Nadal and Williams win easily in Rome

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:01:00 +0200

Rafa Nadal made short work of his great rival Roger Federer to win the Italian Open, his sixth trophy of the year, 6-1 6-3 yesterday. The crowd sitting in the sunshine at Rome’s Foro Italico watched Nadal race to victory in 69 minutes on the red clay. The Spaniard, back to his best form after last year’s long injury lay-off, spent less time on court than Serena Williams who won her fourth consecutive tour title when she thrashed former world number one Victoria Azarenka 6-1 6-3 to take the women’s title. Nadal, seeded fifth, dominated the first set, winning 20 of 25 points at one stage, as the Swiss second seed produced a string of unforced errors. Federer raised his game in the second set, breaking a nine-game losing streak to go 1-3, but Nadal was in no mood to slow down. Despite being broken as he served for the match at 5-1, Nadal went on to complete his 36th win in 38 matches this year. “It’s a very important day, a very happy day for me after a difficult year last year,” Nadal, speaking in Italian, told the crowd after the trophy presentation. “It is really emotional for me to win a tournament with such a long history as Rome. See you next year.” Nadal, 11 times a grand-slam...

Nadal reaches final

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:01:00 +0200

Rafa Nadal beat Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych 6-2 6-4 to reach the Italian Open final yesterday with a dominant performance that he described as emotional after his long injury absence. Nadal, who returned to action in February after seven months out with a knee problem, will have the chance to win his sixth title since his comeback when he faces Roger Federer who beat Benoit Paire 7-6 6-4 in the late night semi-final. The sport’s dominant claycourt player was at his aggressive best in dismantling the heavy hitting Berdych, breaking in the first and fifth games of a one-sided first set before clinching a decisive advantage in the ninth game of the second. Nadal wrapped it up when his opponent sent a backhand return long and then said he could not have hoped to be playing better after his lengthy lay-off. “I am feeling better physically,” the 11-times grand slam winner said. “These are emotional moments for me as I think I have managed to turn around a situation in which after many months of doubts and injuries I am able to play my tennis at a level that I would not have dreamed of four months ago.” Earlier in the afternoon, Serena Williams crushed Romanian qualifier Simona Halep...

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Nadal and Williams win easily in Rome

Nadal reaches final