Novak Djokovic buried his grief to advance to the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday, just hours after learning of the death in Serbia of his beloved grandfather.
The world No. 1 elected to take to the court against Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine after suffering the heart-breaking blow at training in the morning.
His match, interrupted by the fourth rain shower of the day at the Monte Carlo Country Club, eventually ended with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 win and a pleading look to the Mediterranean skies from the distraught star.
Photo: Reuters
Djokovic was said to be close to grandfather, Vladimir, and he sheltered with him and other family members during the NATO bombing of Belgrade in 1999.
After leaving the court in silence, the ATP released a statement which read: “Novak Djokovic would like to ask for your understanding.”
“As you know, he lost his grandfather today just before the match and it was very hard for him to play. After he won, he just felt totally exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally,” it said.
Photo: Reuters
There was no word as to whether the world No. 1 would continue in the tournament, which he missed last year during a record-setting season of 10 titles, including three of the four Grand Slams.
He was due to face Robin Haase of the Netherlands in yesterday’s quarter-finals.
Second seed Rafael Nadal continued his quest for an eighth straight title at the tournament as he dispatched Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-1.
Nadal is next scheduled to face Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland for a place in the semi-finals.
World No. 2 Nadal needed just 60 minutes to see off Kukushkin, breaking serve five times from six opportunities and dropping only six points on serve. He improved his career record in Monte Carlo to 41-1, his only defeat coming against Guillermo Coria in the third round in 2003.
“The match started in the perfect way,” Nadal said. “I played much better than yesterday, in my opinion. More aggressive, more solid. My serve was much better. The return, too. In general today, I was very happy with how I played.”
Meanwhile, Andy Murray’s apparent jinx on opponents continued, with the third seed advancing when Frenchman Julien Benneteau went down with an ankle injury and subsequently broke his elbow.
Murray got a rare two walkovers last month in Miami, when Canadian Milos Raonic was injured before their third-round encounter and Nadal was unable to play their semi-final due to the knee problems which continue to haunt him.
Fourth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga saved nine break points to beat Fernando Verdasco of Spain, the 13th seed, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2.
He became the first French player into the last eight since Richard Gasquet five years ago and he was then joined by compatriot Gilles Simon, who upset seventh seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-0, 4-6, 6-1.
The two Frenchmen meet for a place in the last four.
Sixth seed Tomas Berdych rallied past Japan’s Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to lineup against Murray in the next round.
Murray was leading 6-5 in the first set against world No. 31 Benneteau when the Frenchman took a tumble, rolling his right ankle and landing badly.
“It looked like quite a bad one, he fell quite heavily,” said Murray of Benneteau.
Grimacing in pain, Benneteau was patched up and tried to play on, but he gave up to end the abbreviated contest after 11 games.
“It was a tough match, a lot of long games, quite a few long rallies,” Murray said. “It was very cool conditions today in comparison to the other day, so the court was playing a bit slower. He was going for his shots and making it tough.”
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS