Bleacher Report - Rafael Nadal

Davis Cup Finals Preview

Nima Naderi — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:12:02 -0500

This year's edition of the Davis Cup final will provide a slightly different dynamic than in previous seasons. Even though Spain remains the overwhelming favorite against the Czech Republic, a slightly black-and-blue Spanish team may be in trouble.

Led by puissant clay court player Rafael Nadal, the Spanish team finds itself residing in the doubt of its top player.

Nadal, who has lost his last four matches on the circuit, comes into the Palau Sant Jordi Arena with a 10-0 lifetime singles record when competing on clay. The former world No. 1 and six-time Slam Champion has drop a few pounds and will be competing on the dirt for the first time since losing in the fourth round of the French Open to Robin Soderling.

The Davis Cup final, if anything, could prove to be a vital boost in the career of Nadal.

If Nadal were to lose his first ever Davis Cup clay court match this weekend, alarm bells would certainly be in order.

However, if Nadal is able to convincingly propel his squad to their fourth career title, a much-needed jolt of confidence would definitely be offered heading into next season.

"The Davis Cup is my main objective remaining for the year," Nadal said in an interview with Magazine Digital (www.magazinedigital.com) on Sunday.

Nadal continued, saying, "To play in the Palau Sant Jordi, where I carried the team flag in 2000, and experience that now as a player and not a spectator will be a marvellous experience."

Nadal will not be alone in his efforts in capturing Davis Cup supremacy, holding a strong supporting cast of players which includes: Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer, and Feliciano Lopez.

Verdasco, who was an intricate player in clinching Spain's victory over Argentina last year, has put forth a banner season, ending as the No. 9 player in the world.

Verdasco, much like Nadal, has had his share of injuries and will be coming into Barcelona on an equal four match losing streak.

Verdasco's best surface is by no means clay, and it would not be surprising to see team captain Albert Costa choose scrappy veteran David Ferrer as a singles player.

Ferrer, who has encountered his own set of woes this season, thrives on the crushed brick and could very well become the x-factor of the weekend.

On again, off again Lopez will be the fourth man on the team, adding his nasty left-handed serve and volley to the weekend's doubles competition.

Lopez has resurrected his singles career to in the past few months, reaching the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters 1000 and quarterfinals in Austria.

Czech Mate?

Led by none other than Radek "The Worm" Stepanek, the Czech Republic will be vying for their second career title after capturing their first in 1980.

Stepanek's epic six-hour marathon win over Ivo Karlovic in the semifinals in Croatia was instrumental in propelling his squad to the finals. Stepanek's sleek serve and volley game could post a significant degree of difficulty for the Spaniards, seeing as his brand of tennis is almost obsolete on Tour.

Stepanek will be joined by former top 10 talent Tomas Berdych, French and US Open doubles champion Lukas Dlouhy, and Davis Cup newcomer Jan Hajek.

Team captain Jaroslav Navratil will have his work cut out for him this weekend, likely requiring Stepanek to play all three days.

Clay is by far the Czechs' least liked surface, but when taking into account the injuries of Nadal and Verdasco, the outcome of the finals remains in the bounds.

The surprisingly cool conditions in Barcelona this week, which accentuate Nadal's spin and fitness, could make the Czechs' title run less likely.

Stepanek was candid when expressing dislike for the cooler conditions in Spain.

“We have blue hands after practice, but it doesn’t bother us. We laugh about it and it’s the same for both teams!” said Stepanek.

“Hopefully with 16,000 people in the stadium, it will be a little bit warmer!” remarked Czech captain Jaroslav Navratil at Tuesday’s pre-draw press conference.

Stepanek, who has never shied away from long matches, shared his thoughts on the keys to victory.

“If it takes 10 hours to win the match and bring the point for our team, I will be there for 10 hours,” says Stepanek. “You have to be mentally strong, especially in the moments when the matches could go either way. When you feel the pressure, you have to stay focused and not show the negative emotions to the other guy. I’m strong inside, I’m not just playing it, I know I’m strong and I’m proving it even when I’m playing six hour matches.”

