Page 22 - aruba-today-20190506

A22 SPORTS
Monday 6 May 2019

Japan's Naomi Osaka returns the ball during her match against
Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova during the Madrid Open tennis
tournament, Sunday, May 5, 2019, in Madrid, Spain.
Osaka wins Madrid

Spain's Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Austria's Dominic Thiem during their semifinal match at the opener, Muguruza
Barcelona Open Tennis Tournament in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 27, 2019.
Thiem says Nadal favorite loses in 1st round

at Madrid despite poor run MADRID (AP) — Naomi title in Istanbul.

Martic will next face fourth-
Osaka and other top-seed-
ed players won their open- seeded Angelique Kerber,
By TALES AZZONI nic Thiem in the Barcelona campaign against 18-year- ing matches at the Madrid who broke Lesia Tsurenko
AP Sports Writer semifinals. old Felix Auger-Aliassime Open, while Caroline Woz- six times to earn a 6-3, 6-2
MADRID (AP) — Rafael Still, the 32-year-old Span- after he beat fellow Cana- niacki withdrew due to in- victory.
Nadal hadn't started the iard saw signs of encour- dian Denis Shapovalov 6-2, jury and Garbine Muguruza Third-seeded Simona Ha-
clay-court season with agement at finding his 7-6 in the first round. Au- was upset on Sunday. lep, who has won twice in
so many setbacks in four rhythm again. ger-Aliassime is one of the Top-ranked Osaka, the Madrid, brushed off Russian
years. "I really believe that I made standouts on tour this sea- reigning U.S. Open and qualifier Margarita Gaspa-
Not since 2015 had Nadal very good improvements son, having reached the fi- Australian Open champi- ryan 6-0, 6-4.
arrived at the Madrid Open to create a good base to nal in Rio and the semifinals on, hit 43 winners, including Fifth-seeded Karolina Plis-
without having won a title try to achieve my goals," he in Miami. eight aces, on the outdoor kova had to fight back
either in Monte Carlo or said after losing to Thiem. The other half of the Ma- red clay to beat 2016 final- from a set down to fend off
Barcelona, the tourna- Nadal will be trying to win drid draw has top-seeded ist Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 18-year-old Ukrainian Day-
ments that mark the start of his third straight French Novak Djokovic and Roger 7-6 (6). ana Yastremska 5-7, 7-6 (5),
the clay swing in Europe. Open title — and record- Federer, who will be mak- "For me, I'm just happy to 6-3.
That year, Nadal was com- extending 12th overall — at ing his return to clay-court get through it," Osaka said. Sloane Stephens and Vic-
ing off a series of injuries the May 26-June 9 French tournaments after two sea- "I feel the most nervous dur- toria Azarenka also ad-
and ended up not reach- Open. sons. ing the first round and to vanced, while Madison
ing the final of either tour- Thiem, the runner-up in Ma- The 37-year-old Federer, play against Cibulkova was Keys lost to Sorana Cirstea
nament. He also didn't win drid to Nadal in 2017 and a three-time champion kind of tough for me, espe- in three sets.
the title in Madrid, Rome Alexander Zverev last year, in Madrid, is preparing to cially on clay." NADAL NEXT
and the French Open, says Nadal is the favorite make his first French Open Osaka will face Sara Sor- On the men's side, Rafael
dropping out of the top five at any clay-court tourna- appearance since 2015. ribes in the second round Nadal knows who his first
in the rankings for the first ment. "I have not high expecta- after she got past fellow opponent will be after Fe-
time in a decade. "As long as Rafa is play- tions in some ways, but at Spanish wild card Lara Ar- lix Auger-Aliassime beat
After a disappointing start ing, he will always be the the same time I also know ruabarrena. fellow Canadian Denis
to this year, where he is No. 1 favorite," Thiem said that things are possible," A lower back injury forced Shapovalov, a semifinalist
17-4 overall and without on Sunday. "He's by far the Federer said Sunday. "I'm Wozniacki to retire from her last year, 6-2, 7-6 (7).
a title, the second-ranked best player ever on this sur- happy also that the de- match with Alizé Cornet The 18-year-old Auger-Ali-
Nadal remains upbeat de- face." cision I took last, I guess when she was losing 0-3 in assime has reached the fi-
spite straight-sets defeats in Nadal has won a clay- around December, when the first set. nal in Rio and the semifinals
the semifinals at both Mon- court title in each of the I started feeling like I defi- Petra Martic of Croatia in Miami already this year.
te Carlo and Barcelona — last 15 seasons. The 17-time nitely want to do the clay, ousted two-time grand Jan-Lennard Struff beat
tournaments he has won a Grand Slam winner is an that it was the right deci- slam winner Muguruza 7-5, Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (4), 6-4 in
record 11 times. eight-time finalist in Madrid, sion." Zverev did not drop 7-6 (2), a week after the a match that saw a com-
He lost to Italian Fabio Fog- with the last of his five titles his serve en route to win- Croat won her first career bined 21 aces.q
nini in the semifinals at Mon- coming in 2017. ning here last year, but the
te Carlo, and was almost He was defeated by Thiem imposing German is out of
routed 6-0 in the second in straight sets in the quar- form. He has won only eight
set when trailing to Fognini terfinals last year — one of matches all year and has
by 5-0 and 40-0. Thiem's four career victories not won a tournament, los-
Then he was beaten by against him on clay. ing his only final to Nick Kyr-
hard-hitting Austrian Domi- Nadal will start this year's gios in Acapulco.q /arubatoday/