The world number one in tennis finally opened his account with an emphatic 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 win over American Andy Roddick in the ongoing ATP Tour Finals Championship.
The Spaniard took two hours and thirty three minutes in an enthralling spectacle of bewitching tennis play in the O2 Arena to start off his campaign to win the Finals Championships for the first time in his career, and win an indoor tournament for the second
time overall in his career.
The Spaniard geared up in attire that included a vivid pink shirt, was on song as he captivated the audience with his explosive tennis skills. That is not to say the American, Andy Roddick, was without firepower, because he brought the game crashing down
on Rafael Nadal in the first set.
Nadal found London’s iconic O2 Arena a demoralising hunting ground last year, as he lost all three of his group stage matches before being forced out of the prestigious event. However, he has made his intentions known to his opponents by systematically pouncing
on every opportunity that he could find in his match against Andy Roddick, until he reduced the American to nothing more than a heap of shattered sweat and aspirations.
Roddick briefly slipped out of the top ten world rankings but his firepower’s ample demonstration in front of the crowd at O2 Arena proved why he’s considered such a formidable force in the tennis world. He fired seventeen aces against Nadal, with three
of them in excess of 140 mph. However, it was his play at the baseline that threatened to turn the tables on Nadal as the Spaniard battled to take control of the match.
The match looked poised and well balanced until Rafa took the second set after a mesmerizing tie breaker. After that, nothing that Andy Roddick tried or threw at Rafael Nadal seemed to work or slow him down. Nadal struggled hard as he won the break point
in the fifth game of the deciding set, before clinching the last game and sending the Spanish fans’ cheers through the roof in the cavernous stadium with a capacity of 17,500.
Nadal thanked his lucky stars after the match as he acknowledged how tough a match it had been. Nadal was unable to compete in the Paris Masters tournament due to injury and had been out of action for five weeks. Roddick on the other hand made his O2 debut
here as he had to sit out the last version of the championship due to injury. He could have won the match against Nadal if he had on to four service games after leading Rafael Nadal 2-1 in the second set.
Earlier in the day, Diego Maradona was seen once again in the match between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych much to the crowd’s pleasure. The former Argentinean World Cup winner is a huge fan of the Serb’s game and he would have been extremely pleased with
the result of Djokovic and Berdych’s encounter as Djokovic outclassed Berdych 6-3, 6-3.
In the evening, the fans got another dose of magical stardom as Kylie Minogue graced the evening session of the Finals Championships. It has also been noted that the ATP Tour Finals Championship being played at the O2 Arena has been awash with some feisty
crowds, quite unlike the gentlemanly aristocracy that graces the Wimbledon Championships during the summer.
With Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic already winning their first round robin matches in style, it is now time to see who is going to be crowned King in this mini-Grand Slam event.
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