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Post by serin on Apr 13, 2011 16:37:34 GMT -5
Singles - Second Round
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d J Nieminen (FIN) 62 62
[3] [WC] A Murray (GBR) d [WC] R Stepanek (CZE) 61 64
[4] D Ferrer (ESP) d F Lopez (ESP) 62 60
T Robredo (ESP) d [6] F Verdasco (ESP) 64 63
[7] J Melzer (AUT) d R Haase (NED) 36 61 62
[8] G Monfils (FRA) d D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 75 62
[9] N Almagro (ESP) d [Q] M Gonzalez (ARG) 67(6) 75 76(10) - saved 4 M.P.
[11] V Troicki (SRB) d F Fognini (ITA) 63 46 64
[13] R Gasquet (FRA) d G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 62 61
[15] M Cilic (CRO) d [Q] P Riba (ESP) 52 ret. (right knee)
[16] G Simon (FRA) d A Montanes (ESP) 63 64
[Q] F Gil (POR) d F Mayer (GER) 75 61
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Post by serin on Apr 15, 2011 9:07:07 GMT -5
Rafa wins vs Ljubicic., 6-1, 6-3
Fed is out.. So sorry about Fed's decline !!
Quarter finals - Results
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Tennis | Monte Carlo Masters Match
Nadal - Ljubicic 6-1, 6-3
Melzer - Federer 6-4, 6-4
Ferrer - Troicki 6-3, 6-3
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Post by serin on Apr 15, 2011 10:01:31 GMT -5
Video of post Gasquet match interview , yesterday
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Post by serin on Apr 15, 2011 10:19:47 GMT -5
This is the transcription of Gasquet's press conference from yesterday. He talks about the match and Rafa. R. NADAL/R. Gasquet 6-2, 6-4 An interview with: RICHARD GASQUET THE MODERATOR: Questions in French. Q. At 4 All, do you have any regrets about a particular shot? RICHARD GASQUET: Yes, that volley. I think the balls were new. But all the same, you're not supposed to miss a volley like this one against him. You're not forgiven for it. After that, I overdid it a bit. This is precisely where he's so good. He never misses. He wants to play the angle 50 times in a row, and he does it without missing. Q. Is it difficult for you to know whether you should move forward to put pressure on him or stay back without allowing him to be in control? RICHARD GASQUET: Yes, it is difficult. His balls bounce high, they're fast. He has a huge forehand which is very dangerous. Physically, he is extremely fit and his forehand is extremely powerful. Q. In the beginning you were able to make him stay behind the baseline without forcing it. Is it tough to maintain that pressure for a long time? RICHARD GASQUET: Yes, it's difficult. After a while you start making mistakes. His forehand is so impressive. Q. Did you play the match you wanted to play against him? RICHARD GASQUET: Yes, I did. It was a good match. But I have regrets about that game at 4 All. I believe I played at the level of a top 10 player, but he is one step above. Q. You believe, apart from him, you wouldn't have problems with any player on clay now? RICHARD GASQUET: Yes, I do. I think he is better than all the others. He is extremely powerful. Even when he is in a bad position, he hits hard. Q. Do you believe he's improving consistently or is he just staying at the same level? RICHARD GASQUET: I believe he keeps improving. He becomes more powerful over the years and he, of course, has more and more confidence, because confidence comes with the titles. Q. Is he still able to surprise you, like with that passing shot? RICHARD GASQUET: Yes. He keeps surprising me with new shots. It is impressive that he won six times here, and I think he is well above all the others. Q. You might be able now to give him some advice for his next opponent. RICHARD GASQUET: He doesn't have the same style of game as I do and he's 32 years old. He's used to it. He knows what to do. Q. What should you do against him? RICHARD GASQUET: Well, to have a chance against him, you need to have a very big serve, like Soderling, for example. You need to be very tall and hit the lines, make sure you don't let him dominate the game. Q. In your particular game is there anything you did that gave him trouble? RICHARD GASQUET: When I was able take the ball early and hit a flat shot, it was better for me. Federer knows how to do this very well. Q. It seemed to me that when you were forcing him to run forward, it was good for you. RICHARD GASQUET: That's the kind of thing you should avoid doing. Beware of his forehand. Q. You played well. The only weakness today maybe was your first serve? RICHARD GASQUET: I didn't serve well today. This is important in a match against him because it gives you some free points, which I didn't have today. FastScripts by ASAP Sports www.monte-carlorolexmasters.com/ ... rsday.aspx |
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Post by serin on Apr 15, 2011 16:07:21 GMT -5
Rafa watching Fed - Melzer match.. Guess he jinxed Fed...  |
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Post by serin on Apr 17, 2011 10:13:43 GMT -5
CONGRATULATIONS RAFA ON YOUR FIRST TITLE THIS YEAR AND YOUR 7TH CONSECUTIVE TITLE AT MONTE CARLO .. YOU ARE WRITING HISTORY !
