Event of the Day: Madrid Open Day 3
Our event of the day is all the action from the Mutua Madrid Open at La Caja Mágica courts in Madrid, Spain. The biggest singles matchups on the schedule for today include the home country hero and number 1 seed, Rafael Nadal’s, match against Frenchman Gaël Monfils and Maria Sharapova’s match against another French athlete in Kristina Mladenovic. On the doubles side some of the most intriguing matches are the Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares versus Robin Haase and Jean-Julien men’s round of 16 matchup and Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova, the number 1 seeded women’s doubles pair, matchup against the team of Hsieh Su-wei and Daria Gavrilova. Rafael Nadal’s match today is his first of the tournament after a first round bye, but it should still prove to be a challenging test. His opponent, the veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils, just came off of a 3 set victory against the 77th ranked, Georgian, Nikoloz Basilashvili, in the round of 64. Monfils is currently ranked 41st in the world but earlier in his career reached as high as 6th in the world. Nadal is definitely the favourite but Monfils has enough talent and experience to give him a run for his money.
On the women’s singles side the highlighter match for the day is Maria Sharapova’s round of 16 match of her first Madrid Open since her suspension. Sharapova who historically has dominated the Madrid Open, also may have a score to settle with Mladenovic as she knocked her out of the Porsche tennis Grand Prix in the 2017 semi-final, Sharapova’s first competition after her 15-month ban. This matchup between the number 52 ranked Sharapova and 22 ranked Mladenovic should be even closer than the previous matchup as many experts have said Sharapova has finally started to return to her previous form after a 4 match losing streak heading into the tournament.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to two English Premier League matchups, Chelsea and Huddersfield Town at Stamford Bridge, and Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion F.C. at the Etihad Stadium. The first game is extremely important for both teams as Chelsea need a win to keep the pressure on Liverpool and Tottenham for fourth position and receive a Champions League spot for next season while Huddersfield need a win or a draw to further distance themselves from Southampton and Swansea in the race to not get relegated. The second matchup doesn’t have as much relevance in terms of standings as the previous matchup but its still should be an entertaining match featuring the champions. American sports are also in full swing today as the NBA, MLS, and MLB all have matchups scheduled for today. In the NBA, the Boston Celtics play the Philadelphia 76ers at the TD Garden. The MLB and MLS both are still in the middle of the season with the most intriguing matchups being the Baltimore Orioles versus the Kansas City Royals game at Camden Yards and the first place battle between Atlanta United FC and Sporting Kansas City at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Other big events for today outside the U.S. include an Indian Premier League game between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens, the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia running between Agrigento and Santa Ninfa, a La Liga matchup between Barcelona and Villarreal at the Camp Nou, and the start of the Boodles May Festival at Chester Racecourse.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Fixture
Photos by Mutua Madrid Open