Grigor Dimitrov doesn’t have particularly positive memories of his appearances at the Madrid Masters, at one point going without a win for a period of 4 years in the Spanish capital, but that negative streak was stopped last season and the former quarter-finalist has every chance of at least repeat his best performance in the Spanish capital if he continues with his great play that has accompanied him in almost every tournament since the start of the season.
The Bulgarian is ranked number 9 in this year’s edition of the competition and will start his participation directly from the second round, where he could compete with one of Yanik Hanfman and Jakub Mensik. We remind you that our first racket beat the German with a crushing 6-1 6-0 in the third round of the Miami Masters, but the world number 58 is most comfortable on clay, having reached the third round in Madrid last year and subsequently made a remarkable run to the quarter-finals in Rome.
Menshik is a completely unknown opponent for Grigor, but he is certainly not a “safe needle”. The 18-year-old talent this season reached the final of the ATP 250 event in Doha, beating the likes of Andy Murray, Gael Monfils and Andrei Rublev, and is currently ranked world number 74 and is one of the fastest-rising tennis players in the world.
If Grigor goes on to the third round, then his task looks quite pleasant, because Adrian Mannarino is the first placed in his path. The French veteran hates glue and has lost 5 of his last 6 matches played, while Dimitrov has won all 5 of his previous meetings with the champion from Sofia.
That is why it seems far more likely that Felix Auger-Aliassim will be our compatriot’s opponent in the third round. The Canadian is also on a very bad streak, but is a far more capable player on red courts than Mannarino and we have to take into account the fact that Dimitrov has not won a set in his 2 previous meetings with the former top 10 member.
In the Round of 16, things get very tough for Grigor as we could see a clash between him and Kasper Ruud, who has been the best player since the start of the clay season so far and yesterday won the title in Barcelona after previously reaching the final in Monte Carlo and the 1/2-finals in Estoril. A possible triumph over the leader in victories for the season could send the Bulgarian to the 1/4-finals against Yannick Siner, and in this half there are also players of the rank of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Alex De Minor and 5-time champion Rafael Nadal .
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