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Рафаэль Надаль: «Никакой я не герой»

Оригинал: abc.es

Перевод: Anna Shkirina  для rafanadal-kingoftennis.ru

Приближаясь к 31 году, он говорит уже как ветеран и после такого многообещающего начала года объявляет, что готов вновь выигрывать.

Nadal comes to Barcelona ​​looking for another tenth crown
A tanned Nadal and with a Monte Carlo crown in his pocket arrived at his club, the RCTB-1899, wanting to rest only the minimum and necessary, to feel the ball a bit and reaffirm his good moment and his almost unbeatable start of the season start: "I'm where I wanted to be. And I hope things will continue to work.”

A 1,000 Masters, three finals (one Grand Slam) and one more than a deserved second place in the Race and fifth place in the ATP rankings make him feel optimistic. This time, in his pre-tournament press conference, he did not have to answer any questions about injuries. Neither appeared the words of anxiety or defeat.

Rafa has achieved something unprecedented for any player, ten titles at the same tournament, in this case Montecarlo... and that the conditions he treasures are the best ones to accomplish the same here in Barcelona. With permission of the world number one, Murray, the Majorcan has many possibilities to achieve it. Do not blink if you do not want to miss it.

"I arrive well, happy, excited about this start of the season. I debuted on clay in Montecarlo and there I went from less to more.” These are the words of the king of clay, who is no longer asked about Vila's record because it has been another one that he has greatly surpassed. Plenty of arguments to demonstrate optimism without any shadows. And more so if in the biggest match of the last weeks, the Monegasque final, he came out, giving very few opportunities to his opponent (Albert Ramos did not have any break points) and all seemed to work in his favor. "I did pretty much everything," said the ten-time winner at the Monte Carlo Country Club.

Rafa Nadal and Marc López celebrated 25 years of Barcelona'92 with a master class from Antonio Rebollo
The spirit of Barcelona'92, which is touring the main sporting events of this year in the city, has also reached the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell with a very emotional action carried out by the Olympic champions of Rio 2016, Rafa Nadal and Marc Lopez, and Antonio Rebollo.

The archer, who once had the responsibility of lighting the cauldron of the Olympic Stadium in Montjuïc at the Opening Ceremony, gave a master class to the two tennis players, who attended with great enthusiasm each and every one of the explanations. The Madrilenian, taught them first the tricks on how to mount the arch and leave it ready to throw the arrows. Marc has difficulties with the process of tightening the rope, but with the correct explanations of Rebollo, he solved it in a few seconds.

Rafa, for his part, was very excited about this action that has recovered one of the most mythical moments in the history of the Olympic Games. The way of lighting the Barcelona '92 cauldron, with the Olympic flame coming through an arrow thrown by Rebollo,  a quarter of a century later lives on as one of the greatest images of those Games. The Majorcan, who was six years old in 1992, tried to imitate the Madrilenian and recreated with arch in hand this historic moment.

Barcelona Open

Rafael Nadal captured an incredible 10th Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters crown on Sunday in beating fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3 in the 76-minute final. Nadal’s 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, one shy of record-holder Novak Djokovic (30), marks the first time in the Open Era (since April 1968) that any man has won a singles tournament on 10 occasions.
The victory also sees Nadal clinch his 50th clay-court crown (50-8), breaking the record he shared with Guillermo Vilas since 24 April 2016, when he lifted his ninth trophy at the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell.
“It really is unbelievable,” said Nadal. “To win 10 times at such an important event like Monte-Carlo is something difficult to describe my feelings. Every year has been a different feeling. At the same time it is always a unique moment, every time, I have this trophy with me. [Of course] there is a little bit of luck, lot of things coming together to win this 10th title in an event like Monte-Carlo.
“I feel lucky to keep playing tennis [and] being healthy all those years, in order to compete in one of the most beautiful events of the year, without a doubt. I am very happy to win another one. For me, it is a very important day in my career.”

His Serene Highness Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco presented Nadal with the trophy after he improved to a 63-4 match record at the Monte-Carlo County Club, receiving an incredible ovation for his moment of tennis history from the capacity crowd. World No. 7 Nadal earned 1,000 Emirates ATP Rankings points and will now travel to Barcelona, where he will look to further add to his legacy as the undisputed ‘King of Clay’, with €820,035 in prize money.
Nadal has now won an ATP World Tour title for the 14th year in a row (since 2004) and now has a 70-35 mark in title matches during his illustrious career. Ever since making his tour-level debut in 2003, Nadal has compiled a 370-34 match record (.916) on the dirt – the best winning percentage of any player in the Open Era.

Source: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

2017 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters FINAL Rafael Nadal bt. Albert Ramos-Vinolas  6/1 6/3

Rafa Nadal, who had practised first-strike tennis on Court Rainier III hours before the afternoon final, put Ramos-Vinolas under immediate pressure in his first service game, but he could not convert three break point opportunities. In targeting Ramos-Vinolas’ backhand with his heavy topspin forehand, Nadal created space and in the fourth game secured a 3-1 advantage with a break to love. A second service break followed at 1-4, 15/40, when Ramos-Vinolas struck a forehand into the net. Nadal, who had been quick to move up the court for the short ball, clinched the 30-minute set with an ace.
Ramos-Vinolas, who attempted not to be pushed back further behind the baseline, settled down in the early stages of the second set, but at 2-2 the relentless depth and pace of Nadal saw the World No. 24 get broken for a third time (to 30) with a mis-timed backhand that sailed long.
Nadal experienced a brief wobble when leading 4-3, dropping to 0/30, but clever surface placement ensured short responses for routine groundstroke winners. At 3-5, Ramos-Vinolas buckled under tremendous pressure. Having saved two championship points, courtesy of Nadal errors, Ramos-Vinolas hit a double fault on Nadal’s third championship point.

Source: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

Photos: Getty; Reuters