🎾 ATP Madrid R1: David Goffin vs Alexandre Muller

🎾 ATP Madrid R1: David Goffin vs Alexandre Muller

🧠 Form & Context

David Goffin

• 🇧🇪 Veteran revival: After a winless start to 2025, Goffin has caught fire with a QF run in Munich and a shock win over Alcaraz in Miami.
• 🔥 Battle-tested: Eight straight matches have gone three sets—he’s showing old-school Goffin grit and timing again.
• 📍 Madrid credentials: QF in 2017, nearly beat Nadal in 2022—his game fits Madrid’s fast clay when firing.
• 📈 Climbing again: Back inside the top 100 and gaining confidence with each win.

Alexandre Muller

• 🇫🇷 Breakout season: Broke into the top 40 earlier this year and arrives with less pressure on clay than in previous seasons.
• 🌱 Madrid struggles: 0–2 in previous qualifying attempts here. Making his main draw debut this year.
• 🛠️ Solid game, few weapons: A consistent baseliner, tactically disciplined, but lacks a true finishing shot.

🔍 Match Breakdown

Goffin’s timing, variety, and anticipation could prove decisive against Muller’s more mechanical baseline game. The altitude in Madrid helps clean strikers like Goffin who can take the ball early and redirect pace with ease. Muller is solid but doesn’t carry the shot tolerance or firepower to regularly hit through Goffin—especially if the Belgian continues to grind like he has in recent weeks.

Expect a chess match of patterns, angles, and mid-length rallies—with Goffin seeking to exploit depth and open up the court. If Muller can extend points and test Goffin’s endurance, he has a shot, but the Belgian’s current form and Masters-level experience should be enough to tip the balance.

🔮 Prediction

✅ Winner: David Goffin in 3 sets

It’ll be close—maybe even ugly—but Goffin’s grit and Madrid pedigree should be just enough to frustrate and outmaneuver the Frenchman.

🎾 ATP Madrid: Roman Safiullin vs Arthur Rinderknech

🎾 ATP Madrid: Roman Safiullin vs Arthur Rinderknech – Match Preview

🧠 Form & Context

🇷🇺 Roman Safiullin

• Back in form: After a winless early stretch in 2025, Safiullin picked up steam at Indian Wells and Miami, making the third round in the latter.
• Clay return: Reached the semifinals at the Oeiras Challenger last week in his first clay-court appearance of the year—signs of renewed momentum.
• Madrid success: Made it to R3 here in 2023 as a qualifier with standout wins over Tommy Paul and Nicolás Jarry.
• Streaky but dangerous: A high-ceiling player who can beat top-tier opponents when dialed in, though inconsistency can sometimes derail his campaigns.

🇫🇷 Arthur Rinderknech

• Confidence crisis: Just 4–13 on the season, including two losses in Barcelona—once in qualifying, once as a lucky loser.
• Clay struggles: Yet to find rhythm on the surface in 2025 and continues to look uncomfortable adjusting to slower conditions.
• Masters struggles: Holds a poor 5–12 record in Masters 1000 first rounds, lacking success at this tier.
• Madrid woes: Lost in the opening round last year to Shevchenko in a tight three-setter and is still seeking his first main draw win here.

🔍 Match Breakdown

Both players are searching for form, but Safiullin enters with a much clearer trajectory. He’s fresh off a semifinal showing in Oeiras, has positive memories in Madrid, and holds a dominant 2–0 head-to-head record against Rinderknech.

Rinderknech may find some altitude aid for his serve, but his baseline game, footwork, and decision-making have looked suspect. Safiullin, by contrast, thrives in quicker clay conditions and will look to step in, take time away, and pressure the Frenchman into errors. Unless Rinderknech serves lights out and forces tiebreaks, this could be a one-sided affair.

🔮 Prediction

Pick: Roman Safiullin in 2 sets

With better form, surface comfort, and past Madrid results, the Russian should dispatch an out-of-sorts Rinderknech without much drama.