Novak Djokovic equaled Ivan Lendl’s 1986 record of a 29-0 winning start to a season on Thursday, when he reached the Madrid Masters quarter-finals.
The Serb second seed cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 thrashing of Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez that took less than an hour to extend his overall winning streak to 31, stretching back to the two Davis Cup final singles he won in December last year.
The record for a winning start to a season remains 42 matches, set by John McEnroe in 1984, with Bjorn Borg, who had 33 straight wins in 1980, in second spot.
Photo: Reuters
“I was winning my service games really comfortably and that’s something that I’m happy about, it’s a very encouraging fact for my upcoming matches,” Djokovic said. “It’s important for me to see that I raised the level of performance today for the quarter-finals.”
Top-seeded holder Rafael Nadal went through to the last eight without lifting a racquet as opponent Juan Martin del Potro retired before their third-round match with hip pain.
Unseeded Del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion, who is making a recovery this season after missing more than eight months of play last year after suffering a wrist surgery, had been bothered by the problem since reaching the Estoril semi-finals at the weekend.
“I have experience with injuries, and I decided not to play,” Del Potro said as he prepared to fly home to Buenos Aires for medical checks.
The Argentine will not play the Rome Masters starting tomorrow and could well be in doubt with the French Open starting on May 22.
“The pain was very strong,” the Argentine said.
Third seed Roger Federer got past Belgian Xavier Malisse 6-4, 6-3 after a late-night struggle on Wednesday against Feliciano Lopez that went three hours.
“It was a quick turnaround,” the two-time champion said. “Mentally, it was tough, I had to be ready to play a different kind of match [from the night before]. I didn’t have high expectations, I just wanted to play a good match. I was able to do that.”
Thomaz Bellucci profited from his first meeting with Scot fourth seed Andy Murray, securing a 6-4, 6-2 win in 90 minutes. Murray’s temper boiled over with the seed warned for audible obscenities from early on in the proceedings as Bellucci won the last four games to advance to the last eight.
However, the British player wasn’t too downhearted with his form.
“I’ve got to look more at the week as a whole, I was coming back from an injury that wasn’t serious, but an elbow injury isn’t easy for tennis players,” Murray said. “You need to be quite cautious and not do too much too soon because then you take a step back, but I think I’ve judged it pretty well.”
Fifth seed Robin Soderling, twice a Roland Garros finalist, defeated slumping Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (10/8), 7-5.
In the women’s event, world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki lost to Germany’s Julia Goerges for the second time in little more than a week, while French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and Roland Garros runner-up Samantha Stosur also went out.
Goerges, who saw off Wozniacki in the Stuttgart final last week, enjoyed a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 win and next plays Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who upset Stosur 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
The US’ Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated third seed Schiavone 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, but there were no problems for fourth seed Victoria Azarenka, who overcame Spain’s Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-0, 6-3.
Sixth seed Li Na of China, the Australian Open finalist, moved into the last eight thanks to a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Italian Roberta Vinci, who won in Barcelona last week.
“The first set was good for her, then I started thinking about hitting it more to her slice backhand,” Li said. “After Melbourne, I wasn’t winning any matches, so it’s exciting I’ve now won three matches on clay. Things are going fantastic. Since my new coach joined my team, I’m happier. I have more good energy now.”
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care