Rafael Nadal edges past Mardy Fish in Round Robin – ATP World Tour Finals 2011
Last year’s finalist, Rafael Nadal of Spain, had to go through some tough channels before taking down the eighth seed American, Mardy Fish, in the Group B Round Robin matchup at the season ending grand finale, the Barclays ATP
(Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Finals, on Sunday.
The late-night affair was staged on the indoor hard courts of the prestigious O2 Arena in London, with the world number two coming out as the winner in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3). Nadal toiled for two hours and fifty five minutes
of play to turn the tables over the resilient American, defeating him for the eighth time in nine encounters.
Making his first appearance at the circuit ending mega event, the eighth seeded Fish exhibited a quality display of tennis to give some tough time to the second seeded Spaniard. He was completely blown away by the fury of Nadal
in the opening set but came back very strongly in the very next set to bring the twist in the tale. Fish was pushed to the verge of defeat in the 10th game of the final set but the eighth seed successfully defended two match points from the Spaniard
to remain alive in the competition. He was finally outplayed by Nadal in the third set tie breaker, letting the second seed as the triumphant in the end.
“It was a very important victory for me, for my confidence, to start the tournament with positive feelings,” said Nadal. “I think I played a very good first set after the break from the beginning. I made a big mistake at 0-1, 40/15
for me in the beginning of the second. That [gave him] a lot of confidence and after that, all the match was close. The third set was a little bit more crazy, up and down. I was seriously really lucky for the victory, and I for sure am very happy.”
Nadal struck 18 winners and coughed 27 unforced errors in the matchup, reeling off 45 out of 65 first serve points en route to victory. He converted four out of nine break opportunities in the game, with Fish registering three
out of 11 break points in the contest to finish on the losing side in the end.
The Spaniard will take on his arch rival, the former world number one, Roger Federer of Switzerland, in the second Group B matchup in the Round Robin on Tuesday night. The defending champion, Federer, won his opening round clash
against the world number six, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, on Sunday night as well.
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