Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic hit Madrid practice court
Only for the third time in 2019, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will compete together at the ATP tournament, with all three entering the Madrid Mutua Open draw. The three tennis giants had won eight out of ten titles since 2009 when Madrid became clay Masters and the crowd at Manolo Santana Stadium will have the opportunity to see them all in action, setting the practice sessions one after another between 3-7 pm. Roger Federer returns to clay for the first time since Rome 2016, deciding in December to play on the slowest surface this spring and choosing Madrid as the first stop before the potential Rome appearance, all as a part of the preparation for Roland Garros where he hasn't competed since 2015.
The 37-year-old Swiss has won 18 out of 20 matches so far in 2019, winning titles in Dubai and Miami and hoping for more of the same in Madrid where he always had great results, winning titles in 2009 and 2012. Roger's last match in Madrid came in 2015 when he lost that epic clash against Nick Kyrgios in three tie breaks after two hours and 37 minutes. The four-time champion Rafael Nadal comes to Madrid with a lot of pressure on his shoulders after the semi-final losses in Monte Carlo and Barcelona in the previous weeks, failing to win the events where he claimed 22 titles overall since 2005!
Dominic Thiem defeated the Spaniard in the quarter-final here last year and this should be an excellent chance for Rafa to gain some points and reduce the deficit to Novak Djokovic that only got bigger since the start of the clay season. World no. 1 Novak Djokovic has played five ATP tournaments so far in 2019 and won the most important one at the Australian Open to cement his lead at the top of men's standings. On the other hand, his results at the first three Masters 1000 events were not that good and he will try to bounce back here in Madrid where he won titles in 2011 and 2016.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2GU2LP2
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