LONDON: The founder of Ubitennis has insisted that he meant no harm after asking Rafael Nadal a question that the Spaniard branded as ‘bullshit’ at the ATP Finals on Monday evening.
Ubaldo Scanagatta, who has worked at more than 150 grand slam tournaments, asked the world No.1 if his latest performance on the tour was linked to his recent marriage. Nadal lost his opening match at the ATP Finals to Alexander Zverev in straight sets. Against his German rival, he failed to generate a single break point opportunity despite winning all five of their previous meetings on the tour.
“It is a big surprise for me (that) you ask me this after I have been with the same girl for 15 years and having a very stable and normal life. Doesn’t matter if you put a ring on your finger or not. In my personal way, I am a very normal guy.” Nadal said in response to Scanagatta’s question.
Bemused by the question, he went on to ask the Italian journalist how long he had been with his wife. Then swiftly shut down the interaction between him and Scanagatta.
“We move to Spanish (question) because that’s bulls***. Thank you very much.” He snapped.
Following their exchange in the press room at The O2 Arena, the Ubitennis creator hit back at Nadal is his daily round-up video. Arguing that it was a legitimate question to ask because marriage is a significant milestone for many in their lives.
“I think he should excuse himself because I wasn’t rude.” He said. “My question was very innocent and I really don’t understand that kind of answer.”
Nadal has always been very secretive when it comes to his personal life and relationship with Xisca. In the lead up to his extravagant wedding, few details were disclosed to the public. One Mallorcan newspaper reported that those working at the wedding were required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
The ATP Finals is Nadal’s first tournament since withdrawing from the Paris Masters due to an abdominal injury. Despite his loss to Zverev, the world No.1 has insisted that physically he is feeling good. As well as his first title at the event at stake, he is also locked in a battle with nemesis Novak Djokovic for the year-end top spot.
Nadal will return to action on Wednesday when he plays Daniil Medvedev. He has defeated the Russian twice this year, including their epic clash in the final of the US Open.
The full exchange
US: “Tonight you were playing very short many times. I don’t know why, because you’re not used to that. I’d like to know, for many people to get married is a very important distracted thing before the marriage, during the marriage, after the marriage. I’d like to know if somehow your concentration on tennis life has been a bit different, even if you were going out with the same girl for many, many years.”
RN: “Honestly are you asking me this? Is a serious question or is a joke? Is it serious?”
US: “It’s serious. Is not something that…”
RN: “Okay. I surprise, is a big surprise for me (that) you ask me this after I have been with the same girl for 15 years and having a very stable and normal life. Doesn’t matter if you put a ring on your finger or not. In my personal way, I am a very normal guy. Maybe for you was – how many years have you been with your (partner)?”
US: “Wife, 30 years this year.”
RN: “And before? Ah, maybe before you were not sure. That’s why. Okay. Okay. We move to Spanish, because that’s bulls***. Thank you very much.”
NOTE TO OUR READERS – In reference to the exchange that occurred between myself and Rafael Nadal during the press conference following his first match, I have had a clarifying meeting after his win against Medvedev. We both have acknowledged the reasons that led to the misunderstanding and the subsequent exchange of unpleasant words, mainly due to our imperfect knowledge of the English language. This is it. We’ll turn the page, for everyone’s satisfaction, and Nadal and I maintain the mutual respect that has always been a cornerstone of our relationship. Our readers are naturally free to form their own opinion on this event, but at this stage, any further comment would appear unnecessary. Thank you for your attention. (Ubaldo Scanagatta)
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.
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.
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.