Nadal Thrilled With 10th Title At Barcelona 2017
Nadal Thrilled With 10th Title At Barcelona 2017
Apr302017
Brian Baker celebrated his 32nd birthday in style, claiming the doubles title at the inaugural Gazprom Hungarian Open alongside Nikola Mektic.
Baker and Mektic prevailed 7-6(2), 6-4 over Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in Budapest, needing one hour and 27 minutes to secure their second team title on the ATP World Tour. Also the champions at the Memphis Open in February, they improved to 2-0 in tour-level finals together.
The fourth seeds were ruthless on serve, dropping just 17 of 65 points in the final encounter. They took the first set in a tie-break and broke immediately at love to open the second, before eventually emerging victorious on their second match point.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present,” said Baker. “Turning 32 today, it’s going to be my best year yet. This really validates our Memphis win. We haven’t played that many tournaments and sometimes you can do well early [in a partnership], but winning again shows we’re a really good team.”
Baker and Mektic claimed 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split €26,110. It was Baker’s second career title in two finals, while Mektic notched his second in three finals. They are 10-2 as a team this year.
“It was a very good week,” said Mektic. “Today was our best match. I’m happy to win the title. It’s a great city and I think they did a really good job for a first-time tournament.”
Third seeds Cabal and Farah were contesting their 20th ATP World Tour doubles final together, dropping to 9-11. In February, they won the Buenos Aires title (d. Gonzalez/Marrero). The Colombian tandem take home 150 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split €13,730 in prize money.
Aljaz Bedene’s 16-match winning run came to an end as he lost to Lucas Pouille in the Hungarian Open final.
The British number four was beaten 6-2 6-1 by French top seed Pouille, who secured his second ATP Tour title.
The world number 14 broke the Briton’s first service game, and three further breaks in the second set secured a straightforward victory.
Meanwhile, Spaniard Rafael Nadal beat Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-4 6-1 to win his 10th Barcelona Open title.
Bedene, 27, was ranked outside the top 100 at the beginning of March but has climbed to world number 68 and will move higher still on Monday.
His streak of 16 straight wins includes back-to-back titles on the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour earlier this month.
But his good run of form was finally ended as Pouille won in just one hour and four minutes.
Elsewhere, in Morocco Open qualifying on the women’s tour, British number four Tara Moore lost 6-1 6-2 to fiancee Conny Perrin.
A week after becoming the first man in the Open era to win the same tournament 10 times at the Monte Carlo Masters, Nadal repeated the feat at the Barcelona Open.
The 30-year-old beat world number nine Thiem, who defeated world number one Andy Murray in the semi-finals.
World number five Nadal did not drop a set in Barcelona, and has now won 10 consecutive matches.
He is also aiming for a 10th French Open title at Roland Garros next month.
Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos might have a 1-6 career record against Top 10 players, but the 32 year old likely has the best collection of post-match selfies on the ATP World Tour.
Earlier this year, Zeballos requested his first big-time selfie, smiling with Novak Djokovic following a second-round loss in Dubai. On Saturday, Zeballos added another snap to his portfolio, posing with Rafael Nadal following Nadal’s 6-3, 6-4 victory against Zeballos in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell semi-finals.
“For me, it’s an honour if someone asks to take a picture with me. Horacio had a great run in the tournament,” Nadal said.
Que linda tarde! Perdi si! Pero que bien la pase! Me queda este recuerdo hermoso. Gracias Rafa!!! Que linda fiesta!! pic.twitter.com/xMrDiPNFat
— horacio zeballos (@HoracioZeballos) April 29, 2017
Zeballos’ tweet roughly translates to, “What a beautiful afternoon! Yes, I lost. But I had a good time. I have a beautiful memory. Thanks, Rafa! What a beautful party!!”
“I asked Rafa and he said, ‘No problem,’” Zeballos said. “Those moments I have had on court… I don’t want them just to be in my memory. Those pictures will stay with me forever.”
The left-hander enjoyed his best run in years in Barcelona. Zeballos reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final since 2013, when he won the Vina del Mar title, beating then-No. 5 Nadal in the final for his first Top 10 win and his lone tour-level singles title.
One more thing for @HoracioZeballos to do before he leaves the court…#selfie #Nadal#bcnopenbs pic.twitter.com/Nq6YM0Q02c
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 29, 2017
World No. 84 Zeballos became the lowest-ranked semi-finalist in Barcelona since No. 85 German Denis Gremelmayr in 2008 (l. to Nadal). The left-hander from Mar del Plata is expected to rise 22 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings to No. 62 when the new rankings are released on Monday.
“I knew it was a difficult match but I felt great on court, very comfortable. The atmosphere was great and I think it was a good battle. I wish [Nadal] the title again because he deserves it,” Zeballos said.
Nadal will go for his 10th Barcelona title on Sunday against Austrian Dominic Thiem. Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-1.
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