YOU WOULD HAVE WON IT 6-2, 6-2, NEVERTHELESS, YOU WON !!
VAMOS !! ON TO THE NEXT TROPHY !
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Post by serin on Apr 17, 2011 11:15:45 GMT -5
Monte Carlo Masters - Nadal claims seventh Monte Carlo crown
Sun, 17 Apr 16:03:00 2011
Rafael Nadal made history as he claimed his seventh successive Monte Carlo Masters title with a 6-4 7-5 victory over compatriot David Ferrer.
..Nadal was always going to be the overwhelming favourite in the showpiece match of a tournament in which he has a win-loss record of 36-0, and such collective confidence was vindicated by a typically efficient and destructive victory.
Ferrer provided a stout, combative resistance throughout, but his opponent simply had too greater intensity at key points in the match to take his career win percentage on clay to 93. Second in the all-time list is Bjorn Borg, who possessed an 86 per cent success rate on the surface.
Nadal twice broke his Spanish compatriot Ferrer to take a fiercely-contested opening set and seize the ascendancy.
Both players traded breaks in the third and fourth games of the match, and the crowd were delighted to see the stubborn and determined Ferrer compete very fiercely with the world number one.
But Nadal's second break in the fifth game gave him the crucial advantage as he went on to consolidate breaching Ferrer's delivery and closed out the opening set 6-4.
Ferrer again held serve in the opening game of the second set, but he was swiftly broken once more as Nadal seized the initiative at the second time of asking.
He battled in typically stubborn and gutsy fashion to ensure that the world number one did not cruise through the second set, but the early break saw Nadal take control once more.
But having stamped his authority on the set, Nadal was pegged back to 4-4 by Ferrer, who refused to surrender in a competitive, enthralling passage of play.
Nadal was not to be denied, however, and a further break of the Ferrer serve enabled the world number one to clinch his first title of the year and the 44th of his career.
Ferrer defeated an injured Nadal in the last eight of January's Australian Open but this time the world number one, who beat Fernando Verdasco in the principality last year in another all-Spanish final, was too strong on his forehand.
The 24-year-old has arguably not been at his very best this week at the beachside event, and was pushed hard by Andy Murray in Saturday's semi-final, but even the odd problem with his serve or failure to kill off a point have not cost him.
Novak Djokovic beat Nadal in his previous two finals on hardcourts this year but he pulled out of this tournament with a knee injury, robbing fans of the chance to see whether the Serb could threaten the Spaniard on his favoured clay surface.
Roger Federer lost in the quarter-finals when the Swiss had seemed on a collision course towards the final with his great rival Nadal, but fourth seed Ferrer put up a decent fight instead with his family watching from the sun-kissed galleries.
The feat achieved by the Mallorca star has only further cemented his status as the undoubted king of the clay. Nadal won every clay court event he entered last year and few would bet against him repeating the feat this season with the defence of his French Open title due next month after trips to Barcelona and the Masters events in Madrid and Rome.
Dan Quarrell, Eurosport / Reuters .
See pictures at Vamos Rafael !
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Post by serin on Apr 17, 2011 11:56:46 GMT -5
NADAL EXTENDS MONTE CARLO REIGN
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal reigned supreme at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters for the seventh year in a row on Sunday as he defeated fourth seed David Ferrer 6-4, 7-5 in an all-Spanish final at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.
Nadal was presented with the trophy by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, his fiancé Charlene Wittstock, and President of the tournament committee Elizabeth-Ann de Massy.
