Rafael Nadal burns out to Garcia Lopez at 2010 PTT Thailand Open
In an utterly unexpected surprise on Saturday, the top ranked tennis phenomenon, Rafael Nadal was defeated by World Number 53, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, forcing the first seed Rafa to drop out of 2010 PTT Thailand Open. Garcia-Lopez defeated the World Number
1 champion in three sets, with the final score being 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 against Nadal. He will now be competing against the Finnish, Jarkko Nieminen in the final.
The 27-year-old Lopez seemed elated by his success as he declared, “Everything was fantastic. For the moment, I’m a bit shocked.” Nadal, disappointed but a good sport as usual, said “It’s a difficult loss to accept. It’s one of those matches you are going
to lose once every two years.”
The 2010 PTT Thailand Open's semi final is definately one of the most shocking matches of the year as Rafa was still fresh from his first U.S. Open victory. The young Spaniard seemed to be at the top of his game. So, a defeat at the semis was nearly unpredictable.
Had he also taken this trophy, he would have claimed his seventh tournament of the year as well as his 43rd ATP title.
Indications that the match might not be an easy win for Nadal began to emerge in the second set, when his opponent began to serve some aggressive shots with a continuation of winning swings and wide, flat serves (including 10 aces). At one point, Garcia-Lopez
played a groundstroke challengingly deep, forcing Rafa to throw his racket during the attempt to backhand the shot. The Spanish victor continued this streak well into his third set, encouraging Nadal to make errors, both forced and unforced. Out of 26 breakpoint
opportunities, Nadal only managed to convert two. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez applied a great deal of pressure on him in the last set, ultimately resulting in a landslide 6-3 victory.
In the aftermath of this defeat, Nadal analyzed his opponent’s game saying, “He played a great match, especially in the third (set). I had a great chance to be in the final. I have to blame myself that I didn’t play aggressive when I had a chance to break.
He served well on break points. I lost chance after chance." Meanwhile, the enormity of this achievement did not escape Garcia-Lopez, who commented, “I’ve never beaten a No. 1 player in the world. I think this is the best victory in my career.”
Garcia-Lopez’s next match is against Jarkko Nieminen, who defeated the German, Benjamin Baker in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 at another semi final. This is Nieminen’s first final of 2010, resulting from a match where his most helpful weapons were sharp groundshots
and brilliant serves. He hasn't yet dropped a set in this tournament with his previous opponents including the 7th seed, Viktor Troicki and 3rd seed, Jurgen Melzer. Nieminem exalted, said, “I feel great. I haven’t been in (a) final for
a while, the last time was in Sydney in 2009.”
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