Rafael nadal spain

The Spanish star again looked in strong form in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian 16th seed Fognini behind closed doors on Rod Laver Arena on Monday (February 15). Nadal, who is aiming to win a men's record 21st grand slam title in Melbourne, is yet to drop a set at the year's first major and beat Fognini for the 13th time in 17 meetings. The world number two will face either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Matteo Berrettini in the last eight. Nadal gave up an early break lead against Fognini but a powerful forehand return led to another and a 4-2 lead. Despite serving at just 42 per cent, Nadal closed out the opening set. Fognini was unable to consolidate a break lead in the second set, having led 4-2, before Nadal recovered from 0-40 down to hold in the eighth game. That would prove a decisive hold, Fognini blasting a ball into the stands after netting a volley to give Nadal a break point, converted when a forehand went wide before the Spaniard secured the set. Fognini handed … [Read more...] about Australian Open: Rafael Nadal outclasses Fognini to reach quarter-finals

REUTERS: Rafael Nadal has issued a rallying cry and called on Spanish athletes to help raise 11 million euros (9.96 million pounds) to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. Spain is one of the most badly affected countries in the world with over 56,000 cases and the parliament voted to extend the coronavirus lockdown to at least April 12 after the death toll rose to over 4,000 by Thursday. Nadal said he spoke with NBA's Pau Gasol about what they could do to help and came up with the initiative to support the Red Cross in procuring protective equipment and infrastructure to assist vulnerable families in Spain affected by the virus. "I think that we're the athletes that we are in large part because of your support and now is that time that your athletes don't fail you," Nadal said in a video. "We reached the conclusion that now is the time to launch an initiative which we hope that all Spanish sports come together in a show of solidarity and a good example of unity to align … [Read more...] about Nadal calls on Spain’s athletes to raise 11 million euros to fight coronavirus

PARIS: Rafael Nadal was confirmed as the year-end world number one for the fifth time after the ATP released its season-closing rankings on Monday (Nov 18). The Spaniard did not make it beyond the group stage of last week's ATP Finals in London but Novak Djokovic's failure to reach the semi-finals meant Nadal closed the year with 9,985 points, 840 clear of the Serb. Nadal draws level with rivals Djokovic and Roger Federer, who have also finished the year in top spot five times, and moves one behind six-time end-of-year number one Pete Sampras. Nadal and Djokovic have been this year's two dominant players after winning two Majors each. Djokovic won the Australian Open and Wimbledon with Nadal cleaning up at Roland Garros and the US Open. Federer ends the season at number three for the second year running. The Swiss, who turned 38 in August, has cut down his Tour commitments to focus on events around Grand Slams. He reached the semi-finals of the French Open where he lost … [Read more...] about Tennis: Nadal ends year as number one for fifth time

World number two Nadal is bidding to win the ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time and fought from a set down to triumph 4-6 7-5 6-1 and improve his record against his fellow Spaniard to 7-0. With Schwartzman having lost his quarter-final against Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-1 earlier on Friday, Carreno Busta needed to win back-to-back titles in Paris and Sofia to stop the Argentinian taking the last remaining qualifying spot for the season-ending tournament. Nadal topples Thompson to reach Paris Masters quarter-finals He appeared to have a significant chance of keeping his hopes alive when he engineered three break points at the start of the second set, but 20-time grand slam champion Nadal held firm and forced his way into a final-four meeting with Alexander Zverev or Stan Wawrinka. Nadal came under early pressure on his serve and Carreno Busta took his second chance to break, his impressive groundstrokes proving difficult for his opponent to cope with. Back-to-back … [Read more...] about Nadal halts Carreno Busta and sends Schwartzman into ATP Finals

The Spaniard, who drew level with Roger Federer on 20 grand slam singles titles when he won last month's French Open, needed just under 78 minutes to defeat Rublev 6-3 6-4 in London and claim a first opening win at the event since 2015. Making his first appearance at the Finals, Rublev struggled on his serve and hit 22 unforced errors to Nadal's 11. Nadal, who qualified for a record 16th consecutive year-end championships, broke in game six of the first set before seeing it out with a love service game. Rublev has been the most successful player on the Tour in 2020 in terms of titles, winning five, but he cut a defeated figure as soon as Nadal went a break up at the start of the second set. The world number eight eventually settled into his serve but Nadal was impervious to a comeback, seeing out the victory with his second match point when Rublev returned long. "I think it has been a positive start for me," he said. "Always, the first match is very tricky. "Here, every … [Read more...] about ATP Finals: Dominant Nadal dispatches Rublev