The King of Clay is a five-time Madrid Open champion, though he hasn’t won this event since 2017. Sascha Zverev is actually a more recent champion, as he raised the winner’s trophy in 2018. And while Nadal leads their head-to-head 5-2, Zverev has claimed their last two encounters.
Dominic Thiem lost to Nadal and Zverev in those 2017 and 2018 Madrid finals. He’s still looking for his first title at this event. On Friday, Thiem faces John Isner, who has consecutively taken out two top 10 seeds in third-set tiebreaks. Another men’s quarterfinal features two seeded players who recently won titles on clay. The other quarterfinal sees a player whose only Masters-level wins have come on this surface, against a man who had never won a Masters match on clay prior to this event.
The women’s singles finalists, Ash Barty and Aryna Sabalenka, have the day off ahead of Saturday’s championship match. Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova have already advanced to the women’s doubles final, and their opponents will be determined on Friday. In addition, all four men’s doubles quarterfinals will be contested.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the two most prominent matches of the day, and note the other intriguing matchups on the schedule. Friday’s play will begin at 1:00pm local time.
Dominic Thiem (3) vs. John Isner – 1:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Thiem has been thought of as a great clay court player throughout his career, yet his two biggest titles have come on hard courts: Indian Wells in 2019, and last year’s US Open. He’s yet to win a Major or a Masters event on this surface, though he’s a two-time runner-up at both this event and Roland Garros. Isner’s best results have also come on hard courts, as he won the Masters event in Miami three years ago, and reached the semifinals of Wimbledon that same year. But the 36-year-old American has now reached the quarterfinals in his last three appearances in Madrid, and achieved a semifinal in Rome four years ago, so he’s far from a slouch on clay.
They have split two previous meetings, both of which took place in 2015. Their clay court match went to Thiem in straight sets. The Austrian is yet to drop a set this week, while as mentioned earlier, Isner is coming off back-to-back grueling contests decided by a final set tiebreak. Big-serving Isner enjoys playing in the high altitude of Madrid, but Thiem will definitely be the fresher man, and is the better player on this surface.
Rafael Nadal (1) vs. Sascha Zverev (5) – Not Before 3:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
While Zverev won their last two matches in straights sets, they both occurred on indoor hard courts, which is not where Nadal excels. The three times they’ve met on clay, Rafa has been victorious, winning seven of eight sets played. Nadal had advanced quite easily so far this week, though he’s faced a wild card and a qualifier.
Zverev has been battling an elbow issue in recent weeks, but he’s also yet to drop a set at this event, with solid wins over Kei Nishikori and Dan Evans. If Sascha can tally a high number of aces, and minimize his double faults, he’s fully capable of upsetting the Spanish No.1. However, since finding his form two weeks ago in Barcelona, Nadal has looked much more comfortable on his favorite surface. If Rafa advances, he may find Dominic Thiem waiting for him, which would be a blockbuster semifinal.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Matteo Berrettini (8) vs. Cristian Garin (16) – Berrettini won on clay two weeks in Belgrade, while Garin won two months ago in Santiago. Like Thiem and Isner, they’ve split their two prior matches, with the clay clash going to Garin.
Casper Ruud vs. Alexander Bublik – Ruud upset Stefanos Tsitsipas on Thursday, and is vying for his third consecutive Masters 1000 semifinal on clay. Bublik has earned impressive victories this week over Denis Shapovalov and Aslan Karatsev. Their only previous matchup came two years ago on a hard court in St. Petersburg, with Ruud winning in three sets.
Gabriela Dabrowski and Demi Schuurs (3) vs. Jelena Ostapenko and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Dabrowski and Schuurs are looking to make the final in their first tournament as a team. Pavlyuchenkova was also a semifinalist in singles, losing to Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday.
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (2) vs. Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot (7) – Mektic and Pavic are a sensational 30-3 as a team this season, with five titles in eight events. Koolhof and Kubot are just 8-7 during the same span.
Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos (3) vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut (6) – When these teams met in Acapulco earlier this year, Granollers and Zeballos prevailed in straight sets.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
