A handful of ATP World Tour legends have had a stadium named in their honour long after their playing days, but Rafael Nadal received that recognition while still at the top of his game at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Nadal took part in a special court naming ceremony on Wednesday that officially crowned the stadium Pista Rafa Nadal. The nine-time champion also scored a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 second-round victory that day over Rogerio Dutra Silva. "I want to thank the club for this honour. It's one of the most important tournaments for me, one of the courts where I had the best moments of my career,” said Nadal. "This place has meant a lot to me and the club...
#NextGenATP players nearly went perfect on day three at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Russian Karen Khachanov led the 21-and-under group, winning 76 per cent of his first-serve points to knock out 11th seed Pablo Cuevas 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in one hour and 55 minutes. The 20-year-old right-hander won the final two points of the second-set tie-break to convert on his fourth match point. Watch Live On TennisTV Watch Full Match Replays Khachanov, who trains in Barcelona, improved to 4-1 at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament after also reaching the third round last year. He will next meet fifth seed David Goffin. South Korean qualifier Hyeon Chung set-up an-all #NextGenATP third-round affair against 19-year-old Alexander Zverev of Germany. The 20...
Follow all the latest off-court action on MyATP! Download the app for iPhone or Android or visit MyATP.com. Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell – Barcelona, Spain Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez visited the Olympic Stadium to help officially launch the tournament with an archery activity. David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro and Pablo Carreno Busta participated in a Peugeot clinic, while Albert Ramos-Vinolas was on hand for a Mapfre clinic. Philipp Petzschner. Alexander Peya, Fabrice Martin and Edouard Roger-Vasselin also spent time with young fans at tennis clinics. Spaniard Tommy Robredo was the lucky star to assist with the tournament draw ceremony. Gazprom Hungarian Open – Budapest, Hungary Fernando Verdasco kicked off the inaugural tournament with some mini tennis along the river. Fabio Fognini, Viktor Troicki, Sergiy Stakhovsky, Robert Lindstedt,...
Rafael Nadal's quest for a record 10th Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell title started with a dominating performance on Wednesday in the Spanish city. Nadal, playing on the newly-named Pista Rafa Nadal, hit 23 winners and dismissed Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-1, 6-2 in 75 minutes. “I want to thank the club for this honour. It's one of the most important tournaments for me, one of the courts where I had the best moments of my career,” Nadal said on court after the second-round victory. “This place has meant a lot to me since forever, and [that] the club has decided to name the centre court with my name makes it even more special.” The third-seeded Spaniard had all of his...
Second seed Ivo Karlovic weathered a stern test on Wednesday at the Gazprom Hungarian Open, being pushed to the brink before reaching the quarter-finals 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 over Damir Dzumhur. "I'm happy with the win today. Clay isn't my best surface, but I can also have some good wins on it," said Karlovic. "I haven't been to Budapest in 13 years, but I remember that the structures here are unbelievable. It's a nice town, so I was really looking forward to coming back." Karlovic went on a five-game run to take the opening set, but the Bosnian responded by grabbing the lone break of the second set at 4-3. Both men traded comfortable service holds throughout the decider, but Karlovic...
