Wimbledon Preview: Rafael Nadal vs Gilles Muller

The defending champion and the top seed Rafael Nadal has been in stellar form this Wimbledon, scoring comprehensive victory over both his American opponents in the first two rounds. He next faces Gilles Muller of Luxemburg, who advanced to the third round without breaking a sweat as his opponent, the big serving Canadian, Milos Raonic retired due to injury.

Defending champion in sublime form

BREAKDOWN:

After his quarterfinal exit at the Australian Open at the hands of fellow Spaniard, David Ferrer, the World No.1 reached the finals at Indian Wells and Miami but lost both the finals to the Serbian Novak Djokovic. Then came the clay court season and being tipped as the greatest clay courter of the game, he lived upto the expectations by clinching the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona titles. He had to deal with two more losses in the finals- at the hands of the same Serb- but this time in his own backyard. But the King of Clay managed to win the Roland Garros for a record-equaling sixth time, maintaining his No1 ranking intact. He has 46-7 win-loss record this season and three titles to his name.

The 28 year old, Gilles Muller may have all the experience but has been plagued by a poor record at the Grand Slam events. His best showing at Wimbledon is 3rd round appearance in 2005. Muller has a 3-1 win-loss record this year and he is still chasing his maiden title on tour.

With the form Nadal has displayed in his first two rounds, it would take a mammoth effort for Muller to stop the “winning machine.”

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:

The head to head record is evenly placed at 1-1. Both the matches were played way back in 2005.

MATCH POINT:

Gilles Mulller does not seem to be able to pose any serious threat to Rafa. I expect Rafa to cruise into the pre-quarters with a comprehensive straight sets victory.