If a member of the Big 3 is playing in a big tournament, you can be pretty sure he is going to win it. Such is the nature of the ATP Tour these days.
More of the same continued this week, when world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and world No. 2 Rafael Nadal shared 500-point titles. Djokovic captured a fifth title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, while Nadal triumphed at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel for the third time (first time on hard courts).
Djokovic’s run in Dubai, which extended his perfect record this season to 18-0, was not entirely smooth. The Serb saved three match points from 6-3 down in the second-set tiebreaker to beat Gael Monfils 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-1 in the semifinals. But it was more routine on championship Saturday, when Djokovic got the best of Marseille champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4.
“I’m just grateful that I’m playing well, feeling well,” the 32-year-old noted. “I’ve won many matches now in a row. I’ll try to keep that run going. It’s just way too early to speak about how long that run might go, the calculations. I try not to think about predictions. I try to focus on what I need to do with myself and my team in order to thrive every day, in order to try to play as best as I can every single match. That’s the main focus.
“I’m trying to embrace the moment and appreciate where I am. I think this has been one of the best starts of all the seasons I had in my career. I feel great on the court. I’ve been playing great tennis on the hard courts. That is my most successful and preferred surface.”
Nadal is still a month away from landing on his preferred surface, but the hard courts of Acapulco were kind to him this time around. The Spaniard, who lost to Nick Kyrgios during second-round action last February, made quick 6-3, 6-2 work of Taylor Fritz in the final. Nadal’s previous two victories in Acapulco had come on clay.
”I couldn’t be happier,” assured Nadal, who did not drop a set all week and did not even get pushed to a single tiebreaker. “I played a great event from the beginning to the end. Acapulco was the first big title that I won in my career, so to be able to stay here after 15 years is amazing. I can’t thank enough the people who make me feel at home every single time.”
The 33-year-old won nine of his 10 sets by 6-3 or worse.
congrats, campeones