Nadal wins marathon match
Aug. 12: Top seed Rafael Nadal battled out a marathon tiebreaker on Wednesday to reach the Toronto Masters third round, downing Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (14/12), 6-3. The first-set decider tied the record of the longest ever played by the Spaniard, who went the same distance in 2009 but lost 14-12 to Richard Gasquet.
The unseeded Wawrinka had five set point chances of his own which he could not convert. Nadal took the first set on his fourth chance. “I’m pretty happy with how I played,” said Nadal. “I was worried about this match, I knew it would be dangerous against Stan,” he said.
Nadal will next line up against South African qualifier Kevin Anderson, who knocked out American Sam Querrey 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-4. Second-seeded Novak Djokovic struggled to close out his opening win in searing heat while title holder Andy Murray played it cool as he rallied for a victory over Xavier Malisse.
Djokovic required multiple match points to down Frenchman Julien Benneteau 7-5, 7-5. Murray broke Malisse twice to end the first set and easily powered through to A 7-5, 6-2 victory. Murray slowly seized control, firing seven aces and breaking his 30-year-old opponent. For Djokovic, however, it was a struggle to the end. “It was a big struggle, I was not feeling the best, But it is something I overcame. I was lucky to come back when I needed to,” said Djokovic.
Post new comment