Berdych, who made the fourth round of Roland Garros in 2005, spoke about the challenges of playing Nadal on clay.

“It’s going to be tough to find the keys,” said the world ranked No. 20, who has lost his last four matches against Nadal. “For me the most important thing is to bring a little more than 100 percent of my game to the court, and then there is a chance to beat Rafa. Definitely I’m not going to be the favourite, but I’m going to be there on the court trying my best.”

All in all, the Czechs will be the severe underdogs in this tie. The only opportunity for an upset this weekend will be to focus on winning the doubles, then defeating Verdasco.

As mentioned, in the event that Spain chooses Ferrer instead of Verdasco to partake in the singles competition, one would have to think that his clay court prowess would remain at an elite enough level to oust either Stepanek or Berdych.

Bottom line, regardless of the conditions and the confidence level of Nadal, Spain has simply too many options and too much experience to not slide away with yet another Davis Cup victory.

It should be a sold out encounter in Barcelona, but don't expect anything short of the red and yellow prevailing on Sunday.

Prediction: Spain wins 4-1.

Please check back throughout the weekend for continuing daily coverage from Davis Cup final in Spain.

Additional quotes courtesy daviscup.org

Read more Rafael Nadal news on BleacherReport.com

Rafael Nadal's Transition to "Rafa-Lite" May Signal Greater Times Ahead

Marianne Bevis — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:41:48 -0500

The fans are getting worried.

The media have begun to discuss it openly.

And this week, at London’s O2 arena, it was the first topic on the lips of almost every spectator—and not just between his fans.

The subject of all this attention is the diminishing musculature of Rafael Nadal since his extended break with tendinitis over the summer.

So in the light of Nadal’s poor results during the Round Robin phase of the World Tour Finals, is there real cause for concern? And is there any foundation for all this talk of weight loss?

There have been several “checkpoints” during the year from which to make a first-hand comparison of Nadal’s stature, thus removing from any debate the dictum that “television puts on 10 pounds.”

The starting point was the clay season—the photograph on the left was taken at Rome. Here the standard edition Rafa was on show, all shoulder, bicep, pectorals, and calves.

The next significant appearance was during the grass season of London where Nadal made a fleeting appearance at Hurlingham—the second photo from the right—to test his sore knees. In physique, he looked little different from the man playing in Rome, but his movement was far from the same. His serve motion had less spring and energy, and his forward motion and knee bend were inhibited.

It surprised few that he almost immediately announced his withdrawal from Wimbledon.

Fast forward a couple of months to Flushing Meadows, where a successful run to the semi-finals suggested that Nadal was getting back to full fitness. However, there did seem to be just a little less of him striding about the court.

Any change in appearance, however, was barely perceptible, hardly worth comment and, in any case, he had picked up an abdomen strain that inhibited his performance. If his hammer drive of a topspin forehand was a little less weighty than usual, there was an obvious reason.

Between New York and the Tour End Finals in London, there was a chance to catch up with a televised Nadal playing in Shanghai and then in Paris. By now, there was enough visual evidence of a slimming down to warrant some discussion by the Sky commentary team—prompted, it has to be said, by emails from viewers.

The team concluded, however, that the change in appearance was an illusion caused by the different kit that Nadal had adopted at the beginning of 2009: His arms, chest, and shoulders were less on show, and legs were more loosely covered. This was nonsense, of course, since the physical transformation had not begun until half way through 2009.

It was London, though, that provided the firm evidence for all the conjecture—witness the photos of Nadal in green. He was certainly thinner, and it was not simply in the main muscle groups that the volume was reduced. His waist was slimmer, his face more gamine, his calves leaner in outline. Indeed, his entire form was trimmer.

Along with the gradually shortening crop of his hair, Nadal appeared to have shed not only pounds, but also about four years. He could be the teenager who burst on the scene, again dressed in green, to win his first French Open.

