TennisSection previews the 2021 Madrid Open as Daniil Medvedev (2) meets Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the Second Round on Wednesday May 5th, 2021.
Russian superstar Daniil Medvedev has been one of the best players in the world over the past few years, but has struggled mightily on clay. On the other hand, his opponent Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is comfortable on the surface and will be thinking that there is a possibility of an upset here. Can the young Spaniard get the win here at home at the 2021 Madrid Open? Or will the number two seed turn his fortunes on the dirt around with a good performance here?
Daniil Medvedev is currently ranked #3 in the ATP World rankings and is seeded #2 here due to Novak Djokovic withdrawing. After missing close to three weeks due to contracting COVID-19, he makes his return to the ATP Tour here at the 2021 Madrid Open. While the Russian is one of the best players in the world, he has had terrible results on clay. He has had significant success so far in 2021 and will be hoping to finally find some form on the slower surface. However, he will encounter a very difficult opponent in Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who is still quite young, but has had considerable success on clay so far in his career and is playing at home. While he should still be considered the favorite here, Medvedev could be in some serious trouble.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is currently ranked a career-high #48 in the ATP world rankings and is considered one of the most promising young talents on the tour today. A very flashy and unconventional player, he is at home on the clay and is in good form, reaching the Quarter-Finals of the Monte-Carlo Open, the first time he reached that stage at an ATP-1000 event. The Spaniard survived an intense battle in the First Round against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, coming from a set down to win in three tiebreak sets. With his current form and the struggles that his opponent Daniil Medvedev has had on clay, there is a very real chance of an upset here, and we should be in for a very close match here at the 2021 Madrid Open.
This will be the first time that the two players are facing each other on the ATP Tour, and their head to head record stands at 0-0. This is set to be a very close and entertaining match, as both players are known for their flair and immense talent. If this was on a hard court then I would pick the Russian Daniil Medvedev to win relatively comfortably, but we cannot ignore his clay court record. That poor record coupled with the fact that he is very short of match practice and may still be feeling the effects of the COVID-19 virus is seemingly spelling disaster for Medvedev. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is a very talented player and if he can hold his nerve and not succumb to pressure I am backing him to cause the upset here. I am not convinced that Medvedev is fully ready neither mentally nor physically and I see the Spaniard winning in three sets here, advancing to the Round of 16 at the 2021 Madrid Open.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to win
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