Category: Tennis

Rafael Nadal was knocked out of the Rome Open in the second round on Saturday with a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.

Defeat to seventh seed Hurkacz casts doubt over whether clay-court icon Nadal will play at the upcoming French Open, where he has won a record 14 titles.

Nadal has said that he will only play at Roland Garros if he feels competitive after a raft of injury problems over the last two years which have left him languishing 305th in the world rankings.

The manner of his elimination in his first-ever encounter with 27-year-old Hurkacz was a step backwards after reaching the last 16 in Madrid.

Rafael Nadal held his own in the first two games in the first set, which took 26 minutes to complete, but then fell away as errors handed Hurkacz points.

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The 37-year-old twice gave away breaks of serve with miscued drop shots in the first set which Hurkacz closed out in 49 minutes as he blew through five straight games.

The match was as good as done when Hubert Hurkacz, who did not drop a single service game, broke Rafael Nadal in the third game of the second set to set up a famous victory.

That level of dominance over Nadal on clay, much less a court where he has won a record 10 titles, would have been unimaginable a few short years ago.

But Hurkacz will face Tomas Etcheverry in the third round of Rome after likely ending Nadal’s love affair with Rome as the 22-time Grand Slam winner looks set to call time on his career at the end of the season.

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Rafael Nadal battled into the second round of the Rome Open on Thursday after bouncing back from a set down to beat qualifier Zizou Bergs 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Clay court icon Nadal will face world number nine Hubert Hurkacz next as he continued his comeback from injury with a punishing match against his Belgian opponent which lasted nearly three hours.

Also on Nadal’s side of the draw are last year’s winner, world number four Daniil Medvedev, and the beaten finalist Holger Rune.

Nadal has in recent times been a shadow of the player who has won 22 Grand Slams in a storied career which has also brought a record 10 titles in Rome, his most recent in 2021.

The 37-year-old has struggled with injury, dropping down to 305 in the world rankings after missing almost all of last year.

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He returned in April from another three-month lay-off with a second-round exit in Barcelona before reaching the last 16 in Madrid last week.

He showed glimpses of his old self against Bergs who is ranked 108 in the world and is an eight-time title winner on the Challenger tour.

Outsider Bergs, 24, had in previous tournaments taken sets off high-profile players like Stefanos Tsitsipas and last year’s losing Rome Open finalist Holger Rune, and he pushed his illustrious rival all the way.

The big-hitting Belgian briefly looked like he might win the biggest match of his career to date before Rafael Nadal fought back to take a hard-fought victory.

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World number one Iga Swiatek cruised through to a second consecutive Madrid Open final with a straight sets 6-1, 6-3 victory over Madison Keys on Thursday.

Dominant on clay, Swiatek barely put a foot wrong, making just eight unforced errors in the match to leave the 29-year-old American with virtually no chance.

“I’m really happy that I had such a solid game today,” Swiatek said on court after reaching her 11th WTA 1000 final.

“Madison is an amazing player with a really fast game and a big serve, so I wanted to focus on myself and I’m happy I was focussed.”

The top seed, triumphant at Doha and Indian Wells, started in unforgiving form.

Iga Swiatek broke to love in the second game and dropped just three of the first 17 points.

Keys, seeded 18th, battled back to hold from 0-30 down for a 3-1 deficit, fighting to stay in the set.

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However last year’s Madrid runner-up broke again for a 5-1 lead and served it out to wrap up the first set in 31 minutes.

The clinical Iga Swiatek broke for a 2-1 lead in the second set with a superb passing shot and never relinquished her advantage, even though Madison Keys was more competitive.

The 22-year-old four-time Grand Slam winner broke once more to seal her victory when world number 20 Keys went long.

Later reigning champion and second seed Aryna Sabalenka faces Elena Rybakina in the second semi-final, ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Swiatek.

In the men’s quarter-finals of the ongoing Madrid Open, Daniil Medvedev plays Jiri Lehecka, aiming to join Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final four.

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Second seed Carlos Alcaraz extended his Madrid Open winning streak to a record-equalling 14 with a hard-fought victory over familiar foe Jan-Lennard Struff to move into the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

In a rematch of last year’s final at the Caja Magica, Alcaraz snapped Struff’s six-match winning streak with a 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/4) result to squeeze through to a last-eight clash with seventh seed Andrey Rublev.