So there did indeed appear to be some foundation to the “weight-loss” debate. But whether that should be a cause for concern is an entirely different matter.

This new format Nadal could, instead, presage a maturing change of direction designed to extend his playing career.

First, by reducing the proportion, and thus weight, of muscle in his body, Nadal is also reducing the strain on his knees. He and his team must be greatly encouraged that he has remained free of strapping since the early summer with no obvious reduction in mobility, despite this being the hardest phase of the tour.

Second, Nadal has been showing increasing enthusiasm for developing a more rounded, all-court game. This suggests a recognition that a flexible game comprising serve-and-volley, drop-shot, lob, and slice is less punishing on the body than the long, arduous rallies that have in the past characterized his powerful game of attrition.

The bulk and strength required to sustain the long bouts of heavy shot-making in Nadal’s “old” game can, therefore, evolve into a more lightweight, flexible physique that spreads the strain a little more evenly across the body. Indeed he may become even faster around the court than the Mk. 1 Nadal, and keep the rallies a little shorter into the bargain.

Tennis is a game of checks and balances. Nadal hit the very top of his form in 2008, yet even as he achieved his crowning glory at Wimbledon, he carried strapping around his knees.

The warning signs were already there, and the physical stresses of his playing style subsequently forced him out of Paris and the Masters Cup in Shanghai at the end of that season. The same problems reared their head even earlier in 2009, and despite extensive treatment on his knees during the spring, tendinitis flared up once again.

The beacon for Nadal, as he sees his No. 2 ranking under threat for the second time in a year, is that he has absorbed the hard-court and indoor seasons to their end without injury, and is still able to take part in the imminent Davis Cup final.

He has to view the hiatus from tournament winning as merely a transition to a different “Rafa model” that will be able to sustain a challenge against the rest of the competition in 2010.

He may carry a little less physical weight, and a little less weight on his shots, into this new phase, but his skills and technique are improving across the board. Rarely does he miss an overhead, for example, and his backhand slice is becoming a formidable offensive weapon.

What we can be sure of is that his desire to win, and his dedication to doing so, will remain second to none.

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Rafael Nadal On the Defensive

antiMatter — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:51:02 -0500

Whether a player plays defense or attack is a question of belief.

Pete Sampras believed in his serve to such an extend that he attempted breaking only once per set at all. He knew that his hold-game was unshakable. It also explains why he went for second service aces when break-points down.

The Pistol might go down in history as the best first-strike player in tennis yet. Then there are the opposite of the Pistol. Those who believe in their consistency—ability to churn out groundie after groundie, and in their ability to retrieve balls.

Among these there will be quite a few who mentally or physically construct their points, instead of being just totally passive. Like Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray.

But each player has some breaking point. Beyond that threshold, he might not have enough with on the stroke received of what he needs to construct anything. It might just allow him enough to be able to run down and retrieve the ball. He turns into the other kind of passive defenders.

For Nadal, what he needs is time , and that threshold is breached when the pace, depth and height of the ball after bounce fall beyond some limits. Among defenders Nadal is not one who “feeds” off pace. He is not symbiotic.

Of course Rafael and his uncle Antony knew this. Which is why they were turning him into a better first-striker slowly but surely.

This was really possible in Nadal’s case, and still is. Rafael generates his own pace, just like an offensive baseliner does, though not anything like a Del-Potro because he mixes it up with a lot of spin. The only matter remaining was to correct the nature of his strokes—to direct the pace to earn points for him, rather than fatigue the opponent into submission.

He developed a flatter inside-out fore-hand that zips across more than loops into the court due to top-spin, started stepping into the court a bit more instead of running all over the place, developing the court-position required for aggression, and started pulling the trigger with his backhand down the line.

He was learning and learning very fast. He won the Wimbledon, the Olympic medal and the Australian Open—all considered to be foreign surfaces to him. He then also went on to put in his best performance in the season-beginning hard court season. He was adapting to faster courts very well.

