The Nadal train overwhelms Sinner

To illustrate what it means to play against Rafael Nadal in Paris, one statistic is enough: the man from Mallorca played 106 games at the Stade Roland Garros, only losing two of them. That alone would be impressive enough. In addition, Nadal lost his last set in Paris in June 2019. It would be too much to ask the 19-year-old Sinner to compete against the 20-time Grand Slam winner. And so on Monday on the Court Philippe Chatrier the balance of power was mercilessly reflected. Nadal dictated, dominated and won 7:5, 6:3 and 6:0.

One thing first: Sinner didn't have his best day - also due to the quality and aura of his opponent. The mistakes came too often, the winners too rarely. This damaged his self-confidence and the player from Sexten was never able to develop his full potential. Problems became apparent in the first few games, but Sinner was able to make up for a false start (he was quickly behind with a break) and take the lead himself with a break. He benefited from countless forehand errors that were untypical for Nadal. From his point of view, Sinner defended this precious break until 5:4. However, when he served for the set, the Spaniard raised his level, played three strong games in a row and won the first round. It was helped, among other things, by the South Tyrolean's eye problems, who called the physiotherapist onto the field and received brief treatment. Nadal is too strong However, this did not solve the problems of keeping up with a now strong Nadal, on the contrary: Nadal managed two breaks, ran away to 4-0 - and seemed to have the set safely in his pocket. However, the Sexten player did not give up, recovered both serve losses and reduced the score to 3:4. However, this was nothing more than a brief rebellion. Nadal, who now placed his forehand much more fully and precisely, reported back immediately. Winning the set 6:3 was not only the result, but also deserved.

A power in Paris: Rafael Nadal © APA/afp / MARTIN BUREAU

Bitter for Sinner: At this point he had only hit eight winning shots, but at the same time he had made 33 errors. A relationship with which you rarely win a match and certainly not against the king of clay courts. What could not be denied to Sinner that day, despite all the difficulties, was his commitment. He tried to resist and find solutions, but couldn't find them - especially when serving on his own serve. His serves were too modest, Nadal's returns were too good. And so Sinner only won four of 13 service games, unfortunately again not a set and also not the third meeting against the tennis legend. The 35-year-old demonstrated his complete superiority in the final round by not letting Sinner play a single game. Nadal on the hunt for records Nadal therefore moves into the quarter-finals as befits his status and is aiming for his 14th French Open title and at the same time the Grand Slam record that he shares with Roger Federer. Sinner, on the other hand, leaves the city of love with the realization that his level is not yet high enough to compete against the world number 3. to insist on this document. But as the saying goes? What is not yet can still become.

>>> You can find the entire game here

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

The Nadal train overwhelms Sinner

It's not for nothing that Rafael Nadal is called the clay court king by the tennis scene. The Spaniard underlined this status on Monday at the French Open with a smooth three-set win against Jannik Sinner, who had no chance but fought bravely.

Suggestions

Comments (0)