Sports briefs: VCU transfer Medley-Bacon granted immediate eligibility | Sports


Becoming only the fourth man to reach 1,000 match wins should have drawn deafening cheers and a standing ovation for tennis great Rafael Nadal.

Instead, he reached his milestone amid a cathedral-like silence Wednesday in a 20,000-seater stadium left completely empty because of the coronavirus pandemic. There was only a fist-bump from Feliciano Lopez, after Nadal beat him 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in a subdued atmosphere more worthy of a library study area than a sports arena.

The 34-year-old Nadal joins towering company in Jimmy Connors (1,274), Roger Federer (1,242) and Ivan Lendl (1,068) as the only men’s 1,000-club members since the Open era began in 1968.

Nadal smiled as he posed at the net with the number 1,000 displayed on the court in a brief ceremony, and then walked off center court like after any other match.

It was the second milestone he reached in Paris this year, having won the French Open last month to tie Federer on 20 majors. But while 1,000 fans cheered him at Roland Garros, none were at the Bercy Arena.

Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev easily won 6-1, 6-2 against Radu Albot for a tour-leading 40th win of the year, moving one ahead of top-ranked Novak Djokovic. Rublev won the Erste Bank Open in Vienna last Sunday for a tour-leading fifth title of the season and next plays three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka.

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Read More: Sports briefs: VCU transfer Medley-Bacon granted immediate eligibility | Sports 2020-11-04 23:36:00

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