Rafael’s motto has been always the same—improve as a tennis player and as a person with each passing day. It all seemed in place and working for him for quite a while.

But time would tell that he had left out one parameter from his equation—the fitness. His body—his knees—were at the receiving end of all the ferocious hard-work. He had to take a sabbatical.

A couple of months without tennis, unable to defend his Wimbledon crown, he returned to action in August. By this time a few players who were first-strikers by nature, of the style of Gonzales, had matured—Juan Martin Del Potro, Robin Soderling, Marin Cilic, who also stand much taller than Gonzo.

And Rafael seemed to have forgotten a bit during his leave–of-absence-due-to-medical-reasons, of all that he had learnt that won him the faster Grand Slams. He has fallen to precisely the three players mentioned above since in addition to the “allowable” defeats to Djokovic and Davydenko who is in the form of his life right now.

Apart from Cilic who he had never played earlier, Nadal has had a telling head-to-head against the other two, especially against Juan Martin, who he had tamed on fast-synthetic and slow-natural surfaces earlier, and who is now reversing the head to head.

He is dropping back on the court instead of stepping in. He is using top-spin to achieve depth and finding that the spin only grips the air during this time of the year, and not the earth. He is running like a rabbit finally losing the point anyway.

He is playing clay-court tennis on hard-courts, which plays especially well to a tall-first striker’s strength if the execution is not absolutely clinical.

For the casual tennis-fan however the most important thing is that he has stopped winning.

Questions are being raised as well as concerns about Rafael’s future. One cannot of course give an answer categorically since there is no real rule that lets one tell what it is that is at play. But it is second nature to us to attempt to find answers where there aren’t any.

For one, Rafa’s programme of conversion to a first-striker got rudely interrupted. He needs to go back and revise those lessons a bit—most importantly to generate depth off pace rather than using spin, and to play with lesser set-up stepping into the court.

The US Hard Court season never has looked good for the Spaniard. It is just that the expectations of the tennis-following populace increased beyond reason after he created such a huge lead at the top in the beginning of the year.

People started assuming that the only reason for his failures in the past had been the blows that his body had acquired over the year. Perhaps we are being too optimistic extrapolating his improvement at the beginning of the year to the end forgetting that the man had taken a break from tennis in the meanwhile.

It seems that he has cut down his body mass resulting in an inability to create depth even when the stroke is riding on spin, and especially on the run. Some point out that Rafa’s on-the-run transition is one of his most important weapons and losing that would do him a lot of harm.

The weight reduction, it has been said, is to ease up the load on his knees. If that is indeed the case, then it might not come back on his body. Or maybe he will cut down on matches rather than weight. In any case, it is not as if only body mass can help you generate depth. He used to depend on that factor earlier, and it needs some getting-used-to since it is a recent change to his physique.

There are also concerns being raised about Rafa giving up too easily. Well, pulling off victories from multiple match-points down is what he is still doing (here he erases 5 MPs for a 2-0 loss against Nicholas Almagro and goes on to win the match, Paris Masters, 2009).

And he is still playing tight and clinging on in the final set of most matches. Probably what appears as passivity is his realization getting reflected in his body-language that he doesn’t have the game, but only the mental toughness currently with him that could possibly take him through.

Perhaps Rafael will re-learn all that he has forgotten this year. Perhaps he will be back on track by time the time for Australian Open, the prospect of a fresh season freshening his belief too. Perhaps a few wins on clay will give him back his momentum.

Or it could also be that his break has given such a big lead to the rest of the competition that he will forever lag the field.

Whatever it is, Rafael’s fans can count on him doing one thing – to keep trying to improve, to keep fighting.

