View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the following match-ups Wednesday at the Mutua Madrid Open & vote for who you think will win!
Djokovic v Almagro | Nadal v Fognini | Tsonga v Ferrer | Cilic vs Zverev
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View Wednesday schedule and check back later for preview notes.
• Six of the Top 8 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings are on Wednesday’s star-studded schedule at the Mutua Madrid Open, led by No. 2 and reigning champion Novak Djokovic, No. 3 Stan Wawrinka and No. 5 and four-time Madrid winner Rafael Nadal, all on Manolo Santana. Santana, who is the tournament director, celebrates his 79th birthday on Wednesday. The Top 10 trio of No. 6 Milos Raonic, No. 7 Marin Cilic and No. 8 Kei Nishikori are also in action.
• There are five matches on Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, with former World No. 3 David Ferrer getting special attention vs. No. 10 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Ferrer is one win away from becoming the 13th player in the Open Era to reach the 700 Wins Club. Ferrer has a 3-1 head-to-head advantage.
• In the second match on Manolo Santana, Djokovic brings a 4-0 head-to-head record against wild card Nicolas Almagro. Djokovic is looking to gain the momentum on clay like he did a year ago when he won Madrid, reached the final in Rome and captured his first Roland Garros crown. He came into Madrid last season with a 28-2 record and four titles. He is 14-4 with one title in 2017. Almagro is trying to earn his second career Top 2 win.At 2014 Barcelona QFs, he beat No. 1 Nadal.
• In the next match on, Nadal takes an 8-3 (4-2 on clay) head-to-head lead against top Italian Fabio Fognini. Nadal comes into Madrid on a 10-match winning streak (20-1 in sets) after winning 10th career titles at ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo and Barcelona. Nadal leads the ATP World Tour with 29 wins in 2017. Fognini is aiming for his 10th career Top 10 win (9-45) and in 2015 he defeated Nadal three times in five meetings. Nadal has won the past three meetings in straight sets.
• In the evening session, 2013 finalist Wawrinka and Benoit Paire meet for the 10th time in the sixth straight year (Wawrinka leads 7-2). Wawrinka is playing in his second clay court tournament of the season (1-1). Paire is 5-25 lifetime against Top 10 opponents and he’s looking to break a seven-match losing streak since beating Wawrinka at 2016 Marseille QFs.
• On Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, 2014 finalist Nishikori is first up against Diego Schwartzman, who pushed the Japanese star to three sets in Buenos Aires in February. Nishikori is playing his first tournament since Mar. 29 when he reached the QFs at ATP Masters 1000 Miami. He withdrew from Barcelona with a right wrist injury. Schwartzman is looking for his first Top 10 win (0-11). In the third match on, Gilles Simon and Feliciano Lopez meet for the fifth time (tied 2-2). #NextGenATP lucky loser Borna Coric and French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert meet for the first time. Last on is #NextGenATP star Alexander Zverev and Cilic, who is 1-2 against the 20-year-old German.
• On Estadio 3, Raonic looks to even his record (1-2) against Gilles Muller and No. 12 Grigor Dimitrov brings a 3-2 head-to-head record against Ivo Karlovic, who fired 35 aces and saved four match pts. in his three tie-break 1R win over Roberto Bautista Agut. On Pista 4, No. 16 seed Nick Kyrgios could have a 3R showdown with Nadal if he beats Ryan Harrison and the Spaniard wins.
