NADAL CONQUERS BARCELONA
Barcelona, April 30: Rafael Nadal romped to his 10th Barcelona Open title on Sunday as he swept aside Austria’s Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-1 for a 51st clay-court crown.
The Spaniard has made the perfect start to the clay-court season and will aim for a 10th French Open next month after also claiming his 10th title at the Monte Carlo Masters last week.
Thiem had his only break point of the match in the first game.
But Nadal, returning to top form at age 30, upped his intensity at the crucial moment and took the set with the only break in the 10th game.
The second set was a procession as Thiem’s frustration at his inability to break through Nadal’s defences saw him consistently fire long.
Thiem was powerless to stop Nadal thereafter as he won the last five games to seal victory in just over 90 minutes on court.
Siegemund triumphs
Stuttgart: Germany’s Laura Siegemund was the shock winner of Stuttgart’s WTA tournament on Sunday after her three-set win over France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the final.
Siegemund, ranked 49th in the world and a wild card entry for the main draw, sealed a 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5) win over Mladenovic, who had beaten Maria Sharapova in the semifinal, ending the Russian’s comeback from a 15-month doping ban.
Siegemund made a strong start, charging into a 4-0 lead after twice breaking Mladenovic’s serve and took the first set with ease.
Mladenovic turned things around to take the second set.
The decider swung back and forth, but it was Siegemund who held her nerve to claim victory.