The Spanish tennis player, Rafael Nadal, captured an incredible 10th Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters crown on Sunday after defeating fellow Spaniard, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 6-1, 6-3 in the 76-minute final.
The win marked Nadal’s 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title and signaled the first time in the Open Era (since April 1968) that any player has won a singles tournament on 10 occasions.
Nadal has now won an ATP World Tour title for the 14th year in a row (since 2004) and has a 70-35 mark in title matches since he turned professional.
The victory also sees Nadal clinch his 50th clay-court crown (50-8), breaking the record he shared with Guillermo Vilas since 24 April 2016, when Nadal lifted his ninth trophy at the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell.
He also claim a record-breaking 50th clay-court crown, 70th career trophy and his 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. Nadal also owns nine titles both at Barcelona and the French Open.
However, it was the first time World No. 24 Ramos-Vinolas, would play in the Masters 1000 final. And if he had registered an upset against Nadal, he too would become the first player outside of the Top 20 to lift the Monte-Carlo trophy since No. 31 Alberto Mancini in 1989 (d. Becker).
Ramos-Vinolas, the No. 15 seed, overcame No. 11 seed Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 in the semi-final to book a date with compatriot Rafael Nadal, who beat 10th seed David Goffin of Belgium.
The All-Spanish final mark only the fourth time in the tournament’s history that there has been an all-Spanish title match (2002 Ferrero d. Moya, 2010 Nadal d. Verdasco and 2011 Nadal d. Ferrer).
His Serene Highness Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco presented Nadal with the trophy after he improved to a 63-4 match record at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. World No. 7 Nadal earned 1,000 Emirates ATP Rankings points and will now travel to Barcelona, where he will look to further add to his legacy as the undisputed ‘King of Clay’, with €820,035 in prize money.
