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A22 sports
Monday 13 May 2019
Djokovic beats Tsitsipas to win

his 3rd Madrid Open title

By TALES AZZONI
AP Sports Writer
MADRID (AP) — Novak
Djokovic celebrated a lot
more than a record-tying
33rd Masters 1000 title at
the Madrid Open.
Djokovic left the Spanish
capital feeling pretty good
about his game, too, carry- Germany’s Pascal Ackermann, center, celebrates as he crosses
ing a lot of confidence into the finish line to win the the 2nd stage of the Giro d’Italia, tour
the rest of the clay-court of Italy cycling race, from Bologna to Fucecchio, Sunday, May
season. 12, 2019. Associated Press
The top-ranked Djokovic
earned a comfortable 6-3, Ackermann sprints
6-4 win over Stefanos Ts-
itsipas on Sunday to join to 1st Giro win,
Nadal as the most success-
ful players in Masters 1000 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic holds the trophy after winning the fi- Roglic in overall lead
nal of the Madrid Open tennis tournament in two sets, 6-3, 6-4,
tournaments, moving five against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in Madrid, Spain, Sunday,
ahead of Roger Federer, May 12, 2019.
who is third in the all-time Associated Press FUCECCHIO, Italy (AP) — also lost out to Viviani who
list. close out the match at the terfinal appearance in Pascal Ackermann of Ger- managed to secure sec-
It was Djokovic’s second Magic Box center court, se- Monte Carlo at the start of many sprinted to victory ond spot. “I chose the right
title of the season, adding curing his 14th clay title — the clay-court season. at the end of the second moment to sprint from 250
to his triumph in the Austra- and 74th overall — without He was coming off another stage of the Giro d’Italia meters to go,” Ackermann
lian Open. dropping a set. confidence-boosting win on Sunday, while Slovenian added. “Viviani was also
“I feel like this tournament The eighth-seeded Tsitsi- over an in-form Dominic cyclist Primoz Roglic re- really strong luckily I started
win was very important for pas, the tour’s winningest Thiem to make it to the final mained overall leader. first and I won today. To
my level of confidence be- player in 2019 with 27 vic- in Madrid. It was the first win in his first win the first stage of my first
cause after the Australian tories, lacked the intensity Tsitsipas, who will reach Grand Tour for the 25-year- Grand Tour is fantastic.”
Open I wasn’t playing my and aggressiveness that he a career-high No. 7 rank- old Ackermann, who rides The first part of the stage
best, I wasn’t finding the showed against second- ing this week, won titles in for Bora-Hansgrohe. was wet and cold but it
right game and the consis- ranked Nadal and was Estoril and Marseille, and Ackermann edged out Elia dried up in the second half
tency on the court in Indian overpowered by Djokovic. reached the final in Dubai, Viviani and Caleb Ewan in of the day and the cyclists
Wells, Miami and Monte He had beaten Djokovic in where he lost to Federer. a bunch sprint at the end were able to shed some
Carlo,” Djokovic said. Toronto last year in the first He was beaten by Nadal in of the rolling 205-kilometer layers. Roglic, who won the
“(It’s a) very important time meeting between the two the Australian Open semifi- (127-mile) route from Bolo- opening time trial on Satur-
for me in the season, be- players. nals for his best-ever show- gna to Fucecchio. day, is 19 seconds ahead
cause this gives me a lot of “He deserved the victory, ing in a Grand Slam. “I’m just so happy to win of British cyclist Simon Yates
confidence prior to Rome he played unbelievable. I The Toronto final, when he the first sprint stage be- in the overall standings and
and, of course, Roland couldn’t do much,” Tsitsi- lost to Nadal, was his first in cause now all the pressure 23 seconds ahead of home
Garros, where I definitely pas said. a Masters 1000 event. is gone and we showed we favorite Vincenzo Nibali.
want to play my best.” “Physically I was not there. In the doubles final, Jean- are really strong,” Acker- “It wasn’t an easy day be-
Djokovic will be seeking his My legs were not coping Julien Rojer and Horia mann said. “I’m just so hap- cause it was cold from the
second French Open title with my mind. Tecau defeated Thiem py.” All the major favorites beginning and also quite
in June. Completely I could feel the and Diego Schwartzman avoided a small crash to- fast all the time,” Roglic
He now has three Madrid fatigue and this soreness, 6-2, 6-3 for their second wards the front of the pelo- said. “It’ll be another day in
Open trophies, adding to not just in my legs, but ev- Madrid Open title, adding ton inside the final kilome- the Maglia Rosa tomorrow.
the ones he won in 2011 erywhere in my body. I had to their 2016 victory. ter. Ackermann and Ewan The team worked hard for
and 2016. a tough match last night, Kiki Bertens won the wom- started their sprints around that. It’s a pleasure to re-
“These are the best tour- so he took advantage of en’s title on Saturday.q the same time but Ewan tain the jersey.”q
naments, biggest tourna- that. I just didn’t have solu-
Djokovic didn’t concede Peter Sagan wins opening
ments we have in our sport, tions.”
in the ATP, of course along-
earning a crucial one for stage of the Tour of California
side the Grand Slams,” a break point on Sunday,
Djokovic said. “This is as im-
portant and as good as it himself at 4-4 in the sec-
gets.” ond set by returning Tsitsi- SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ing stage Sunday and then gering effects of a crash at
Djokovic was in control pas’ overhead shot with — Peter Sagan has had held off fast-finishing Tra- last year’s Tour de France,
from the start against his a backhand winner down trouble finding his way to vis McCabe of the USA Cy- though the affable Slovaki-
20-year-old Greek oppo- the line. He then served out the front at the finish this cling team to earn his 17th an sprinter insisted all along
nent, who had defeated to win the match. season. Turns out he just career win in North Ameri- that he was close to form.
Nadal in the Madrid semi- The 31-year-old Djokovic, needed to get back to the ca’s biggest stage race. “I felt great. I was closing in
finals and was trying to be- who now has 200 wins Tour of California. Sagan had only one vic- on him,” McCabe said. “I
come the first player to win against top 10 opponents, The three-time road cy- tory this season, a meager had to come from two or
three tour titles this season. had struggled after win- cling world champion, and amount of success for argu- three wheels back of Peter,
The Serb broke Tsitsipas ear- ning the Australian Open, the winningest rider in race ably the world’s most ver- and I knew this stage has a
ly in the first set and late in with his best result since history, freelanced his way satile rider. Some thought slightly false-flat, so I waited
the second to comfortably then having been a quar- to the front of the open- he was still feeling the lin- until I needed to go.q