2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals: Nadal beats Djokovic to move closer to the Semis
As second wave of the round robin stage for Group A wrapped up today, Serb Novak Djokovic met Spaniard Rafael Nadal. Rafa defeated Djokovic in two straight sets to move into the pole position for the semis.
Rafa moved to a win loss mark of 2-0 in the event after defeating Djokovic. He had earlier defeated American Andy Roddick in his opening match on Monday. Qualifying for the sixth year in a row, this is one of Nadal’s better runs in the season
finale.
In 2009 Rafa failed to win even a single set failing to qualify for the semifinals. This time around however, Rafa has managed to put those demons to rest. Looking at a Wimbledon final recreation as he takes on Czech Tomas Berdych on Friday,
Nadal might move to a 3-0 mark. This would be his career best in the event.
Serving for the first set, Djokovic took a 1-0 lead in the opener. Nadal was not far behind though. Winning games on their service both professionals tied the score at 2-2. Breaking serve in the fifth game, Nadal took a 3-2 lead. However, the
Serb managed to break serve in the next game as well leveling the score at 3-3.
Djokovic had to retire from the match for a while after having problems with his contact lens. Taking it as an equipment problem, the referee allowed him the timeout. After a few minutes in the locker room, Djokovic returned to play, though,
the eye plagued him from there on.
Nevertheless, the neck to neck between the two titans continued till 5-5. Breaking serve on the eleventh game and serving for the twelfth, Rafa won two consecutive games to secure for himself a one set lead.
The eye continued to bother Djokovic as the two players entered the second set. Whether it was the eye or the fact that Rafa was in top form, one thing was for sure that Djokovic was in trouble. The Serb failed to win a single game in the second
set initially, giving Nadal a 4-0 lead. Winning his two service games off the next four games, Nadal won the second set 6-2.
Rafa was very pleased over his performance against Djokovic, talking to the press he said, “For me [it] was a very important victory because my level was high another time; [I was] playing very well in the first set especially. For
sure [it] is a very important victory for the group because I am in a good position. I am really happy how I played because the serve worked much better, especially in the first set. The forehand, I played with less mistakes than the other day, with better
rhythm. I think was a big change from the first day, the first match, between this one. That's very good news and I'm very happy for that.”
The Spaniard improves to a 69-9 win loss record for the season. With seven titles this year and a good chance for the semifinal qualification in the season finale, Nadal looks to wrap a superb season. In the last round robin matches for Group
A scheduled for Friday, Rafa plays Berdych whereas Djokovic plays Roddick.
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