Nadal takes on Roddick in opening ATP World Tour Finals clash
Top seed and world number one Rafael Nadal and eighth seed Andy Roddick from the United States will square off in the second singles clash of the day at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Monday in London. Roddick won the previous meeting between the two at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami back in April.
The 24-year-old Spaniard has made semi-final appearances in the season-ending tournament back in 2006 and 2007, losing to Roger Federer on both occasions. This is his sixth straight showing in the elite eight man event, however he pulled out in 2005 and 2008 due to injury. Nadal failed to win any of his group stage matches at the World Tour Finals last year, and was knocked out without winning a single set.
The Mallorca native jumped to number one in the world after successfully completing his career Grand Slam at the U.S. Open in New York back in September. Nadal also led the ATP World Tour with seven titles in eight finals this season. The Spaniard has won at least five ATP events for six straight seasons. Along with Swiss maestro, Roger Federer, Nadal is the only player to triumph in at least sixty clashes during each of the past four years.
Nadal started off his 2010 campaign with a runner up showing in Doha, where he was dispatched by Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the final. At the year’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open in Melbourne, Rafa couldn’t go beyond the quarter-finals after he retired in his match against Murray due to an injured right knee.
The Spaniard made a comeback on the tour in March and made back to back semi-final appearances at the opening two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 competitions, in Indian Wells and Miami, losing to the eventual winners in both. He ended his eleven month trophy drought in Monte-Carlo, by becoming the first player in the Open Era to win a title for six straight seasons. Two weeks later he won another title in Rome, followed by his third crown of the year in Madrid, beating Roger Federer in two sets 6-4, 7-6(5).
Nadal won three of the four Grand Slam titles this season; at the French Open, Wimbledon and his first-ever U.S. Open. In his most recent performance, Nadal was upset by Jurgen Melzer in the third round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters in China.
Andy Roddick, on the other hand, is featuring in the season-ending event for the sixth time since the tournament began in 2001.
The 28-year-old Roddick is currently ranked number eight in the South African Airways ATP list. He enters with a win loss record of 48-15 this season. The highest ranked American player is once again finishing the year in the top ten for the ninth straight season on the tour. He along with Roger Federer is the only active player to capture at least one ATP World Tour trophy for ten straight seasons.
Roddick opened his 2010 campaign with victory in Brisbane, where he thrashed Radek Stepanek in the final. In the Australian Open, the right hander couldn’t go beyond the quarter-finals, falling to Marin Cilic in a five set thriller. Just a month later, Roddick reached another final in San Jose, before falling to Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in three sets.
Other notable performances in 2010 include securing the runner-up spot at Indian Wells and Miami, a semi-final showing in Atlanta, Cincinnati and Basel and quarter-final appearances at the Australian Open, Tokyo and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris.
Nadal is definitely one of the tournament favourites in London, but the American is more comfortable on hard courts, and may prove to be a tough challenge for the world number one. Therefore, this could be one of the tournament’s more intriguing clashes, and Roddick will definitely be feeling confident having beaten Nadal in the previous encounter.
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