Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Monaco

[7] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs.  [20] Alexander Zverev (GER)

After the battles these two have had, this was a highly anticipated match.  I expected Zverev to push Nadal and frankly as well as he was playing I thought he could potentially upset Nadal; yet, how could I underestimate Nadal.  Despite his struggles, he is still a dominant clay court player, if not the most dominant clay court player currently on tour.  No one understands better than him how to exploit his opponents’ weaknesses on clay and if you are not fit, you will quickly feel the effects of playing Nadal.

Zverev never got his teeth into this match; he got off to a sluggish start and never found his energy or his game.  Perhaps he was already looking forward to celebrating his twentieth birthday and was not entirely focused on the match at hand.  Perhaps it was simply a case of being tired because he is also playing doubles with his brother.  We will never know the answer, but whatever the cause he did not perform up to his capability today and Nadal took full advantage.

This will be a huge boost in confidence for Nadal after the battle he had against the young Brit, Kyle Edmund, yesterday.  He will get some much needed rest after easily dispatching Zverev 6-1, 6-1.  Next up for Nadal will be Diego Schwartzman.  They have played twice before but never on clay so this should be an interesting match and test for Nadal.  I expect Nadal to come through if he maintains his form from today.  If he gets by Schwartzman, he still has potentially Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals and that will really tell us just where Nadal’s game is currently on clay.

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