TennisToday

Rafael Nadal Wins 7th Title at Rome

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's Final

5 Rafael Nadal d 2 Roger Federer - 61 63

I think we can stop calling this a comeback already. He's beyond back.

In 8 tournaments this year he's gone to all 8 finals and won 6 of them.

Including 3 Masters 1000's (IW, Madrid & Rome) and 2 500 events.

After his Sf win he moved to #1 in points earned in 2013.

This is Rafa's 7th time biting the trophy at Rome.

This is his 56th ATP title and 24th at the Masters 1000 level.

Of his 56 titles a whopping 30 have come from 4 tournaments:

Monte-Carlo 8; Barelona 8; Rome 7 & French Open 7.

And he's a good and safe bet to make it 8 in Paris.

And the win moved Rafa up to #4 and rightfully Spain's #1.

He also improved his H2H against Federer to 20-10.

Post match: If you told me four or five months ago that after eight

tournaments I would have won six titles from eight finals,

I would say you are crazy. To win three Master 1000 and two 500

tournaments is more than I ever dreamed.

His Rafanatics can say that too.

***

Rafa also got some dopey GQ style award this week too:

Rafael Nadal Dips Deep to Reach Rome Semifinals

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's Quarterfinal

5 Rafael Nadal d 4 David Ferrer - 64 46 62

That photo says one thing and one thing only: RELIEF.

Rafa'll play his 8th Sf at Rome: 7-0. In fact he's only had 2 losses at Rome.

If memory serves I think a commentator said Rafa's never lost a Sf on clay.

Today's win moves him to #1 on the Race to London rankings.

That's stunning considering he didn't play the Australian Open.

Spare a thought for Ferrer - the guy has suffered 3 losses to Rafa this year.

And these last 2 were oh-so close. And to add insult-to-injury...

A title at Rome will move Rafa ahead of David to #4 in the rankings.

Seriously, who saw any of this coming?

Tomas Berdych Upsets Novak Djokovic in Quarterfinals at Rome Masters 1000

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's Quarterfinal

6 Tomas Berdych d 1 Novak Djokovic - 26 75 64

This was Tomas' 4th trip to the Qf's at Rome.

And it was nearly his 4th loss - he was down 26 25 before hotted-up.

In the process Tomas snapped an 11 match losing streak to Nole.

Post match: One day you have to break [the run] and

I am happy that it was today. It was a great game and I am happy.

I was trying to stay positive from the beginning.

He didn't give me a single chance. I was trying to stay there and

there are matches when you don't get a single chance,

but then if you get one, then you are ready. Then everything could

turn the other way and this is what happened.

Next up he plays Rafa. And he has a 12-match losing streak in this H2H.

Juan Martin Del Potro Meets Pope Francis

It's like an Argentine brotherhood.

DelPo: It was an incredible experience with Pope Francis, something

that I'll never forget. It was a dream come true for a guy like me.

It was an unforgettable moment. I was very nervous before meeting him,

to be able to congratulate him and talk with him. He was nice. Everybody

knows he is very humble. Today was a day that I'll remember for ever.

Further: He recognised me and that surprised me.

We talked for a few seconds. He told me that he knew I was playing at

the tournament in Rome, he blessed me and wished me the best.

I congratulated him and thanked him for the opportunity to talk to him.

***

Well he didn't bless him with a win as DelPo lost his next match.

Rafael Nadal Begins Title Defence at Rome with Win

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round

5 Rafael Nadal d Fabio Fognini - 61 63

It's still odd to type the 5 next to Rafa's name.

That will change if he takes the title as he'll move past Ferrer to #4.

That would be his 7th. But that's getting WAY ahead of ourselves.

He's got a tough draw to get to the final: possible Ferrer Qf & Nole Sf.

With Andy & Jo-W going out today Roger is the best bet to be in the final.

Round 3: Rafa will next face Q Ernests Gulbis - H2H: 5-0/Rafa.

The photo above is from a kid's clinic held yesterday.

 

Andy Murray & Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Both Upset in 2nd Round at Rome

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round

Marcel Ganollers d 3 Andy Murray - 63 67(5) 00 Ret'd

Jerzy Janowicz d 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - 64 76(5)

Well they arrived at Rome together they may as well leave together.

I mean, they should both be heading to Paris and prep for Roland Garros.

So why not keep flying together?

May I suggest a different form of transport tho...

They were both seeded in Roger Federer's half of the draw.

I wonder if Roger put something in the Fed Force One cabin air?

And really? Fed Force One? Major eye-roll over here.

Jerzy Janowicz has Epic Shirt-Rip After He Upsets Jo-wilfried Tsonga at Rome

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round

Jerzy Janowicz d 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - 64 76(5)

Hey Jerzy, you do realize this was just a second round match right?

I mean, even Nole saves this stuff for big matches like Grand Slam wins.

But thanks for the peek.

Novak Djokovic Back to Winning Way at Rome

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round

1 Novak Djokovic d Q Albert Montanes - 62 63

Looks like Nole and his pup Pierre wil be sticking around Rome for a bit.

