Andy Murray set to face Rafael Nadal in virtual Madrid Open

Saturday, 25 April 2020 13:04

Tennis stars are set to swap their rackets for gaming consoles for the Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro.

Sixteen men and 16 women will battle it out on a Manolo Santana Stadium that has been recreated in the Tennis World Tour video game.

Rafael Nadal, who has won the tournament five times, is placed in Group 1 alongside Britain's Andy Murray, Frenchman Gael Monfils and Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

While, Group 2 features Dominic Thiem, John Isner, Diego Schwartzman and David Ferrer.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, Fabio Fognini, Kei Nishikori and Frances Tiafoe are in Group 3, while in Group 4 Alex Zverev and David Goffin are joined by Lucas Pouille and Karen Khachanov.

Kiki Bertens is in women's Group 4 along with Angelique Kerber, Dona Vekic, and Eugenie Bouchard. Meanwhile, Canadian Bianca Andreescu is joined by Madison Keys, Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Wozniacki in Group 3.

Prize money of 150,000 euros will be directed to good causes with winners able to donate part of it to players struggling because of the sporting shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic.

The event runs from Monday to Thursday next week.

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