He will face 13th seed Gael Monfils of France in the final.
Advertisement
Rafael Nadal was forced to work hard to claim his ninth Monte Carlo Masters title, overcoming Gael Monfils 7-5 5-7 6-0 in an exhilarating final on Sunday.
“It was a pleasure to play back here again and in a final”.
The Spaniard said that a year and a half of comeback effort has finally paid dividends as he won his first title since last summer and first Masters 1000 honour in nearly two years. Wawrinka said. “When you don’t play well and you’re not in your match, it can bother you”.
It all started before a ball was even hit. The Spaniard pointed out the error, but the Brit graciously asked for a second toss of the coin which he also won.
“I served well today”, Murray said.
The Brit was frustrated by the lack of action over Nadal taking an average of 31 seconds between points. The empire was heard speaking to Murray: “-you have zero respect for what I do”.
Granted, a chair umpire should refrain from engaging in a player’s rant, but Murray was busier battling Dumusois than Nadal, and that’s the real problem.
Having won his first ATP title since August 2015 on Sunday, Rafael Nadal hope it brings about a prolonged upturn in form.
Murray and Soares took the first set but were pegged back after a disastrous second and lost the resulting champions tie-break to fall 4-6, 6-0, 10-6 to their in-form opponents. The Spaniard would jump on Murray three straight in the final game to force a third set with the momentum clearly favoring him.
“It was a great match”. In the end, it was a brutal reminder of just how far Monfils has to go to match the level of the likes of Nadal.
“I’m really happy to have won one of the most important tournaments of the year”, Nadal said Monday. I had a few opportunities in that last game to try to make it a bit more interesting, but couldn’t quite get the break.
Saturday’s semi-final victory over Marcelo Melo and Ivan Dodig had been enough to keep Murray at the top of the world order, but Mahut and Herbert are on a remarkable run.
This was Federer’s comeback tournament after more than two months out following arthroscopic surgery for torn cartilage.
Murray had dominated on his serve – and pressured Nadal’s – throughout the first set, using his drop shot effectively.
“I play at home in Barcelona and next week, too, in Madrid, and it’s a fact that I always enjoy playing in front of Spanish crowds, so I’m very excited”.
Advertisement
“I expect an enormous match, a huge match. To win again here after three years is so special for me”. Still, this win could be a significant milestone in Nadal’s career.
