Madrid Open Day 2 Predictions
Gael Monfils vs Andreas Seppi
Monfils on clay is one of the great joys in tennis. The slow surface perfectly matches his unbeatable court coverage. He has reached the semifinals of the French Open and made the quarters on three other occasions. Seppi is a consistent player who lacks Monfils’ speed and power. Seppi’s advantage is his reliable groundstrokes, which he hits with less spin than most players. Monfils should adjust to that minor quirk as he has in five of his seven matches against the Italian.
Prediction: Monfils in 2
Richard Gasquet vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Gasquet is always happy on clay. It is the surface on which he claimed a stunning victory 12 years ago against Roger Federer. Davidovich Fokina, however, is tough competition. The 19 year old Spaniard recently surged to the semifinals of Estoril, defeating Gael Monfils along the way. If Davidovich Fokina can recover from that run in time, he will bring confidence on court with him. Gasquet’s experience and rock solid backhand will still be too much for the creative, up and coming Davidovich Fokina.
Prediction: Gasquet in 3
Marin Cilic vs Martin Klizan
Cilic has won one of his last six matches. So far in 2019 he has been a shadow of himself but is still only a hair outside of the ATP top 10 thanks to his consistency in recent years. Martin Klizan, by contrast, has just played his way through qualifying defeating two tricky opponents, Ernests Gulbis and Adrian Mannarino both in straight sets. Cilic should win this match, but Kilzan will be ready for a dogfight.
Prediction: Cilic in 3
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Grigor Dimitrov vs Taylor Fritz
Neither of these men enjoy clay court tennis. Dimitrov has had intermittent runs on clay, but has never been a consistent threat. Fritz, a player with fewer tools at his disposal than Dimitrov, similarly has found little to no success on clay. Both play aggressively, but Fritz’s serve-dominated game is even more hampered on clay. Fritz has enough power to keep Dimitrov at bay, but the Bulgarian will feel he has the match on his racquet from the moment he walks on court.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 2
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