Will Rafael Nadal return to his best on clay at Monte Carlo?

Rafael Nadal had a few good performances at the start of 2017 but when compared to his closest rival Roger Federer, it is far from being great. He comes in with a 19-5 match record on the season with three runner-up placing, at the Australian Open where he lost to Roger Federer, in Acapulco to Sam Querrey and in Miami to Federer again.

Now that he's back on his best surface, he has the chance to prove his critics wrong. With the Monte Carlo Masters tournament happening this week, Nadal is setting his sights on winning the 10th crown. Just a year ago, he won his ninth title against Monfils. This is the sixth time since 2005 Nadal enters Monte-Carlo without an ATP World Tour title on the season.

"When you come back in a tournament where you have been so successful, memories are always special. I would like to win in Monte Carlo, and if I will be doing well, I will have my chances," he said.

After Monte Carlo, Nadal will be playing in Barcelona, Madrid and Rome before heading to Paris for the French Open where he will compete for his tenth title.

Monte Carlo Masters - Who to Watch

 by Carine06 

As the Monte Carlo Masters gets underway, the buzz is beginning to build around just who exactly will surge to dominance on the clay courts of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, this coming week. With some first round ties already completed, the pack is already thinning and with that in mind, there is no better time than now to take a look at several stars that are likely to shine in Monte Carlo.

 by  y.caradec

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic began the year in scintillating fashion when achieving glory at the Australian Open - and the Serbian hasn't looked back since. Afforded a first round bye, 'The Djok' has undoubtedly had it easier than others in advancing to the second round, but it likely won't cause him any ring rust. Djokovic most recently moved to 6th place in the rankings for the most weeks spent atop the ATP World Tour Rankings and with a near-5000 point lead over second placed Roger Federer, he won't be dethroned any time soon. These astounding stats are paired with the fact that Djokovic won both the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open prior to this event, meaning he will likely want to make it a hat-trick and add to his stellar resume for 2015.

.@djokernole now 6th all-time for most weeks at No.1 in #Emirates #ATP Rankings. Tribute: http://t.co/QhuCSPpaSg pic.twitter.com/so5woJ26uy
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) April 13, 2015

Stanislas Wawrinka

Wawrinka shocked the world when not only winning the Australian Open in 2014, but also when scalping a victory over Roger Federer to take the Monte Carlo Masters crown home with him last time out. Wawrinka played the aformentioned Djokovic through a gruelling five sets before ultimately losing out in the Australian Open this year and his form managed to remain consistent - until around two months ago it seems. Since then Wawrinka has defeated just one tennis player (Carlos Berlocq) ranked within the top 100 and it appears that this tournament could go either way for the 30-year-old. One thing is for certain though, whatever happens this tournament for Wawwrinka, all eyes will be on him.

Rafael Nadal
Rafa has slipped under the radar in recent years due to persistent injury problems, but that doesn't mean he is no longer able to punish the best of them at a moment's notice - especially on the clay courts of Monte Carlo. Nadal has won the competition as many as eight times and when you also factor in his nine French Open wins - which is also played on clay courts - there is every reason to believe he can emerge as a front-runner for success at this tournament. Leading bookmakers such as betfair have already listed the Spaniard as the favourite for success later in the year at the French Open, meaning that that Rafa's precense around clay courts is something to behold. Perhaps the 'King of Clay' can strike once again and earn himself an uprecedented ninth singles title.

Roger Federer
For an unknown reason, the Monte Carlo Masters crown has eluded Federer througout his entire career. He has reached the final as many as four times but each defeat appears to be a little more painful than the last, and that may have taken it's toll on the Swiss sensation. Such a storied career seemingly can't end without 'Fed' finally achieving glory in Monte Carlo, but in truth it all depends on whether he can maintain the composure to beat the likes of Nadal and Djokovic. He has, however, suffered on clay courts in recent seasons and this could be evidence of an ageing veteran who is slowly entering his hayday. The ATP rankings prove different however, so it will be interesting to see if Federer can pull another rabbit out of his seemingly-bottomless box of tricks. It would certainly be a fairytale story if he was to achieve glory come Sunday in France. 

So there you have it, four of the more prominent candidates touching down on the clay of Monte Carlo, but in truth, the tournament is extremely open this year, with the likes of Milos Raonic and Gregor Dimitrov looking to ascend into the higher echelons of elite tennis. Watch this space, it could really be anyone who emerges the winner at this year's Masters.

Pinterest hack: 8th Monte Carlo title hope for Rafael Nadal

After I've learned a trick from Mashable, I've decided to apply the Pinterest hack on my page. It shouldn’t be long before online advertisers find a way to apply this technique in their marketing schemes.

Hope Nadal will overcome his left knee problem, make it to the final and clinch the Monte Carlo Masters title for the 8th time. 


No pressure. Just hope for the best!


(Image by hcfoo)

Sweet 16 for Rafael Nadal

A breath of relief for all Rafael Nadal fans!

