Day 3 at the ATP Mutua Madrid Open ensures a lot of excitement as most of the top seeds come into play. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz would be opening his campaign as well, and most of the eyes will be upon him considering his prospects in Paris. There are a few players to watch out for, which includes Holger Rune, who has the potential to do fairly well on clay. As always, we here at LWOT will offer our predictions for every match on the slate for Day 3. We split them between this and three other articles–featuring Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Shevchenko, Alexander Zverev vs Borna Coric, and Taylor Fritz vs Luciano Darderi.
ATP Madrid Day 3 Predictions
Daniel Altmaier vs Arthur Fils
Just a year ago, Arthur Fils was unable to make it through the qualifying round at the Madrid Masters. This time he starts with a seeding. His performance hasn’t been as great this year as the last one though, failing to make a mark at any of the many tournaments he has played this year, losing to opponents with much higher rankings. Though he reached his career high ranking a couple of days back, he is definitely not where he wants to be with his game right now. Daniel Altmaier meanwhile hasn’t managed to do very well on tour as well this season, struggling to string together two straight wins. The pair met a week back at the Barcelona Open, where Fils clinched a three-setter. Back him to do it again.
Prediction: Fils in 3
Jan-Lennard Struff vs Jaume Munar
Jaume Munar comes into the tournament not having a great season overall. He strung together a couple of wins each at Santiago and Cordoba, but there was nothing really exceptional. He comes into the match with a straight-set first round win, but that momentum would probably not be enough, as he is evidently struggling to convert first round wins into large runs. Struff, the German veteran is a seasoned clay-courter and is the favorite to take this match. He is fresh from a title run at the Munich Open concluded last week. Struff has always been a solid clay-courter.
Prediction: Struff in 2
Denis Shapovalov vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
T. M. Etcheverry, the Argentine comes into the match after losing to the eventual champion Casper Ruud in the quarter final at the Barcelona Open. When set, he has shown to give impressive results. He’s the on-paper favorite here. On the other side of the net, stands a once-top ten player whose results and ranking now is a mere shadow of its former self. Having said this, his game and wily crafts in the first round were surely a treat to watch for those who have been watching his rise–and the subsequent fall. The recurring problem with his game remains his inconsistency. This guy can’t manage to keep a rally going when he’s not at his very best. Expect him to do some magic though – provided that he keeps his calm, of course.
Prediction: Shapovalov in 3
Holger Rune vs Mariano Navone
Holger Rune was having an exceptional run of form till the end of the season last year, also starting this season with a run to the finals at the Brisbane Open. After a below-par performance in Melbourne, he made a couple of semifinals on hard courts. Come clay season, he hasn’t exactly managed to grab eyeballs yet, but I reckon that this guy has the potential to show some spark on this surface as well. On the other side, we have Mariano Navone, who by his credentials is a clay specialist. Not sure if that’d be enough to counter Rune though.
Prediction: Rune in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
