(pic: rent4days)
Another edition of the Mutua Madrid Open tour has come and gone, the tour which started on Monday, May 2nd and ended on Sunday, May 8th; usually serves as a curtain raiser along with the Italian Open in Rome, for the second of four annual grand slam tournaments; The French Open. The tournament definitely lived up to the billing by putting out some world-class tennis matches on display at the Caja Mágica.
The Men’s section saw World number 1 Novak Djokovic further cement
his status as the best tennis player in the world by edging close rival and
defending champion Andy Murray 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to be crowned champion of the
Madrid Open. The victory, which was Djokovic’s fifth win in the last 6 ATP 1000
competitions, earns him a record of 29 ATP 1000 titles, one greater than his
Spanish rival Rafael Nadal, who was beaten by Murray in the semi-final. The
loss for Murray allows Roger Federer to overtake him and become No.2 in the world;
it also keeps the British player from winning his twelfth Masters 1000 title,
and second on clay.
Novak Djokovic showing who's boss (Pic: SkySports).
Djokovic, who was participating in his first clay-court
tournament since being upset by Jiri Vesely in the 2nd round of the
Monte carlo Masters had to beat the likes of Borna Coric, Roberto Bautista-Agut,
Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori before Andy Murray in the final to clinch his
second title in Madrid and walk away with prize money of over 2 million Euros
while making himself firm favourite to win the French Open.
In the Women’s section of the tournament Romanian Simona
Halep emerged victorious as she defeated Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets
6-2, 6-4 to win her first title of 2016 and the twelfth of her career, the
victory also means that she will climb to fifth position in the WTA rankings. “I’m
really happy I could win this trophy, it’s very special for me” said Halep, “It’s
an unbelievable feeling. It’s the best day of my life”.
Simona Halep celebrates her win (Pic: DailyMail).
Although Simona Halep had to deal with the likes of Misaki Doi, Karin Knapp, Timea Bacsinszky, Irina Begu and Samantha Stosur on her road to the final, many will argue that she had a helping hand as the pre tournament favourites fell away around her. With Serena Williams pulling out due to flu before the start of the tournament, Victoria Azarenka withdrawing during the 3rd round of the tournament, and Garbine Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska and Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber all losing early.
The men’s doubles title was won by the third
seeded pair Jean-julien Rojer and Horia Tecau after they defeated defending
champions Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea 6-4, 7-6(5) in a thrilling final,
while the women’s doubles title went to Kristina Mladenovic and Carolina Garcia
after they defeated the tournament favourites and top-ranked pair in the world,
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
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