The body may be sore these days, but David Ferrer, who built his career on tremendous strength and fierce competitive instincts, remains the consummate professional: willing to work, living and breathing the sport that has shaped his life. Today, at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, one of Spain’s greatest exports became the 13th player in ATP World Tour history to reach the 700 match wins milestone (700-341) with victory over Feliciano Lopez in the first round. Having recorded his first win, 6-4, 6-3 over David Nalbandian, at the 2002 Croatia Open Umag, Ferrer now joins Rafael Nadal (840) as the only Spaniard to reach the 700 match wins mark. “The number indicates that I have been a very consistent player over...
In what has been a career full of frameable moments, years from now, Sunday afternoon should still stand out to Rafael Nadal. It could also prove to be the launch pad to his return to year-end World No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. His 10th Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters crown. His 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. His 43rd “Big Title”, which inches him closer to longtime rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. But Nadal's first title of 2017 might only be part of the prelude to what could be one of the Spaniard's best years on the ATP World Tour. Nadal is currently second in the Emirates ATP Race To London, a calendar-year points race that started in...
Throughout his 17 years as a professional, Rafael Nadal has learned countless lessons. But perhaps none is more important than a lesson he shared on Sunday after his latest historic victory. “I think after a lot of years of experience on this tour, you learn how to enjoy every moment,” Nadal said. “Today is a day to enjoy.” Few players have had more to celebrate during a single victory. With his 6-1, 6-3 win against Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final, Nadal checked off a career's worth of milestones: First man in the Open Era (since April 1968) to win 10 titles at a tournament First man to win 50 clay-court crowns, surpassing Guillermo Vilas at 49 His...