Five-star Nadal keeps up his feats of clay with Madrid triumph

RAFAEL NADAL maintained his impressive clay-court form by taking a recordextending fifth Madrid Open yesterday, beating world No 9 Dominic Thiem of Austria 7-6, 6-4. The Spaniard had ended a seven-match losing streak against Novak Djokovic to win their semi-final on Saturday. In the final, after a tight opening set, Nadal broke in the opening game of the second set and saved a break point in the next, maintaining a two-game advantage until a thrilling tenth game. Nadal added the Madrid title to wins in Monte Carlo and Barcelona for the 72nd tournament victory of his career. ‘The truth is I was up against an opponent who, in the next five to ten years, will be fighting for the most important titles, so I’m very happy to have won,’ said Nadal. Meanwhile, officials have reacted angrily to Ilie Nastase being invited to present the women’s trophy in Madrid to Simona Halep. Nastase is under an interim ban, following his behaviour at last month’s Fed Cup tie between Romania and Great Britain when he swore at Anne Keothavong and made a racist comment about Serena Williams’ unborn baby. Steve Simon, head of the Women’s Tennis Association, said of Nastase: ‘We revoked his credentials privileges at WTA events while the investigation is being completed. ‘It was both irresponsible and unacceptable of the Madrid Open to bestow him an official role.’ Aljaz Bedene booked his place in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia by beating Argentina’s Renzo Olivo in straight sets. The British No 3 sealed a 6-3, 6-4 victory in one hour and 36 minutes. Bedene, ranked 56th in the world, joins Andy Murray, Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans in the men’s main draw in Rome.