World No. 1 Rafael Nadal captured his 27th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title on Sunday as he fought back from a set and a break down against Kei Nishikori to win the Mutua Madrid Open final. The Spaniard had turned the match around to lead 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 when Nishikori was forced to retire with a back injury. The Spaniard became the first player to win four Madrid titles, adding to his victories in 2005 (d. Ljubicic), 2010 (d. Federer) and 2013 (d. Wawrinka). It is his third ATP World Tour trophy of the season, having triumphed in Doha (d. Monfils) and Rio de Janeiro (d. Dolgopolov). The left-hander leads the ATP World Tour with a 30-5 match record on the season. Winning at home is always more special than winning anywhere. Having the chance to play in front of your home crowd... is unforgettable for me. This city gives me a lot, said Nadal. This is a very important victory for me. Now with 63 tour-level titles, the 27-year-old Nadal moves to standalone sixth on the Open Era title leaderboard. One more would see him draw level with joint-fifth Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras. It was his 44th clay-court title, taking him to within two trophies of tying Guillermo Vilas’ all-time record of 46 titles.
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 01:47:59 +0000