Rafael Nadal Creates History With 11th French Open Title - UBITENNIS
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Rafael Nadal Creates History With 11th French Open Title

The king of clay has continued his love affair with Roland Garros by winning his 17th grand slam title at the age of 32.

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World No.1 Rafael Nadal has become the first man in history to win the same grand slam title 11 times after defeating Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, in the final of the French Open.

The 32-year-old, who has only ever lost two matches at Roland Garros in his entire career, thwarted the threats posed by his dangerous rival. Thiem is one of only three men in history to have scored three or more wins over Nadal on the clay. On the Philippe Chatrier Court, the Spaniard held his nerve against an animated Thiem, who was not afraid to show his emotions on the court. Blasting 26 winners along with 24 unforced errors to  extend his reputation as the most decorated player in the history of the French Open.

“I’m very happy to have won the tournament. I played a very good match today.” Nadal said immediately after his win. “Well played today by Dominic. He has played a good week (at Roland Garros. I’m happy (for him) because he’s a great friend. One of the players that the tour needs.”

Gunning for his seventh win over the Austrian at Roland Garros, Nadal was tested from the onset. After getting off to a perfect start by breaking for a 2-0 lead, Thiem broke back instantly. The Austrian’s ability to combine power and slice rewarded him and earned him praise from the crowd. Nevertheless, a more composed and experienced Nadal remained on the offensive, forcing his opponent to come through some tricky service games. Including one where Thiem required 12 minutes to hold serve to level 3-3. It appeared that a tiebreaker could be on the cards, but a disastrous Thiem service game, consisting of four consecutive unforced errors, handed the world No.1 the first set. Providing an anti-climax to what was an opening set of high quality by both players.

Firmly in the driving position, Nadal gathered in momentum as the match progressed. Breaking immediately at the start of set number two following a Thiem backhand sailing beyond the baseline. The problem for the 24-year-old wasn’t his ability on the court, but maintaining it against a player as consistent as Nadal.  As for Nadal, he too felt the pressure on the court. Receiving a code violation for breaking the 25-second rule between points. Still, it failed to hinder Nadal’s progress.

Continuing to dodge the threats coming from across the court, the Spaniard extended his lead to a set and 5-2. Two games later the two-set lead was sealed with the help of another Thiem backhand error, which landed in the tramlines.

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The scare

Twice Thiem has managed to battle from two-sets down to win, but not this time. Once again another marathon service game concluded with Nadal breaking. Elevating him to just four games away from the title.

Even an unexpected issue with his finger failed to halt Nadal. Leading the third set 2-1, 30-0, he stopped play to undergo a medical assessment. The reason was due to the middle finger of his left hand, which froze in one place.

“It was a tough moment in the third set when I got cramp in my hand. I was very, very scared. But that’s sport. It was very humid today I was against a player that pushed me to my limits.” Nadal commented about the problem.

Storming towards the finish line with the help of a double break, Nadal finally sealed title No.11 at Roland Garros after 202 minutes of pulsating action. Four championship points came and went before he triumphed on his fifth after a Thiem backhand shot landed just beyond the baseline. Prompting a relieved Nadal to lift his arms in delight.

“I played my best match (of the tournament) today in the final. It is very important to play your best against Dominic. I had to be very aggressive because he is a difficult opponent.” Said the 17-time grand slam champion.
“It’s just amazing. I can’t describe my feelings because it’s not even a dream. It was impossible to think that I could win this title 11 times.”

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Thiem’s tribute

Runner-up Thiem praised his rival following their clash in Paris. The Austrian is only the second male player from his country to contest a major final after Thomas Muster. He is the youngest Roland Garros finalist since 2010.

“I think what you are doing is one of the most outstanding things to do in sport.” He said to Nadal. “To win this tournament 11 times is amazing.
“For me this has still been two great weeks. I still remember when you (Nadal) won here the first time. I was 11-years-old and watching it on TV. I honestly never expected that I would one day be playing the final here, I’m really happy.”

