Monte-Carlo Master 1000 semifinals: Djokovic wins a tight straight set battle with Nadal - UBITENNIS
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Monte-Carlo Master 1000 semifinals: Djokovic wins a tight straight set battle with Nadal

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9 years ago

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TENNIS – Novak Djokovic edged past Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-3 after a tight battle in their 43rd head-to-head clash  at the Master 1000 in Monte-Carlo setting up the final against Tomas Berdych who swept aside Gael Monfils 6-1 6-4 in the first semifinal. Diego Sampaolo

Novak Djokovic booked his spot for his fourth final at the Monte-Carlo Country Club and his 33rd overall Master 1000 Final with his 6-3 6-3 win over Rafa Nadal in front of Prince Albert II of Monaco. Djokovic is bidding to become the first player to win the first three Master 1000 of the year after clinching the Indian Wells-Miami double. It could be his fourth Master 1000 title in a row including his Paris Bercy triumph last November

The score does not reflect completely the quality of this match as there were many long and tight games especially in the crucial seventh games of both sets, The eight-time Monte-Carlo champion posed a strong challenge but Djokovic won the most decisive points.

Nadal got off to a good start in the first game of the opening set breaking serve to 30 with a backhand volley winner at the net before holding serve to take a 2-0 lead but from then on Djokovic reeled off six of his next seven games. Nadal brought up another break point in the third game but Djokovic fought it off before breaking back in the fourth game

The World Number 1 from Serbia fended off a crucial break point chance in a long seventh game which lasted 11 minutes. Nadal brought up a break point chance with a stunning forehand down the line but Djokovic saved it after a long rally with a winner following an exchange of lobs.

Djokovic earned two break point chances in the eighth game after Nadal missed a backhand. Nadal saved the first break point opportunity but he hit his forehand into the net on the second opportunity to drop his serve for 3-5.

At 5-3 Djokovic closed out the match to 30 and clinched the first set in 43 minutes.

Djokovic brought up two break point chances in the opening game of the second set but Nadal won four consecutive points to hold his serve. Nadal went up 40-0 at 3-3 but he dropped four consecutive points to hand Djokovic three break points.  Nadal fended off the first two break points  but Djokovic finally broke serve on the third opportunity to take a 4-3 lead when Nadal sent a forehand wide.

Nadal fended off the first match point at 3-5 30-40 but Djokovic brought up a second match point opportunity with a forehand return winner down the line before sealing the win with another break in the ninth game with a backhand winner after one hour and 38 minutes. Djokovic sealed his 20th win in his 43 head-to-head matches against his Spanish rival. It was the fifth time that Djokovic beat Nadal on clay.

Djokovic and Nadal met for the first time since Nadal won his last Grand Slam time last June at the Roland Garros.

Djokovic has extended his winning streak to 16 consecutive matches. He will play his third Monte-Carlo final. He will face Tomas Berdych in tomorrow’s final. He leads 18-2 in his 20 head-to-head matches. Djokovic won their last match in the semifinals in Dubai in two sets. However they are tied 1-1 on clay. Berdych won his last match on this surface in Rome 2013 with 2-6 7-5 6-4. Djokovic beat Berdych in the Monte-Carlo semifinal in 2012 with 4-6 6-3 6-2.

“Eve when I was a break down in the first set I kept a winning mentality. I stayed focused. I am in great shape. I don’t feel tired”, said Djokovic

Tomas Berdych beat French wild card Gael Monfils 6-1 6-4 in one hour and 7 minutes to reach his first final in Monte-Carlo and his fourth career Master 1000 final.

Berdych took control from the baseline and broke serve to 30 in the fourth game of the first set to take a 3-1 lead. The Czech star reeled off seven consecutive points en route to getting his double break and clinched the first set in just 24 minutes with 6-1. Monfils won just eleven points in the first set.

Berdych went up a break at the start of the second set but Monfils broke straight back in the second game of the second set to draw level to 1-1 when Berdych committed two forehand errors. Berdych broke serve in h won the next two games to open up a 3-1 lead. Monfils tried to keep the pace with Berdych breaking back in the fifth game for 2-3  before earning two break point chances but Berdych raised the game saving them to pull away to 4-2. Monfils clawed his way back into the match to 4-5 but Berdych clinched the win with a forehand down the line to qualify for his fourth Master 1000 final  He won his only Master 1000 title in Paris Bercy in 2005.

