World No. 1 Rafael Nadal recorded his 20th straight clay-court match win and improved to 48 consecutive sets won on the surface Wednesday as he started his quest for a sixth Mutua Madrid Open trophy. The Spanish superstar soon dismantled the game of France’s Gael Monfils, hitting 17 winners in a 6-3, 6-1 second-round victory that lasted 74 minutes. He is now two sets shy of breaking John McEnroe’s record of 49 straight sets won on a single surface (carpet) in 1984, including 10 to win the Madrid Indoor Open. Nadal, who improved to 49-10 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, will next meet Argentine No. 13 seed Diego Schwartzman, who beat fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7-5, 2-6,...
Kyle Edmund recorded one of the biggest victories of his career on Wednesday at the Mutua Madrid Open with victory over two-time former champion Novak Djokovic. Edmund played with great discipline and bided his time to beat former World No. 1 Djokovic, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in one hour and 42 minutes. The World No. 22 will next face eighth-seeded Belgian David Goffin in the third round. [ALSO LIKE] “It's a great win for me,” said Edmund. “He's a legend of the game, one of the best tennis players of all time. So, it's a really good win for me. [I’m] pleased with the way my game's developing, that I'm able to beat a player like that. It does me the...
Eighth-seeded Belgian David Goffin recorded his fourth win in five FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Robin Haase of the Netherlands 7-5, 6-3 in 83 minutes on Wednesday at the Mutua Madrid Open. Goffin led 3-1 in the first set, which included five breaks of serve. On Tuesday, Haase earned the 200th match win of his career with victory over South Korea’s Hyeon Chung. Goffin will now play Great Britain's Kyle Edmund, victor over two-time former champion and Serbian No. 10 seed Novak Djokovic. The Belgian won his lone meeting against Edmund in the 2015 Davis Cup final. Dominic Thiem won his 13th match on clay this season, coming from a set down to beat Argentina's Federico Delbonis 4-6, 6-3, 7-5....
Just hours after securing his 500th career singles match win, Fernando Verdasco was back on court alongside doubles partner David Marrero at the Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday. Verdasco and Marrero, who won the Rio Open presented by Claro in February (d. Mektic/Peya), continued their strong form on clay, squeezing past German brothers Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 10-8. The Spaniards saved eight of nine break points in a match featuring just two breaks of serve, holding their nerve to reach the second round. Verdasco and Marrero will meet fourth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut for a spot in the quarter-finals. Alexander Peya, alongside Nikola Mektic, secured his 350th career doubles match win, defeating Kevin Anderson and...
It was a seamless transition for Juan Martin del Potro in his first match of the season on clay at the Mutua Madrid Open. The BNP Paribas Open champion (d. Federer) took just 80 minutes to book his place in the second round on Tuesday, beating Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-3. "I was playing well out there," said Del Potro. "That gives me confidence [heading] towards the next match." The first-round match was Del Potro’s first appearance on the ATP World Tour since John Isner snapped his 15-match win streak in the Miami Open presented by Itaú semi-finals. Del Potro had won back-to-back titles in Acapulco and Indian Wells prior to the loss. Del Potro won 66 per cent of service...
