Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion, is returning to the ATP Madrid Open this week, and his first-ever participation on a European clay court in 2024 is undoubtedly one of the greatest tales. Can the Spaniard, who recently returned from injury, swiftly regain his form to win three titles in the Spanish capital? As usual, we at LWOT will also provide our picks for each game on the schedule on Day 3. We divided them across this article and three others, which include Taylor Fritz vs. Luciano Darderi, Holger Rune vs. Mariano Navone, and Alexander Zverev vs. Borna Coric.
It’s unbelievable to fathom that Sebastian Baez won two ATP Tour titles this year during the South American clay court swing. In less than two months, he has lost four straight matches, the last two of which were on clay. Even though the Argentine is now placed in the Top 20, there is still much to be desired in his game. It almost seems as though he can defeat players who are ranked far lower on the surface, but he will struggle against those who are ranked higher and surrounding him. Fortunately for him, the Frenchman’s style of play is inappropriate on the clay. In Madrid, expect Baez to dominate van Assche for an easy victory.
You would think that playing a man who is not in the Top 100 would be simple given how brilliant Tommy Paul has gotten. It’s difficult to predict what to expect, though, given that the American hasn’t adapted to the red stuff very well and that this is his first clay court encounter of the year.
Although Klein hasn’t been playing well, he at least has some experience going into this match thanks to his two straight set qualifying victories here and his victory in the first round’s final set tiebreak. Although a poor start for the world no. 16 is to be expected, it is difficult to see this team losing this match.
