The best of the past week, on and off the courts, day after day…With the Madrid Masters 1000, unusual objects being stolen and a terrorist attack in Paris.
Monday, May 7th
The Madrid Masters 1000 has already started. We hardly had the time to see the changes at the ATP ranking - where Grigor Dimitrov stole the 4th spot from Marin Cilic - and WTA ranking - no changes in the top 10 - before seeing Sloane Stephens (6-1, 6-3 against Samantha Stosur), Maria Sharapova (7-5, 6-1 against Irina Begu) et Kristina Mladenovic (6-4, 4-6, 6-3 against Zhang Shuai) have already reached the fourth round. On top of that, Novak Djokovic won his duel of ex-titans against Kei Nishikori (7-5, 6-4) while a man opened the door of an aircraft who had just landed in China because he was too hot. « We clearly fell down in the rankings because of our injuries (…) I’ve played against him in huge tournaments, said the Serb. I have to admit that playing against Kei in the first round is pretty strange. » Still less strange than seeing what happens in some Asian airports.
Tuesday, May 8th
« Seeing six of the ten best players in the world in our list of players attending the tournament before seeing names like Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, Feliciano Lopez, Nick Kyrgios and Kyle Edmund announces a fantastic week. » While Stephen Farrow, the director of the Queen’s tournament, which will take place next June, is boasting, all tennis fans are looking towards Madrid. And no need to wear the pair of sunglasses that David Goffin bought with cryptocurrency to enjoy the performances of Karolina Pliskova, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep, Robin Haase, Juan Martin Del Potro and Milos Raonic, who respectively defeated Victoria Azarenka (6-2, 1-6, 7-5), Monica Puig (6-3, 7-6), Elise Mertens (6-0, 6-3), Hyeon Chung (6-2, 6-0), Damir Dzumhur (6-3, 6-3) and Grigor Dimitrov (7-5, 3-6, 6-3). With all of that, almost no one noticed that a man had published a picture of his wife naked instead of his house in Yvelines, France, on a real estate website. Unfortunately for him, people can now screenshot a page.
Wednesday, May 9th
What a waste ! A tanker which contained twelve tons of liquid hot chocolate crashed on a freeway in Poland, and all of it ended up on the road…Devastated by the news, Serena Williams announced that she won’t be playing in Rome. Otherwise, the battles carried on in Madrid : Halep destroyed Pliskova (6-1, 6-4), Kiki Bertens crushed Wozniacki (6-2, 6-2), Daria Kasatkina defeated Garbiñe Muguruza (2-6, 6-4, 3-6), Sharapova knocked out Mladenovic (6-3, 6-4), Edmund defeated Djokovic (6-3, 2-6, 6-3), Dominic Thiem won his battle against Federico Delbonis (4-6, 6-3, 7-5)…and Rafael Nadal destroyed Gaël Monfils (6-3, 6-1) ! « It’s too long, said the Frenchman speaking about his opponent’s serve. It’s quick when he’s winning, but sometimes, he just takes too much time. I got annoyed because the umpire was watching me and I was telling him : « But watch him instead ! » Did someone say « bad loser » ?
Thursday, May 10th
As usual, two highly important informations put the Madrid Masters 1000 in the shadows. First, the LAPD announced that the famous Iron Man suit has been stolen. Shocking. Then, John McEnroe revealed that Donald Trump offered him a big amount of cash to play against one of the Williams sisters. « It was at a time when loads of people were talking about a possible match between a man and Serena or Venus Williams, saying that they could probably defeat a good amount of men, said the ex-tennis player. I was commentating a match and I received an enveloppe that came from Donald Trump. But playing a match against a woman has never crossed my mind. » Maybe later, then ?
Friday, May 11th
A massive surprise ! Nadal, the first player to win 50 consecutive sets on a single surface, and who hadn’t lost in 21 matches on clay, was stopped by Thiem, who felt comfortable on clay in Madrid (7-5, 6-3). Here’s the reaction of Nadal, who will leave his throne and the world number 1 spot to Roger Federer next week : « Today, I wasn’t good enough. He played better than me. End of story. » In the semi-finals, we’ll also see Kevin Anderson (who defeated Dusan Lajovic 7-6, 3-6, 6-3), Denis Shapovalov (the youngest semi-finalist in the history of the tournament after his win 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, for his first participation in a tournament played on clay) and Alexander Zverev (who defeated John Isner 6-4, 7-5). In other news, a sapphire sold for 120 000 euros on the web was stolen by a group of thieves. This is getting ridiculous !
Saturday, May 12th
And the queen of the week is... Kvitova ! After battling against Bertens (7-6, 4-6, 6-3), the Czech lifted the trophy before going to the Pope’s auction, where his Lamborghini ended up being sold for 715 000 euros. A sum which will be used to build houses in Irak. The men’s final will see Zverev (6-4, 6-1 against Shapalov) facing Thiem (6-4, 6-2 against Anderson). Long live the youth !
Sunday, May 13th
A terrorist who attacked people with a knife in the streets of Paris killed at least one person and injured many. That calls for a moment of silence. Even for Zverev (6-4, 6-4), who triumphed in Madrid.
