Every morning, first thing in the morning, Eurosport.ro makes a short press review, to give you the most interesting and fresh information in sports.
1. Rafa Nadal, brilliant joke when he was celebrated in Madrid
Rafa Nadal had a very good week at the 1000 point tournament in Madrid. Back on court on his favorite surface after a long injury-plagued spell and an extremely complicated start to the year, Nadal has managed some solid games that can give him hope for a good run at Roland Garros in the second Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Last night, however, the “Matador” had to admit defeat in front of a Jiri Lehecka in a state of grace, the Czech prevailed 7-5, 6-4. As Rafa had announced that this would be his last appearance at the Caja Magica, a tournament he won 5 times, the organizers prepared an exit from the gala stage. 5 huge banners were lowered from the top of the stand with each year that Nadal won in the Spanish capital, along with the message “Gracias Rafa”. In addition, on the giant screen at the Manolo Santana arena, images of the Iberian’s successes were played, in a superb film, accompanied by music.
Felciano Lopez, the director of the tournament, handed the former world number one a superb trophy for his entire career, and at the end Nadal enjoyed a “guard of honor”, which accompanied the “King” off the stage from his “kingdom”.
The entire display was impressive, with one of the greatest champions in the history of the sport being celebrated as he deserves. Emotions were high, in the stands his wife and sister were unable to control their emotions. However, Nadal remained calm and even managed to raise the tide of emotion with a joke. “Come on, I was just kidding, see you next year!Rafa said, to the amusement of the 13,000 people who stayed up until 1am to say goodbye to their idol.
Getting serious again, the most decorated clay court player in history talked about how lucky he was to be able to achieve so much success by turning his passion into his job.
“This is one of those moments that, when it comes, is very difficult to manage…but my life and body have been sending me signals for a long time. My dream was to finish here on the field. I have been lucky in my life to turn my passion into my job. I am privileged” said Rafa.
Asked what he will do next, Nadal revealed that the plan is to go to Rome, another tournament he has dominated like no other over time, but Roland Garros is still in doubt. That’s because, although he looked excellent in many moments in Madrid, his body doesn’t seem ready to fight 3 out of 5 set battles anymore. He will have the opportunity to say goodbye to Paris at the Olympics, so he will not go to the French Open unless he feels he has a chance to perform at a good level.
“I’m still not sure about Roland Garros, I’ve played 4 matches here and I’m leaving Madrid with a much better feeling than when I arrived. It’s hard to have big goals at the level I’m at, but in sports things change quickly.
I will go to Rome and hope to show a better level than here, then I will decide what to do with Roland Garros“, the “Matador” also said.
2. Simona Halep received a wildcard for the Trophee Clarins tournament
Simona Halep received a wildcard for the Trophee Clarins tournament, which will take place between May 13-19, the organizers of the Parisian WTA 125 tournament announced on their Instagram account on Tuesday.
Trophee Clarins has reached its third edition, and among the players who have confirmed their participation are two other Romanians, Ana Bogdan and Jaqueline Cristian.
The list of participants also includes other players from the WTA Top 50: Emma Navarro (USA), Katie Boulter (Great Britain), Leylah Fernandez (Canada), Yue Yuan (China), Sloane Stephens (USA), Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic), Clara Burel (France), Diane Parry (France), title holder.
Halep (32 years old), former world leader and double Grand Slam champion (Roland Garros and Wimbledon), was defeated by the Spanish Paula Badosa, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, on March 20, in the first round of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Miami (Florida), in his return match to the professional circuit after the reduction of the sanction in his doping case from four years to nine months.
Halep had announced on April 3 that she had received a wildcard for the tournament in Madrid, but in the end she could not honor the invitation due to medical reasons. Simona Halep is currently ranked 1,150th in the world ranking, with 10 points.
3. Irina Begu, eighth in Wiesbaden
Irina Begu qualified, on Tuesday, in the round of 16 of the ITF tournament in Wiesbaden (Germany), endowed with total prizes of 100,000 dollars, after defeating the Czech Dominika Salkova, 6-0, 6-4.
Begu (33 years, 128 WTA), the sixth favorite, won after one hour and 27 minutes, in her first confrontation with Salkova (19 years, 171 WTA).
In the second round, Begu will face the Swiss Simona Waltert (23 years old, 156 WTA).
Andreea Mitu qualified for the main draw after 6-4, 6-2 with the Italian Georgia Pedone and 6-4, 6-2 with the Australian Priscilla Hon. In the first round, Mitu (32 years old, 239 WTA) will face the Hungarian Panna Udvardy (25 years old, 151 WTA).
Tags: morning news King Nadal left kingdom fairytale atmosphere brilliant joke Matador
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