Rafael Nadal: Is He Ripe for an Early Exit in Madrid by Juan Martin Del Potro?

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at Internationaled.org

Published: May 4, 2011

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The talk in Madrid is already on the "dream-final" between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, where one winning streak will have to come to an end. But predicting the two of them in the final as a given, it a bit premature as both of them would willingly agree to.

As the Madrid draw came out, it was hard not to notice how close the two names Rafael Nadal, world No. 1 and the king of clay and Juan Martin Del Potro, the sleeping giant, were to one another. And now, it is happening. It is unusual to have an third-round matchup of this magnitude in a Masters tournament, but the more reason to cherish it. To me, it looks like the most interesting matchup on clay so far in 2011.

So far, the Scot Andy Murray, a player not exactly known for his clay court proficiency, has been the only player to challenge the dominant Spaniard on clay by taking a surprising second set in Monte Carlo and being pretty close at taking the first two, before waning in the third. David Ferrer has met Rafa in the finals of both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, but as good as he is, one always suspects the result is determined beforehand when the two meet on clay. Ferrer simply does not have enough weapons to trouble Nadal.

The same cannot be said for Juan Martin Del Potro.

We all know his credentials—the deep penetrating ground strokes, possibly hit with more force than any other player on tour. That forehand of his is massive and is reported to make a very special sound no other player, save Milos Raonic occasionally on serve, produces. Moreover, his height allows him to deal better with Nadal's high bouncing spinning forehands than most other players. And he has the calm, determined mentality of a winner—producing his best when he needs to and a master in edging out the close ones.    

After being sidelined for almost the entire 2010 with a wrist injury, Del Potro goes into the match with a very decent 25-6 match record fo...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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