"At 31 years old, you're the oldest player to finish the year at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings." "Ever?" "Yes -- in history." "Really?" After beating Hyeon Chung 7-5, 6-3 in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters to ensure he finished the year as World No. 1 for the fourth time in his career, Rafael Nadal was in awe to learn that he is the oldest player to achieve that feat since the Emirates ATP Rankings were established in 1973. "It was an amazing year, just amazing," said Nadal, who also finished atop the Emirates ATP Rankings in 2008, 2010 and 2013. "I never would have imagined I would end up as No. 1 at the...
Before the US Open, Juan Martin del Potro was 47th in the Emirates ATP Race To London. At the time, it would have taken a far-fetched dream to envision the 29-year-old qualifying for a fourth Nitto ATP Finals. Yet after finishing runner-up to eight-time champion Roger Federer, 7-6(5), 4-6, 3-6, in his attempt to claim a third Swiss Indoors Basel title, the surging Argentine can stop dreaming about visiting The O2 in London from 12-19 November. That’s because with one week left in the Race, del Potro has a realistic shot at completing a tremendous charge up the standings that can see him carry momentum as powerful as his monstrous forehand right into London. "You've been on a great run...
Rafael Nadal lost an opportunity to earn his first Shanghai Rolex Masters title on Sunday against Roger Federer and a chance to extend his 16-match winning streak. But after capturing titles at the US Open and last week's China Open, the Spaniard was not devastated. “I played a fantastic tournament, having very good wins. Very pleased the way I played the whole Asian tour for me, whole China tour. Beijing, Shanghai have been a very positive two weeks for me,” Nadal said. “A lot of points, a lot of victories against great opponents. I come back with very good personal satisfaction the way that I played.” Nadal earned his 11th and 12th victories of the season against the Top 10...
Considering there were concerns he might not even be able to take the court against Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro gave the fans a semi-final to savour at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Saturday. After his three-set victory over Viktor Troicki in the quarter-finals, del Potro’s communications manager, Jorge Viale, posted on Twitter that the Argentine had his wrist in a splint and would decide on Saturday morning if he could play against Federer. While not a serious injury, del Potro had suffered a wrist contusion. But play he did and the Tandil native had Federer in all sorts of trouble as he took the first set against the Swiss. The tide turned when Federer broke in the sixth...
It was a heroic fortnight for Juan Martin del Potro at the US Open. But the 2009 champion saw his fairytale run come to an end on Friday evening at Flushing Meadows, succumbing to Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 in the semi-finals. Del Potro started strong, launching his forehand and backhand to claim the opener after 50 minutes. Despite being overcome by fatigue, the Argentine gave full credit to his opponent, as Nadal seized the initiative with an aggressive mindset in the second, third and fourth sets. "Today I think he had the game to win, to beat me, and to win the tournament," del Potro told the assembled media following the match. "He played very smart from the...