The king of clay finds a burst of inspiration to beat his fellow Spaniard 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 in 2 hr 34 min
At 8pm in Paris on Wednesday night, it looked as though Rafael
Nadal was going to be the man left mulling an unfinished match
overnight, while Andy
Murray waltzed through and rested up in preparation for the
semi-final.
But all that shifted as Nadal won 13 of the last 14 games to take control of
his match against fellow Spanish dirtballer David Ferrer. Despite dropping
the first set, he found a burst of inspiration that carried him through 4-6,
6-4, 6-0, 6-1 in 2 hr 34 min. Murray then got himself involved in another
saga of a match on Court Philippe Chatrier, and is likely to be the wearier
of the two men when they meet on the same arena on Friday.
So the king of clay rolls on to his 64th win at Roland Garros, to place
against the one defeat he suffered here to Robin Soderling in 2010. He was
tested on Wednesday and he responded in a way that suggests that only a
herculean effort will separate him from his crown.
“At the beginning there was a lot of wind, and therefore both of us made many
mistakes,” a dejected Ferrer said. “It wasn’t that good a match, given the
players that we are. The court was slow. Then Rafael started playing a lot
better, making fewer mistakes, and then it’s like I threw in the towel.
“I don’t usually do this, but I thought, ‘I’m not going to be able to come
back into the match’. I thought, ‘No, no, not against Rafa. He’s such a good
player’.”
Murray will probably be a little disappointed that Ferrer – who is a good
friend of his and a regular practice partner – did not take more out of
Nadal in the end. But at least Ferrer had a few kind words for the Scot in
last night’s press conference.
Asked who he thought would end up lifting the title, Ferrer replied “Well, you know, Rafa and [Novak] Djokovic are still the two favourites, but let’s not forget about Murray. He’s playing excellent tennis. He has many qualities and skills on clay.”
As for Nadal, he also denied any surprise at Murray’s progress to the final, and praised his clay-court skills. “Andy is really good with footwork, and his backhand sometimes can be very aggressive; therefore, I think that he can really go deep. He can win many points on his serves, which really helps him. The match will be very difficult.”
Asked who he thought would end up lifting the title, Ferrer replied “Well, you know, Rafa and [Novak] Djokovic are still the two favourites, but let’s not forget about Murray. He’s playing excellent tennis. He has many qualities and skills on clay.”
As for Nadal, he also denied any surprise at Murray’s progress to the final, and praised his clay-court skills. “Andy is really good with footwork, and his backhand sometimes can be very aggressive; therefore, I think that he can really go deep. He can win many points on his serves, which really helps him. The match will be very difficult.”
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