Shanghai, October 14, 2009
Rafa Nadal has booked a spot in the third round of the Shanghai Masters Series tournament this evening after beating American James Blake in three sets 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4.
Rafa produced some trademark blistering ground strokes in the first set to move into a comfortable 6-2 lead, but as the second went the distance, it was Blake who came out on top, taking the tie-break 7-4.
The third set saw Rafa regain his dominance with a crucial break of serve in the sixth game, leaving the current Australian Open champion the chance to serve for a 5-2 lead in the decider.
But Blake immediately broke back before holding serve and level the scores at 4-4 only for Rafa to show his undeniable fighting spirit and high-quality winners to clinch the victory.
"I'm not sure if I'm playing my best at the moment," said Rafa after the match. "I think I could do with quite a few matches in a row to get back my confidence and get back to my top level".
"It's always hard to play against James because he always goes for his shots. I served well and I started well but he came back into it at the end and I had to fight for the win in the final set."
He will now meet fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo, the 14th seed, who saved three match points in the second set tie-break to defeat qualifier Florian Mayer of Germany 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-4.
Vamos Rafa!
Source: http://www.rafaelnadal.com/nadal/en/home
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire