Nadal’s 11th crown in Monte Carlo
SHRUGS OFF NISHIKORI IN A ONE-SIDED FINAL TO STAY NO. 1
Rafael Nadal romped to a record-extending 11th Monte Carlo Masters title by brushing aside an outclassed Kei Nishikori in Sunday’s final to retain the world No. 1 ranking.
The 31-year-old saw off Nishikori 6-3, 6-2 to become the first man to win a single tournament 11 times in the Open era with his 76th ATP Tour title. Nadal’s 31st Masters title is also an outright record, pulling him out of a tie with Novak Djokovic.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion’s era of utter dominance on clay looks unlikely to end any time soon after Nadal took his run of consecutive sets won on the surface to 36.
The Spaniard will next set his sights on an 11th Barcelona Open victory next week, and it is hard to see anyone preventing him from extending his record number of 10 French Open titles at Roland Garros at the end of the clay-court season.
He was pushed by Japan’s Nishikori early on and fell a break down, but roared back against an opponent, who already appeared beaten midway through the first set.
Rare signs of nerves
It was still an excellent week for former world No. 4 Nishikori, who only returned from a four-month absence. Nadal got on the board with a strong service hold, before quickly putting Nishikori under pressure as a flicked passing shot brought up break point.
But the Spaniard missed a forehand up the line by a matter of millimetres, with Nishikori clinging on after an 11-minute game that left him looking physically exhausted.
But that hold showed Nadal, who first won the event in 2005, that his opponent was up for the fight.
The top seed was even displaying rare signs of nerves, and Nishikori broke for a 2-1 lead with a backhand up the line after a Nadal double fault.
But he failed to build on that glimmer of an opening, double faulting himself on break back point. That costly error knocked the early aggression out of the 28-year-old’s groundstrokes, and Nadal sped through the next two games to take command of the first set.
Nishikori was staring down the barrel of defeat at the start of the second set, but staved off a break point to hold serve.
But the last rites had long been written, and Nadal broke to 15 in each of the Japanese’s next two service games to close on victory.