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11:25 AM
David Ferrer outplayed Rafael Nadal at his own baseline game to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a round-robin match at the Masters Cup.
The two Spaniards played like a mirror image of one another, hitting sharply angled winners from the back of the court and refusing to give up on almost every shot.
Showing little respect for each other's serves, they won a combined five service breaks in the first set, while Ferrer didn't hold serve until his fourth attempt. Nadal won the first set when Ferrer committed his 14th unforced error off his usually reliable forehand.
Ferrer pulled himself together and broke to move ahead at 5-3 and serve for the second set, only to be left muttering to himself after Nadal broke back to love, the last three points coming on clean winners. Ferrer, though, shrugged off the setback to break and even the match in the next game when Nadal sent a forehand long.
From 1-1 in the third set, Ferrer ran off four straight games. With both men breathing hard from exertion, Ferrer served for the match, only to see Nadal break and fend off a match point in his next service game to pull back to 5-3.
Ferrer then held to love, finishing the match when Nadal tried a drop shot that hung up a little too long, giving Ferrer enough time to smack a backhand cross-court winner.
Ferrer has won both his matches in the Gold Group, while Nadal is tied with Richard Gasquet with a win and a loss. Gasquet beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-2 earlier today.
Afterwards Ferrer was generous in his praise of Nadal, a good friend of his. "Rafa is unbelievable," he said. "He's a fighter all the match. I play perfect in the third set. If I don't play perfect, I cannot beat Rafa."
Source: timesonline.co.uk
The two Spaniards played like a mirror image of one another, hitting sharply angled winners from the back of the court and refusing to give up on almost every shot.
Showing little respect for each other's serves, they won a combined five service breaks in the first set, while Ferrer didn't hold serve until his fourth attempt. Nadal won the first set when Ferrer committed his 14th unforced error off his usually reliable forehand.
Ferrer pulled himself together and broke to move ahead at 5-3 and serve for the second set, only to be left muttering to himself after Nadal broke back to love, the last three points coming on clean winners. Ferrer, though, shrugged off the setback to break and even the match in the next game when Nadal sent a forehand long.
From 1-1 in the third set, Ferrer ran off four straight games. With both men breathing hard from exertion, Ferrer served for the match, only to see Nadal break and fend off a match point in his next service game to pull back to 5-3.
Ferrer then held to love, finishing the match when Nadal tried a drop shot that hung up a little too long, giving Ferrer enough time to smack a backhand cross-court winner.
Ferrer has won both his matches in the Gold Group, while Nadal is tied with Richard Gasquet with a win and a loss. Gasquet beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-2 earlier today.
Afterwards Ferrer was generous in his praise of Nadal, a good friend of his. "Rafa is unbelievable," he said. "He's a fighter all the match. I play perfect in the third set. If I don't play perfect, I cannot beat Rafa."
Source: timesonline.co.uk
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