Today’s Men’s News (4/29) – Barcelona/Bucharest

Written by: Staff on 28th April 2013

Today's Men's News (4/29) - Barcelona/Bucharest

epa03680410 Spanish tennis player Nicolas Almagro returns the ball to his compatriot Rafael Nadal during their Conde Godo Tennis Tournament final in Barcelona, northeastern Spain, 27 April 2013. Nadal won 6-4 and 6-3. EPA/TONI ALBIR |

Barcelona

Singles – Final: (2) R Nadal def. (4) N Almagro 6-4 6-3

What can we say except, He’s at it again? Eight titles here for Rafael Nadal.

It wasn’t entirely one-sided. Nadal was broken twice, and struggled early on (it rained early on in the match). But he broke four times. That was that.

That was also the fourth title this year for Nadal. In six events. He made the final of his other two. His record is 26-2. Even Novak Djokovic is only 23-2. Of course, five of Nadal’s six events have been on clay. But he won the one on hardcourt as well.

In terms of rankings, it doesn’t help. He was last year’s champion, so his point total doesn’t change. He’s still almost a thousand points behind David Ferrer in the contest for #4. But he continues to build a case for the #4 Paris seed.

Nicolas Almagro needed to win this title to move in the rankings. As it is, he remains stuck at #12. But what can anyone expect at a clay event headed by Nadal?

Doubles – Semifinal: Peya/Soares def. (2) Granollers/M Lopez 6-3 6-4

Doubles – Semifinal: (3) Lindstedt/Nestor def. Marrero/Verdasco 4-6 7-6(8-6) 10-3

An amazing set of semifinals — too bad they had to take place alongside the singles final. Peya/Soares obviously scored an upset (Granollers/Lopez seem to be having a lot of trouble on clay), but given the surface, this seems like an upset too.

Doubles – Semifinal: Peya/Soares def. (3) Lindstedt/Nestor 5-7 7-6(9-7) 10-4

What a day for Peya/Soares! Two seeded teams upset, plus a 500 point title. They came in #7 in the Race. It appears they’re up to #3! And they now have five titles in the last twelve months (Kuala Lumpur 2012, Tokyo 2012, Basel 2012, Sao Paulo 2013, Barcelona 2013). And Bruno Soares has two other titles with other partners. No really big titles, to be sure, but still, a pretty impressive feat. It’s hard to believe they weren’t seeded!

It does make you wonder a little, though, if Daniel Nestor is finally getting old. This was a match Lindstedt/Nestor should have won, but they ran out of steam at the end. And Nestor hasn’t won a title since Valencia half a year ago….

Bucharest

Singles – Final: L Rosol def. G Garcia-Lopez 6-3 6-2

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez looked, frankly, tired, and he said afterward that he didn’t have any power left. He was broken five times in eight service games. (He did manage to break once.) It wasn’t quite as much of a blowout as the score indicates — but it was pretty lopsided. Still, it’s good to see Garcia-Lopez showing a few hints of life; it’s his first final in two and a half years.

But it’s Lukas Rosol who makes the big breakthrough. He’s 27 years old, yet he had never even reached a singles final until now. Now he has his first title. And a big, big rankings move. #48 coming in, it appears he will rise to #35. At the rate he’s going, a Roland Garros seed looks quite possible.

Rosol dedicated the title to the memory of his father, who died last week. He declared, “I wanted to dedicate this trophy to someone, so I found the energy. I felt somebody was helping me from up top. It’s not just about me. My family has always supported me and my tennis. I felt, match after match, my dream was coming true.”