Nadal, Federer may clash in quarterfinal of Madrid Open
Federer (left) and Nadal could meet in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have been placed on course for a quarter-final clash at the Madrid Open – with Andy Murray potentially facing the winner.
The draw for the ATP Masters 1000 event was made on Saturday with Nadal and Federer both placed in the third quarter.
The back-to-form Nadal, who has won claycourt titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona in recent weeks, will open against Andrey Kuznetsov or Viktor Troicki with Federer taking on Joao Sousa or Nicolas Mahut in his first match.
The star pair have met 34 times in the past with Nadal leading 23-11.
Defending champion Murray will start against Vasek Pospisil or a qualifier with meetings with Gilles Simon and Tomas Berdych to follow, if the seedings play out.
The top half of the draw is led by Novak Djokovic. The world number one will be looking to bounce back from his shock loss in Monte Carlo to Jiri Vesely.
He faces another awkward opener against either home hope Nicolas Almagro or rising star Borna Coric.
Milos Raonic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are both potential quarter-final opponents, with Stan Wawrinka seeded to face the Serb in the last four in what would be a repeat of last season’s French Open final won by the Swiss.
