Rafael Nadal is glad he won a ninth Monte Carlo Masters title the hard way, after defeating Frenchman Gaël Monfils 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 in an error-strewn final Sunday.
Advertisement
It seems that Monte Carlo is a mythical place for eight time champion Rafael Nadal as he sends world no. 2 Andre Murray to his third Monte-Carlo Semis exit.
It was not all one-way traffic for Nadal, who spent 10 minutes in the final game between his first match points and his fifth in fighting off a late Murray charge.
“I had a tough season last year, but I’ve had better preparation this year, even with a tough start to the season”, Nadal said.
Enigmatic Italian Fognini has been a thorn in Nadal’s side in the past two years as he has twice defeated the Spaniard on clay and came from two sets down to beat the 14-time Grand Slam champion at the US Open last September.
Nadal dominated the final set, however, breaking Monfils, who appeared drained by his earlier exertions, three times to win his first Masters title since 2014 and his 48th clay crown. Monfils came to this final in great form and without lost set, and he had good tactics to challenge Rafa, staying in rallies long enough to create the opportunity for the attack and changing of rhythm.
“I played very aggressive tennis through the whole match, which is my style of play”, said Abanda, who hit 24 winners in the match.
In total, Nadal dropped serve 13 times this week, and more clinical opponents might have made him pay.
While there is uncertainty whether Nadal is ready to once again take over the tennis scene at Roland Garros, a touch of history and stats favor the 29-year-old to be the victor in Paris. Catching his opponent by surprise, Monfils serve and volleyed and, after one more deuce, held serve to make the score 5-5. The Spaniard experienced almost two years of defeats and disappointments, but has emerged from the negative period, returning to win a major tournament. And, yes, you can draw your own conclusions from it. I don’t know how much of a bearing any of that had on the outcome. “It’s all positive for me”, he said.
Nadal beat Andy Murray 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday to earn a shot at a record-equaling 28th Masters title – with Novak Djokovic – and a 68th overall. On both occasions, he lost to a better player in both Djokovic (2009) and Robin Soderling (2010).
Monfils bounced back well to win the second set 7-5.
2016 was Nadal’s year once again again as he battled with Monfils for two hours and 46 minutes. “I hope this week will help me a lot”, he added.
Advertisement
“It’s fascinating what you let some of these guys get away with”, the second-seeded Murray said to the umpire.