Berdych has confirmed his excellent period of form this year in which he reached the semifinal at the Australian Open and plaed two finals in Doha and Rotterdam under the guidance of his new coach Dani Vallverdu, who worked in the staff of Andy Murray.

“The best thing is that I can see the results behind it, which is always very nice and always positive because it hasn’t been an easy decision to make that coaching change at the end of last year. I decided I still want to try to push myself higher and give myself another chance to try to compete with the best ones and move myself higher and better. I think we are going the right way”, said Berdych.  

Berdych extended his winning streak to 6-1 in his seven head-to-head matches against Monfils, who won his only match against the Czech player in five sets at the 2013 Roland Garros.

“It’s always difficult when I am up against Tomas. I can’t find the proper way. Hopefully I will find a solution one day. Even when I served well, he was returning hard and deep”, said Monfils.

 

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Daniil Medvedev Targets French Open Breakthrough After Rome Disappointment

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1 day ago

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15/05/2024

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Credit Francesca Micheli/Ubitennis

Daniil Medvedev believes there will be more title contenders at the French Open than previous editions with the Russian hoping to be one of them. 

The world No.4 heads into the Grand Slam after what has been a mixed clay swing. Medvedev suffered a third round defeat in Monte Carlo before bouncing back in Madrid where he reached the quarter-finals before retiring from his match with a minor injury. Meanwhile, at this week’s Italian Open, his title defence came to an end in the fourth round on Tuesday when he fell 6-1, 6-4, to Tommy Paul. 

“Mentally I had to be much better,” Medvedev said of his latest performance.
“I started to calm myself down and focus on the match only at the end of the match, and it was too late. I had to do better. I was expecting myself to play better.’
“It’s disappointing, but that’s how sport is. You lose and you go for the next tournament, which is a pretty important one.” He added. 

28-year-old Medvedev recently stated that he is seeing improvements in his game when it comes to playing on the clay. A surface which he has struggled on during stages of his career. Out of the 38 ATP Finals he has contested, only two of those were on the clay. Barcelona in 2019 when he finished runner-up and Rome last year which he won. 

As for the French Open, he has lost in the first round on five out of seven appearances. But did reach the quarter-finals in 2021 and the last 16 the following year. So could 2024 be his year?

“Now it’s maybe a little bit more open than it was ever before,” he said of this year’s event. 
“Good for me, too, because usually in Roland Garros I don’t play that well. The more open it is, the better it is for me.”

All of the top three players on the men’s tour are currently experiencing problems. Novak Djokovic crashed out of the Italian Open and recently underwent a medical assessment after getting hit in the head by a bottle in a freak accident. Jannik Sinner is reportedly on the verge of withdrawing from the French Open due to a hip issue and Carlos Alcaraz has been hindered by a forearm injury in recent weeks. 

“I’m feeling much better on clay,” Medvedev commented. “What is tough for me on clay sometimes is getting used to conditions. Every court – in every tournament in the world – is a bit different.
“On hard courts it’s the same: every court is different. On hard courts I have this ability to kind of quite fast get used to it. On clay, I need more time.”

Medvedev aims to become only the second Russian man in history to win the French Open after Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1996. The tournament will begin a week on Sunday. 

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Stefanos Tsitsipas Says Expanded Masters Events ‘Playing A Massive Role’ In Player Injuries

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3 days ago

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13/05/2024

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Credit Francesca Micheli/Ubitennis

Stefanos Tsitsipas has slammed the decision to extend the length of Masters 1000 tournaments to two weeks by warning that more injuries could occur in the future as a result. 

This week’s Rome Masters is taking place without two out of the world’s top three players. Jannik Sinner pulled out of his home event due to a hip injury and Carlos Alcaraz has been troubled by a forearm issue in recent weeks. Other players missing from the draw include Tomas Machac (Illness), Ugo Humbert (Left Knee) and Stan Wawrinka (Right Wrist). 

The tournament is taking place immediately after the Madrid Open which is also a Masters event that has been expanded to a two-week format in recent years. Supporters of the move argue that a bigger draw provides lower-ranked players with more opportunities to play in these events whilst others will have a day off between matches. 

