Masterful Nadal swats aside Dimitrov
Spaniard favourite to land his 11th Monte Carlo Masters title after demolition of Bulgarian
>> MONTE CARLO: World No.1 Rafael Nadal swept aside Grigor Dimitrov to ease into his 12th Monte Carlo Masters final with a 6-4, 6-1 victory yesterday.
The 31-year-old, who needs to win an 11th Monaco title to retain the top ranking ahead of Roger Federer, will face either Kei Nishikori or Alexander Zverev in today’s final.
Nadal came through a tight first set but always looked too strong for Dimitrov and raced through the second in less than half an hour.
The top seed is bidding for a record-extending 31st Masters title this week, and this win saw him extend his run of consecutive sets won on clay to 34.
Nadal is playing in his first ATP tournament since pulling out of his Australian Open quarter-final against Marin Cilic in January with a hip injury, but has shown no signs of rust in the principality.
Following a 6-0, 6-2 last-eight thrashing of Dominic Thiem, Nadal has now lost only 16 games in four matches this week.
He saw a 3-0 first-set lead slip away as Dimitrov laid down the first real challenge to the Spaniard this week, only for a sloppy service game from the Bulgarian to gift the 10-time champion the opening set.
That effectively ended Dimitrov’s chances, and Nadal broke to love in the second game of the second set.
Eight straight points on his opponent’s serve saw Nadal storm towards the finishing line, and a wide Dimitrov backhand wrapped up yet another comfortable victory.
Nadal said on Friday that he has spoken to Andy Murray about his injury woes, adding he knows how hard it is to not “see the light of how to improve”.
“I saw him in Melbourne, and I spoke with him on the phone two weeks ago,” Nadal said.
“He asked me about things. I don’t want to tell you about the things that we talk because will not be fair for him, and I will not feel comfortable with it.
“But, yes, I tell him the things that I think worked for me.”
Nadal has struggled in recent months with a hip injury himself, and is playing in his first ATP tournament since January’s Australian Open.
“I have been in that situation,” added Nadal. “I know how tough and frustrating [it] is when you work every day and you don’t see the light of how to improve.
“You don’t see any improvements. But then one day trying things, trying treatments, one day things are going better, no?
“That’s what I really hope about him because he is important, very important, for our tour.”
Murray had looked set for a period of dominance when he won the 2016 Paris Masters and became world No.1 for the first time, but hasn’t won a title since March last year while seeing Nadal and Federer power back into form.
The 30-year-old is expected to return at the grasscourt tournament at Rosmalen in the Netherlands the week after the French Open ends in June although he remains on the Roland Garros entry list.
But Nadal is confident that his old rival can return to the top of the game if he can get back to full fitness.
“If Andy is healthy, he will come back,” said the 16-time Grand Slam champion.
“After a long period [of ] time, maybe he will not be back and winning first week, but he will not forget how to play tennis.
“He knows that, and everybody knows that. If he is healthy, he will be back in a position to fight for the most important things.”