Ten tournament titles was so nice Rafael Nadal might have to do it twice. A week after becoming the first man in the Open Era (since April 1968) to win a tournament 10 times, Rafael Nadal will have a chance to repeat the feat on Sunday during the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell final. The Spaniard advanced to his 10th Barcelona title match on Saturday evening, beating Argentine Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 34 minutes. “The conditions were tricky, very windy, and Horacio is a tough opponent who has a style that suits clay. He serves well, creates great angles... He has been feeling better and better,” Nadal said. The 30-year-old Nadal has now won nine consecutive matches...
Top seed Lucas Pouille produced some of his best tennis on Saturday at the Gazprom Hungarian Open in Budapest, marching into the final with a 6-2, 7-5 win over sixth seed Paolo Lorenzi. "I'm very happy. Paolo is a very good player, so I knew it was going to be a tough match," said Pouille. "I'm going to enjoy playing the final and hope to come out with the win tomorrow." Awaiting Pouile in the final is Aljaz Bedene, who continued his dream run by sweeping past fellow qualifier Laslo Djere 6-2, 6-4. Pouille leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Bedene 1-0 after claiming victory this February in Marseille. “The first set was very solid. I made a few more errors...
Dominic Thiem claimed his first victory over a World No. 1 on Saturday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, edging Andy Murray 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in a high-quality affair in the Spanish metropolis. Thiem was on the front foot throughout the encounter, firing 41 winners, including 25 off his forehand wing and six aces. The fourth seed, who improves to 10-1 on clay this year, advanced to his 12th ATP World Tour final. "It's the first win [over a World No. 1], so it's really something special," said Thiem. "But it's also the first win over a Top 10 guy this season. There are many positive things to take from today's match. For me personally, it's the best victory this...
Rafael Nadal inched closer to a 10th title at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Friday as he withstood a spirited challenge to defeat #NextGenATP star Hyeon Chung 7-6(1), 6-2 in the quarter-finals. “He was playing at a very high level throughout the tournament and played well today. He has good potential, [a] great backhand and [is] very quick. He has all the right things to be a good player,” said Nadal. “He had chances in the first set and I’m happy that I started to play better after the first six games.” The Spaniard will next play Horacio Zeballos, who continued his dream run by knocking off another #NextGenATP player in Karen Khachanov, 6-4, 6-1. Nadal and Zeballos are...
Top seed Lucas Pouille booked his spot in the semi-finals of the Gazprom Hungarian Open on Friday as he defeated Martin Klizan 6-4, 6-3 in Budapest. The Frenchman saved two match points to edge Jiri Vesely in his opening second-round match on Thursday, but had an easier time against Klizan, claiming victory in 84 minutes as he saved five of seven break points. "I think it was a great match," said Pouille. "It was much better than yesterday. My level is increasing and that's good because tomorrow I know it's going to be a tough one. I'm very happy with my performance today." The 23-year-old Pouille is coming off his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final showing at last...