Rafael Nadal captured an incredible 10th Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters crown on Sunday in beating fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3 in the 76-minute final. Nadal’s 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, one shy of record-holder Novak Djokovic (30), marks the first time in the Open Era (since April 1968) that any man has won a singles tournament on 10 occasions. The victory also sees Nadal clinch his 50th clay-court crown (50-8), breaking the record he shared with Guillermo Vilas since 24 April 2016, when Nadal lifted his ninth trophy at the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. “It really is unbelievable,” said Nadal. “To win 10 times at such an important event like Monte-Carlo is something difficult to describe my feelings....
The very best parts of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry will remain unquantifiable forever. How their games have evolved throughout their careers. The passion they share for tennis. The feelings of excitement they've provided millions of fans during the past two decades. But certain aspects of their rivalry, one of the best in all of sport, can be counted. And when you've played each other 37 times over 14 years and your match-ups have decided 23 tour-level titles, the numbers add up quickly. To begin: They've spent a lot of time together. Nadal and Federer have been on court together for the equivalent of almost four full days – three days, 17 hours and 16 minutes,...
What to call the beginning of Roger Federer's 20th year on the ATP World Tour? In January, we would have used adjectives such as “hopeful” or “upbeat”. Federer, describing himself, picked “rejuvenated” and “refreshed”. In what looks like prescient language now, three months on, the Swiss veteran said at the start of the year, “I do believe it could be very beneficial for the future of my tennis career that I've had this six-month layoff... I feel rejuvenated, refreshed. Maybe mentally I needed this rest more than I thought I would. Maybe also my body needed a rest more than I thought I would.” But now, after Federer has rolled through the Australian Open, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian...