Marin Cilic makes his return to the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open this week with fond memories to fuel his campaign, not least from having won the title in 2017 as a wild card. It marks the 29-year-old’s first tournament as a married man. It was only last weekend the Croatian wed his long-time girlfriend Kristina Milkovic in a ceremony in Dubrovnik. Now he sets about re-igniting his season at the same tournament which kick-started an impressive 2017. “It was not easy to find a date [for the wedding],” Cilic said. “I said after the wedding, 'OK I’m going to Istanbul, I’m going to go on my own.' She said, 'You can’t go alone for the first week [of married...
All of the numbers, including their FedEx ATP Head2Head series (2-1 Nadal), suggest Rafael Nadal will advance to his 11th Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell final on Saturday, when he faces fourth seed David Goffin in the semi-finals. Nadal has won 17 consecutive matches and 42 consecutive sets on clay, dating back to his 2017 Rome quarter-final loss to Dominic Thiem. The Spaniard also didn't drop a set against Goffin during their two clay-court FedEx ATP Head2Head matchups (2017 Monte-Carlo, 2017 Madrid). And Nadal has won 10 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell titles. [ALSO LIKE] But don't be surprised if Goffin challenges and breaks at least one of Nadal's streaks during their fourth FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup. Goffin beat Nadal the last...
Novak Djokovic knows what almost everyone wants to see this week at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Sure, the fans will be pleased to watch the sixth-seeded Serbian face Martin Klizan of Slovakia in the second round on Wednesday. The contest will be only Djokovic's second match ever in Barcelona, after his one-and-done debut in 2006 when he was 18. But what will really make fans smile wide? A 51st FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup between Djokovic and 10-time Barcelona champion Rafael Nadal. Djokovic leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 26-24, and a quarter-final meeting in Spain would be their earliest matchup at a tournament since the 2016 Rome quarter-finals, when Djokovic advanced in straight sets. Nadal, however, won their most...
'Tis the season for Rafael Nadal, when the Spaniard is all smiles and the tennis world quickly runs out of adjectives. A day after winning his 11th Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title, the World No. 1 had made his way to Barcelona, where he'll go for title No. 11 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, an ATP World Tour 500 tournament. The event has a special “home” feeling for Nadal. He grew up in Mallorca, a Spanish island about an hour's flight from Barcelona, and last year at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899, officials named the main show court after Nadal, Pista Rafa Nadal. The Spaniard is 53-3 in Barcelona and has won eight of his 10 titles without dropping...
If Rafael Nadal is to win his 11th Barcelona title and remain at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, he will have earned it. Nadal finds himself in a loaded quarter of the draw at next week's Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, with two-time champion Kei Nishikori looming in the third round and longtime rival Novak Djokovic potentially awaiting in the last eight. An encounter with Nishikori would be a rematch of their Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final, set for Sunday in the Principality. The Spaniard enters his home tournament in search of what he hopes will be the second of three 11-title milestones during the European clay-court season. He is also bidding for 11th crowns in Monte-Carlo and Roland Garros. Nadal,...
