Rafael Nadal hailed his historic fourth successive Monte Carlo Masters title triumph as a “special moment” that rewarded his fighting spirit.
Nadal beat Roger Federer 7-5, 7-5 in Sunday’s final, but had to come back from 0-4 down in the second set on his way to claiming seven of the last eight games.
It was his 24th career crown and he became the first man since New Zealander Anthony Wilding in 1914 to win four Monte Carlo titles in a row and the first in the Open era.
PHOTO: AP
It was also his 22nd successive victory in the tournament and 98th win in his last 99 clay court matches. His only loss was in the Hamburg Masters final last year when Federer brought his record 81-match winning streak to a halt.
To hammer home his dominance, he then teamed up with compatriot Tommy Robredo to win the doubles as well.
“If I was going to lose the second set, I was going to lose 6-2 or something, anything but 6-0,” the champion said. “So I was determined to win every point. He was controlling the court, so I had to come inside more. To win this tournament for a fourth time is a special moment. I didn’t play well in Indian Wells or Miami and if I was going to lose here then I was going to lose playing well.”
Federer described Nadal as a “hell of a clay court player.”
Sunday’s defeat was the world No. 1’s third loss in a row in the final against the Spaniard and his seventh defeat in eight clay court clashes, the deadly slow surface on which the 21-year-old Mallorcan, the triple French Open champion, is the undisputed ruler.
“You can’t get away with just serving well because he scrambles so well and can break you at ease,” Federer said.
Federer had his opportunities.
He broke first in both sets and was 4-0 ahead in the second before Nadal stormed to victory.
“It’s hard to imagine winning this title for four years in a row,” said Nadal, who collected his first trophy since winning in Stuttgart last July.
Federer was full of praise for his opponent.
“I have to congratulate Rafa. It seems to be the same thing every year here,” he said.
Federer, who was laid low by glandular fever in January, said he was taking positives from the match.
“I’ve come back strong and I’m happy where things are right now. It’s been a positive week for me. I could have lost in the first round. But I’ve beaten some great players here and pushed Rafa today,” Federer said. “I know I can beat him if I play the right way — I didn’t have that feeling when I played here last year. I’m healthy and moving well.”
“My attacking game didn’t work today, that’s where I lost too many points,” added Federer, who sent down an ugly 44 unforced errors to Nadal’s 20.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their