Rafael Nadal (1) meets Ilya Ivashka (Q) in the second round of the 2021 Barcelona Open on Wednesday, April 21st 2021.
Will Ilya Ivashka cause the most shocking upset of the year by defeating the King of Clay or will it be back to business as usual for Rafael Nadal on the court which is name after him?
Ilya Ivashka cruised through his first match here in Barcelona, beating the other qualifier Tallon Griekspoor in straight sets 6-3/6-1 to setup a meeting with the King of Clay. Ivashka can definitely hurt some strong players when he is playing at his best, and playing in indoor hard court conditions. However, we have not seen him do much in other conditions against some strong players. Ivashka will be hoping he just does not get bageled as he enters this second round match, because that is all you can hope for against the King of Clay in one of his favourite tournaments.
Rafael Nadal will be looking to win his 12th title in Barcelona this year, trying to have a much better week this week compared to last week in Monaco. Rafael Nadal knows he needs to improve his serve as it was the reason why he was unable to play well against Andrey Rublev last week, and I am very sure he has worked hard to ensure his game is up to speed and ready to go in his home country to give the fans what they want and put on a show for all the fans watching around the world.
This is going to be the first meeting between both players, and I just do not see any way, shape, or form which allows for Ilya Ivashka to even get more than 3 games under his belt per set here. Rafael Nadal will come out here ready to go and get the job done in his home country. Rafael Nadal will want to improve from last week, and he will get this match done in two sets as he begins his Barcelona Open campaign in the hopes of winning his 12th title.