A year after Alexander Zverev announced his arrival in the big time by crushing Novak Djokovic to win the Italian Open, the young German held his own but not his crown as Rafael Nadal used a rain delay to regain momentum Sunday, winning his eighth title on the Foro Italico's Campo Centrale, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in two hours and nine minutes. If someone were to beat Rafa in Paris it would rank as one of the biggest upsets of all time.
Meanwhile, Simona Halep made a further mockery of the women's game, losing 6-0, 6-4 in the final to Elina Svitolina. Halep has just ONE title to her name -- and it's a rinky-dink 250! -- yet still retains the No. 1 ranking. Damian quickly reminded me of when the world was beside itself that Dinara Safina was No. 1 without winning a major -- only she had captured Rome and Madrid (both premier mandatory events) as well as a hardcourt title in Slovenia, and made the final in Melbourne and Paris as we;; as the semis at Wimbledon. (Her third-round loss at the U.S. Open was to Petra Kvitova!) I guess like many things in life, the bar has been moved so low that this now seems brilliant in retrospect. Perhaps the most noteworthy thing from the women's side is that Maria Sharapova finally had a pretty good tournament.
In the eye candy department: Robert Farah and Juan "Can Pass for Hot With a Hat On" Cabal claimed their first Masters 1000 title in Rome, with a 3-6, 6-4, 10-4 win over Pablo Carreno Busta and João Sousa.
(Anything to keep Farah in the news!)
(Anything to keep Farah in the news!)
This was one of the week's funnier moments ...
1 comment:
As a Nadal fan, I'll admit the rain helped him regroup and win the title. He was only down one break in the third set and may have found a way back without the rain but Zverev certainly had the momentum. I agree that beating him in Paris will be a tough challenge but Zverev, Thiem and Djokovic all have a shot, especially if Nadal is having a bad day. The draw should be interesting.
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