Rafael Nadal had plenty to celebrate defending his Monte-Carlo 2017 title. The Spaniard became the first Open-era player to win ten titles in the same event, extending his dominance in the Principality and writing the books of history.
This is Nadal’s 29th Masters 1000 title, which puts him one place behind record holder Novak Djokovic. Besides, Rafa became the first player with 50 ATP titles on clay and the fifth with 70 ATP trophies to his name after Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl and Roger Federer.
In the first all-Spanish Masters 1000 final since Monte Carlo 2011, Nadal beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3 in an hour and 16 minutes. It was Nadal’s 63rd victory in Monte Carlo in 67 matches, controlling the score from start to finish on a cold and cloudy day.
Nadal served at 76% and gave up just nine points after the first hit, never facing a break chance or a draw. By contrast, Ramos-Vinolas only won half the points in their matches, faced 11 break chances and lost serve four times to settle for second place.
Rafa fired 11 service winners, while Albert held off on five. In the winners’ segment, the defending champion also had a clear advantage, striking 17 times to his opponent’s nine.
They committed a similar number of unforced errors, 17 for Ramos-Vinolas and 15 for Nadal, who could afford to commit them after hitting so many winners. Rafa forced 11 errors from his opponent and made five.
The forehand battle should have marked the game, but Nadal was way ahead in that facet, making Albert’s most dangerous shot staggering and loose.
Rafael Nadal won his 50th ATP title on clay.
Nadal carved his way to victory in the shortest rallies, taking 32 of 45 points with four strokes or less.
Almost half the points ended in the maximum number of four strokes, which was unimaginable on the slow clay of the 1990s. Nadal served better, played the first groundstroke more effectively than Ramos-Vinolas and had a clear advantage on the return.
Rafa was ahead in the mid-range rallies (15-8), taking 47 of the shortest 68 points. However, Ramos-Vinolas fared better in the longer ones, winning nine of 13 events, although that number was too low to have any impact on the overall score.
Ahead of his first comeback game, we saw an interesting comparison of Nadal’s return placement on break opportunities in Monte Carlo in 2016 and 2017. He showed he was playing a lot more on his opponent’s backhand this season. last (of course, in forehand games).
His returns were also deeper in 2017 which certainly paid off, converting 57% of break chances before the final, compared to just 45% in 2016. Nadal needed time to find the rhythm with his forehand, although that he played strong from the first point.
Rafa had three break chances in the second game, but he missed a forehand each time to pass up the chance to take the lead. He made up for it the next time and broke in game four with a forehand cross forehand winner for a 3-1 lead.
The 4-1 came after 21 minutes, when Rafa finished the fifth game with a magnificent volley into the net after a 19-stroke rally. He got another break in game six when Albert made a forehand error to increase the lead.
Nadal suffered the only service problem of the entire match in game seven, leading 30-0, but he bounced back in style with four straight wins and sealed the set with an ace after just 30 minutes.
Ramos-Vinolas ended his drought early in the second set with his serve. Nadal broke it in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead and seal the fate of his opponent. The ninth game was the longest, and Rafa broke to win 6-3 to emerge victorious, writing history on his beloved court and extending his dominance in Monte Carlo.
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