Nadal eyeing to build on 11th Monte Carlo title
After picking up his 11th Monte Carlo Masters title by beating Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the finals, world number one Rafael Nadal has said that he is looking forward to carry on his momentum from this ‘special’ win to rest of the clay-court season.
On Sunday, the top-seed continued a rich vein of form as he eased past his Japanese opponent Nishikori 6-3, 6-2 in the Monte Carlo Masters final to clinch his 31st Masters title.
Reflecting on the same, Nadal said that the victory at the Monte Carlo means a lot to him as it is the first tournament of the year that he finished without an injury.
“Of course it is a special day for me. Winning again this title here in Monte-Carlo means a lot, especially because it is the first tournament in the year that I finished. To have the victory in a Masters 1000, especially in Monte-Carlo, that for me is one of the most important ones in terms of personal feeling and in terms of history of our sport,” the ATP website quoted Nadal, as saying.
Prior to Monte Carlo, Nadal had not appeared in full tournament since the Shanghai Masters in November 2017 due to injury concerns. He was forced to withdraw in the quarter-final of Australian Open in January due to a hip injury before its recurrence saw him pull out of the Acapulco Open and subsequently from the Indian Wells and Miami Open.