Day 1 at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid will not feature the seeds as it is, for the first time ever, a two-week Masters 1000 like Indian Wells and Miami. It will feature, however, plenty of exciting and tight matches between lower ranked players aiming to have a big run. There’ll be a lot of Spanish players in action as well as several players trying to work their way back up the rankings.
ATP Masters 1000 Madrid Day 1 Predictions
Emil Ruusuvuori vs Ugo Humbert
Head-to-head: Ruusuvuori 1-0 Humbert
It was an incredibly intense, four hour battle when these two faced each other last year at Roland Garros, with Ruusuvuori eventually prevailing after being down two sets to one. This should also be a very tight encounter, but since their previous match Ruusuvuori has continued to make strides while Humbert seems to have somewhat stagnated so it could well be another victory for the Finn here.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 3
Emilio Nava vs Gregoire Barrere
Head-to-head: Barrere 1-0 Nava
The young American will try to make the most of this opportunity playing in a Masters 1000 and Barrere is a very kind first round draw, especially on clay. The pair faced each other earlier this year on hard court in Quimper and Barrere won in a deciding set tiebreak. This time on clay and playing in friendlier conditions, Nava might well be able to pull off the win.
Prediction: Nava in 3
Alexander Bublik vs Daniel Elahi Galan
Head-to-head: Bublik 1-0 Galan
Both players are having pretty rough seasons, with Bublik even coming into this match on a four-match losing streak. Galan is fresh off a run to the final in the Sarasota Challenger and seems to generally be a bit more comfortable on this surface than his opponent so he should have the slight edge going in.
Prediction: Galan in 3
Roberto Carballes Baena vs David Goffin
Head-to-head: Goffin 3-1 Carballes Baena
Goffin has been struggling for a long time despite the occasional good performance; one of those occasional good performances came last year in Madrid, when he had match points but couldn’t close out Rafael Nadal. On current form, Baena should be a solid favorite, fresh off a title in Marrakech, but Goffin has the ability to win and seems to play well at this venue.
Prediction: Goffin in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
