ATP Masters Madrid: Jurij Rodionov - It could have been worse
After qualifying for the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid , Jurij Rodionov was given a comparatively simple opening task. And could meet an old acquaintance in round two.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Apr 26, 2023, 07:47 am
Jurij Rodionov has already gained his first main field experience at Grand Slam tournaments. Who can remember: In 2020, the Austrian left-hander was even in round two after qualifying and an epic win against Jeremy Chardy, where the tank against Norbert Gombos was somewhat empty. In an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, on the other hand, Rodionov's scent is still missing.
The sovereign success against Daniel Altmaier in the second round of qualifying for the classic in the Caja Magica in Madrid gave Jurij Rodionov the chance to prove himself in a 1000m for the first time. This opportunity does not come at a bad time: On May 8th, the 100 points for the Challenger victory in Mauthausen will be out of the standings, so a good performance in Madrid would not only help not to slip down the world rankings, but maybe even finally to get in the top 100.
Rodionov against Shapovalov with a balanced record
The draw for this could hardly have been more favourable: because with Zhizhen Zhang, there is a man waiting who doesn't exactly have a lot of clay court pedigree. And who also only played three matches on the ATP tour 2023 this year (and lost them all). So the 26-year-old Chinese is within reach of Rodionov.
And does that also apply to the possible second round? Because it would be against Denis Shapovalov. Shared memories with which Jurij Rodionov connects: In 2020 he beat the Canadian completely surprisingly at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, last autumn Shapovalov retaliated. Now Shapovalov is still number 21 in Madrid, but the last few months have only had one highlight to offer: victory in the Davis Cup in autumn 2022. And even in this triumph Shapovalov had a significantly smaller share than Félix Auger-Aliassime.
Seen this way: It could have been worse for Yuri Rodionov.
Here is the individual tableau in Madrid
madrid map