The world’s best clay court tennis player is Spain’s Rafael Nadal. On Sunday, May 17, 2009, the world’s best clay court tennis player did not win the Madrid Open, a Masters tournament featuring a Men’s Draw and a Women’s Draw. To the astonishment of the subdued home crowd, Rafael fell to the world’s second best [...]
Roger Federer knew that Rafael Nadal’s physical condition wouldn’t decide the championship match of the inaugural Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open. He also knew that mere awareness of a situation doesn’t lead to success in the heat of battle. Quality execution and top-shelf tactics had to emerge if a storied rivalry was to acquire a delicious new taste of intrigue. After [...]
They don’t call Spain’s glorious new tennis facility The Magic Box for nothing. In the very first year of its existence, the architectural marvel played host to one of the finest tennis matches ever contested, anywhere and anytime. In the decades to come, many more Madrid Opens will unfold at “La Caja Magica,” but the [...]
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have made a habit of contesting claycourt championships this season. While those two rivals will clash in one of Saturday’s semifinals at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, the player they’ve suprassed will try to bounce back on the crushed red brick of Spain. In prior years, Roger Federer unmistakably stamped [...]
If tennis fans wanted explosive action on day four of the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, they were sorely disappointed. Two retirements on the men’s side deprived spectators (and TV viewers) of compelling combat, while the women–with their tournament bracket thrown upside-down by a spate of upsets–provided just one eyebrow-raising result in the round of 16. [...]
The men’s side of this week’s dual-gender claycourt tournament in Spain has not yet witnessed a major upset. In the women’s portion of the tournament, a different narrative has emerged. Three upsets took center stage on a wacky Wednesday at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, giving the rest of the WTA Tour a great opportunity [...]