Nadal is now the fourth player in the Open Era to win three grand slam titles after their 30th birthday. Joining Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Roger Federer. He exits Roland Garros with 2.2 million euros in prize money and 2000 ranking points. Guaranteeing that he will be world No.1 at the start of the grass season, which will officially get underway tomorrow.

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Alcaraz Halts Sinner’s Winning Streak To Reach The Final In Indian Wells

Carlos Alcaraz earns the right to defend his title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells fending off Jannik Sinner’s assault to his ATP no. 2 spot

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Jannik Sinner (left) and Carlos Alcaraz (right) - Indian Wells 2024 (photo Twitter X @BNPPARIBASOPEN)

All good things come to an end. Jannik Sinner was on a 19-match winning streak since his loss to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals that included his first Grand Slam win in Australia last January, and appeared as the most in-form player at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the first Masters 1000 tournament of the season. But as he faced Carlos Alcaraz in an eagerly-awaited semifinal, he was unable to continue his quest for the third consecutive title of the season, succumbing to the Spaniard 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The match was a face-off for the no. 2 spot in the ATP ranking that Alcaraz will still occupy next Monday regardless of the result of Sunday’s final, and this is a much-needed confidence boost for him after a disappointing start of the season where he was handily beaten in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open by Zverev and did not win any tournament during the South American clay court swing where he was ousted by Nicolas Jarry in Buenos Aires and had to retire for an ankle injury at the Rio Open.

The match, originally scheduled for 1.30 pm Pacific Time, had to be suspended for over three hours after only three games because of an unusual downpour. As the match resumed, Sinner appeared once again the perfectly-tuned machine that had been crushing opponents with metronomic regularity for the past weeks while Alcaraz was struggling to keep up with his opponent’s pace from the baseline.

The first set was smooth sailing for the Italian who cruised to a comprehensive 6-1 in 27 minutes: Alcaraz was tentative from the baseline and could not find the right position to fire his screamers and change the tactical discourse of the match. “Then at the beginning of the second set, as I saw he was making a lot of mistakes, I tried to be as solid as possible when I should have kept pushing instead – Sinner said during his press conference – and that’s what cost me the match in the end”.

While serving at 1-2 in the second set, a few uncharacteristic forehand mistakes started to dot his thus far spotless game, and that cost him the break that sent Alcaraz flying to a 4-1 advantage. The Spaniard then found the confidence to change his return position and make Sinner work a lot more on his service games, as the Italian struggled to find a countermeasure to the tactical shift in the match: “I kept doing the same thing over and over again”, Sinner stressed, and forehand unforced errors started to pile up to reach the burdensome number of 27 at the end of the match.

Sinner had the chance to find his way back into the second set while Alcaraz was serving at 3-5, but Carlos cancelled his break point with a laser backhand down the line that had the 15,000-strong crowd cheering on their feet.

The third set ran away very quickly from the Italian, who started touching repeatedly the back of his left leg around his knee. Sinner got broken again during the third game, and while going for a last-ditch attempt to recover a short volley by Alcaraz he tumbled to the ground slightly injuring his right elbow and arm. From there onwards it was just more mistakes by Sinner and a clinical execution by Alcaraz on how to take home a match.

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“It Feels Great’ – Novak Djokovic Marks Indian Wells Return With Milestone Win

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Novak Djokovic - Indian Wells 2024 (foto Ubitennis)

Novak Djokovic says he still has a ‘great feeling’ in Indian Wells after playing his first match at the event for five years. 

The world No.1 battled to a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, win over Aleksandar Vukic in what was his first taste of competitive tennis since losing in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. It was a far from smooth encounter for Djokovic, who hit 23 winners and won 83% of his first service points. In the second set, he was broken twice with the second of those occurring when he was serving at 5-6. Nevertheless, he battled back in the decider to win. 

