Madrid Open is one of the biggest clay court title that precedes the Rolland Garros and a lot of anticipation is pegged on the XV edition finals scheduled on 14 May. We have our King of Clay, Nadal contending for his record 5th win here. Also the defending champion, Djokovic hoping to prove the he hasn’t run out of gas. In women, we have our eyes on the wild card Maria Sharapova who amidst all controversies still seek to make her big comeback. So here are Five of the best Madrid Open finals in history .
2005: Rafael Nadal defeated Ivan Ljubicic, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
The 2005 Madrid Masters was played on the hard court rather than the present clay court. Rafael Nadal, the then World No. 2 had to face he 11th seeded Ivan Ljubicic in a ghastly 5 set match. Nadal was standing undefeated that year. It was the 11th title of the 18 year old Spaniard.
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Nadal can a comfortable reach to the finals without losing a single set. But he did have a great start at the finals. With two sets down, he was struggling with his form and trying to understand his opponent’s moves. The King wasn’t going to give up. He wasn’t going to disappoint his fans. And he didn’t. It went on to a nail biting 5th set tie breaker when he picked his first Madrid title.
2010: Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer, 6-4, 7-6 (5).
It was the second year when the Open was played on clay. Seeing Nadal tear through the clay-court season and make the game’s elite players look average at best on his most dominant surface has led him to this list. Nadal was yet again breaking all record here. He wins his 39th title that day.
It was a revenge title for Nadal who lost to Federer the previous year on that very court. An anticipated finals between the World No. 1 and No. 2 was a treat to every tennis fan.
2014: Maria Sharapova defeated Simona Halep, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Sharapova dwells in her Madrid Open victory which later turned out to be the preview of her another thrilling victory in Rolland Garros that year. She is fighting controversies at the moment but then she was ruling every court she stepped on.
Having got off to a fairly inauspicious start, Sharapova has certainly clawed her way back into this match, but is being forced to work hard for every single point. Serving into the sun, she was struggling in the ball-toss department. But this didn’t stop the tornado coming Halep’s way. She took the set and with it the title.
2016: Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Once again you need to be great rather than very good to beat Djokovic. Djokovic defeated the defending champion with the flair he accredited to. The World No. 1, who was tied with Rafael Nadal with 28 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, won his 29th championship that day.
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Murray had erased more than 80 per cent of break points faced in Madrid. But he was broken to start the match and again in the first set. But he responded in the second set, striking deep groundstrokes to keep Djokovic back. The two exchanged breaks early in the third. But Djokovic earned another at 3-2 and erased seven break points at 5-3 to win his second title in Madrid.
2016: Simona Halep defeated Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-4.
The Romanian world number seven, took both her break point opportunities in the first set while Slovakia’s Cibulkova missed all three of hers. One break was enough in the second set as Halep sealed victory with her third ace after one hour and 20 minutes.
Cibulkova had spent over 4 hours more than her opponent and fatigue got the best of her. She had won three of their four previous encounters but was unable to make an impression on the 24 year old, who has now won 12 WTA Tour titles. Halep finally made this title after her unsuccessful attempt in the 2014 finals.
