italian open

How Dominic Thiem Broke Rafael Nadal's 17-Match Winning Streak

“One tournament he can win is Roland Garros. So we’ll see. Hopefully not this year,” Rafael Nadal recently said of today’s opponent, Dominic Thiem, with a wink. It now feels like he willed that version of Thiem—the genuine French Open threat, the hardest-hitting guy on clay—into existence.

Juan Martin Del Potro Earns His Best Win Of The Year

One of 2016’s best storylines was the resurgence of Juan Martin del Potro, a U.S. Open winner who sank below No. 1000 during his long absence from the tour to deal with wrist injuries. But his ascent slowed this year, as the 28-year-old Argentine, whose No. 34 ranking still grossly undersells his talent, kept getting…

Andy Murray Can't Move

Andy Murray fell to Fabio Fognini yesterday in his second-round match at the Italian Open, 6-2, 6-4. While Fognini’s multifaceted game is much bigger than his No. 29 ranking might suggest—he’s one of two people to take a set off Rafael Nadal this clay season—that’s little solace for Murray, who was upset by…

Grigor Dimitrov Thoroughly Ruins His Racket

Grigor Dimitrov lost to Juan Martin del Potro, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 at the Italian Open today. He hit some nice shots in a disappointing first-round exit, but saved his finest technique for this two-part racket devastation: First the spike, then the bare hands.