Carlos Moya, coach of World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, is breaking down the Spaniard's performances at Roland Garros for ATPWorldTour.com. Nadal is pursuing his 11th trophy on the Parisian terre battue. On Saturday, the defending champion defeated Richard Gasquet to advance to the fourth round, where he'll face German Maximilian Marterer for a place in the quarter-finals. Moya lists five key takeaways from Nadal’s win over the Frenchman. [ALSO LIKE] Nadal's Best Showing So Far Nadal was on top of matters from the start. He raised his intensity, he was moving well and he was consistently on the attack. He put Gasquet in compromising situations throughout the match. Different Year, Different Story It's difficult to compare Rafa's title-defending campaign this...
Sure, a tidy three-set match that lasted less than two hours would have been nice. Alexander Zverev still could have tied his best Grand Slam result by reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros. But the 21-year-old wouldn't have had to expend so much energy to advance past Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, whom he beat 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5, saving a match point at 4-5 in the decider, in just under four hours. But, in truth, how long it takes Zverev to advance in Paris doesn't seem to bother him much, at least not now, as the first week of Roland Garros nears its close. “I'm trying to win matches. If it takes me three sets, great. If it takes...
World No. 5 Grigor Dimitrov says he will take time off to reassess his form, following a third-round exit at Roland Garros on Friday. “I definitely need to take some time off now to kind of reassess the whole clay-court season, to be honest,” said Dimitrov, after his 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4 loss to Fernando Verdasco. “I think that's going to be the No. 1 priority for me now, to kind of step out from tennis for a little bit, [and] try to watch some matches and sort of try to progress somehow. Just get better. “I have always been a positive thinker, and I want to keep that on the same level right now.” [ALSO LIKE] The Bulgarian, who finished...
The numbers speak for themselves: Fernando Verdasco shines on the biggest stages. Just a few weeks ago, the 34-year-old earned his 500th ATP World Tour victory by defeatingPaoloLorenzi in the first round at the Mutua Madrid Open. On Friday, the Spaniard claimed his 102nd career singles win at a Grand Slam by defeating fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4 to move into the fourth round at Roland Garros, where he'll face 20th seed Novak Djokovic. The 34-year-old is the oldest player remaining in the singles draw, and is now 3-1 against opponents inside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings this season. [ALSO LIKE] World No. 35 Verdasco holds a 102-59 record at majors since his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon...
Carlos Moya, coach of world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, will be breaking down Rafa's performances for ATPWorldTour.com. Nadal hopes to lift the trophy for the 11th time. On Tuesday, the defending champion defeated Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(9) to advance to the second round, where he'll face Guido Pella for a place in the Round of 32. Moya lists five key takeaways from Nadal’s opening-round match. A Victory -- With Its Ups And Downs Today's match wasn't the prettiest, but he still managed to win. Getting through the early rounds at a Grand Slam is an ordeal. Yes, he came through in three sets, but the match was a lot tougher than the score suggests [Nadal trailed 6/3 in the...