Tennis
Kamakshi Tandon 9y

With Djokovic out, Federer, Nadal share spotlight at Madrid Open

Tennis

Having won every big tournament he's entered this season, Novak Djokovic is giving someone else a turn. The Serb has established an unprecedented lead in the rankings, but his decision to withdraw from the Madrid Masters means it'll be another player getting a chance to lift a significant trophy. A new name could make a breakthrough, or the revival of what was once a familiar storyline in men's tennis -- the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry -- could resurface.

The legendary matchup has taken a bit of a backseat in recent years, superseded by Djokovic challenging Nadal at the top of the men's game and Federer struggling to catch yet another younger rival in Djokovic. But with the world No. 1 not in the field, the attention will revert to two of the biggest names in the game.

They are the only two other players to win Madrid since it moved to its current location, and all indications suggest they are the leading contenders for the title this time around. Federer is coming off a title in Istanbul, while Nadal, despite his up-and-down play this season, is still the game's most accomplished clay-court master.

But there will be no title match between the two at Madrid. The reduced status of the rivalry is reflected in the tournament draw, where the two are in the same half and scheduled for a potential meeting in the semifinals. And that is no longer unusual. While 18 of their first 22 meetings have been played in a final, only two of their 11 meetings since have been for the championship. First it was Federer falling in the rankings -- a result of injuries and his struggle with a new racket -- and now it is Nadal who finds himself in a steady slide.

The two seem to have swapped positions coming into the tournament; usually it is Nadal who enters having won a tournament, while Federer is looking for wins and momentum. This time it is the other way around.

Nadal, the defending champion, could even fall to No. 8 if he does not make a deep run this week, though he sees that as a reflection of his substandard performances following injuries and inactivity.

"You can expect to have more pressure when you defend your points," Nadal said, speaking to press before the tournament. "I should have defended those points many weeks ago."

But while the 28-year-old Spaniard has not gone farther than the quarterfinals of his hard-court events this season, he does have a title and a final on clay and challenged Djokovic in the Monte Carlo semifinals. While there is much speculation and consternation about his recent slide, the nine-time French Open titlist is going about things the way he usually does.

"Once I win matches, I will have my confidence back," said Nadal. "I want to play well. I want to train well. I want to give my best to try to have good rhythm in my game."

One change Nadal had made was switching to a newer racket, but that experiment has been shelved for the time being.

"I'm changing because I believe I've been playing a lot of years with this [older] racket," he said. "I've had very little time to play with the new one. I know that the other racket is the right one, and I'll play well with it in the future. But I had just a few days to prepare with that racket before Monte Carlo. Even though in Monte Carlo I played pretty well, I know that here we play in altitude and I have a little less control with the new one. I'm going to play with the old one until the end of the season, when I have enough time to train with the new prototype and time to adapt to it."

Nadal has a navigable draw -- the slumping Stan Wawrinka is the next-highest player in his section -- but it also harbors Italian Fabio Fognini, who has defeated Nadal twice this season on clay.

Federer, meanwhile, who is coming off a title run at a smaller 250-level event, might have to consider the fatigue factor heading into Madrid. Despite some shaky play and three-setters, Federer played better in the final and afterward said he was feeling comfortable with him game.

"It was a tough week and four tough matches," he said. "It was a fitness test and a mental test.

"I picked up confidence and I picked up another title."

But the 17-time Grand Slam champion will have to be fresh and ready from the beginning at Madrid, finding himself in quite a tough section that also has Monte Carlo finalist Tomas Berdych, Estoril winner Richard Gasquet, the dangerous John Isner and tempestuous Nick Kyrgios.

Should Federer and Nadal meet in the semifinals, there will be yet another twist. While Nadal has dominated their clay-court meetings and will be playing in his home country, the high altitude increases the speed of the courts, conditions that would favor Federer.

The tournament's second seed, Andy Murray, is arriving following a rain-delayed final in Munich, and is not playing on his favorite surface. That could improve the chances of new challengers, such as Barcelona champion Kei Nishikori or Milos Raonic, as well as a perennial one in David Ferrer.

Not having Djokovic gives the field a different look, even if that new look consists of old rivals in Federer and Nadal.

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