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TENNIS

Wawrinka succumbs to Nadal in Madrid Masters

Rafael Nadal claimed a third Madrid Masters title with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka on Sunday.

Wawrinka succumbs to Nadal in Madrid Masters
Wawrinka was competing in his second Masters final. Photo: AFP

Nadal sealed his fifth victory in seven tournaments since returning from a seven-month injury layoff in February.

The Spaniard, who now holds a 9-0 career record over the Swiss, rolled through the first set thanks to two early breaks in little over half an hour.

And after a little more resistance from Wawrinka in the second, Nadal broke again to go ahead 4-3 before serving out to claim his 23rd Masters Series title.

Wawrinka, who will return to the world's top 10 next week for the first time in five years, went into Sunday's final on a nine-match winning streak, having won his seventh ATP title last week at the Portugal Open.

The Swiss beat sixth seed Tomas Berdych 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in a semifinal on Saturday.

The Lausanne native was contesting his second Masters final, after finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the 2008 Rome Masters.

Berdych, who knocked out world number three Andy Murray in the quarterfinals, was bidding to reach the Madrid final for the second year in a row, having finished runner-up last year to Roger Federer.

The world number one and two players – Djokovic and Federer – were both beaten early at the Madrid Masters.

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OFFBEAT

Madrid police end escaped camels’ night on the town

Eight camels and a llama took to the streets of Madrid overnight after escaping from a nearby circus, Spanish police said on Friday.

A camel in a zoo
A file photo of a camel in a zoo. Photo: ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP

It was not immediately clear how the long-legged runaways managed to get out but Quiros Circus, which owns them, blamed sabotage by animal rights activists.

They were spotted at around 5:00 am wandering around the southern district of Carabranchel close to where the circus is currently based.

“Various camels and a llama escaped from a circus in Madrid overnight,” Spain’s national police wrote on Twitter, sharing images of eight two-humped camels and a llama hanging around a street corner.

“Police found them and took care of them so they could be taken back safe and sound,” they tweeted.

There was no word on whether the rogue revellers, who are known for spitting, put up any resistance when the police moved in to detain them.

Mati Munoz, one of the circus’ managers, expressed relief the furry fugitives — Bactrian camels who have two humps and thick shaggy coats – had been safely caught.

“Nothing happened, thank God,” he told AFP, saying the circus had filed a complaint after discovering the electric fence around the animals’ enclosure had been cut.

“We think (their escape) was due to an act of sabotage by animal rights groups who protest every year.”

Bactrian camels (camelus bactrianus) come from the rocky deserts of central and eastern Asia and have an extraordinary ability to survive in extreme conditions.

These days, the vast majority of them are domesticated.

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