Karim Benzema struck a bizarre opening goal on 51 minutes before Liverpool, who lost leading scorer Mohamed Salah to injury in the first half, replied through Sadio Mane. Bale replaced Isco on the hour and connected with an outrageous acrobatic effort on 64 minutes to put Real back in front. The Welshman sealed a record-extending 13th … Read more
Czech Kvitova, ranked 10th in the world, struck the first blow in a tense match which lasted two hours 52 minutes by edging the tie-break at the end of a grueling 75-minute first set, taking advantage of a third set point when Bertens found the net. The Dutchwoman had beaten Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova … Read more
Thiem, who lost to Nadal in the Monte Carlo quarter-finals last month, was the last player to beat the Spaniard on clay – at last year’s Rome Masters. Nadal had set a record of winning 50 consecutive sets on a single surface by beating Argentine Diego Schwartzman on Thursday. Nadal’s exit means Roger Federer will … Read more
The Mallorcan surpassed John McEnroe’s previous record of 49 consecutive sets on carpet which had stood since 1984 by seeing off 13th seed Schwartzman and claiming a 21st consecutive win on clay. Nadal will face Austrian Dominic Thiem in the last eight on Friday in pursuit of a sixth Madrid Open title after beginning the … Read more
Following early exits in Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Miami and Indian Wells, the 30-year-old Djokovic struck his shots with precision and recorded 26 winners to improve his head-to-head advantage to 12-2 against world number 20 Nishikori. Djokovic was broken to love at 2-2 but he recovered well by pouncing on his opponent’s second serve to clinch … Read more
This ‘clasico’ at Camp Nou will have minimal impact on the league, with Barca already crowned champions and Real’s passing interest in pipping Atletico to second place diminished by their ambitions in Europe. But there is still much at stake in what Madrid’s daily newspaper Marca has billed “the clasico of honour”. It could even … Read more
