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TENNIS

TENNIS

Murray stuns Nadal to win Madrid Open

Andy Murray claimed his first Masters series title on clay with a stunning demolition of defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2 at the Madrid Open on Sunday.

Murray stuns Nadal to win Madrid Open
Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal to win the Madrid Open on Sunday. Photo: Dani Pozo

Victory was also Murray's first ever on clay over Nadal in seven attempts and stretched the Scot's perfect start on the surface this season to 9-0 after wining his first ever clay court tournament earlier this week in Munich.

Defeat will see nine-time French Open champion Nadal slip to seventh in the world rankings, the first time he has been outside the top five in 10 years.

"To play Rafa in Spain is extremely tough, but this is the reason why we play tennis for these matches, it is one of the toughest things in tennis to try and win against Rafa on clay," said Murray.

"I will keep trying to play well in the next few weeks with Roland Garros just round the corner."

Nadal was searching for his third straight title in the Spanish capital, but his first of the European clay court swing after defeats to Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo Masters semi-final and a shock exit to Fabio Fognini at the Barcelona Open last month.

"Evidently today wasn't the game I wanted or hoped to play. I tried until the end but it is not a day I am going to remember," said Nadal.

"Even so, this week has been a very important week for me in which I have recovered sensations which I haven't felt on a tennis court for some time."

Murray's week began in chaotic circumstances as his Munich final against Philipp Kohlschreiber was delayed until Monday due to bad weather and then his first match in Madrid against the same opponent finished at 3 o'clock on Thursday morning.

However, he has been in supreme form since getting married to long-term girlfriend Kim Sears a month ago and celebrated his win by writing "marriage works" on the court-side camera.

Murray forced Nadal onto the back foot from the off by winning 12 of the first 14 points in racing into a 3-0 lead.

Nadal had two break back opportunities in the seventh game and one more as Murray served for the set at 5-3, but he couldn't convert.

A similar pattern followed in the second set as a combination of some brilliant deep hitting by Murray and errors from Nadal gifted the word number three a break in the first game.

Murray backed that up by holding to love and moved to the brink of victory by breaking again in the following game.

Nadal resisted enough to force the Olympic champion to serve out for his 10th Masters Series title.

However, the 14-time Grand Slam champion handed the final game to Murray as he failed to put the ball in play on four returns to seal victory in just under 90 minutes on court.

ROGER FEDERER

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?
Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

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