By Ricky Dimon
Round-robin play at the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro wrapped up on Tuesday, with eight players on both the men’s and women’s sides advancing to the quarterfinals.
Proving that video games are a far cry from reality, Rafael Nadal looked mostly lost on the red clay of span and dropped each of his last two group-stage matches. After beating Denis Shapovalov in his opener, Nadal fell to Andy Murray and Benoit Paire. That eliminated the real tournament’s five-time champion, while Murray and Paire advanced.
“I don’t need to train a lot to beat him in this game,” Murray joked, referencing Nadal. “He’s not very good. If I practiced a lot, it would have been even worse for him today.”
Mathematically, it almost could not have gotten any worse. Nadal did not take a single game; in fact, he won only one point in the entire match.
As such, Murray’s confidence is understandably high. And why not? This is a guy who once got broken up with by his now-wife for playing too many video games.
“I think I’ve got a chance, yeah, for sure,” the Scot said when asked about his chances for the title.
Murray’s competition in the upcoming knockout rounds could be similarly unspectacular in the upcoming knockout rounds if his he feelings about Diego Schwartzman’s level are anything to go by. Schwartzman joined Murray in the quarterfinals with victories over David Ferrer and John Isner plus a walkover from Dominic Thiem due to technological problems.
“Schwartzman?!?!” Murray responded when told by commentators that the Argentine was one of the players who has impressed so far. “I practiced with Schwartzman and he was terrible when I played with him. Maybe he’s been practicing.”
Murray is going up against Alexander Zverev in the quarters, while Schwartzman faces Fabio Fognini. David Goffin, Benoit Paire, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and David Ferrer have also advanced.
In the WTA draw, the quarterfinalists are Bianca Andreescu, Sorana Cirstea, Donna Vekic, Fiona Ferro, Caroline Wozniacki, Johanna Konta, Kiki Bertens, and Belinda Bencic.
“Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.
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