Unlike at Madrid where he suffered an odd early loss.

Remember, he lost the final at Rome last year to Rafael Nadal.

They are on course to meet in the Sf's this year.

The two-time Rome winner ('08 & '11) had this to say post match:

It was a good performance for a start, even though I know I can do better.

I know my game has to be better in order to win my next challenge.

But I’m heading in a good way because I didn’t have a great week in

Madrid and didn’t have much practice.

I came here very early; from Wednesday I spent a lot of hours on the

court working hard, trying to prepare myself for what’s coming up

this week and also after the tournament in Rome, two Grand Slams

in less than a month time. It’s a very important period for all of us and

I need to be physically, mentally, fresh and fit and

I think I’m on the right way to be like that.

Rafael Nadal Wins Masters Series 1000 Title at Madrid

Madrid ATP Masters Series 1000 - Men's Final

5 Rafael Nadal d 15 Stanislas Wawrinka - 62 64

Rafa saved his best tennis for Sunday.

This is Rafa's 3rd title at Madrid, 23rd Masters 1000 and 55th overall.

It also moves him to a tie for 2nd most clay titles with Muster with 40.

He needs 6 more to tie Vilas at 46 - which should happen by next year.

This is also the first time he's won Barcelona & Madrid in the same year.

Post match: I'm very happy for everything that has happened.

Forty titles on clay are far more than I ever dreamed of [winning].

***

Rafa will head to Rome as the 5th seed and is in #4 Ferrer's quarter.

So if Rafa takes the title (his 7th at Rome) he will move up to #4.

Meaning the French Open seeding thing will solve itself.

I'm hoping it happens. Nobody wants a Rafa/Nole quarterfinal. Nobody.

***

Rafa is also prominent in the Madrid 2020 Olympic campaign bid:

Pablo Andujar Gains Semifinal at Madrid

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's Quarterfinal

W/C Pablo Andujar d 14 Kei Nishikori - 63 75

Pablo's improbable run continued today.

He has only won 5 matches this year and none were back-to-back.

Here in Madrid he's on a 4 match winning streak!

His reward? He get Rafa in the Sf's tomorrow.

But Pablo is happy enough just to be there: I'm very happy.

Very happy for being able to reach my first [Masters 1000] semi-finals

in my career, especially here in Madrid. 

I think that I cannot ask for anything else.

Sure you can. How about the final?

Rafael Nadal Digs Deep to Gain Semifinals at Madrid

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's Quarterfinal

5 Rafael Nadal d 4 David Ferrer - 46 76(3) 60

Boy this one is gonna sting Ferrer for a while. He so had this one.

But Rafa just refused to lose. And once he got into the 3rd set: lights out.

After the win he helped celebrate Spanish legend Manolo Santana's bday.

Post match: To win matches like today is always important.

For me physically these matches help me [as] these are the kind of

matches that ask the most of you physically. I think I played well.

I had some highs and lows. Some moments I played aggressively.

Novak Djokovic is Waiting for the Rest of the Tour at Rome

With his early exit at Madrid Nole got to Rome sonner than expected.

He has great memories at Rome as a 2 time champ: '08 & '11.

Last year he was runner-up to Rafa in a straight set affair.

Surely there will be no early round upsets this coming week.

Look for Nole to be fresh and make a deep run.

Possibly even a trophy lift?

I'd love to see another edition of Nole/Rafa again before Roland Garros.

Kei Nishikori Upsets Roger Federer in 3rd Round at Madrid

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's 3rd Round

14 Kei Nishikori d 2 Roger Federer - 64 16 62

The boy beats his idol.

He was my idol. Actually, to beat him, that was one of my goals

for my tennis career. It happens on clay and it's amazing.

It's not really my favourite surface.

I wasn't really expecting this. 6-2 in the third, that's not easy against him.

I played well. I was a little bit tight of course, but he didn't make many

first serves in the third set and I was able to attack his second.

I was even more aggressive in the third set.

I'm pretty happy the way I played.

Rafael Nadal into Quarterfinals at Madrid

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's 3rd Round

5 Rafael Nadal d Mikhail Youzhny - 62 63

Well the King of Clay's road to the title just got easier today.

Roger was sent out & is joining Novak in Rome sooner than he'd have liked.

This is Rafa's 7th tourney since returning.

He's been to the finals of all 6 so far - winning 4 of them.

It is a dream return to the tour but you won't hear that from him:

Since I've been back, I haven't had the security that I am

in my perfect moment. I just have to try and feel that I am

getting better and better day after day.

So, I have to have my feet on the ground. I made it to the

quarter-finals of Madrid. For me, it's lovely to be able to say that today.

I'll try to enjoy the quarter-final match tomorrow.

Andy Murray Earns 400th ATP Match Win with 2nd Round Victory at Madrid

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round

3 Andy Murray d Florian Mayer - 76(11) 76(3)

Andy's 400th win came with a hard fought opening match at Madrid.

His ATP match record is 400-126.

