Nadal downs Ramos-Vinolas to win record 10th Monte Carlo crown

Sport360 staff 19:28 23/04/2017
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  • Perfect 10: For Rafa.

    Rafael Nadal completed a record-breaking ‘La Decima’ in Monte Carlo by defeating his Spanish compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3 in the final on Sunday.

    The 30-year-old Nadal will be aiming for a 10th French Open title as well next month.

    It was Nadal’s first title in almost a year and further cemented his place in history as he became the first man in the Open era to win the same event 10 times.

    He won eight Monte Carlo titles in a row from 2005 to 2012 but then lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2013 final.

    He won the title again last year and then added the Barcelona crown a week later, yet had not lifted a trophy since, losing three finals already this year, including January’s Australian Open against Roger Federer.

    “I cannot explain the feelings that I have,” Nadal said on court. “When I first played here in 2003 as a qualifier I reached the third round. Now, a lot of years later, to have 10 titles here, this is something I could have never dreamt. Thanks to life for giving me this opportunity.”

    He has now amassed 50 clay titles during his career, to take sole ownership of the record on the red dirt with one trophy more than Guillermo Vilas.

    Ramos-Vinolas was featuring in a Masters 1000 final for the first time after a tremendous week where he claimed back-to-back wins over top-10 opposition for the first time. The 29-year-old from Barcelona took out world No1 Andy Murray, No8 Marin Cilic, and No17 Lucas Pouille en route to the final.

    “Probably nothing to do, no? I think that he was a little bit better in everything. When he’s a little bit better in everything, the difference after, it’s what we saw in the match,” said Ramos-Vinolas.

    “I think also I didn’t serve good. To be honest, I think he served really good today. Last time I played against him, I felt that on the return it was my chance to put some pressure. But today I felt that he was serving so good.”

    Ramos-Vinolas will rise to career-high ranking of No19 on Monday, cracking the top-20 for the first time.

    Nadal needed just 76 minutes to get through the final against his countryman. The 10-time champion hit 21 winners against just 13 unforced errors and faced zero break points in what was a dominant display on his favourite surface.

    The Mallorcan will now attempt to win a 10th Barcelona Open trophy in the Catalan city (April 24-30) where he is the No3 seed. Nadal has a bye in the first round and could face either Rogerio Dutra Silva or Renzo Olivo in the second round.

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