Tag Archives: Monte Carlo Masters

Nadal Oulasts Gael Monfils to Win the Monte Carlo Masters

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Rafael Nadal is back in the Masters winner’s circle…

The 29-year-old Spanish tennis star matched his Roland Garros haul to claim a ninth title at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal wore down a stubborn Gael Monfils over two punishing sets before steamrollering his opponent in the decider to win 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 in two hours and 46 minutes.

With victory, Nadal — who won eight consecutive Monte Carlo crowns between 2005 and 2012 — equalled Novak Djokovic‘s record of 28 Masters titles.

“This has been one of the most special places in my career,” said Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion. “It’s just a pleasure to be back here in a final playing in front of you at this amazing club.

“It has been a very special week for me, winning here in Monte Carlo. What really makes it even more special is the fantastic crowd. Many thanks to everybody here.”

Since his last Masters triumph at Madrid in 2014, Nadal has struggled for form and saw his ranking plummet to 10th last year — his lowest since he was a teenager in August 2005.

This victory will have tasted sweet for the world No.5, and will send out a warning that the King of Clay may be back just in time for the French Open, having racked up his 48th title on the surface.

Nadal Wins His Fourth Title at the Madrid Open

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Rafael Nadal is back in title-winning form…

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star, currently ranked No. 1 in the world, won his fourth Madrid Open title on Sunday after Japan’s Kei Nishikori was forced to retire their match with an injury when trailing 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in the men’s final.

Rafael Nadal

Nishikori’s powerful groundstrokes helped him win the first set against the Nadal, who couldn’t find a way to counter his opponent.

Nadal slowly worked his way back into the match and broke Nishikori twice in the second set to even the match.

But Nishikori was in obvious discomfort in the third, even receiving treatment on his lower back during a medical timeout, before calling it quits.

Nadal recovered from two recent quarterfinal round losses on clay to win his second title on the surface this year. He began his clay court season with a quarterfinal loss to David Ferrer in the Monte Carlo Masters. He was also stunned by Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open.

Almagro Beats Rafael Nadal for the First Time to Reach Barcelona Open Semifinals

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For the first time in his career, Nicolas Almagro has taken down Rafael Nadal…

The 28-year-old Spanish professional tennis player beat his compatriot on Friday in a hard-fought, three-set quarterfinal match at the Barcelona Open, ending the World No. 1’s 41-match winning streak at the tournament.

Nicolas Almagro

Nadal was looking for his ninth title in Barcelona but lost a week after going out in the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters to David Ferrer.

Nadal, widely considered the greatest clay-court player of all time, hadn’t lost in Barcelona since his debut as a 15-year-old in 2003, although he missed the tournament in 2010. He had not dropped a set here since the 2008 final.

Almagro, ranked No. 20 in the world, converted his second match point, smashing a forehand down the line for his first career victory over Nadal on the 11th try.

“I had a lot of opportunities in the second set,” Nadal said. “I didn’t take advantage of break points, so credit goes to him.”

After failing to convert any of his five break points in the second set, Nadal missed a return in the tiebreaker to give Almagro a 6-5 lead. Almagro followed up with a crosscourt forehand winner to level the match and end Nadal’s streak of 44 straight sets at the tournament.

Both players were steady on serve until an exchange of breaks made it 4-4 in the third, and Nadal then sent a shot long to be broken again and give Almagro a chance to serve for the match.

Nadal set up two straight chances to break back, but hit a forehand long and then sent a smash into the net with Almagro out of position.

Nadal then saved the first match point when Almagro’s backhand flew wide. But Almagro used a serve-and-volley to save a third break point of the game before Nadal’s long return set up the second match point.

“This is an important win for my career,” said Almagro, who celebrated wildly. Almagro will face Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo in Saturday’s semifinals after Philipp Kohlschreiber retired with an injury while trailing 6-4, 4-3.

Ramos Upsets Nikolay Davydenko at the Barcelona Open

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It’s home field advantage for Albert Ramos…

The 26-year-old Spanish professional tennis player upset Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the Barcelona Open to set up a meeting against top-ranked Rafael Nadal.

Albert Ramos

Ramos will play the defending champion and eight-time winner during Wednesday’s second-round match.

Nadal was knocked out of the quarterfinals of the preceding Monte Carlo Masters — his earliest exit from the clay-court tournament since 2003.

In second-round play on Tuesday, fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan was a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 winner over Spain’s Roberto Bautista.

No. 16 Benoit Paire of France was the only seeded player to exit, retiring at 6-4, 5-1 down to Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan.

Nadal Gunning for Ninth Straight Monte Carlo Masters Title

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Rafael Nadal is back in the Monte Carlo Masters final again…

Despite his injury concerns, the 26-year-old Spanish tennis star will be vying for his ninth successive Monte Carlo title after defeating France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the semi-finals.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal will next meet World No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Sunday for the 16th time in a championship. Nadal leads 8-7 in their finals matches.

Nadal can improve upon his formidable record on the Monte Carlo red clay — winner of the last eight titles and 46 consecutive match victories.

Nadal has reached five successive finals since returning from a seven-month layoff for a left knee injury. He will go for his fourth title of the season against Djokovic, who cruised past unseeded Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-2, 6-1.

Djokovic and Nadal have not played against each other since last year’s French Open final, which Nadal won. He has won their last three encounters, after Djokovic took the previous seven — all of which were tournament finals. Nadal leads their head-to-head contests 19-14.

Nadal has been on a winning roll at Monte Carlo since 2005. His last loss here was to former French Open champ Guillermo Coria in 2003, and he missed the following year because of injury.

He insists he’s still some way from full fitness, despite dropping only one set so far.

“I know I need time to be 100 percent fit,” said Nadal, adding he thinks Djokovic’s injury was tame by comparison. “He stopped for, what, a few days for his ankle?”