Top-seeded Jannik Sinner has been dealing with a hip problem but managed to overcome Karen Khachanov 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to reach his fourth Masters 1000 quarter-final in as many events this season.

Alcaraz, who missed Monte Carlo and Barcelona with a forearm injury, saved eight out of 10 break points and saw four match points come and go before he completed the two-hour 52-minute win.

“How much I’ve missed this! Quarters next,” wrote the former world number one on the camera lens after the match.

Carlos Alcaraz, who is now 24-0 on Spanish clay since the start of the 2022 season, is bidding to become the first player to win three consecutive Madrid titles.

After blowing a 2-0 lead in the second set, Alcaraz opened up a 3-1 advantage in the tiebreak, only to lose the next five points and go on to surrender the set to Struff, who came into the tournament on the back of a maiden ATP title run in Munich.

A break of serve in the fourth game of the decider gave Alcaraz the score cushion he needed but the two-time Grand Slam champion was broken while serving for the victory from 40-0 up at 5-3.

Struff saved four match points and the contest fittingly went to a deciding tiebreak. CarloAlcaraz let a 3-0 lead slip, but he got his hands on more match points by landing an inch-perfect lob and he closed on his fifth opportunity of the match.

“This match reminds me of last year’s. It was a great fight,” said Carlos Alcaraz after matching Rafael Nadal’s record winning streak in Madrid.

“It was difficult for me to deal with my emotions, to handle difficult moments. Serving for the match, it was really difficult for me to get broken after being 40-0 up, but I’m really happy that at the end it didn’t affect me and my mentality and I kept fighting.”

Sinner won 80 percent of points behind his first serve against Khachanov, hitting 35 winners to 29 unforced errors in the two-hour nine-minute battle.

The reigning Australian Open champion will face Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the Madrid Open semi-finals.

“For sure I’m not physically at 100 percent today. Tomorrow I have one day off, which can help me to get through,” said the Italian.

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Meanwhile, third seed Daniil Medvedev completed his full set of Masters 1000 quarter-finals reached by defeating Alexander Bublik 7-6(7/3), 6-4 to book a meeting with Rafael Nadal or Jiri Lehecka.

After grabbing the opening set tiebreak, Medvedev cruised to a 5-1 lead before Bublik halted his momentum and narrowed his deficit to just one game.

But Medvedev had a second chance to serve for the victory and this time he comfortably converted his first match point to make it to the last-eight stage or better at each of the nine Masters 1000 events.

On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek was made to sweat in her 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory over Brazilian lefty Beatriz Haddad Maia, as she dropped her first set of the tournament and needed two and a half hours to reach a second consecutive Madrid Open semi-final.

Swiatek squandered a 4-1 lead to lose the first set but the world number one struck back with a vengeance, cutting down on her errors to sweep the next eight games.

Haddad Maia stopped the rot to break Swiatek in the third game of the decider, but the Brazilian’s comeback attempt was short-lived.

Swiatek, 22, took four of the last five games to set up a last-four showdown with 2022 champion Ons Jabeur or American Madison Keys.

“I needed to stick to the tactics, because in the first set I started making too many mistakes. I started playing too fast,” said Swiatek.

“I just needed to really get back to basics and what I wanted to play today. It took me a while, longer than usual, but I’m glad that it happened after the set anyway.”

Swiatek has now reached the semi-finals at a WTA 1000 event for a 15th time –- the most by a player under the age of 23.

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Rafael Nadal said he is doing his best to “keep dreaming” after he extended his stay at the Madrid Open by winning a three-hour tussle with Argentina’s Pedro Cachin 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 on Monday.

Contesting his home tournament one last time before retirement, the five-time champion gave the world number 91 his shirt after Cachin asked him for a memento from the match.

“Some moments good, some moments not good. I found a way to be through. I think in the third set with some mistakes I was still able to be a bit unpredictable,” Nadal said of his roller-coaster third-round victory.

“Now I’m enjoying. Let’s see how I wake up tomorrow. Playing at home means everything to me, just try my best to keep dreaming.”

