The talk in the tennis world heading into Sunday is the final from the 2017 Madrid Masters. That tournament will see what promises to be a tantalizing final between Austria's Dominic Thiem and Spain's Rafael Nadal. However, a lot of tennis fans will also be looking ahead at the 2017 Rome Masters this upcoming week. In that draw, it could be that both Nadal and Thiem do poorly precisely because of how well they've done in Madrid.
Nadal and Thiem will be tired in Rome
Nadal and Thiem, looking ahead to Rome, could meet in that tournament's quarterfinals.
They will both get a bye through the first round, something that will help each player recover from their exhausting efforts in Madrid. Given that each player will be fatigued, there is a chance that the Rome Masters will produce a surprise champion.
Goffin and Dimitrov look dangerous
David Goffin is certainly a player that no one will taking their eyes off of. The Belgian did well in Monte Carlo a few weeks back and he's one of the best players on tour so far in 2017. However, Grigor Dimitrov seemed to spring back to life in Madrid. The Bulgarian, who won Brisbane and Sofia earlier this season, held no less than five match points against Thiem in a middle-round match in Madrid. If that hints that Dimitrov is getting back to playing at an elite level, like he was very early this season, then certainly he'll be a very tough out in Rome next week.
Neither Goffin nor Dimitrov have byes through the first round. However, unlike Nadal and Thiem, Goffin and Dimitrov will enter the 2017 Rome Masters on several days' rest. That could set them up for a nice run at the clay-court event. Given that neither has ever won a Masters Series tournament, they certainly won't be taking the event lightly, especially with the 2017 French Open just around the corner now.
The betting odds in the outright winner's market for Rome highlight just how big of longshots both Goffin and Dimitrov are. The Belgian is coming in at 31.00 with 888Sport while the latter is priced longer at 41.00. At this point in the ATP's history, no active player that is younger than Marin Cilic has actually won a Masters Series title at any time, whether in 2017 or in the past.
Thiem will try to become the youngest active player with a Masters Series title on Sunday. Should he fail then perhaps either Goffin or Dimitrov will become the youngest active player to hold a 1000-series event over the next week as the tour moves to Italy.