Finally his title drought is over.

Nadal won his first tournament in nearly a year, defeating fellow compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-0, 6-1 at the Monte Carlo Masters final.

This title is more than a come back story.

Nadal has now become the only player to win SIX consecutive titles at the same tournament since tennis turned pro in 1968, and he has tied top-ranked Roger Federer with 16 Masters titles, one behind Andre Agassi’s record.

Too bad Nadal has decided to pull out of this week’s Barcelona Open due to soreness in his knee that developed in Monte Carlo.

He has won Barcelona the last five years and could have break another record here.

Oh yeah, I'm back. Sorry for being away for too long. Nadal's win definitely inspires me to start blogging again.

(Images via Yahoo! Sports)

Rafael Nadal celebrates 5th straight Monte Carlo Masters title

I was really pissed off with Astro, my local paid TV for not showing Rafael Nadal's historic win at the Monte Carlo Masters tournament yesterday because football is always their top priority.

It's totally absurb when they diligently covered the earlier rounds but when it comes to weekend's semifinals and finals they took away the live coverage just to pave ways for some unimportant football matches.

Enough of my rantings, I should be happy because Nadal managed to overcome Novak Djokovic, beating the third-ranked Serbian 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 for his fifth straight Monte Carlo Masters title after losing a set here for the first time since the 2006 final against Roger Federer.

“Everyone can improve in every surface, no? No one is perfect. Sure, I can improve,” Nadal said.

“I always work to improve because when you feel you can’t improve, is difficult to wake up and go on court and practice.”

Nadal is now favored to also collect a fifth straight French Open title.

He was unhappy with how he served, and plans to improve on it before heading to Roland Garros next month.

In the men's doubles final, second seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan 6-4, 6-1 in just 48 minutes.

Meanwhile, Roberta Vinci won her second WTA Tour title at the Barcelona Open on Sunday, beating beat defending champion Maria Kirilenko 6-0, 6-4.

In another WTA tourney, Sabine Lisicki beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 to win the Family Circle Cup and her first tour title on Sunday.

The 19-year-old Lisicki, who is ranked No. 63 and bounced Venus Williams earlier in the tournament, consistently had serves around 120 mph at the tournament on the green clay at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C.

(Via AP; Images by Michael Steele/Getty Images Europe)

Roger Federer: Curtains down in Monte Carlo, time for honeymoon?

Roger Federer lost to his Olympic gold-medal doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5 in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters today.

This makes Wawrinka the first Swiss since Marc Rosset in 9 years to beat Federer.

While Wawrinka was playing confidently on clay, Federer on the other hand looked sloppy and shaky throughout the match.

At times wifey Mirka yawned looking extremely bored.

I guess Federer knew he needed a break.

C'mon the man just got married last weekend.

Looking on the bright side, Mirka and Roger now can pack up and go on a mini honeymoon to celebrate their new marriage.

Check out the wedding ring!

(Images via AP, menstennisforums.com)

Rafael Nadal & Xisca still very much together

Recently there have been many talks especially from the Spanish media who attributed Rafael Nadal's performance at Miami to his separation with girlfriend Xisca.

And I guess we haven't seen Nadal with Xisca for many months, since their last year's vacation in Mauritius.

But the truth is, Nadal and Xisca are still very much together.

In fact the beautiful young woman was in Monaco earlier this week attending an exhibition match at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters between her man and Andy Murray (check out the photos below).

Hope that clears the rumour.

By the way the exho took place in front of the residence of Prince Albert of Monaco.


(Via purepeople.com; Images via menstennisforums.com)

Rafael Nadal gets fashion tips from Novak Djokovic?

Rafael Nadal was spotted wearing a striped shirt underneath his white jacket at the ATP Masters Series launch party at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

So many tennis fans and I thought Nadal could have received some fashion tips from Novak Djokovic (*hint* hint* Nole loves striped shirts).


(Images via menstennisforums.com)

Rafael Nadal the King of Clay in Monte Carlo, again

"Maybe I didn't play my best for sure. But it's tough against him and he deserves to win in the end... because he's a hell of a clay court player" - Roger Federer

Rafael is definitely the best clay court specialist in the Open Era. He has just made a historic win last night at Monte Carlo by winning 4 consecutive titles in a row. What more he won the doubles final on the same night together with Tommy Robredo!

I was worrying in the second set when Federer lead by 4-0. Who knows Nadal will fight back and win the second set 7-5. That's exactly the same Rafael Nadal and his fighting spirit when I first saw him play at the Australian Open against Lleyton Hewitt in the quarterfinal.

Now, Rafael Nadal, the undisputed claycourt king, will be out to maintain his dominance when he chases a record fourth consecutive title at the Barcelona Open, which starts today.

(Photo by Claude Paris/Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Rafael Nadal shows he rules the clay court

Nadal had a fierce start at the Monte Carlo Tennis Tournament. After all this is his favourite surface. With the result 6-0, 6-3 in just 76 minutes over Croatian Mario Ancic, I believe Nadal still got what it takes to win his first title of the year and his 4th (!) consecutive Monte Carlo titles.

