ATP Madrid - Entry List: Federer back on clay, Nadal may miss it
All the best players are committed to the Madrid Open that takes place from 5 to 12 May 2019. The Roger Federer's comeback obviously stands out. The Swiss last played in Madrid in 2015 losing to Nick Kyrgios in a three-set opening round match, while he last competed on clay at 2016 Rome. Federer triumphed in Madrid in 2006 on hard courts and in 2009 and 2012 on clay. Madrid is set to be the only Basel native's clay-court tournament, but he may play Rome if he loses early in the Spanish event. Nadal will probably do the opposite: in April he will compete in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, and if he goes far in both events, he could skip Madrid and prioritize Rome, as himself declared a few weeks ago. Nadal is a five-time tournament champion, he last won here in 2017 defeating Dominic Thiem in the final. The Austrian took a revenge last year beating Nadal in the quarter-finals, and then lost to Alexander Zverev in a straight-set final. Novak Djokovic will seek his third title after the ones in 2011, defeating Nadal, and 2016 defeating Andy Murray. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga used his protected ranking to join the main draw entry list, while the 2013 finalist Stan Wawrinka will probably take a wild card.
Serena Williams did not commit to the WTA Premier Mandatory of Madrid. As confirmed by her coach Patrick Mouratoglou, the 23-time Grand Slam winner will play her first and only clay-court tournament prior to the French Open in Rome. Serena won 2012 and 2013 titles in Madrid and she last competed there in 2015 losing to Petra Kvitova. Williams also reached a final, in 2010 losing to Aravane Rezai. Just Kvitova will try to win her fourth title, the Czech features as a defending champion having defeated Kiki Bertens in last year's final. Madrid could mark the 2014 winner Maria Sharapova's comeback to the competition. The Russian has not been playing since late January due to a small shoulder procedure and she recently admitted that Stuttgart may come too soon for her. Simona Halep will be among the favorites, the Romanian is a close Tournament Owner Ion Tiriac's friend and she already triumphed back to back in 2016 and 2017. Naomi Osaka leads the way.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2U4dWOh
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