Rafael Nadal is a master illusionist. He makes us think he dominates the longer rallies. He makes us focus on his athletic side-to-side movement. We see the “Spanish X” practice drill when he competes, moving up and back in the Deuce and Ad court, hitting a medley of forehands and backhands. It's all just an illusion. Rafael Nadal defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3 in the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Sunday by dominating the short points en route to winning a record-setting 10th Monaco title in just 76 minutes. You would naturally think that two Spanish clay-court specialists competing at sea-level on a cool, overcast afternoon would grind and grind, and grind some more. This match simply didn’t materialise...
Relive the best of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, which ended with Rafael Nadal winning his 10th Monte-Carlo title. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com. Photo: Realis
Nadal Appears Ready To Reclaim Clay Throne After a disappointing clay-court season last year by his lofty standards, Rafael Nadal has returned with a vengeance to his favorite surface. The Spaniard was ruthless in dropping 18 games total in his last four matches to take the title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He became the first man in the Open Era to win a singles tournament on 10 occasions and also picked up his 50th clay-court title. The dominant scorelines in almost all of his matches is perhaps the most impressive part of Nadal’s run this week. If he can continue to keep his on-court time relatively short and conserve his energy, the Spaniard will be the overwhelming favourite for...
Throughout his 17 years as a professional, Rafael Nadal has learned countless lessons. But perhaps none is more important than a lesson he shared on Sunday after his latest historic victory. “I think after a lot of years of experience on this tour, you learn how to enjoy every moment,” Nadal said. “Today is a day to enjoy.” Few players have had more to celebrate during a single victory. With his 6-1, 6-3 win against Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final, Nadal checked off a career's worth of milestones: First man in the Open Era (since April 1968) to win 10 titles at a tournament First man to win 50 clay-court crowns, surpassing Guillermo Vilas at 49 His...
Albert Ramos-Vinolas was disappointed to lose in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final on Sunday, but was full of praise for Rafael Nadal after the match. The 15th seed enjoyed a dream run to the championship match, scoring wins over World No. 1 Andy Murray and fifth seed Marin Cilic, among other impressive victories. Ramos-Vinolas admitted that the mental and physical toll of the week had left him spent, but that beating Nadal would have been a tall task even at his peak. “I think that he was a little bit better in everything. He has a little bit more power than me. When he's a little bit better in everything, it's what we saw in the match,” said Ramos-Vinolas. “But...