Believe it or not, Nadal has 94 out of 95 clay court matches since April 2005. He only lost to Roger Federer at the Hamburg final last year.

By the way, Rafael Nadal has revamped his official website. I really love the favicon and the flash in the middle that features the main links to the rest of the site.


(Image from Getty Images and rafaelnadal.com)

Monte Carlo Royalties

Robin Soderling and Jose Acususo

It's funny to see Tennis Served Fresh highlighted some photos taken at the Monte Carlo Masters in this blog post. I agree the photographers must be having a blast at the city that is famous for its casinos.

There are more of those pictures here.

Igor Andreev

Ivo Karlovic

(Images from Getty Images)

Nadal and Djokovic ala-James Bond in Monte Carlo

Both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic might look like winners in their James Bond suits but ultimately who has the winning hand?

It's the start of Monte-Carlo Masters, and Nadal has won here in the last three consecutive years. Will he make it a triple? Personally I believe Nadal still has it on clay surface. However I do not want to undermine Djokovic although I think he is a much better player on hard court.




Well, before the real title chase begin, let them enjoy a good game on the blackjack table.

(Images from Getty Images)

atp masters series monte carlo 07 - final

Vamos Rafa!

Nadal proves he's the undisputed clay court specialist by winning his third consecutive titles at the Monte Carlo Open.

In my humble opinion, today's match is his best match of the week by beating Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 in just 1 hour and 35 minutes.

Fedex made a lot of unforced errors and looked rather tired during the game. I don't think he believed he can beat Nadal on clay.

Hence, this victory means Nadal has 67 consecutive wins on clay court. So, he's pretty much the man to beat in the up coming Rome Open.

atp masters series monte carlo 07 - part 4

I really hate Star Sports for not continuing to show the live match between Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych at the Masters Series Monte Carlo. But as usual it's Saturday and it's football day and I have no choice but to wait for the delay telecast.

The first semifinal match between Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero was shown earlier on with a predictable victory for Fedex. Fererro did not fight like what he did in the quarterfinal match against Richard Gasquet.

Now that Fedex is guaranteed a place in the final tomorrow, I can't wait for Nadal's win to setup a Battle of the Year between the two top tennis players in the world. It's a crucial game for Fedex in his quest to win the one and only Grand Slam that he hasn't achieve yet, French Open at Roland Garros.

While I'm writing this blog, I'm actually following the live score on the Masters Series Monte Carlo's official website.

Nadal started off with a fierce and convincing play. He punished Berdych 6-0 in the first set in less than 30 minutes! For your information, Berdych has beaten Nadal three times in their previous four meetings.

The second set was a tight race with Nadal trailing Berdych from behind. However, Nadal managed to control his game and won the semifinal match with the result 7-5.

Hopefully Star Sports will be screening the final battle between Federer and Nadal LIVE tomorrow. Gosh, I can't wait to see it!

atp masters series monte carlo 07 - part 3

After defeated Kristof Vliegen 6-1, 6-1 in the third round, and Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinal moment ago, Rafael Nadal continues his winning streak to on clay court to a massive 65 matches!

His next competitor in the semifinal is Tomas Berdych, who had to fought in three sets after dropping the first set to Robin Soderling.

Based on the match, it seems that Nadal is going to have a great chance to move into the final and setup a meeting with Roger Federer whom I believe have no problem in overcoming Juan Carlos Ferrero. But again Ferrero is not easy to beat on clay court.

Oh, by the way, Federer just recorded his 500th career win. What a magnificent record by a great living legend!

atp masters series monte carlo 07 - part 2

Rafael Nadal, the King of Clay, sends strong warning to his rivals at the Monte Carlo Open. He only conceded 4 games in the second round against Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela.

The 6-3, 6-1 victory will definitely boost Nadal's confidence and hopefully his winning streak which increases to 63 matches will continue to rise until he wins this Masters Series title!

Watch out Federer! Nadal is not going to let you dominate tennis games. Definitely not in clay court.

By the way, Star Sports is not showing the live telecast of this match. I hate the fact that they don't prioritise tennis sports. They showed Federer in the morning but not Nadal in the evening. Idiot!

atp masters series monte carlo 07 - part 1

Oh my! Nadal is going to play later in the second round at ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo and it's all up to him to continue his record of 62-match winning streak on clay court.

His competitor is going to be Argentinian, Juan Ignacio Chela, currently no 22 in the ATP ranking. He's considered a veteran player. So I don't think Nadal will have any problem continuing his domination in clay court tennis.

Besides, I think Nadal is going to be very confident because Federer has a tough time on his debut this morning against Andreas Seppi.

Vamos Rafa!

Disclaimer:This series of posts will only focus on Rafael Nadal games. If you are interested in the full coverage of the Masters Series Monte Carlo Championships, please go to the official site.