Nadal edges out Thiem for fifth Madrid Masters - Capital Sports
Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Sports

Nadal edges out Thiem for fifth Madrid Masters

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal poses with his trophy as he celebrates his victory over Austrian tennis player Dominic Thiem at the end of the Madrid Masters © AFP / OSCAR DEL POZO

Madrid, Spain, May 14 – Rafael Nadal’s flawless record on clay this season continued as he outgunned the impressive Dominic Thiem to win the Madrid Masters for a fifth time 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 on Sunday.

The Spaniard is now 15-0 on his favoured surface this year having also picked up his 10th titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona in recent weeks.

And the 14-time Grand Slam champion is now strong favourite to add a 10th French Open crown next month as he romped to victory on home soil for the loss of just one set all week.

Victory also moves Nadal above Roger Federer to fourth in the world rankings.

“I am aware that if I am fit and I can play well, I have the capacity to win important titles and achieve my goals,” said Nadal.

Thiem also fell victim to Nadal’s supreme form in the final in Barcelona two weeks ago, but there was little for the 23-year-old to be dispirited about as he pushed Nadal all the way in his first Masters series final.

“Sometimes against the best players in the world, the best ever player on this surface, you even lose when you play well,” said Thiem, who also rises to a career high seventh in the rankings.

“Now that I did it once, playing really well in such a big tournament, the next step is to maintain this level next week.”

Austrian tennis player Dominic Thiem returns the ball to Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal on May 14, 2017 © AFP / OSCAR DEL POZO

Nadal disposed of Novak Djokovic for his first win over the Serb for three years on Saturday and victory saw him level Djokovic’s record of 30 Masters Series titles.

Thiem didn’t finish his semi-final against Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas until after midnight on Sunday morning.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

However, that lack of recovery time didn’t show as Thiem struck the first blow by breaking the Nadal serve to move into a 3-1 first set lead.

Thiem handed the break back by netting a simple volley for 3-3, but showed admirable resistence to battle back from 0-40 when serving to stay in the set a 4-5 to force a tie-break.

Both had their chances in the tie-break as Thiem again fought back from 3-5 down to have two set points of his own only to be denied by two punishing Nadal forehands.

And eventually it was Nadal who prevailed with his fifth set point when Thiem fired long.

“Anything could have happened at the end of the first set,” added Nadal.

“I think I played well in the important points at the end of the first set. I saved a few set points playing some good shots with my forehand and after that I went for it.”

The marathon first set lasted a minute under an hour-and-a-half and seemed to drain Thiem’s belief as well as his energy resources as he was broken to start the second set.

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Austrian tennis player Dominic Thiem on May 14, 2017 © AFP / OSCAR DEL POZO

Nadal had to stave off a break point on his own serve to consolidate the break for 2-0.

Four games without a point against the serve followed as Nadal closed in on victory.

Thiem again showed impressive poise to battle back from two match points down at 3-5 to force Nadal to serve out for the title.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The Austrian had his chance too to get right back in the match with four break back points, but couldn’t take advantage as Nadal finally secured victory with his fourth match point.

Advertisement

More on Capital Sports

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 27 – DStv and GOtv subscribers are in for a treat of the world’s best football this week as the 2020-21...

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25 – There is light at the end of the tunnel. After failed promises over the last three years since its...

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 6 – Gentrix Shikangwa scored with two minutes left as Vihiga Queens sailed to the final of the CECAFA regional qualifiers...

NFL

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 13 – Kenya’s history making Daniel Adongo, the first Kenyan to play in America’s National Football League (NFL), is now living...

© 2024 Capital Digital Media. Capital Group Limited. All Rights Reserved