6 best athletes in the world for the week 11 April - 18 April

As part of our ongoing series, we pick the five athletes who put in standout performances in the past week, plus one bonus winner:

Rafael Nadal

Former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, struggling with a title drought and a long dry spell without much success, had declared in 2015 that 2016 would be his ‘comeback year’. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, the most successful clay court player in the history of the game, he began his year with a first-round exit at the Australian Open – his earliest ever finish at a Grand Slam.

But playing this week at the Monte Carlo Masters on his pet surface, clay, Nadal was in his element. He faced a slew of tennis’ best – amongst them up-and-coming star Dominic Thiem, who has given the best in the sport a bit of trouble.

The 22-year-old Austrian even taxed Nadal in the first set of their match and somewhat taxed his rival, but Nadal came back to win in straight sets, subsequently demolishing World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka en route to setting up a semi-final clash and defeating 2nd-ranked Andy Murray.

Troubled by French Gael Monfils in the final, Nadal returned with a vengeance to bagel him in the final set in what was his 100th ATP final and 28th Masters title, which saw him equal Novak Djokovic.

The Spaniard all but announced his return on clay ahead of the all-important French Open, and that makes him one of our athletes of the week.

Sergio Aguero

Manchester City have not had as much success this season as they would have liked, but striker Sergio Aguero fired off a firm missive to rivals Chelsea, who have had a season so bad they are likely only waiting for it to end.

Aguero took a thundering hat-trick at the teams’ match on Chelsea’s home grounds at Stamford Bridge last Saturday, scoring one goal in the first half, then went on the counter-attack against a goalless Chelsea in the second to take his team 2-0 up. That was the Argentinian’s 13th goal in his past 12 matches – an obvious indicator of the form he has been in.

Ably assisted by teammate Kevin De Bruyne, who was playing against his former teammates, Aguero took his and the team’s score up to 2 goals. As if Chelsea had not had an already ignonimous game, Thibaut Courtois was red-carded, bringing on a penalty and Aguero’s opportunity for a hat-trick, one he took happily.

He helped the team get their third victory in a row, leading a thundering attack. Despite the side falling short of top spot in the league, the 27-year-old gave the team a significant amount to cheer about.

Quinton de Kock

South African cricketer de Kock, currently part of the Delhi Daredevils in the ongoing Indian Premier League, was staring at a Royal Challengers Bangalore total of 191, set by the hosts for them to chase down. Playing at the Chinnaswamy, known to be a chasing wicket, the Daredevils, with a robust batting lineup, may have fancied their chances, but lost two wickets early on.

The 22-year-old, partnered by Karun Nair, was at the crease after Delhi’s openers had crumbled.

De Kock fired from all directions for a 51-ball 108 that left the opponents reeling in his wake. He found the boundary rope frequently during the knock, and ably assisted by Nair’s half-century, took his team to victory leaving the Challengers stunned.

Daniil Kvyat

At only 22-years-old, Daniil Kvyat has proven his mettle in Formula One, and despite not having a race win under his belt, has displayed the ability to race like those much older and more experienced than himself.

After winning his career-first podium at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2015 despite a problematic Renault engine with serious reliability issues, Kvyat repeated the feat at this year’s Chinese Grand Prix. Qualifying in sixth at the Shanghai International Circuit, Kvyat was not expected to finish ahead of teammate Ricciardo, who had qualified on the front row in 2nd behind eventual winner Nico Rosberg.

On the first lap, Kvyat immediately pushed to move forward down the grid; swerving to avoid him, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was involved in a shunt with teammate Kimi Raikkonen, although both drivers were eventually able to continue the race.

Moving to P2 after momentary leader Ricciardo saw a tyre blowout and P3 qualifier Raikkonen was impeded, Kvyat managed to hold on to it until 35 laps into the 56-lap race, pitting at the same time as Scuderia Ferrari’s Vettel.

It was only at that point that he lost second spot, down not to driver error but a miniscule difference in the pit times at Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull.

He would go on to finish in third, but showed talent, quick thinking in taking advantage of the opportunity available to him, and pushed his car to the limit in China; he was also adjudicated Driver of the Day at the race.

Stephen Curry

In the last game of the regular season against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors were looking to get to NBA record 73 wins but quietly in the back drop reigning MVP and front runner this year, Stephen Curry was looking to get to 400 three pointers for the season, needing just eight more.

Against Memphis on Wednesday, Stephen Curry exploded for 46 points in just 30 minutes on the floor. He shot 15 of 24 (62.5%) from the field, 10 of 19 (52.6%) from beyond the arc and 6 of 6 from the free throw line. He had 20 of his 46 points in the first quarter itself which helped the Warriors open up a 14 point lead which the team never lost.

In Game 1 of the Warriors’ first round match-up with the Houston Rockets, Curry played a similar role. He played a total of just 20 minutes but in the entire first quarter, he outscored the Rockets’ team 16-15. He had a total of 24 points to go along with his 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

It was his outburst in the beginning that helped Golden State win big despite not having him in the second half, after he tweaked his ankle in the second quarter.

Dipa Karmakar

22-year-old Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar made history for the country, becoming the first ever female gymnast to qualify for the Olympic Games with her performance at the Olympic qualifiers in Rio de Janiero, also incidentally the venue for the Games.

Karmakar landed the extremely difficult Produnova vault – one of only five gymnasts in the world to do so, and historically has the highest score ever achieved at the Produnova. She landed it again yesterday in her qualification, and became the only Indian woman to have qualified for the Olympics in gymnastics.

She went one better the following day, winning gold at the vault.