However, world No.8 Tsitsipas isn’t completely happy with the schedule which he openly criticised on Monday following his 6-2, 7-6(1), win over Cameron Norrie. The Greek has won 12 out of 14 matches played on clay so far this season. 

“It’s a type of thing that hurt the sport a little bit, to have these types of things happen to the highest of the players,” Tsitsipas commented on his rival’s injuries.
“Without them, the show is not kind of the same. You have obviously the guys behind them (in the rankings). These kinds of tournaments deserve names like this to be playing and have the opportunity to play in front of these big stadiums and crowds.
“I’ve spoken about the fact that the schedule has a big toll on our bodies. It starts from the mental side, and it follows to the physical side. The extension of the days in the Masters 1000s I think plays a massive role and contributes a lot to the fact that these players are getting injured.”

The ATP’s extended format is set to be applied to seven out of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments from 2025. The only two yet to make or plan for such changes are Monte Carlo and Paris. However, Tsitsipas has called for changes to be made to the schedule.

“It was perhaps already a lot the way it was before with the seven-day events. Adding more days to that, well, you got to be some type of superhero to be consistent back-to-back 10 days in each event getting to the very end of it.” He commented.
“It’s not a very easy thing to do. Some people need to try it first to get an understanding and how it is to pull that off. Then they should make decisions based on that.
“I think this is not going to be the first time we see these types of things (player injuries). If these types of things continue with the same schedule not being adjusted or customized to the needs of the players, we might see more of these things occur in the future.”

It is not the first time a player has raised concerns about the extended format. Alexander Zverev previously said that the schedule is a disadvantage for the top players. Meanwhile, on the women’s Tour Caroline Garcia has criticised the move to expand WTA 1000 tournaments whilst Maria Sakkari said achieving the Madrid-Rome double has become harder to do. 

On the other hand, Daniil Medvedev has spoken in favour of the new format and describes injuries on the Tour as ‘part of the sport.’ The former US Open believes the issue is related to the quick surface changes players face and not the duration of tournaments. 

Tsitsipas will play Alex de Minaur in the fourth round of the Italian Open on Tuesday. 

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Novak Djokovic To Undergo Medical Check After Rome Thrashing, Bottle Incident

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4 days ago

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12/05/2024

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Novak Djokovic – ATP Roma 2024 (foto: Francesca Micheli/Ubitennis)

Novak Djokovic has indicated that he will speak to doctors following his lacklustre performance at the Italian Open where he crashed out in straight sets. 

The five-time champion was far from his best against Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo as he struggled to generate any rhythm in his tennis or a single break point opportunity. Djokovic’s below-par performance caught many off guard, including the tennis player himself who admitted afterwards that he was ‘completely off’ his game. 

Trying to find the reason behind his latest performance, the world No.1 isn’t ruling out the possibility that it might be linked to an incident that took place at the tournament two days ago. Following his win over France’s Corentin Moutet, Djokovic suffered a blow to his head after a fan accidentally dropped a metal bottle from the stands. Immediately afterwards, he experienced nausea, dizziness and bleeding for up to an hour but was checked by medical officials.

“I don’t know, to be honest. I have to check that.” Djokovic replied when asked if the incident affected his form on Sunday.
“Training was different. I was going for kind of easy training yesterday. I didn’t feel anything, but I also didn’t feel the same.
“Today under high stress, it was quite bad – not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance. Just no coordination. Completely different player from what it was two nights ago.
“It could be. I don’t know. I have to do medical checkups and see what’s going on. “

The tennis star said he managed to sleep fine after his head blow but did experience headaches. He looked to be in good spirits the day after it happened and even turned up to practice in Rome wearing a safety helmet.

Djokovic’s concerns come two weeks before the start of the French Open where he is seeking a record 25th Major title. He will undoubtedly be one of the contenders for glory but admits there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the coming days. 

“Everything needs to be better in order for me to have at least a chance to win it,” he said.
“The way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entered into my shoes. Just no rhythm, no tempo, and no balance whatsoever on any shot.
“It’s a bit concerning.”

The French Open will begin on Sunday 26th May. 

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