Rafael Nadal warmed up for his French Open title defense in style when he dethroned a demoralized Roger Federer as Hamburg Masters champion, winning the final 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3 on Sunday.
In a rematch of last year’s title clash, which was won by Federer, triple Roland Garros champion Nadal showed a determined fighting spirit with a superb array of shots to claim victory after 2 hours, 52 minutes.
It was the Spaniard’s 10th win over Federer — his eighth on clay. It also ended the Swiss world No. 1’s 41-match unbeaten run on German soil.
The pair had contrasting fortunes coming into the final.
Having not dropped a set all tournament, Federer needed just over an hour to see off unseeded Italian Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-1 in Saturday’s semi-final.
By contrast, Nadal fought an epic three-set battle over three hours in his semi-final against Novak Djokovic, the champion on Rome’s clay last week.
After breaking Nadal in only the second game of the first set, Federer was in total control and broke again to take a commanding lead at 5-1.
Nadal then called for the physio to look at a troublesome hamstring and it looked like it was all over with barely 30 minutes played.
Federer then twice served for the first set, but Nadal’s defense held and he stunned the Swiss star by breaking the world No. 1 three times with some excellent line shots to serve out for the first set 7-5 after exactly an hour.
At the start of the second, Federer was broken again, but responded in kind by breaking back the Spaniard twice with a serve and volley game and then resumed control to serve out to a 4-1 lead.
The game took another twist with Federer leading the second set 5-2, as Nadal rallied again to level the set at 5-5 as the set went to a tie-break. Nadal took a 2-0 lead in the tie-break, only to see Federer roar back to win the second set breaker 7-3 and level the final.
But in the deciding set, Nadal held his nerve after charging into a 4-1 lead, before Federer trimmed him back to 5-3, but the Spaniard served it out and roared his joy at gaining revenge for his defeat in last year’s final.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
HAT-TRICK PREP: World No. 1 Sabalenka clinched her first win of the season, as she aims to become the first woman in 20 years to win three Australian Opens in succession Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini and Taylor Fritz yesterday all clocked impressive wins as tennis powerhouses Italy and the US surged into the quarter-finals of the mixed-team United Cup. World No. 3 Gauff swept past Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 to avenge a loss at the Paris Olympics, while Fritz took care of Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in searing Perth heat. That was enough to put the Americans — last year’s winners — into a last-eight clash with China today, while Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan today are to meet defending champions Germany, led by Alexander Zverev, in the other Perth quarter-final. In Sydney, the in-form
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
RSS