Read more Rafael Nadal news on BleacherReport.com

Djokovic Defeats Nadal in London, Davydenko and Soderling on Tap

Nima Naderi — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:49:06 -0500

Barclays ATP World Tour Final—London

No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic handed No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal his third straight loss of the Tour finale on Friday, defeating the Spaniard 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Djokovic, who desperately needed a win over Nadal to keep his hopes alive of advancing to the weekend's semifinals, prevailed in a back-and-forth opening first set which featured two breaks of serve by both players.

Djokovic began the contest with an early break of serve to lead 3-1. Using his flexible serve and inside-out forehand, the Serb appeared in control of the marquee match up.

Nadal, who had been struggling with his depth of shot throughout the week, gained a measure of control over the match by breaking back to level the set at 4-4.

With both combatants holding serve in routine fashion to force a first set tiebreak, it was Djokovic who jumped to a mini-break lead to capture a 6-2 advantage.

Nadal fought back with purpose to save three set points, only to send a weak forehand wide and handing Djokovic a one set lead.

Nadal's form at the end of the first set was highlighted by seven winners and 20 unforced errors.

Injury woes began to take precedent during the second set for Nadal. Trailing 1-2 on serve, the Spaniard received treatment for a lower back injury.

Adding to the Mallorcan's recent battle with knee and abdominal ailments, it was evident that the mental strain of a long year was catching up with second seed.

Djokovic immediately took advantage of his opponent's injury, breaking and holding serve to lead 4-1.

Nadal clawed his way back to post a respectable three games in the second set, which included saving Djokovic's first match point with a laser-like backhand down-the-line, and the second which featured an off forehand which clipped the right sideline.

The Serb was forced to save a critical break-point with a forehand winner, only to convert his third match point when Nadal sprayed a backhand wide.

With the win, Djokovic improved to 7-3 lifetime against Nadal on hard-courts, while decreasing his head-to-head deficit against the Spaniard to 14-7 lifetime.

Nadal's grueling season is not over by any means. He will travel back to his native Spain in order to prepare for the Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic.

"I am confident [about the Davis Cup final]. I know [it is] going to be a difficult final," expressed Nadal.

"The change on clay, going to be a big change. But that's a big motivation for me, [to] finish the year winning. And I have the opportunity there to play well, to play good tennis on clay and to win, to win something important for my country and for my friends."

Nadal continued to reflect on his week of tennis with optimism during his post match presser.

"[It's not very disappointing]. It's disappointing if you arrive here with the feeling that you have a big chance to win. But I didn't arrive here with that feeling. I know before the tournament that [it was] going to be really tough. But I tried. Every day I tried my best. I think I improved a little bit. But that's tennis. I'm playing against the best players in the world. It wasn't enough on this surface," said Nadal.

Nadal, who currently stands at 399-91 in his career win-loss record, will attempt to become the youngest player in tennis history to capture 400 career wins in less than 500 ATP World Tour matches played.

Djokovic, who is still in the hunt to overtake Nadal's No. 2 ranking this week, will have to wait on the result of tonight's encounter between Nikolay Davydenko and Robin Soderling.

"I think the season that I had this year has taken its toll on me a little bit in this tournament," assessed Djokovic.

"I'm not saying that I should have done some things different. You try to win every match you play. Unfortunately for me, the exhaustion came in the tournament where I should have been the freshest: here. But, still, I managed to get two out of three wins. If I finish today the season, I will be very happy to finish in this way, and just hope to rest well for 2010."

In the event that Davydenko defeats Soderling, the Russian would join the Swede in the semifinal portion of the event.

Soderling currently leads Davydenko 6-3 in career head-to-head meetings, owns a 3-1 record this season.

Soderling, who stands at 2-0 in round robin play, remains the only player left in the field with a chance of capturing the undefeated pot of over $1.5 million, as well as 1500 ATP World Tour ranking points.

Group A action, which wrapped up on Thursday saw, Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro as the two semifinalists.

Federer, who needed to win at least one set against del Potro to advance to the semifinals, achieved his goal on his way to a three set defeat to the Argentine.

