By Chris Oddo | Sunday May 6, 2018
Keeping up with the game of tennis, by the numbers. Each day at Tennis Now we’ll give you a fresh set—without any further ado, here’s what’s happening as we wrap up five tournaments (Prague, Istanbul, Munich, Rabat and Estoril) and get started in Madrid.
0-3
The record of Joao Sousa at the Estoril Open prior to this week. The 29-year-old made history by storming to the title and becoming the first Portuguese player to win a crown on home soil. And the scenes were simply epic.
23
Petra Kvitova claimed her 23rd WTA title at the Prague Open, but more importantly it was the Czech’s first title on home soil.
7
Alexander Zverev also made a title run on home soil. The 21-year-old earned the lederhosen at Munich by claiming his seventh career title and first of 2018. He successfully defended his title from last year and becomes the third player to win back-to-back titles in Munich.
114
The ranking of Japan’s Taro Daniel before he began his run to the title at Istanbul. The 25-year-old had never been beyond the quarterfinals at an ATP event and will rise to No.82 in next week’s rankings after winning his first title at the Istanbul Open.
34-5
Rafael Nadal’s record at the Mutua Madrid Open. The five-time champion’s winning percentage of .872 is actually quite a bit lower than his .920 lifetime winning percentage on clay. Will he bring the two closer this week? Nadal needs to win the title to remain No.1—otherwise it will be Federer who snags the top spot.
18-5
Simona Halep’s lifetime record at Madrid. The two-time defending champion defeated Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets to reach the second-round on Sunday. She has now won 13 in a row at the Caja Magica. The Romanian is beginning her 27th week at No.1 this week and will stay at No.1 unless Caroline Wozniacki reaches the final.
20
Percentage of Rafael’s clay-court losses that are owed to Novak Djokovic. The Serb owns 7 wins over Nadal on clay, but he’ll have to reach the final this year if he wants to take a shot at earning No.8. Djokovic meets Kei Nishikori in a blockbuster first-round match on Monday in Madrid.
1
Number of Masters 1000 victories on clay owned by Denis Shapovalov. The Canadian 19-year-old defeated Tennys Sandgren to reach the second round on Sunday.
13
The winning streak of Elise Mertens, who defeated Alison Van Uytvanck on Sunday in Madrid to set up a second-round clash with Simona Halep.