Nadal Shock as Win Streak Ended

The crowd at this week's Barcelona Open were treated to a shock on Friday as eight time Champion, Rafael Nadal, crashed out of tournament for the first time in eleven years.

The 'King of Clay' had won each of his last 41 matches in Barcelona, only previously losing to Alex Corretja in his debut tournament of 2003. As well as that, the Spaniard had previously lost just two sets in all 41 of those victories.

But his three set loss to fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro doubled this tally as he was defeated 2-6 7-6 6-4 in the quarter-finals. This was also the first time that Almagro had ever managed to beat Nadal in ten previous meetings.

The match started in routine fashion as Nadal broke his fellow countryman twice to claim the first set 6-2/ However, from there the tide began to turn as Almagro made less sloppy errors, finding much more epth in the court than Nadal.

A tight second set was decided by a tie-break and it was Almagro who emerged victorious, taking only his second set off the 13 time Grand Slam Champion to force a decider.

With momentum firmly behind him, Almagro pushed on, capitalising on some wayward serving from his opponent to get the vital break and eventually serve out the match to book a place in the semi-finals against the Columbian Santiago Giraldo.

This is by no means the first shock of the year for Nadal who, after enduring a phenomenal 2013, has suffered a number of uncharacteristic losses already. His third round loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov in Indian Wells and his defeat last week in Monte Carlo to David Ferrer suggest he is not as his best as he prepares for the French Open.

And with significant ranking points to defend in recent weeks, Nadal will have to look much sharper on the clay courts of Madrid in two weeks time if he is to fend off the challenge of Novak Djokovic for his world number one position.

Federer and Djokovic To Miss French Open?

This year's French Open may lose two of its recognisable faces as both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are doubts for this years second Grand Slam.

Djokovic will be in a race against time to return from a wrist injury which left him weak and limp in his defeat to Roger Federer in the semi-finals of this weeks Monte Carlo Masters. Federer on the other hand, may have to miss the tournament to be with his wife as she gives birth to the couples third child.

Djokovic began suffering heavily from his wrist injury in the quarter-finals of this weeks masters, labouring to a lengthy three set victory against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez before tumbling out to Roger Federer 7-5 6-2. The loss brought an end to an exceptional run in Masters tournaments after winning the last four.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the match, Djokovic said, "I just rest now. I cannot play tennis for some time. How long, I don't know". However, unlike Laura Robson and Juan Martin Del Potro, Djokovic confirmed that he would not need surgery as there is no serious damage.

Djokovic went on to say, I'm going to go see doctors tonight and then tomorrow again have another MRI, to see if anything changed in the seven days since I had the last one. It's really not in my hands any more. I'm going to rest and see when it can heal 100%, then I will be back on the court."

On the other side of the court, Roger Federer has confirmde that, should his wife give birth he would abandon the French Open to be at her side as she gives birth to their son. It is not known how far into the pregnancy Mirka is, but in an interview with BBC Sport Federer hinted that he would have no qualms missing the French Open if he had to.

"It's a priority for me trying to be there, trying to support my wife. I've played enough tennis matches. Missing a tournament or missing a match wouldn't change anything for me." When asked specifically about the French Open he replied, Yeah, let's talk about it when it would happen."

Today, Roger Federer takes part in the first all-Swiss final since 2000 when he takes on Stanislas Wawrinka, the victor taking both the Monte Carlo title and also third place in the rankings.

Published on SEaT Capital.

Surgery Keeps Robson Out of Wimbledon

Laura Robson looks set to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon as she undergoes minor surgery on her left wrist.

The youngster has been struggling with both wrists over the last year or so and has played just the one competitive match this year, a disappointing loss in the opening round of the Australian Open to Kristen Flipkens.

Earlier in the season she had also been forced to withdraw from both Hobart and the ASB Classic in New Zealand and had not entered a competition since. She was scheduled to take part in both Morocco and Madrid in the next few weeks but has withdrawn from both.

Robson announced the surgery through a light-hearted facebook message, stating that "I wanted to inform my lovely supporters that I have decided to have minor wrist surgery at the Mayo clinic with one of the best wrist doctors in the world, Dr. Richard Berger. Dr. Berger is very confident that I will be able to return to the tennis court pain free before you even have time to miss me. Although sadly, I will have to miss the French Open and Wimbledon."

Dr. Richard Berger is a recognisable name on the tennis circuit after recently operating on both wrists of Juan Martin Del Potro as the Argentine takes a break for an unspecified period of time.

Missing Wimbledon may prove to be a big blow for the young British star as she was defending a large amount of rankings points after a marvellous fourth round performance last year. After climbing as high as 27th in the rankings Robson has dropped away, recently falling out of the top fifty and is currently 64th. Missing the next few months will most likely see Robson fall out of the top one hundred, as demonstrated by Heather Watson who missed a large portion of last year with glandular fever.

Published on SEaT Capital.