TennisSection previews the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters as Rafael Nadal (3) meets Federico Delbonis (Q) in the Second Round on Wednesday, April 14th 2021.
Will Federico Delbonis be able to cause the upset of his career, beating the King of Clay in one of his favourite tournaments on Wednesday? Will Rafael Nadal come out here ready to rumble and get his clay-court season off to a great start as he looks to continue dominating the red dirt? Both players are very strong in these conditions, but only one will come through and make their way to the Third Round of the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters. Who will it be?
Federico Delbonis put on a very solid performance in the First Round, beating the much more experienced Adrian Mannarino in straight sets 7-5/6-1. Mannarino entered the match as the favourite, but Delbonis was able to utilize his better game on clay to cause the upset. Federico Delbonis can always hurt some good opponents as he is both a lefty and has a very flamboyant game. However, Federico Delbonis will now be very wary of his next opponent, the best clay-court player of all time, if not best overall player of all time, in Rafael Nadal on Wednesday. Will Federico Delbonis come out here and cause what would be the biggest upset of the tournament that anyone can imagine and book himself a spot in the Third Round of the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters?
Rafael Nadal is back on clay! After his win at the 2020 Roland Garros, it is great to have the King of Clay back on his favourite surface and fully healthy after having some back issues at the beginning of the year. Nadal has been training for the last few months at the Rafa Nadal Academy getting his clay-court game back up to speed and he is ready to dominate the field here. Nadal is just levels above anyone and everyone on clay and he will be very determined to win his 12th Monte-Carlo Masters title here in 2021. Nadal has been posting a lot of his training recently, and I take this as a sign that he is very motivated and determined to get things off to a positive and strong start against Federico Delbonis.
Rafael Nadal and Federico Delbonis have met 4 times before, with Rafael Nadal leading the head to head 4-0. The last time they met was in the Second Round of the 2020 Australian Open where Nadal won in straight sets 6-3/7-6(4)/6-1. Rafael Nadal has never lost a set against Federico Delbonis and has never lost more than 3 games in a set, except for that one set in Australia in 2020 which went to a tiebreak. Federico Delbonis will be happy with his game and his performance in the First Round, but he is just nowhere near the level required to challenge the King of Clay. I expect Nadal to cruise through this match and not let anything go the way of Delbonis.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Rafael Nadal in Two Sets.
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