Rafael Nadal grabs a piece of history despite a severe Monte Carlo loss
World no. 2 and the 17-time Grand Slam champion was off to a great start of the season, leaving ongoing injury behind him and producing stunning tennis in the opening six matches at the Australian Open to advance into the fifth final. There, Novak Djokovic toppled the Spaniard 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to deliver Nadal's worst defeat in Grand Slam finals, all 25 of them! Returning in Acapulco a month later, Rafa lost to Nick Kyrgios after wasting match points, withdrawing before the semi-final clash with Roger Federer at Indian Wells and skipping Miami to get ready for the beloved clay.
Like many times before, Nadal was hoping to find that extra gear on dirt but that didn't happen in April, suffering the semi-final losses in Monte Carlo and Barcelona to Fabio Fognini and Dominic Thiem to jeopardize his clay-court dominance. Since 2005, Rafa has won 22 titles at these two events, 11 at each, and those defeats left him without the title in the opening four months of the season for the first time since 2004 when he was still 17! Lacking speed, power, more free points from the initial shot, usual consistency on the return and the ability to take the drive away from his opponents, Rafa was overpowered badly at his favorite events and will have to deliver something special in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros to extend his dominance on the slowest surface.
Still, the Spaniard managed to add another milestone to his tally in Monte Carlo, failing to grab the title number 12 but advancing into the semi-final for the 14th time to join Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors as the third player in the Open era with as many appearances in the last four at a single event. Making a debut in Monte Carlo at the age of 16 in 2003 as a qualifier, Nadal reached the third round and set the tone for what was about to come from 2005, winning 11 titles in the Principality and 71 out of 76 matches! The Spaniard has reached 14 semi-finals in the last 15 years in Monte Carlo to join Connors and Federer who achieved that at other tournaments to forge an exclusive group that may stay unchanged for many years to come.
Roger Federer has played in the semi-final in Basel and the ATP Finals for the record-breaking 15 times, adding 14 appearances in Halle and the Australian Open. On the other hand, Jimmy Connors had entered the last four at beloved US Open 14 times, including 12 consecutive between 1974-85. Almost 20 years after he did that for the first time, Jimmy was in the semis again in 1991 at the age of 39, making his last significant result on the Tour after missing the previous two US Opens due to injury.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2PWEjAJ
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