Simona Halep defeated Kiki Mladenovic in an entertaining women’s final while the Spanish capital celebrated their patron saint.
Double disappointment – The spectators of the Grand Stand – where the men’s doubles semifinals were scheduled – had to deal with a major disappointment throughout Saturday. In the first semifinal, Marc and Feliciano Lopez suffered a beat-down at the hands of Mahut and Roger-Vasselin of France, despite the massive support from the local crowd that absolutely packed the Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario Stadium. Later during the day, many fans were looking forward to the Kyrgios-Sock extravaganza, but they were left empty handed when the Australian-American duo withdrew before the match even started, giving Kubot and Melo access to Sunday’s final. The two rising stars probably decided to get to Rome one day in advance in order to focus on their singles.
Not only tennis – The short program of the penultimate day finally granted us some free time to explore the beautiful Spanish capital. This weekend the Madrid locals are celebrating San Isidro – the city’s patron saint – and a huge stage was set up in Plaza Mayor to host singers and dancers. Multiple shows were also taking place in many streets of the old town, but the real show that truly delighted our appetite was a refreshing dinner at the traditional Spanish restaurant “100 Montaditos” in Calle Montera.
A white and blue celebration – The organizers of the Mutua Madrid Open decided to use white and blue decorations during the award ceremony of the women’s tournament, which saw Simona Halep prevail over Kristina Mladenovic in a thrilling final. Cristiano Ronaldo – who was booed by the audience when the cameras showed him on the big screen during the match between Nadal and Djokovic – probably called his agent about possibly changing next season’s Real Madrid colors to white and blue.
In the whale’s belly – On Saturday we also had time to visit the ATP Media studios – the company that films and distributes the tournament’s pictures to countless TV stations around the world. Their location is quite unusual. The Madrid tournament and the ATP Finals in London are the only major events whose studios are located in a completely indoor structure, while during the other eight Masters 1000 events they are placed in outdoor containers that at least provide the operators with the opportunity to enjoy the sunlight from time to time.
(Article translation provided by T&L Global – Translation & Language Solutions – www.t-lglobal.com )
