Rafael Nadal falls out of Gerry Weber Open after 13-match unbeaten run – Tennis Special
Defending champion, Philipp Kohlschreiber, ended the 13-match unbeaten streak of the French Open Champion, Rafael Nadal, in the quarter-final of the Gerry Weber Open on Friday. He registered an easy straight sets win, 6-3, 6-4,
to book a spot in the semi-final of the tournament.
It was the first ever triumph for the 34th ranked German against the former world number one. Both these players have contested on ten different occurrences to date and Nadal had won all nine encounters previously but
he failed to continue his emphatic run of form; looked a bit tired and disappointed yet again in Halle, Germany. Spectators gave a standing ovation to their champion who was able to beat the King of Clay in a grass court opener.
Kohlschreiber started off with a tight serve hold but pleasantly surprised the crowd with a stunning breakthrough in the following game to take the lead. He posted a thumping serve hold to love in the following game and registered
a resounding lead of 3-0.
Nadal held his serve in the following game but not before he was tested scrupulously by the German. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, a breakpoint opportunity was squandered courtesy to a net cord for the German who went on to hold
serve. It was the only time he was close on winning the break back in the opening set.
The second set started off with a very tight serve hold for the Spaniard. The German held serve to love and sustained the pressure on the Spaniard; forcing him to dig deep and hold serve. Nadal was close on attaining a breakpoint
in the following game but he squandered yet another opportunity to a mistimed forehand winner that landed just long.
Top seed’s serve was broken in the seventh game and consolidated by a crushing serve hold to love. Nadal failed to break back and keep the set alive; lost the first match in three tournaments he played and went back to his homeland,
Mallorca, to have some rest after a hectic round of play.
Kohlschreiber said, “From the name, from the match for sure it’s the best victory. He's won eleven Grand Slam titles and many other titles. So, it’s really great. Rafa is the most competitive player on the Tour. He hates to lose.
So, obviously he tried everything. In the last game he was fighting a lot. I was very happy of course with the performance. I didn’t get nervous which was also very important. Basically, I had a really great day from the beginning to the end and of course
we know that Rafa came here very late. He didn’t have so much time to prepare on grass.”
He plays against Tommy Haas in the contest for a place in the final. Both compatriots are in emphatic form especially Haas who has found a new purpose to play. He is looking to reach a landmark of 500 wins in the professional career.
At the moment, he is just 19 away from achieving that landmark. So, the next battle is going to be an enthralling one to say the least.
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