Since making his debut with a third-round exit to Guillermo Coria in 2003, Nadal has gone on to win a staggering 37 consecutive matches in Monte-Carlo and owns a 39-1 record at the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tennis tournament of the season.
"Rafa is incredible on clay. I mean, he's everywhere at the same time. He's the best player on clay in history," declared beaten finalist Ferrer.
Victory saw the Nadal break two of his existing records. He became the first player in ATP World Tour history to win a title in seven consecutive years, having been the first player to do so six times last year in Monte-Carlo. He also won his 19th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown, having previously held the record with 18 of the coveted titles. Roger Federer and Andre Agassi both have 17 Masters 1000 titles.
Along with Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, the 24-year-old Nadal is an early front runner to qualify for the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and added a further 1000 South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking points to his total with victory in Monte-Carlo. Ferrer, who also qualified for the prestigious eight-man field last year, earned 600 points.
Nadal has now amassed 44 tour-level titles and notched his 30th tour-level victory on clay, tying him in third place with Bjorn Borg and Manuel Orantes in the Open Era clay-court title leaders list. Guillermo Vilas is in first place with 45 clay-court titles, followed by Thomas Muster, who won 40.
In the seventh all-Spanish final at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event (since 1990), service breaks were exchanged in the third and fourth games before Nadal broke decisively in the fifth game to lead 3-2. The top seed struggled to shake Ferrer off, and was forced to save three break point chances in the following game, but held on to clinch the opening set.
Nadal looked to have taken control of the match as he broke in the third game of the second set and quickly established a 4-2 lead. However, a loose game from the Spaniard, including a double fault and costly backhand error, allowed the diligent Ferrer to level at 4-4. Appearing in just his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final, though, Ferrer tightened up in the 11th game and Nadal capitalised on a spate of unforced errors from his Davis Cup teammate to break through before serving out victory in two hours and 16 minutes.
The 29-year-old Ferrer had reached his first Monte-Carlo final without the loss of a set and went into the match unbeaten on clay in 2011, having won his 11th ATP World Tour title in Acapulco (d. Almagro) in February. The Valencia resident was also victorious on hard court in Auckland at the start of the season and defeated Nadal to reach the Australian Open semi-finals (l. to Murray) for the first time.
"Generally speaking I'm very happy," said Ferrer. "I'm happy with my game also. I was a bit sad about certain moments. But generally speaking I'm happy. I'm satisfied with my game. Reaching the finals here is very difficult to achieve and I'm very happy."
Ferrer had also been beaten by Nadal in his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia Rome last year, and dropped to an 11-11 record in tour-level finals.
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Post by serin on Apr 15, 2012 4:42:35 GMT -5
Monte Carlo Masters 201214 - 22 April 2012 Rafael Nadal practicing to win his 8th successive title at Monte Carlo Masters (Uncle Toni watching) 
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Post by serin on Apr 16, 2012 11:05:45 GMT -5
Monte Carlo - Rafa gets a giftie
Here’s a video from the ATP of Rafa getting a special gift – pictures from his seven Monte-Carlo victories. That’s an expandable picture frame, right? (Also, the bit at the beginning with his cousin is adorable )
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Post by serin on Apr 22, 2012 9:37:57 GMT -5
Congratulations Champion ! You are the King !   
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Post by serin on Apr 22, 2012 9:57:18 GMT -5
When Nadal takes to the Monte Carlo clay, two players typically fall into two categories: The victor and the victim. He created another clay-court casualty today and erupted in revitalized roar to celebrate.
Tennis.com   
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Post by imelda on Apr 23, 2012 20:18:48 GMT -5
;D
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Post by imelda on Apr 23, 2012 20:21:44 GMT -5
Ceratainly makes for refreshing reading! Thank you for the lovely pictures Serin. :-)
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Post by serin on Apr 24, 2012 4:18:38 GMT -5
Hi Imelda.. Great to see you here.. Rafa calls, no? So many pics and videos..Hope this is the beginning of a year like 2010.. As you said, it s hard to see someone like DJ as Number 1. Rafa has been making history.. I have read some incredible statistics which already has made him THE G.O.A.T. I think I'll post them here with the permission of our man Tom.. A hot shot from the MC final: The full Final with some highlights |
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