Nadal’s reward is a Tuesday last-16 clash with the 30th-seeded Jiri Lehecka, who beat the Mallorcan in a practice session a week ago.

The 37-year-old has been dealing with physical issues, which have limited him to  eight matches this season.

Asked if it would surprise him if he managed to beat Lehecka on Tuesday, Nadal said: “Yes, more so after today’s match. I will face a player who is playing at a very high level, who has a very powerful serve.”

While Nadal has already beaten a higher-ranked opponent this week — number 11 Alex de Minaur — he believes the quality of Lehecka’s ball “is another step up”.

Top-seeded Jannik Sinner beat world number 72 Pavel Kotov 6-2, 7-5.

Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik beat American Ben Shelton 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4  to reach the fourth round, where he will face number three seed Daniil Medvedev.

Ons Jabeur called out organisers of European tournaments for giving men preferential treatment at combined events and said “they need to respect women more.”

Jabeur, the 2022 champion in Madrid, was speaking after dismissing ninth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 6-4 to set up a last-eight clash with Madison Keys.

“I feel like we have a long way to go, especially here in Madrid and in Rome, in Europe in general,” she said.

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Jabeur said women players were not given the same access to practice courts and were on television less.

“The way they treat women here and men, they’re completely different,” she added.

“Here in Spain, I would love to go to the hotel and open the TV and see a woman’s tennis match.

“How can you inspire young girls without showing any matches?”

Top-seeded Iga Swiatek dropped the opening game before sweeping the next 12 against home favourite Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 6-0 and advancing to a quarter-final meeting with Brazilian lefty Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Keys won an all-American battle, knocking out third-seeded Coco Gauff 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-4 to reach the last eight in Madrid for the first time.

The 29-year-old missed the start of the season with a shoulder injury, which sidelined her for four months.

Gauff, who was broken seven times and hit 13 doubles faults, lamented her serving.

“Not holding serve honestly is what cost me the match,” said the reigning US Open champion.

“My serve is evolving and there’s a lot of minor changes being made,” she said. “When it’s on, it’s definitely a weapon and I guess it’s just making it more consistent.”

Also through to the quarter-finals is Mirra Andreeva, who celebrated her 17th birthday with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 win over Italian 12th seed Jasmine Paolini, a year on from her dream run to the Madrid fourth round on her WTA debut.

The Russian teenager fell to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka at the Caja Magica 12 months ago and could get a rematch with the world number two, who faced Danielle Collins in the last match of the day on centre court.

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Rafael Nadal said he is doing his best to “keep dreaming” after he extended his stay at the Madrid Open by winning a three-hour tussle with Argentina’s Pedro Cachin 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 on Monday.

Contesting his home tournament one last time before retirement, the five-time champion exchanged some warm words with Cachin at the net and gave the world number 91 a match shirt as a memento.

Nadal’s reward is a last-16 clash with the 30th-seeded Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday.

“Some moments good, some moments not good. I found a way to be through. I think in the third set with some mistakes I was still able to be a bit unpredictable,” Nadal said of his roller-coaster victory.

“Now I’m enjoying. Let’s see how I wake up tomorrow. Playing at home means everything to me, just try my best to keep dreaming.”

Since the start of the 2005 season, Nadal has lost just once in 163 matches against players ranked outside the top 50 on clay.

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Cachin’s two wins in Madrid Open this week were his first of the season, as he entered the tournament with zero wins from 11 matches contested in 2024.

But those numbers do not reflect the level showcased by the 29-year-old, who saved nine out of 18 break points against Rafael Nadal, and pushed the 22-time major champion to his limits.

In a dominant first set, Nadal fired 14 winners and made just nine unforced errors to take the lead in 47 minutes.

He recovered from a double-break deficit in the second set to force a tiebreak but couldn’t hold off another surge from Cachin, who converted his first chance to level the match and take it into a decider.

Nadal had two chances to go up a double break early in the final set but Cachin sidestepped both to hold and soon evened up the score at 2-2.

The Argentine could not hold his level though as Rafael Nadal found an opening once again and this time did not flinch, storming through to the fourth round on Cachin’s 41st unforced error of the match.

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World number one Iga Swiatek beat Wang Xiyu 6-1, 6-4 to reach the third round of the Madrid Open on Thursday as she bids to win the competition for the first time.

