Rafael Nadal proved that he would still be the man to beat when the French Open begins later this month after he humbled Novak Djokovic 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the Italian Open final on Sunday to win a record 34th ATP Masters 1000 title.
The
Spaniard, who had shared the record of 33 Masters titles with the Serbian world
number one, warmed up for the defence of his Roland Garros crown by securing
his ninth Rome title.
Nadal got off to a flying
start by whitewashing Djokovic in the opening set. It was the first time there
has been a 6-0 set during a meeting between the two rivals.
Djokovic took the second by
breaking Nadal's serve for the first time while leading 5-4, but the second
seed responded in style by storming through the decisive set.
When Nadal's previous three
claycourt tournaments had ended in semi-final defeats, it no doubt gave his
rivals hope that his long reign at Roland Garros could be coming to an end this
year.
However, the way he
demolished the world's top ranked player in the opening and third sets on
Sunday would have once again struck fear into any of those challengers who had
been harbouring hopes of lifting the Musketeers' Cup on June 9.
The Spaniard heads into
Roland Garros in top form after seeing his serve broken just twice en route to
claiming his first title of 2019 in his 50th Masters final.
The 32-year-old left Djokovic
in a daze as he stormed through the opening set in 39 blistering minutes.
The top seed fought back in
the second as he saved four break points before winning the decisive game on
Nadal's serve to take the set 6-4.
But the Serb, who had
survived three-set battles against Argentines Juan Martin del Potro and Diego
Schwartzman to reach the final, faded in the final set as he dropped his
opening service game before Nadal surged clear.
After the 2024 Traditional Marathon Tournament, Luong Son district has established a team with many high-ranking runners, focusing on fostering, training and being ready to compete at the XXXI Hoa Binh Newspaper Cup Traditional Marathon Tournament in 2024.
Taking place from October 9 to 20 in Hoa Binh City, the National Road and Mountain Bike Championships 2024 attracted hundreds of young athletes from provinces and cities across the country.
In the afternoon of October 26th, at Hoa Binh Provincial Stadium, Hoa Binh Football Club (Hoa Binh FC) had a confrontation with Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc Club in the framework of round 1 – the First National Division Football Tournament in 2024 - 2025.
In the morning of October 22nd, at Yen Thuy District’s Stadium, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism coordinated with Yen Thuy District’s People's Committee to organize the opening ceremony of the 2024 Volleyball Championship of Hoa Binh province.
In the morning of October 20th, the athletes began the competition in the 160km event, starting with the individuals and men's teams. This is also the final competition of the 38th National Road Cycling Championship in 2024. The racing location is in the center of Hoa Binh city via Hoa Binh Bridge 1 and Hoa Binh Bridge 2
In 2 days, October 15th-16th, the Women's Union of Cao Phong District organized the 2024 Women's Soft Volleyball Tournament to celebrate the 94th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam Women's Union (October 20, 1930 - October 20, 2024) and the 14th anniversary of Vietnamese Women's Day.