‘Day to remember’ as record-setting Rafa returns in style
PARIS: Rafael Nadal described his return to action as “a day to remember” after the 16-time Grand Slam winner pulled Spain level in their Davis Cup quarterfinal against Germany.
Nadal, playing his first match since limping out of the Australian Open in January with a hip injury, beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in just over two and half hours in Valencia, stretching his winning streak in the Davis Cup to a record 23 matches in singles and doubles.
The victory for the world number one in the Plaza de Toros bullring levelled the tie after world number four Alexander Zverev beat 33rd-ranked David Ferrer 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
“Of course, it’s a positive thing to win in straight sets,” said 31year-old Nadal, who has not lost a singles match in the Davis Cup since his 2004 debut and in doubles since 2005.
“I played a solid match. I feel good when I return to the clay courts.”
Nadal, building up to an assault on what he hopes will be an 11th French Open title, said it had been a special day playing on home ground again.
“It’s a memorable day, in front of my own crowd. It’s always special to play in these arenas,” added Nadal, who has played in four of Spain’s five Davis Cup-winning teams.
“It’s great to be back even if after an injury it’s always difficult.”
On Saturday, Marc Lopez and Feliciano Lopez will face Tim Puetz and Jan-Lennard Struff in the doubles, paving the way for a potential tie-deciding clash between Nadal and 20-year-old Zverev on Sunday.
Spain have history on their side -- they have won 26 straight home ties, with their last defeat on Spanish soil coming against Brazil in 1999.
The winner of the Valencia quarter-final will face either defending champions France or Italy for a place in the final.
Lucas Pouille, the world number 11, gave France the first point in Genoa with a 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1 win over 62nd-ranked Andreas Seppi.
Italian number one Fabio Fognini then won a bad-tempered 3hr 30min rubber against world number 80 Jeremy Chardy 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to make the tie 1-1.
Fognini, who spent over 11 hours on court in the victory over Japan in the first round, was furious after Chardy had brushed his shoulder against him during a changeover early in the third set.
“I didn’t even know if I really touched him on the shoulder. He made this a huge thing, like in football sometimes where the guy you don’t touch still collapses,” said Chardy.
Chardy, a surprise selection ahead of Adrian Mannarino, the world 25, suffered his first Davis Cup defeat in six matches.
On Saturday, France’s Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert will face Fognini and Simone Bolelli in the doubles.
“I am ready to play three days, for sure,” said Fognini who has played for Italy every year since 2008.
“The Davis Cup is special. I am playing not just for me but also for Italy.”
Croatia, the 2005 champions, got off to a winning start against Kazakhstan in Varazdin when world number three Marin Cilic outclassed Dmitry Popko, the world 258, in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.
The victory was Cilic’s 35th in Davis Cup, just one short of Ivan Ljubicic’s Croatian record of 36.
But Mikhail Kukushkin, the top-ranked Kazakh player at 92, then levelled the tie by seeing off world 28 Borna Coric, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-2
In Nashville, 32-time champions the United States will hope Miami champion John Isner, now at nine in the world, can take them into the semi-finals for the first time in six years.
The US tackle last year’s runners-up Belgium who are without world number 10 David Goffin after he suffered a freak eye injury in Rotterdam in February.
While the Americans can boast Isner, 14th-ranked Sam Querrey as well as number 16 Jack Sock, the luckless Belgians will pin hopes on Ruben Bemelmans, the world 110 and 319th-ranked Joris de Loore.
The winner of that tie will face either Croatia or Kazakhstan in the semi-finals. – AFP MANAMA: Kimi Raikkonen topped the times and escaped a grid penalty as he and Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel dominated Friday’s floodlit second free practice for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Finn clocked a best lap time of one minute and 29.817 seconds around the Bahrain International Circuit to outpace four-time champion Vettel by 0.011 seconds.
The two Ferrari men were comfortably clear by more than half a second of the two Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and his teammate, defending champion Lewis Hamilton.
Raikkonen, however, faced a post-race investigation into a possible unsafe release of his car, by Ferrari, following a routine pit-stop late in the session.
He pulled away, but then saw his pit crew waving their arms and pulled up at the side of the track.
It was feared he would be punished for an unsafe release because his front right wheel was not attached properly - and given a grid penalty, but instead Ferrari were fined 5,000 euros.
The race stewards said they felt Ferrari had done all they could to minimise the risk of the wheel coming off the car.
Bottas was happy to bounce back after his confidence-sapping crash in qualifying in Australia two weeks ago.
He said: “There is always pressure and I am treating this like a normal weekend. Here the track improves all the time, with more grip every lap.
“The car felt ok, but we need to find some more pace especially on a single lap.”
Hamilton, who created another minor controversy when he showed his approval, on social media, of the retention of grid girls at the Monaco Grand Prix, said it had been “a normal Friday”.
“It’s very close and we have some work to do. The tyres feel the best they have here in years, very stable with less degradation.”
Dutchman Max Verstappen, who missed the first session due to a power failure, was fifth for Red Bull ahead of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
Verstappen said: “We had a small issue this morning -these things happen so it doesn’t concern me too much.
“I lost a lot of track time, but come race day it will depend a lot on strategy.” - AFP