This year’s Madrid Open being cancelled was a consequence of the Coronavirus, as all tournaments were from April onwards. It is already starting to look unlikely that any professional tennis tournaments will take place before the end of the year, with the Australian Open won by Novak Djokovic possibly the only Grand Salm to take place in 2020.
It’s a great thing, then, that the Virtual Madrid Open is taking place this week. Over the course of the next few days, vital funds for tennis professionals at the grass roots level who might be struggling with no appearance fees will be supported by funds raised by some of the best players in the world.
The opening two matches in the group shared by former world number ones Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray saw both Grand Slam champions win through, but in quite different ways.
Andy Murray took Benoit Paire in their group stage match, with hilarious results. Each tie is won by the first player to win three games, as long as they win by two games. If not, they’ll advance to a tie-break at 3-3 in games to see who wins 4-3. Murray, who won his game 3-1, can be heard barking at his on-screen carbon copy about exactly where he thinks he’s heading on the tennis court.
Murray has been in fine form during this global pandemic, kickstarting the 100 volley challenge with his wife Kim.
A challenge to all tennis players and fans… The 💯 volley challenge. There was no bickering during the filming of the video 🙄, although I think the last volley was aimed at my head… I can't be the only one that wants to see Rog and Mirka hitting a few balls together…🎾 pic.twitter.com/c0lMnNuSSQ
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) April 9, 2020
Rafael Nadal was not fancied to progress from his first match with a win, having admitted that he’s not as easy an Esports player as he is a sporting God on the real-life court.
Nadal dug in, however, as he won in a tie-break to take the game 4-3. Turns out virtual Rafa has just as impressive a forehand as his IRL counterpart.
Nadal has been busy raising money for the victims of Coronavirus and their families during this hiatus but found the time to agree with old frenemy Roger Federer on the amalgamation of the WTA and ATP, joining the men’s and women’s games.
Hey @rogerfederer as you know per our discussions I completely agree that it would be great to get out of this world crisis with the union of men's and women's tennis in one only organisation 🎾👍🏻 https://t.co/fTCfvMiU4G
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) April 22, 2020
So far, it seems like only Nick Kyrgios isn’t onside with that merger happening during this enforced off-season. Quelle surprise, as they say.
The current odds in the forthcoming Virtual Madrid Open clash between Murray and Nadal have Rafael Nadal at 5/4 to win, with Andy Murray the marginal favourite at 4/7. We’d suggest those odds are being kind to the world number one and back Andy Murray to get the better of the Spanish master.
For once, Rafael Nadal may not be the king of clay, or at the very least isn’t quite as hot on the virtual red stuff on PlayStation.
