Can anyone stop Rafael Nadal on clay this season? The Spaniard was as relentless as ever on Sunday, answering everything Dominic Thiem tossed at him during the Mutua Madrid Open final to overcome the Austrian 7-6(8), 6-4 in La Caja Mágica. The 30-year-old Nadal won his fifth Mutua Madrid Open title and his record-tying 30th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown, matching World No. 2 Novak Djokovic for the all-time lead. Player Masters 1000 Titles Rafael Nadal 30 Novak Djokovic 30 Roger Federer 26 Andre Agassi 17 Andy Murray 14 Pete Sampras 11 This season, Nadal improves to 15-0 on clay and has now won three consecutive titles, including two Masters 1000 crowns: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell...
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo dominated the doubles field at the Mutua Madrid Open, clinching their second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title of the year without dropping a set. Kubot and Melo downed Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 6-3 in one hour and 20 minutes on Sunday. The Polish-Brazilian pair turned in an impressive serving performance, claiming 88 per cent of first serve points and saving three of four break points faced. Also the champions in Miami and runners-up in Indian Wells, Kubot and Melo are off to a flying start in their first full season together. They improve to 17-7 in 2017 and open a 240-point lead over Henri Kontinen and John Peers atop the Emirates...
Main draw action kicked off on Sunday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, with home favourite Fabio Fognini among the four players moving into the second round. Fognini needed just 70 minutes to advance past wild card and fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-1, 6-3. His reward is a second-round battle with top seed Andy Murray. The World No. 1 leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 3-2 and has won their past two matches. John Isner caused the upset of the day by defeating 14th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-1. Isner served twice to stay in the match in the second set before breezing through to the win. He’ll next play Florian Mayer or qualifier Thiago Monteiro. Fernando Verdasco...
Eighth seed Dominic Thiem reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final on Saturday at the Mutua Madrid Open, not facing a break point in defeating Pablo Cuevas in a physical 6-4, 6-4 match that ended after midnight. “I feel great. It means a lot to play my first final at this level. These tournaments are so strong, so it's amazing for me to go that far. I'm very happy at the moment,” said Thiem. “I will give everything tomorrow and hope I can play a good final.” The Austrian will play Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final after the Spaniard defeated Novak Djokovic earlier in the day. Nadal leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Thiem 3-1, with all...
Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin ended Spain's hopes of having a home doubles champion at the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday. The sixth-seeded Frenchmen knocked out eighth seeds Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez 6-2, 6-3 in 67 minutes to reach the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 doubles final. Watch Live On TennisTV Watch Full Match Replays Lopez/Lopez were attempting to become the first Spanish team to win the Madrid title in the 16-year history of the tournament. Mahut/Roger-Vasselin will meet fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, who received a walkover into the doubles final when Nick Kyrgios and Jack Sock withdrew because Kyrgios has a left hip injury. Kubot/Melo have now reached three of the season's four Masters...