(MENAFN- Gulf Times) World
number one Rafael Nadal swept aside Grigor Dimitrov to ease into his
12th Monte Carlo Masters final with a 6-4, 6-1 victory yesterday, while
Kei Nishikori edged out Alexander Zverev.
The 31-year-old Nadal needs
to win an 11th Monaco title to retain the number one ranking ahead of
Roger Federer, and will be a red-hot favourite against Japan's Nishikori
in today's final. 'I really don't care if I am favourite or I am not
favourite, insisted Nadal, after beating Dimitrov for the 11th time in
12 meetings.
'I go on court, I try my best. I want to win. Doesn't matter if I am the favourite or I am not the favourite.
Nadal
came through a tight first set but always looked too strong for
Dimitrov and raced through the second in half an hour. 'He's playing
very good on clay. Simple as that. Tactically and everything else,
admitted Dimitrov.
'It hurts a lot of us, a lot of the players that are maybe not as physically strong.
The
top seed is bidding for an outright record 31st Masters title this week
and extended his run of consecutive sets won on clay to 34 as he closed
on a third consecutive Monte Carlo title.
'Being (in) 12 finals already here is something difficult to imagine. To win 10 is difficult to imagine, too, Nadal said.
'In our sport, there is not much time to stop and think about the things that have happened or not happened.
'When I retire, probably we will have the chance to think about it, how difficult all the things that I have done (were).
Nadal,
playing his first ATP tournament since he retired from his Australian
Open quarter-final against Marin Cilic in January with a hip injury, has
shown no signs of rust.
Following a 6-0, 6-2 last-eight demolition
of Dominic Thiem, Nadal has lost only 16 games in four matches this
week. Dimitrov immediately put Nadal's serve under pressure with two
perfectly-judged lobs forcing deuce, but the top seed came through an
eight-minute opener.
Nadal didn't take long to get into his stride, breaking at the first time of asking as Dimitrov struggled in the longer rallies.
The
Bulgarian continued to go for his shots and brought up three break-back
points in game five as Nadal followed a double fault with two wayward
groundstrokes. Nadal fired long, before Dimitrov saved a break point
himself with a venomous forehand to level at 3-3.
The fourth seed was
displaying the resolve needed to push Nadal on his favourite surface,
and came back from break point down again as the Spaniard continued to
miss chances.
But Dimitrov wasted all of his earlier good work,
handing Nadal two set points with back-to-back double faults and a wild
forehand.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion wrapped up the set with a
whipped forehand onto the line. 'It was my fault when I got broken.
Simple as that, said world number five Dimitrov.
'Two double faults, it's just definitely not acceptable, especially when you play against him on that surface.
That
effectively ended Dimitrov's chances, and Nadal broke to love twice in a
row in the second set before a wide Dimitrov backhand wrapped up yet
another comfortable victory.
Nishikori returns to big time
Nishikori
fought back from a set down to beat Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and reach his
first Masters final since Toronto in 2016. The Japanese player has
struggled with a right wrist injury that forced him to miss the last
four months of last season, but has looked back to his best in Monte
Carlo.
The former world number four, now ranked 36, did enough to
wear down a tired Zverev who came through a late-night thriller with
Richard Gasquet on his 21st birthday on Friday.
Nishikori is yet to
win a Masters title in three previous final appearances, including one
against Nadal in Madrid four years ago when he led by a set and a break
before retiring injured. He won his last match against Nadal in the 2016
Olympic bronze-medal match, but has never beaten him on clay.
MENAFN2204201800670000ID1096753435
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.