Nadal's Plan: Strike Early, Win Rome!
Two shots in the court from each player create a defining line in the sand — or crushed Roman brick — in a tennis point.
Two shots in the court from each player create a defining line in the sand — or crushed Roman brick — in a tennis point.
Novak Djokovic was disappointed to fall short in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final on Sunday against his great rival, Rafael Nadal. But the Serbian departs Rome as confident as he has been all clay-court season.
It has become an oh-so-familiar sight. Come the sharp end of tennis’s biggest events, there they are, No1 Novak Djokovic, with 36 Masters titles, and No3 Rafael Nadal, with 35 Masters titles. They have the most played rivalry in men’s tennis, and this would be their 57th meeting.
Canada’s Sharon Fichman and Mexican partner Giuliana Olmos defeated Kristina Mladenovic of France and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 4-6, 7-5, 10-5 in the Italian Open women’s doubles final on Sunday.
Rafael Nadal beat a tired Novak Djokovic 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 for a record-extending 10th Italian Open title on Sunday.
If Iga Swiatek continues playing like this, she might have no problem defending her French Open title when the year’s second Grand Slam starts in two weeks.
Roger Federer is hard at work ahead of his debut at the Gonet Geneva Open, training hard at the Tennis Club de Genève at the Parc des Eaux-Vives.
Maybe the new generation of tennis players isn’t quite so ready to end the eras of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.