Earlier Coco Gauff sailed through to the third round with a 6-0, 6-0 thumping of Arantxa Rus, while Liudmila Samsonova ousted Naomi Osaka in three sets.

Runner-up last year, Swiatek bounced back from her semi-final defeat by Elena Rybakina in Stuttgart with a largely comfortable straight-sets victory.

The Pole, a four-time Grand Slam winner and an expert on clay, wobbled in the second set as Wang won three games in a row but recovered to triumph in one hour 16 minutes.

“I love this place — I got to know the city a little better last year,” Swiatek said. “So this time I feel more comfortable around.”

Madrid is the only major European clay tournament that three-time French Open champion Swiatek has yet to win.

Iga Swiatek coasted through the first set, breaking twice for a 4-0 lead. She wrapped up it up with another break, leaving Wang no chance of reaching her red-hot backhand return.

The Doha and Indian Wells winner took a 4-1 lead in the second set but Wang fought her way back in for 4-4, before the top seed steeled herself to hold.

Wang then handed the second set on a plate to Swiatek with two double faults, and the Pole will face 27th seed Sorana Cirstea in the third round.

Earlier Gauff, 20, earned the first ‘double bagel’ victory of her career in a WTA Tour main draw event in only 51 minutes against her 33-year-old Dutch opponent Rus.

The American saved four break points in the match to become the third player ever to win 6-0, 6-0 in the Madrid Open main draw.

World number three Gauff will face Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska next.

Samsonova brought former world number one Naomi Osaka’s return to clay to a halt with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka twice battled back from a break down in the second set to force a decisive third but world number 17 Samsonova eventually ground out the win.

Japanese star Osaka returned to tennis in January after a long break and earned her first victory on clay for two years on Wednesday against Greet Minnen.

However Russian 15th seed Samsonova, whom Osaka beat at Indian Wells in March, was able to end a four-match losing streak with her victory in two hours 22 minutes in the Spanish capital.

Hard-court expert Osaka, 26, is not overly fond of the red dirt and has not won back-to-back matches on the surface since 2019.

She lost last week at the Rouen Open in France against Martina Trevisan in her first match back on clay but improved this week.

“I felt — I don’t want to say happy — I felt good that I was able to fight back,” said Osaka.

“I think it’s a big difference from my match in France, so I was happy that I learned from that match, but obviously really sad that I lost.”

Samsonova raced into a 4-0 first set lead, breaking in the first and third games as Osaka struggled.

“Honestly, it’s not the sliding part for me, it’s the touch,” said Osaka.

“I feel like I’m getting the balls, I’m just not really placing them well.”

Samsonova will face Madison Keys in the next round.

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Novak Djokovic was named World Sportsman of the Year for a record-equalling fifth time at the Laureus Awards ceremony on Monday, while Spanish footballer Aitana Bonmati won individual and team awards.

Tennis great Djokovic, a record 24-time Grand Slam champion, equalled his former rival Roger Federer’s tally at the prestigious ceremony in Madrid.

Djokovic, 36, won three Grand Slams last year along with the ATP Finals.

“I am incredibly honoured to have won my fifth,” said Djokovic. “I think back to 2012 when I won it for the first time as a 24-year-old.”

“I am very proud to be here 12 years later, reflecting on a year that brought me and my fans a lot of excitement and success.”

Bonmati won the Sportswoman of the Year award, becoming the first footballer to do so, and was also rewarded along with her Spain teammates for winning the Women’s World Cup last summer.

La Roja earned the World Team of the Year award for winning the competition for the first time in their history.

“Our national team is a group like no other -– our strength comes from every challenge we have faced, both on and off the field of play,” said Bonmati, who also won the Champions League with her club Barcelona.

Bonmati and her teammates were praised for helping to combat sexism in the Spanish football federation by protesting after disgraced former president Luis Rubiales forcibly kissed player Jenni Hermoso.

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England international Jude Bellingham was given the World Breakthrough of the Year award for his stunning start to life at Real Madrid, a day after he scored the Clasico winner against Barcelona.

Bellingham is Los Blancos’ top goalscorer with 21 goals across all competitions in his first season at the club.

