Alex Zverev returns to Madrid looking to defend his 2018 championship. The young German entered Madrid as the #2 seed and did not drop a single set on his way to lifting the title. This year Zverev enters as the #3 seed and in very poor form, so it will be tough for the German to repeat. 17 of the top 20 men in the world enter this tournamnet and about 12 of those have a real chance of winning the title this week. Rafael Nadal is always the favorite in any clay tournament he enters, but recent shaky performances will have plenty of players feeling like they have a shot this season.
Top 10 Odds to Win
- Rafael Nadal: +110 (11/10)
- Novak Djokovic: +187 (28/15)
- Dominic Thiem: +333 (10/3)
- Alexander Zverev: +600 (6/1)
- Stan Wawrinka: +1400 (14/1)
- Roger Federer: +2000 (20/1)
- David Goffin: +2000 (20/1)
- Juan Martin Del Potro: +2200 (22/1)
- Grigor Dimitrov: +2500 (25/1)
- Roberto Bautista-Agut: +3300 (33/1)
Top 12 seeds
- Novak Djokovic
- Rafael Nadal
- Alexander Zverev
- Roger Federer
- Dominic Thiem
- Kei Nishikori
- Juan Martin Del Potro
- Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Marin Cilic
- Fabio Fognini
- Karen Khachanov
- Daniil Medvedev
Past Champions
2018 – Alexander Zverev
2017, 2014, 2013 and 2010 – Rafael Nadal
2016 and 2011 – Novak Djokovic
2015 – Andy Murray
2012 and 2009 – Roger Federer
Semifinal and Champion Predictions
The top seed, Novak Djokovic, has an incredibly tough draw as he will potentially have to face Grigor Dimitrov in the second round, Diego Schwartzman, or Marco Cecchinato in the third round, and Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarterfinals, but I still like Djokovic to get through to the semifinals. Djokovic will face Dominic Thiem in the semifinals. Thiem is on Federer’s side of the bracket, but I think his toughest test will be against Fabio Fognini in the third round.
The other semifinal will consist of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rafael Nadal. Tsitsipas has the most favorable draw of any player as he has the most out of form players on his side by far. Defending champion Alexander Zverev could find his game any minute, but as thing stand now I like the Greek to get through. Rafa has a tough draw, but back-to-back semifinal losses on clay will be all the motivation he needs to get through it.
The final will be Dominic Thiem vs Rafael Nadal in a rematch of the Barcelona final two weeks back. Dominic Thiem gets the better of Rafa once again and wins his second Masters 1000 event of the 2019 season.