The Scot's very 1st ATP win came at Queens Club back in 2005.

Among those 400 wins his 2 best matches came just last season...

Winning the gold medal over Federer & the US Open topping Djokovic.

To notch win #401 he'll need to get thru Gilles Simon - H2H: 10-1/Andy.

Gilles won their first meeting in '07 aince then it's been all Andy.

I suspect that trend will hold tomorrow.

 

 

Grigor Dimitrov Upsets Novak Djokovic in an Epic 2nd Round Match at Madrid

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round

Grigor Dimitrov d 1 Novak Djokovic - 76(6) 67(8) 63

Welcome to the big time G! It's been a long time coming.

His #28 ranking will already be getting a nice bump on Monday.

Maybe even a big bump if he keeps going thru the draw.

Post match: It's a great win for me. Good day at the office.

I know it's a big thing, of course. But you got to stay on the ground.

Hopefully you're going to face these guys for years.

You never know how it's going to be next time...

You got to be ready and try to work at it every day and

see it as just another test to do and something exciting to look forward.

Roger Federer Starts His Clay Season with a Win at Madrid

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round

2 Roger Federer d Radek Stepnaek - 63 63

Not only a winning start to his clay season but also his title defence.

Remember: Roger was the champion on that goofy blue clay last year.

It's a good time in tennis to be over 30:

[It's] nice to have that generation of players next to you.

Because if I [were] the only guy over 30, it would feel a bit awkward,

to be honest. But I'm not… it's definitely inspiring seeing all

the other players, many guys over 30 years old,

still playing on Tour and playing well.

Fernando Verdasco Wins 1st Match at Madrid

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's 1st Round

Fernando Verdasco d David Goffin - 76(2) 62

That's Fern with legend Manolo Santana on Court Manolo Santana days ago.

At Madrid last year Fern finally got his first win over Rafael Nadal.

Since then his results have taken a nose-dive.

In the 21 tournys he's played since he was a Qf'ist or better only twice.

Fern is looking to get back on track:

What I focus on is trying to work as hard as possible.

The confidence comes back when you work harder than you normally do.

If you normally push it up to 100%, well, I have to push it to 200%.

That's the way it is when you're in a bad season.

 It seems all the things are against you.

The fact of playing here in Madrid also helps; the extra motivation that

Madrid was going to be my next tournament.

Perhaps that made me train even harder, at a higher level.

I think that I'm well prepared to at least be competitive this week.

Novak Djokovic Wins at Monte-Carlo and Ends Rafael Nadal's Eight Year Run

ATP Masters Series 1000 Monte-Carlo - Men's Final

1 Novak Djokovic d 3 Rafael Nadal - 62 76(1)

Let's just hear from a happy Nole from his Facebook right up front:

Dreamed of winning this tournament for a long time!

Dear ATP World Tour, no need to ship my trophy, it stays right here :)

Meaning, at his home in Monte-Carlo:

This is Nole's 37th ATP title and his 8th on clay.

It's also his 14th Masters 1000 title out of 24 finals.

He's now won all the current M1000 titles except for at Cincinnati.

Where he has finished runner-up on 4 occasions.

Nole also closed the H2H gap on Rafa to 15-19.

He ties Rafa with most titles on the year with 3: Aussie Open & Dubai.

We will next see Nole at Madrid and Rafa next week at Barcelona.

Interesting to note - they could meet in the Qf's at Roland Garros.

Which would suck. Wake up RG seeding committee, seed Rafa #4.

Hello.

Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic to Meet in 2013 Monte-Carlo Final

ATP MAsters Series 1000 Monte-Carlo - Men's Final Preview

1 Novak Djokovic vs 3 Rafael Nadal - H2H: 19-14/Rafa

Round 34 will be played on Rafa's turf. Well, Nole's turf too.

Rafa is going for a 9th straight title at MC and Nole has made MC his home.

Let's breakdown the head-to-head a little more:

Clay: 12-2/Rafa --- Finals: 8-7/Rafa --- at M-C: 2-0/Rafa

On paper it looks like Rafa's match. But he's still on the comeback trail.

It'll be a huge test. But Factor in Nole's ankle problem.

Who know's. I'd bet Rafa in a 3 set thriller. But really it's 50-50.

***

ATP Masters Series 1000 Monte-Carlo - Men's Semifinals

3 Rafael Nadal d 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - 63 76(3)

For the 2nd match in-a-row Rafa made a mess of the 2nd set.

Let's see... he served for it twice and had match point in 2 JW games.

Rafa will go for a 9th straight title in a tourney he calls his favorite.

It's amazing. It's unprecendented. It's historic.

***

ATP Masters Series 1000 Monte-Carlo - Men's Semifinals

1 Novak Djokovic d Fabio Fognini - 62 61

What ankle injury?

Nole is in his 3rd MC final - he lost the last 2 to RafaL '09 & '12.

He is looking for his 14th M1000 title and 37th on the ATP tour.

His main focus this year is a title at Roland Garros.

This would be a major first step in obtaining that goal.