Friday's tennis acca: Alexander Zverev to establish Madrid credentials

Twice a champion in Madrid, Alexander Zverev faces another former Masters champion to start his tilt at La Caja Magica.

Zverev is in action as the second round continues at the ATP 1000 event and is set to play in the evening session.

Here we make our picks for a handful of the ATP Masters Madrid Open second round on Friday. 

 

ATP Madrid: Sebastian Baez vs Luca Van Assche | Pick: Baez

ATP Madrid: Luciano Darderi vs Taylor Fritz | Pick: Fritz

ATP Madrid: Ugo Humbert vs Botic Van De Zandschulp | Pick: Humbert

ATP Madrid: Alexander Shevchenko vs Carlos Alcaraz | Pick: Alcaraz

ATP Madrid: Jaume Munar vs Jan-Lennard Struff | Pick: Struff

ATP Madrid: Tallon Griekspoor vs Taro Daniel | Pick: Griekspoor

ATP Madrid: Mariano Navone vs Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune | Pick: Rune 

ATP Madrid: Borna Coric vs Alexander Zverev | Pick: Zverev

 

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ATP Madrid: Sebastian Baez vs Luca Van Assche

Sebastian Baez and Luca Van Assche are players looking to find form although the Frenchman does have a win in Madrid to his name.

Baez lost in his opener in Barcelona last week but sports a 14-4 record on clay this season against 2-3 from Van Assche.

Baez has lost four matches in a row with that losing streak kicking off shortly after he lifted the title in Santiago.

The Argentine should come good soon and on the clay of Madrid, he looks likely.

 

ATP Madrid: Luciano Darderi vs Taylor Fritz

Luciano Darderi faces off with American Taylor Fritz for the first time and this match could be a lot closer than the rankings suggest.

American men have had their struggles on clay in Europe in recent times and Darderi won a title on the surface not long ago.

Darderi has lost three in a row starting with his Houston semi-final loss.

However, the good times are not so far away that he won't recall them and he should give the world No 13 a run for his money.

 

ATP Madrid: Ugo Humbert vs Botic Van De Zandschulp

France's Ugo Humbert will be out to extend his dominance over Dutchman Botic Van De Zandschulp into a fourth straight win.

Humbert has made a good start to the year to establish himself as the French No 1 and will be expected to put in a good showing on clay.

Humbert reached the last eight in Monte Carlo and should be targeting a run to at least the last 16 in Madrid.

Van de Zandschulp beat American Christopher Eubanks in the first round to book this date with a seeded player.

 

ATP Madrid: Alexander Shevchenko vs Carlos Alcaraz

There will be immense pressure on Carlos Alcaraz to win and win well when he faces Alexander Shevchenko.

Shevchenko is handy enough on clay but is facing one of the best players in the world right now.

Alcaraz has not faced the Russian-born Kazakhstan No 2 in a singles match before.

Shevchenko probably doesn't have the defensive game to out-rally Alcaraz and he will need to take some risks to give himself a chance.

 

ATP Madrid: Jaume Munar vs Jan-Lennard Struff

Jan-Lennard Struff returns to Madrid having reached the final last season and comes into this tournament off the back of his maiden career title win in Munich last week.

Struff is enjoying the form of his life right now at 34 years old but faces a tricky match against a home hope to start his Madrid run.

Munar is a player some way away from his best form although at 10-7 on clay this term he is a danger in any match.

Struff's physical condition will likely inform this result as he should be high on confidence and eager to defend his 2023 rankings points haul as well.

 

ATP Madrid: Tallon Griekspoor vs Taro Daniel

Tallon Griekspoor is the seeded player in his clash with Taro Daniel with the Dutch player leading their head-to-head.

Griekspoor won the only meeting between these players to date at Winston-Salem in 2022 when both players appeared in the main draw as lucky losers.

Neither player has had to qualify for Madrid but Daniel needed to beat Aleksandar Vukic in the opening round to seal this match.

It has been over a week since Griekspoor played a match after he suffered an early exit in Bucharest.

 

ATP Madrid: Mariano Navone vs Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune

Mariano Navone puts the best form of his career to the test when he faces world No 12 Holger Rune.

Rune reached the last eight in Monte Carlo and the last four in Munich last week and could feel that he needs a win to spark his season back into life.

Navone doesn't have much pressure on him to perform on this kind of stage.

Rune has not been playing badly at all with his losses coming against very good players.

 

ATP Madrid: Borna Coric vs Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev and Borna Coric have had some memorable battles in the past and are locked at 3-3 in their head-to-head.

Only one clash between these two players has taken place a a level below Masters tournaments.

Zverev has won the last two meetings and recent form suggests he should have the measure of Coric.

This one could go to three sets and will test whether Zverev has the mettle for a deep run in Madrid.