Rafael Nadal vs Pedro Cachin Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Mutua Madrid Open

Prediction published on 28/04/2024, 11:29  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 29/04/2024 at 02:10 in ATP Mutua Madrid Open Prediction

Rafael Nadal had a good win at the weekend and now faces unseeded Pedro Cachin. This is a third round match in the Madrid Masters and the winner takes on either 30th-seeded Jiri Leheca or the qualifier Thiago Monteiro. No player has won this outdoor clay court tournament more times than Nadal.but he won his fifth and most recent title here in 2017. Nadal hasn't won any tournament since 2021 but Saturday's win over tenth-seeded Alex de Minaur was an important one for him. Not because it saw him get back in the top 400 in the rankings (392nd in the live list) but it showed he can still be competitive at the top level. He recently lost to de Minaur in Barcelona without winning a set. To beat the Australian in straight sets was a big step forward for him.

It's also been a big week for Pedro Cachin. The world number 91 has lost his last 14 matches and hadn't won this year. Not since last July had he won a match on the ATP Tour. Those horrible statistics have been replaced by two wins in Madrid. The last time he won more than two matches in an ATP Tour tournament was last July when he won the clay court tournament in Gstaad. He's not quite in that kind of form yet but at least he's started winning again. Victories have come over Sebastian Ofner and then the 20th-seed Francis Tiafoe in three sets, losing the middle one. The Argentinian is 99th in the live rankings but only 253td in the ATP Race. He reached the fourth round here last year but we tip Nadal to win this match in straight sets.