Gymnastics star Simone Biles was given the World Comeback of the Year award for her triumphant return to the sport after nearly a two-year mental health break.

Biles, a three-time World Sportswoman of the Year winner, won four gold medals at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium last year.

Tennis star Rafael Nadal’s foundation to help youngsters in Spain and India won the Sport for Good award, while Diede de Groot earned the World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award.

The Dutch wheelchair tennis player claimed an unparallelled third consecutive calendar Grand Slam last year.

Arisa Trew, a 14-year-old Australian skateboarder, won the World Action Sportsperson of the Year award.

The awards have been offered annually since 2000 by a 69-strong jury comprised of sporting greats who make up the Laureus Academy.

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Rafael Nadal suffered his first defeat on his return to tennis after injury as he fell 7-5, 6-1 against Alex de Minaur on Wednesday in the Barcelona Open second round.

The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back on court this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well but eventually crumbled against the hard-working world number 11 from Australia.

Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of the 2023 season, is hoping to compete at the French Open in May where he is the record 14-time champion.

“On a personal level, for what is to come, the 6-1 in the second set is what had to happen today,” said Nadal, who explained he did not want to push himself too far.

“That’s the way I need to proceed today, to give me a chance to compete at Roland Garros,” he added.

“I’ll try to take a step further in Madrid, then in Rome, and if, in any tournament it’s worth going out there to give everything and die, it’s in Paris.”

The Spaniard, who has won the Barcelona clay-court title on 12 occasions, had eased past Flavio Cobolli on Tuesday in his first ATP Tour match since January, but said he was not favourite against De Minaur who has now won his last two clashes against the former world number one.

It proved a far tougher challenge and despite showing flashes of his supreme quality on the court named after him, Nadal came up short in what he said he believes is his final appearance at the tournament.

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The Australian broke in the first game and tested Nadal with a series of brilliant drop shots which Rafael Nadal could not reach.

However, Nadal hit back with a break of his own in the sixth game and consolidated with a fizzing backhand for a 4-3 lead.

De Minaur broke to love to take a 6-5 lead as Nadal went wide and sealed the first set when the Spaniard pushed a shot into the net, winning the final 10 points as Nadal started to struggle.

The 25-year-old Australian broke for a 2-1 lead in the second set when Nadal could not return a powerful passing shot, and secured another break for 4-1.

De Minaur wrapped up his emphatic second set performance with a third break when Nadal went long.

It marked what Rafael Nadal said was “realistically” his final appearance at a tournament he loves.

“I had the chance to say goodbye here on court and that means a lot for me,” he added.

“A week ago I felt I was not able to play any more at this event, that would be painful, but at least I played and now it’s the moment to keep going.”

Monte Carlo Masters champion Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Sebastian Ofner later Wednesday in the second round of the Barcelona Open.

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Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal said Monday that returning to action at the Barcelona Open is a “gift” and he wants to enjoy every moment of what he expects to be the last year of his career.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner has not played an ATP Tour match since January, when he felt a hip injury flare up at the Brisbane International.

Nadal, who missed virtually all of the 2023 season, will face Italian Flavio Cobolli on Tuesday in the first round on the centre-court in Barcelona which bears his own name.

The 37-year-old withdrew from the Monte Carlo Masters earlier in April and is hoping to compete at Roland Garros in May, where he is a record 14-time champion.

“More than lamenting where I wasn’t able to be, I prefer to be happy that I am here,” Nadal told a news conference.

“On a personal level it is a gift for me to be in Barcelona. I’m taking this as my last year and I want to enjoy every moment.”

Rafael Nadal, the record 12-time Barcelona Open winner, has not played a match on clay since winning the French Open in 2022.

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Despite viewing 2024 as his final year as a professional, the veteran said he was not setting any deadline for retirement.

“We’ll keep going forward until I have the feeling that it’s not worth it,” continued Nadal.

“I’m not putting a deadline on that, but as I’ve said, in the end life marks your path for you.”

The Barcelona Open draw had put Rafael Nadal on a collision course with Spanish compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals but the 20-year-old was forced to withdraw Sunday because of fitness concerns.

“Let’s hope he recovers well and quickly, it’s bad for the tournament because he’s the top seed,” said Nadal.

“I’m not in a position to be thinking about the semi-finals.”

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