This year is the first time Djokovic has been able to play in the Masters 1000 event since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the 2020 tournament was cancelled, he was unable to play the next three editions due to restrictions placed on unvaccinated foreign visitors to America. Despite the absence, the five-time champion states that his love for the event is as strong as ever.

“It feels great to come back with the win. It’s been five years and the great feeling is still there. I enjoyed myself very much. Beautiful stadium. Great atmosphere.” Djokovic said during his press conference. 
“I was a bit nervous at the beginning. I haven’t played a match in more than five weeks. I thought the start was good. Then I think he upped his game.
“I probably lost a little bit of the momentum. We got into the third set, I thought the level of the tennis was pretty good in the third. Great points. He made me produce some really important points in games in order to prevail in this match. I’m glad that I was pushed, as well, which is important.”

Djokovic’s latest victory is his 400th in a Masters 1000 tournament. He is only the second player in history to have reached this milestone since the tournament category was introduced in 1990. The first to do so was Rafael Nadal who currently has 406 wins to his name. 

He could create more history in Indian Wells should the Serbian go on to claim the title this year. If he does, he would become the first man to have won it for a sixth time. Although Djokovic is refusing to get too far ahead of himself. 

“I would love to,” he said of trying to claim a sixth title. “Obviously there is still a long way to get to the title match, but it’s a good start.’
“I know I can always produce better tennis. Obviously very self-critical, and I think some extent it’s also important because then it puts you in the right mindset of wanting to work more and being engaged in the process of improving on a daily basis, or trying to perfect your game and right the wrongs that you’ve done in a previous match or previous practice session.
“So that’s what I’m going to keep doing and hopefully building my game as this tournament is played over 10 to 14 days, so it allows you to have the practice days also between matches, which then allows you to work on certain specifics in the game.”

Djokovic will play Italy’s Luca Nardi in the next round. 

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Carlos Alcaraz Brushes Aside Injury Doubts To Reach Indian Wells Third Round

Carlos Alcaraz is into the third round at Indian Wells after a three set win over Matteo Arnaldi.

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(@BNPPARIBASOPEN - Twitter)

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame injury doubts to edge past Matteo Arnaldi 6-7(5) 6-0 6-1 at Indian Wells.

The world number two had to endure an aggressive opening set from the in-form Italian to reach the third round.

After a tight opening set, Alcaraz raced through the last two sets as he set up a third round showdown with Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The Spaniard had entered this match with injury doubts after retiring from his match with Thiago Monteiro in Rio De Janeiro.

However Alcaraz was very pleased with how his ankle held up as he moved on in California, “Honestly it surprised me. I felt great, moving normally without thinking about it,” Alcaraz told the ATP website.

“It was a really good match to realise that I am better than I thought. I think I played great tennis because of that. I had to change just a few things. I made a few mistakes in the first set… I had to put in more first serves in the second and third set, and I think that was a big key to improving my level a little bit, to be in the rallies — long rallies as well, to get the rhythm, and I’m really happy to get it at the end.

“But right now I’m getting better and feeling really, really well. But I think I have to get a good rhythm step by step. I think that’s the big difference between last year and this one. This [is a] really special tournament for me. I want to do it well. This is the first match playing high intensity and I didn’t know how it’s going respond, the ankle.

“I have to deal with it, but I didn’t deal with the nerves very well in the first set, moving differently, hitting the ball differently. My game is playing aggressive all the time. And try to stay calm and wait for my chances.

“When you get nervous, you don’t think about it. You don’t hit the ball as good as you want. You don’t move as good as you want. I think that’s the big difference.”

Alcaraz will hope for a good week this week as he defends the Indian Wells title as he aims to win a first title since Wimbledon this week.

Next for the Spaniard will be Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Constant Lestienne in straight sets.

Auger-Aliassime currently leads the head-to-head 3-1 but Alcaraz won their last meeting in Indian Wells last year.

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