The 2018 edition of the Mutua Madrid Masters is about to begin. Rafael Nadal is the big favorite, but Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem, plus David Goffin and Alexander Zverev, will try to make important statements while a number of players sit out with injuries.
The competition in the 56-player main draw begins on Sunday, May 6.
Event Details
Event: Mutua Madrid Open
Category: ATP World Tour – Masters 1000
Date: May 6 – 13, 2018
Location: La Caja Magica – Madrid, Spain
With a prize money allotment of over 6.2 million Euros and an overall financial commitment of over 7.1 million, the Madrid Masters continues to grow as a lucrative event – the prize money is over 800,000 Euros more than it was last year. That point aside, the tournament is even bigger as a way to build rankings points and – for the lower-ranked players on tour – a chance to avoid the qualifying rounds at Roland Garros and go directly into the main draw.
Points
Champion – 1,000
Runner-up – 600
Semifinal – 360
Quarterfinal – 180
Round of 16 – 90
Round of 32 – 45
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2017 – Rafael Nadal def. Dominic Thiem – 7-6, 6-4
2016 – Novak Djokovic def. Andy Murray – 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
2015 – Andy Murray def. Rafael Nadal – 6-3, 6-2
2014 – Rafael Nadal def. Kei Nishikori – 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 (ret.)
2013 – Rafael Nadal def. Stan Wawrinka – 6-2, 6-4
Player Info:
Like most of the Masters tournaments on the yearly ATP Tour schedule, the Madrid tournament has a 56-player main draw with the top eight seeds getting a bye in the opening round.
This is a tournament with a lot of big storylines and several huge first-round matchups.
The biggest storyline is if anyone can stop Rafael Nadal from continuing his dominance at clay-court tournaments. Nadal has won 46 straight sets on clay dating back to May of 2017 in Rome, the last time he lost a set on the surface. In only one set this year has Nadal needed more than 10 games to win a set on clay. He is that untouchable at the moment. His main threat should come from Dominic Thiem in a possible quarterfinal. Thiem played Nadal closely in last year’s Madrid final. He had set point in the first-set tiebreaker but was denied, and Nadal beat him in straight sets. Thiem was tired when Nadal crushed him earlier this year in Monte Carlo, but Thiem should be more rested for this event.
The other really big storyline is if Novak Djokovic – back with his old coach, Marian Vajda – can gain momentum before the French Open. His task will not be easy, though: He faces Kei Nishikori in the first round, as tough a draw as he could have asked for.
David Goffin and Alexander Zverev are French Open contenders. They landed in the bottom half of the draw, far away from Nadal and Thiem in the top half. Djokovic is in the bottom half and – if he gets to the round of 16 – could face Goffin.
A bunch of top players are out, either due to choice (Roger Federer) or injury (Marin Cilic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Stan Wawrinka). This could create an opportunity for other players to make a run in the non-Nadal sections of the draw.
La Caja Magica
The Caja Magica, also known as The Magic Box, is a tennis complex comprised of a big stadium court and two other fairly large show courts. La Caja Magica has hosted the Madrid tournament since 2009, when the Madrid tournament switched from an indoor hardcourt layout in a separate facility to its current clay-court setup in the new facility. In 2012, the Madrid clay event used blue clay before going back to the standard red clay ever since.
Odds To Win 2018 ATP Madrid Open
Rafael Nadal 4/9
Alexander Zverev 12/1
Dominic Thiem 14/1
Juan Martin Del Potro 16/1
Novak Djokovic 20/1
Kei Nishikori 25/1
David Goffin 33/1
Grigor Dimitrov 35/1
Milos Raonic 35/1
John Isner 40/1
Hyeon Chung 50/1
Lucas Pouille 50/1
Albert Ramos-Vinolas 66/1
Fabio Fognini 66/1
Fernando Verdasco 66/1
Jack Sock 66/1
Pablo Cuevas 66/1
Stefanos Tsitsipas 66/1
Borna Coric 80/1
Kevin Anderson 80/1
Pablo Carreno Busta 80/1
Philipp Kohlschreiber 80/1
Roberto Bautista Agut 80/1
Benoit Paire 100/1
Denis Shapovalov 100/1
Diego Schwartzman 100/1
Gael Monfils 100/1
Kyle Edmund 100/1
Leonardo Mayer 100/1
Richard Gasquet 100/1
Tomas Berdych 100/1
France 150/1
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 150/1
Jan-Lennard Struff 150/1
Karen Khachanov 150/1
Robin Haase 150/1
Tennys Sandgren 150/1
Damir Dzumhur 200/1
Daniil Medvedev 200/1
Feliciano Lopez 200/1
Pablo Andujar 200/1
Roberto Carballes Baena 200/1
Yuichi Sugita 200/1
Mischa Zverev 250/1
Peter Gojowczyk 250/1
Ryan Harrison 250/1
Adrian Mannarino 300/1
*Odds courtesy of BetDSI.
