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ATP Masters

Rafael Nadal through to his 31st Masters 1000 final at the Rome Open

May 19, 2012 by Lisa-Marie Burrows

By Lisa-Marie Burrows

Internazionali BNL D’Italia, Rome – Out on Campo Centrale this afternoon the crowd were treated to a battle between the Spanish No.1 and the Spanish No.2 under the late afternoon sun, which started as an exciting spectacle but unfortunately for David Ferrer was not sustained against Rafael Nadal. The King of Clay has kept his run of straight victories going this week after knocking out his friend and compatriot 7-6 (6), 6-0 during the semi finals.
Surprisingly for the crowd and Rafael Nadal it was David Ferrer who opened up the match on fire and was the dominating aggressor from the onset. Ferrer was seeing the ball early, firing it deep and caused an uncomfortable start for last year’s finalist. His solid first serves were making it difficult for Nadal to participate in any lengthy rallies and with dogged determination he forced Nadal to have to save five break points.
During the fourth game of the set, Ferrer was the first Spaniard to break his opponents serve after applying pressure on Nadal’s second service game with some riveting blows and fantastic retrieval of some seemingly impossible shots. The joy was short-lived for Ferrer as Nadal stepped us his game and became more aggressive on short balls and turned defensive play into offensive, futile shots until he got back the break he so desperately needed. Maybe thoughts were reminiscent in his head of what had happened during the week before in Madrid against another compatriot, Fernando Verdasco which kick started his comeback?
The set remained on par and closely fought with both players having opportunities to surpass the other and the set was there was for the taking. The tiebreak loomed and the two best Spanish players went toe to toe throughout for 14 points with Nadal unleashing his formidable crosscourt forehand armory and after an equally balanced set from both players, Ferrer eventually succumbed to the power of the world No.2 and Nadal edged it out 8-6.
The second set did not open up as planned for Ferrer, as he lost his momentum and his intensity began to diminish, whilst for Nadal, it was business as usual and with an array of well-angled shots and great depth on the ball during the rallies Ferrer could do nothing but look in awe as the shots sailed past him.
Ferrer looked continually despondent and like a hunter seeks its prey, Nadal continued to hunt for the ball and keep his prey cornered. Before David Ferrer knew what was happening, the hardworking determined Spaniard was 0-5 down and staring at a possible bagel in the second set – and that is precisely what happened.
David Ferrer could not find the solution to beating Rafael Nadal on the dirt of Rome and lost his third match against his compatriot at this tournament:

David Ferrer was disappointed but pleased with his season.

“The first set it was close and then when I lost the first game and my serve it was more difficult to do wins and he played better.”

A semi final is a good result for Ferrer after an impressive clay court season and as always the world No.5 tried to fight and play his game of tennis when he was allowed.
David Ferrer is always a delightful person to interview despite his palpable disappointment and he is never rude or impolite to the media and tries his best to answer (and understand!) questions in his broken English. It is a shame for the talented Spanish No.2 that he is playing in an era of some of the greatest players of all time with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer often the people culpable for his exits and losses in finals. In any other generation, he may have won a Slam as his shot making is incredible, his athleticism is astounding and he possesses the imperative ability to turn from a defensive to offensive position in a matter of minutes. Nadal may be the most discussed and successful player in Spain, but credit should be offered to David Ferrer just as frequently because as a sportsman and representative of tennis, his presence and contribution is just as valuable. He is a real credit to the sport.
Nadal also reflected on the quality of Ferrer’s game, particularly at the start of the match:

Rafael Nadal will be happy to win the title, regardless of who he plays.

“The first set was unbelievable how David set the match with amazing rhythm and aggressive and long. His movements were unbelievably good and so I did the possible best…”

Rafael Nadal has now set up a mouthwatering encounter against world No.1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic and no doubt the Spaniard will be keen to secure another win against the Serbian before Roland Garros commences:

“The important thing for me is to win the title and not against Djokovic or Roger, for me the important thing is to win Rome and I say that from my heart.”

Rafael Nadal Fast Facts:
• Rafael Nadal is one of three players to rank at No.1 in the history of the ATP World Tour Rankings who have all reached the semi finals in Rome.
• He along with Federer, Ferrer and Djokovic have won 11 titles between them so far this year.
• Nadal has won this tournament in 5 out of 7 appearances in Rome.
• His four straight set wins this week have improved his lifetime record here to 35-2.
• After his win today, he has now recorded a 15-4 head to head record against David Ferrer and beaten him 12 times in a row on clay – 10 out of 12 wins in straight sets.
• Nadal is 3-0 against Ferrer in Rome.
• Nadal is through to his 70th career ATP World Tour level final and his 31st ATP World Tour Masters final.

