ATP World Tour Finals: Rafael Nadal joins Roger Federer and Andy Murray in the last four
Spanish phenomenon Rafael Nadal qualified for the semis at the World Tour Final on Friday afternoon. Following his last round-robin (RR) stage match at the O2 Arena in the afternoon, Nadal moved into the semis with a perfect 3-0
mark after dismissing Czech Tomas Berdych in two sets.
Nadal moved into the pole position for the semis qualification after his circumstantial win against Serb Novak Djokovic. Whether it was the eye problem plaguing Djokovic or the fact that the World number one was in full form, the
fact remains that Nadal defeated the Serb in just two sets to move to a 2-0 mark in the event. Nadal had earlier won against Andy Roddick on Monday after being one set down in the score. Nadal enjoyed another straight set win today, this time against Berdych.
The final match score was 7-6(3), 6-1.
This is the Spaniard’s sixth straight qualification for the end-of-the-year event having made his debut in 2005. However, he failed to play the event after pulling out due to an injury. He also missed the 2008 event due to a knee
injury. He has made it to the semis twice before in 2006-07, though he lost to Federer on both occasions. This is the first time he has made it to the semis with a perfect 3-0 record. His career worst came in last year when he not only failed to make it to
the semis, but also exited the event without a single win, losing to Djokovic, Robin Soderling and eventual champion Nikolay Davydenko.
Nadal joins Swiss Roger Federer and Brit Andy Murray in the last four. The latter two qualified after the Group B RR stage matches wrapped up for the event on Thursday. Federer moved into the semis as the group winner after winning
all his three RR matches. He moves into the semis with a perfect 3-0 mark after doing away with David Ferrer on Sunday, Andy Murray on Tuesday and then Robin Soderling on Thursday. In addition to a 3-0 match record, Federer also enjoys a 6-0 set record in
the event since he enjoyed straight set wins over all his opponents.
Murray was next to make it in the last four, much to the happiness of the local fan population. The local favourite made it into the semis with a 2-1 mark after he defeated Ferrer in the evening on Thursday. He had earlier defeated
Soderling on Sunday. Murray enjoys a 4-2 set win-loss mark in the event since he lost to Federer on Tuesday in a two- setter.
Nadal qualifies as the Group A winner with the 2nd place position of the Group still up for grabs. With Berdych out of the running, it is now down to either Djokovic or Roddick. Should Roddick defeat Djokovic in two
sets, he will clinch the final spot in the last four. However, should Djokovic be able to win even one set against the American, he will qualify second from Group B.
Qualifying as the group winner, Nadal will play Murray in the semi final match on Saturday.
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