Top 5 matches on the 2010 ATP tour – Part 1
The 2010 tennis year ended with the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, where Roger Federer picked up his fifth season finale title, beating Rafael Nadal in the finals.
In light of this cracker of a finale, Bettor.com,takes a look at the top five matches of the 2010 year.
1. Semifinal Barclays ATP World Tour Finals: Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Murray
Both the players went into the much awaited battle to confirm their spot in the finals. For the 23-year-old Scott, it was an opportunity to end a year of mixed fortunes with the greatest trophy of his career. For the World No.1
Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, it was a chance to end one of the greatest years by any contenders in the Open Era, having already captured three major titles and completed the clean sweep of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay court events.
The three hours and eleven minutes battle was cheered on by 17,500 fans at the prestigious event in London. Andy had produced arguably his best tennis of the season in a high quality clash, which highlighted excellent shot making
from both. However, despite coming back from a deficit of 3-5 in the third set and leading 4-1 in the tie break, Murray could not seal a win against Rafa, who was extremely determined to make his way into the finals at the elite eight man field on the very
first occasion in his career. The final score line was 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(6).
The Spaniard after his victory while commenting on the match said, “It was a fantastic match. I am very happy to beat a great champion like Andy. For me it is an amazing victory. I am very happy for everything because it was a
really difficult match against one of the best players of the world.”
2. Semifinal United States Open: Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer
World No.3 Novak Djokovic stunned the Swiss tennis maestro, Roger Federer, after preventing two match points to cruise past the Swiss master in a pulsating five-set final four battle in New York. The final match score was 5-7,
6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. Djokovic, as a result of this victory, also denied Federer a spot in his seventh United States Open final in a row.
Having lost at the hands of the Fed Express in each of the three past seasons at Flushing Meadows, including the 2007 final, Novak Djokovic declared afterwards, “I just knew I have to be patient and not lose my emotions too much,
because that was the case in the past where I was losing the momentum with him. He uses that nervousness of the opponent. He feels it."
Indeed, the professional tennis ace from Serbia showed nerves of steel when at 4-5 during the decisive set; the right hander prevented two match points with the help of a swinging forehand volley. The Serbian then went on to take
the last three games, trumping Roger in a 22-shot rally to clinch win in the end. The battle concluded in a time period of three hours and forty four minutes.
The sixteen times Grand Slam champion committed a total of sixty six unforced errors to Novak’s thirty eight and after the match, expressed his disappointment of not making his way into the finals by saying that he certainly would
have loved to meet Rafael Nadal in the title battle.
Contd. in Part 2
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