Lisa-Marie Burrows covered the Mutua Madrid Open last week and is currently in Rome covering the all of the action from the Masters. Catch her as a regular contributor for TennisBloggers.com and on Twitter: @TennisNewsViews.

Filed Under: Lead Story, Live Coverage Tagged With: ATP Masters, ATP Tennis, David Ferrer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Rome Open

Random Ramblings…Aussie Open dates, Wimbledon, Vegas, etc.

March 22, 2008 by Randy Walker

Imagine that the tennis world was focused not on Indian Wells and Key Biscayne but on the Australian Open at this time of year. Is this a novel concept? Not really. This was the case during this time frame in 1971 when the Australian Open was played at White City in Sydney, Australia. As documented in the upcoming book On This Day In Tennis History, it was on March 15, 1971 when Ken Rosewall and Margaret Court both won Australian Open singles titles during this uniquely scheduled major. Many people would love to have the tennis schedule altered so the players have more of an off season – and a February/March staging of the Australian Open would be a great way for that to happen – but Tennis Australia officials are too wed to the Australia Day holiday season and the end of the Australian summer season to move the tournament dates to later in the year. It could be worse, however, as the Australian Open used to be held during the Christmas holidays.
During a recent visit to London, I stopped by the All England Club and saw the place in full preparation for the 2008 Championships. Cranes stand next to Centre Court as the retractable roof continues to be installed and ready for the 2009 tournament. It appears a small stadium/bleacher section will be constructed on court No. 13 – in place of the rows of bleachers under the awning. At the Wimbledon Museum, I watched the highlights of the 1973 “strike year” men’s final when Czech Jan Kodes beat the Soviet Union’s Alex Metreveli. In lieu of allegations and controversy of betting in tennis and the allegations of involvement of the Russian mob, it was amusing to hear the commentator’s voice on the highlight tape, in previewing the final, say that “the betting is on Kodes.”

It’s a tough situation for The Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas to go head-to-head with Dubai Tennis Championships on the ATP calendar. No doubt that the appearance fees were aplenty in the Middle Eastern oil and finance capital as most of the top 10 played in the event, while The Tennis Channel Open got the leftovers. Why not make Dubai a larger co-ed event (as it is now, the women play the week before in Dubai) and then move The Tennis Channel Open to a different date? The tennis calendar could have three back-to-back-to-back “mega co-ed” events in Dubai, Indian Wells and Key Biscayne. The Tennis Channel Open could then move to later in the year (and warmer weather in Vegas or another location). The United States sure could use another clay court event (how about another event before or after the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships?).
Speaking of The Tennis Channel Open, how can you not love Sam Querrey? The 20-year-old American won his first ATP singles title in Vegas and seemed as laid back and relaxed as any player I have ever seen. He told The Tennis Channel’s Corina Morariu that he planned to prepare for his semifinal against Guillermo Canas by going “indoor skydiving” but he lost in place in line and the wait would have been too long….Fernando Gonzalez, Julien Benneteau and Lleyton Hewitt all had some great racquet smashing episodes at The Tennis Channel Open. TC commentator Jimmy Arias had a funny line during Hewitt’s smash of his Yonex frame; “You have to give Yonex a little credit there…it took two tries to break the racquet.”
Best investment for tennis fans – the $69.95 for a year subscription to the ATP Masters Series TV broadband coverage on ATPTennis.com. Why channel surf for Fox Sports Net during Indian Wells/Key Biscayne or stress whether you are going to get The Tennis Channel Open for most of the other offered events like Monte Carlo, Rome, Hamburg, etc.? The service offers near wall-to-wall coverage of all the top matches and if your computer has a high quality screen, it’s just like TV. Speaking of the Masters Series TV coverage, Jason Goodall, one of their fine commentary team members, spoke of talking to Igor Andreev in Dubai and asking him whether he would rather be No. 1 in the world or win a Grand Slam. Goodall reported that the Russian responded, “Neither…an Olympic Gold Medal.”

Filed Under: Archives Tagged With: All-England club, ATP Masters, ATP Tour News, Australian Open, Dubai Tennis Championships, Grand Slam, Indian Wells, Jason Goodall, Ken Rosewall, Key Biscane, Margaret Court, Olympic Gold Medal, On This Day In Tennis History, The Tennis Channel Open, Wimbledon

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