Nadal on track to retain his title but Djokovic runs into Thiem trouble
● Spaniard into last-eight but Serb rival still seeks form and confidence
Rafael Nadal remains on course to retain his Monte Carlo Masters title and won’t have Novak Djokovic standing in his way.
World No 1 Nadal beat bighitting Russian Karen Khachanov6-3,6-2yesterdaytoreach the quarter-finals, clinching victory with a clinical smash at the net. The ten-time champion next faces fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem, who earlier won 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-3 against Djokovic.
“[Thiem] plays so good on every surface but especially on clay. He hits the ball hard,” said Nadal. “I can’t let him play from good positions because he has lot of power and it will be so difficult to control him.”
Thiem can take confidence from having beaten Nadal twice on clay, including in the quarter-finals of last year’s Rome Masters. “It’s a way better feeling if you go against him and know that you’ve beaten him already on this surface,” Thiem said. “It’s the ultimate challenge to play against him. I have to raise my level again.”
Djokovic was once Nadal’s nemesis, even on clay. He ended the Spanish player’s 46-match winning run by beating him in the 2013 final, and then won the tournament in 2015. But the Serb, who has won 12 majors, is searching for form and confidence now.
A day after needing ten
0 Rafael Nadal returns a ball during his straight-sets victory over Russian Karen Khachanov in Monte Carlo yesterday. match points to advance, Djokovic didn’t even come close to getting one. Although he says he is finally playing pain-free after two years of struggles with a persistent right elbow injury, he was often on the back foot against Thiem.
Djokovic did save three set points in the first set and the momentum carried over into the tie-break. But his backhand let him down after that, with Thiem getting consecutive breaks and holding for the second set when his opponent patted a two-handed backhand into the net.
Still, after so much injury frustration, Djokovic was encouraged about coming through three matches without any relapse.
“I played without pain, which is important,” he said. “I’m really happy with the way things are working out right now with the elbow.”
Djokovic, pictured, needs to sharpen up, however, and says he will play at the Barcelona Open or Hungarian Open next week ahead of the French Open. He said: “I’m lacking matches. That’s why it’s important for me to play, to use every opportunity possible.”
Nadal’s win could have been even more efficient but he surprisingly dropped his serve in the seventh game of the first set. He broke straight back then took complete control.
Third seed Alexander Zverev beat Jan-lennard Struff 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, but missed out on facing older brother Mischa in the last eight. He lost 6-2, 7-5 to Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
Second seed Marin Cilic advanced without hitting a ball after Milos Raonic pulled out after injuring his right knee during his second-round win. Australian Open runnerup Cilic next plays Kei Nishikori of Japan, who beat Andreas Seppi 6-0, 2-6, 6-3.
Sixth seed David Goffin defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 7-5 in a match that included a bizarre incident involving a ball boy. After losing his serve to trail 4-1, Bautista Agut cleared a ball from the back of the court as a ball boy was sprinting across.
The ball, which was travelling slowly, bounced and clipped the ball boy on the head. The Spanish player raised a hand in apology but received a warning from the umpire. He was fined €2,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Goffin, a semi-finalist last year, next plays Grigor Dimitrov after the fourth-seeded Bulgarian beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. The US Open will become the first grand slam tournament to be broadcast solely on a digital platform in the United Kingdom and Ireland after it was announced Amazon Prime Video has signed a five-year agreement.
The deal with the United States Tennis Association begins this year and runs until 2022 and follows on from a similar contract signed between Amazon and the ATP.
The digital broadcaster has non-exclusive rights to this summer’s Fever-tree Championships at Queen’s Club and the Nature Valley International at Eastbourne and will begin a five-year exclusive deal to show 37 ATP tournaments next year, taking over from Sky.
Alex Green, Prime Video Europe’s managing director of channels and sports, said: “We are proud to partner with the USTA to add the US Open to the growing portfolio of sports available on Prime Video.
“This prestigious event, along with the other exciting tennis coming this year and next, makes Prime Video a destination for tennis fans in the UK and Ireland.”
Sky held the UK broadcast rights for the tournament for 25 years until letting them go in 2016, with Eurosport showing the event for the last two years.
Tennis is Amazon Prime’s first major foray into live sports broadcasting in the UK and Ireland, with their output also including a weekly NFL game.