Novak Djokovic tamed world No. 1 Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-3 to claim his fourth Sony Open title on Sunday, denying the Spaniard a maiden win on the Miami hard courts.
The win was the second straight Masters series title for the Serbian world No. 2, who defeated Roger Federer in the BNP Paribas Open two weeks previously in Indian Wells, California.
“That was a great confidence boost for me that I carried on in this week and this tournament has been perfect from the beginning to the end,” said Djokovic, after hoisting his 43rd career ATP Tour title. “The matches that I have played, I played really well and I elevated my game as the tournament progressed. The best performance of the tournament came in the right moment on Sunday against the biggest rival.”
Photo: AFP
The world’s top ranked players added another line to what has grown into one of tennis’ great rivalries, with the Spaniard holding a 22-18 edge, but the Miami title continues to be one of the few to elude Nadal, who has now finished runner-up four times at Crandon Park, twice beaten in the final by Djokovic.
“Miami is the same level as Indian Wells, same level as Cincinnati, Toronto, Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid,” said Nadal, when asked to explain his inability to hoist the Miami trophy. “The quality of the tournament is Masters 1000 that I won 26, so I cannot have a mental block on that. No, no frustration. That’s tennis. That’s the sport.”
Both Nadal and Djokovic were well-rested after receiving walkovers into the final after opponents withdrew from the semi-finals, giving the tournament a mouth-watering championship matchup.
Photo: AFP
The contest featured everything one would expect except from a matchup between the world’s best with a title on the line, Nadal and Djokovic trading thundering ground-strokes right from the first point, but a confident Djokovic, his game firing on all cylinders, kept Nadal on the defensive, ending the drama quickly by winning all the big points.
“I played a few games and a few points with right way, with right intensity, but for the rest, easy to analyze. The opponent was better than me. That’s it,” Nadal said.
Both players had one break opportunity in an entertaining opening set and it was the Serb who made his count, breaking Nadal to go up 4-2 and then holding serve for a 1-0 lead.
Djokovic quickly put his opponent under pressure, starting the second with a break, and that was all he would need with Nadal unable to find a crack in the Serb’s armor.
The match ended on another break and a dazzling rally, Djokovic sealing a clinical victory with a textbook half-volley, then falling onto his back and punching his hands in the air in celebration.
“I didn’t have any letdowns throughout the match,” Djokovic said. “I was in a very high level: serve, backhand, cross-court, forehand. I mean, I have done everything right and I’m thrilled with my performance.”
In the women’s doubles, Martina Hingis made a winning return when the Swiss player and her German partner Sabine Lisicki claimed the title on Sunday with a 4-6, 6-4, 10-5 win over Russian duo Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
The title was the 33-year-old Hingis’ first since winning the doubles in Doha in 2007.
“Obviously it is very exciting, when you convert that match point, you are like, yes, we did it,” Hingis said.
Since retiring in 2007, Hingis, a former world No. 1, has flirted with a doubles comeback.
Last year, the winner of five singles and nine doubles Grand Slam career titles attempted a return with Daniela Hantuchova, but found little success, winning just three of five matches and falling in the first round of the US Open.
Hingis launched a second comeback this season, losing in the first round at Indian Wells, but looked right at home on the Miami hard courts, returning to the winner’s circle at an event she won twice back in 1998 and 1999.
“Two weeks ago, if you asked me, I probably would have had a completely different answer,” Hingis said when asked about her future plans. “Last week, I was like, I’m not sure if I want to put myself out there like this and lose first, second round. Now after this victory, things have definitely changed. I would be very happy to continue to play some more doubles, of course.”
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS