Will the Bull of Manacor leave no stone unturned in his opening match?
On Sunday night, all eyes will naturally be on centre court for the 111th Australian Open men’s singles as defending champion Rafael Nadal gets into the action?
The bull from Manacor will be up against Jack Draper of Great Britain, which is certainly not the easiest of tasks. Nevertheless, with Rafael Nadal against Jack Draper, the tip on the Mallorcan’s progress is basically under a good star.
After all, the bull from Manacor has only failed once in the first round of the important tennis tournament in Australia in 17 appearances. In 2016, the Spaniard surprisingly lost to compatriot Fernando Verdasco 2:3. It was one of only 15 defeats out of 91 singles matches played at the Australian Open. Looking at this 84% win rate, the prediction clearly goes to the Mallorcan for Rafael Nadal against Jack Draper.
Not entirely irrelevant, however, is the fact that the 22-time Grand Slam champion has made a poor start to the 2023 season with two defeats from two matches. At the United Cup, Rafael Nadal lost both Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur 1-2.
However, we do not think it is too likely that the opening match at the Australian Open will go the full distance. Accordingly, we think there is a lot of value in betting that a maximum of 39 games will be needed before the winner is decided.
Rafael Nadal – Statistics & Current Form
Current world ranking: 2
Position in the seedings: 1
The 36-year-old Spaniard Rafael Nadal just managed to excel in all form once again in the 2022 season. In addition to the Australian Open, the bull from Manacor also won the French Open, which means that the exceptional athlete now has 22 individual titles at Grand Slam tournaments – a record.
Already a year ago, the Majorcan was counted among the extended circle of favourites in Down Under, but he was able to prove all critics wrong. Against this backdrop, it is expected with great excitement how Rafa will present himself this year.
Lost both singles matches in the 2023 season
However, the Spaniard’s start to the year, who will not only be chasing Grand Slams in 2023 but will also be fielding his own racing team in the all-electric E1 e-boat championship, was not all that promising.
Admittedly, the bull from Manacor has not attended a single tournament since the ATP Finals in 2022. However, at the United Cup, where the 36-year-old represented Team Spain, he lost two singles matches against Cameron Norrie (ATP 14) and Alex de Minaur (ATP 24). In both matches, the Majorcan squandered a 1:0 lead to lose 1:2.
Only one first-round exit at the Australian Open
Consequently, it should be taken with a grain of salt that the Spanish superstar is the crystal-clear favourite Down Under. With Rafael Nadal against Jack Draper, the betting odds of all the top bookmakers are clearly in favour of the 36-year-old.
However, at least the record at the Grand Slam tournament in Down Under is definitely in favour of the bull from Manacor, who has only lost 15 of the 91 singles matches he has played at the Australian Open. There has only been one first-round exit in Rafael Nadal’s illustrious career, when he was beaten 3-2 by compatriot Fernando Verdasco in 2016.
Jack Draper – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 40
Position in the seedings: unseeded
Although 21-year-old Brit Jack Draper attracted attention in his junior career when he advanced to the final in the boys’ singles at the Wimbledon Championships in 2018. However, he first made a notable appearance in the adult singles in the 2022 season.
Last year, the Englishman made it to the quarter-finals of the Roger’s Cup, among other events, and advanced to the third round on his debut at the US Open. Now the youngster has qualified for the main draw of a Grand Slam for the fourth time ever and is taking part in the Australian Open for the first time.
Last reached the semi-finals at the Adelaide International 2
Jack Draper is keen to build on his recent upward trend. After finishing 2022 at 40th in the ATP world rankings, he has climbed further up the rankings with a successful start to the year. The 21-year-old played both preparatory tournaments in Adelaide.
After the Briton lost 2-0 to Karen Khachanov in the second round of the Adelaide International 1, he defeated the Russian 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International 2. Only in the semi-finals did he lose 2-1 to the eventual overall winner Kwon Soon-woo in a hot fight over three sets and 35 games.
So far two wins against current Top 10 players
In total, this brings Jack Draper’s record for the year to four wins against two losses, setting him up well for his debut at the Austalian Open. What is not uninteresting about Rafael Nadal against Jack Draper is the bet that he can also offer the bull of Manacor a fight on equal terms.
For the 21-year-old, it will be only the seventh time in his career that he has faced an opponent from the current top 10 of the ATP world rankings. And still: Of the first six duels with top 10 players, the Briton has already won two matches against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Félix Auger-Aliassime – both matches on hard court, by the way…
Rafael Nadal – Jack Draper Direct comparison / H2H-balance
Head to head: 0:0
Never before has there been a rated tennis match between the two athletes. Consequently, there is no “head to head” data available that could be used in the prediction for Rafael Nadal against Jack Draper.
Rafael Nadal – Jack Draper Tip
Of course, the favourites in this unequal duel are clearly assigned to the 22-time Grand Slam champion, who won 76 of his 91 singles at the Australian Open. On the other side of the draw is the inexperienced Jack Draper, who now faces his first ever singles match in the main draw of the major tennis tournament in Australia against the bull of Manacor, of all people, and gets to breathe centre court air for the first time in his young career.
Although the results the Brit has delivered since the 2022 season certainly suggest that he will be able to stand up to the Mallorcan. In the end, however, we believe that the combined experience of fighter Rafael Nadal should prevail.