Del Potro, who need to defeat Federer in straight sets to assure his semifinal position, barely squeezed into the final four over Andy Murray by winning one more to game over the Scot (45-44).

Del Potro's win became the second straight over his Swiss opponent, adding to his glorious run of capturing his maiden Grand Slam title in New York.

Please check back on Saturday for an semifinal recap from the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London.

Read more Rafael Nadal news on BleacherReport.com

Roger Federer Still Doesn't Like Andy Murray

Darren Wong — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:39:45 -0500

Juan Martin Del Potro defeated Roger Federer today in order to advance to the WTF semifinals, but it wasn't Del Potro who made a statement in this match. It was Federer.

Federer's statement? He still doesn't like Andy Murray.

Sure, the relations between the two seem to have warmed up somewhat from what they were like a few years ago, but that's all for show.

Today, Federer very conveniently lost just enough games in the match to allow Del Potro to advance instead of Murray. Had Federer won a third game in his brilliantly executed 2-6 first set tanking, Murray might still be alive in the tournament.

A brilliant tank-job it was.

Had Federer lost just a few more games, he himself would have been eliminated, but he was more than willing to take that risk for the chance of knocking out his dark nemesis.

Some might argue that there is no way that Federer would try any less than his hardest against the guy who defeated him at the U.S. Open, but it seems to me to have been the perfect strategy.

With this perfectly played match, Federer has killed two birds with one stone. He's taken Murray out of the equation, and sandbagged himself for a finals rematch against Del Potro.

Those of us in the know already understand that the only reason Federer lost at the US Open was to make the tour seem a little bit more interesting.

It's all part of an intricate strategy brilliantly orchestrated by Nadal, Mirka, and Gavin Rossdale. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the cooperation of Federer.

He's been only too happy to sacrifice a few ranking points for the greater evil. In the picture above, you can see Federer's downcast face.

It's not downcast because he's sad. He's looking down to try to hide a smirk of satisfaction.

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Rafael Nadal: Premature to Write Him off

Rajat Jain — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:45:11 -0500

This is not a good time to be a part of the Vamos brigade. Rafael Nadal is still not in the form which had almost made him invincible in the earlier part of the year, boasting only a solitary victory out of his last twelve meetings with a player inside top-ten. He continues to suffer against his nemesis Robin Soderling and is starting to wonder the next time he can win a set against Nikolay Davydenko.

Judgments about Nadal being finished are floating around, the criticism of his playing style is more than ever before and when even a respected writer like Pete Bodo could not resist himself in taking a small dig at the Spaniard, one would start to wonder whether Nadal is really finished?

After all, things do become true when repeated a thousand times over, right?

Anyway, lets temporarily forget this so-called disastrous season for Nadal and go back one year to the start of the 2008 U. S. Open series. Nadal came in to the season after winning the Wimbledon just a month back in arguably the greatest match of all times. He was the undisputed king, riding high on confidence and, even though it would be still a week before he would achieve his No. 1 ranking, he was unofficially crowned that title even by the Master himself.

He met Novak Djokovic in the semis of the Cincinnati Masters who was himself having a troubled time after his early loss at Wimbledon. Here are some highlights from the match which Djokovic easily won 6-1 7-5.

Nadal faced an 'In the Zone' Djokovic on the latter's favorite surface, and really had no answer to the Serb's continual attack. The clip is remarkably similar to his match against Davydenko earlier this week where Nadal struggled throughout.

Nadal was unable to flatten his strokes and any short ball was mercilessly dealt by Djokovic while his topspin was ineffective on asphalt. The confident Djokovic aggressively went for his shots which paid dividends in the end.

We can go on and on analyzing his loss against Davydenko—or rather any loss that Nadal has suffered in the last two months—and we can conclusively find glaring similarities in these losses with the one shown in the above clip.

The crux of the matter is that the season post-Wimbledon has never been the strength of the Spaniard, and even during the greatest year of his career, he was winning matches more due to the momentum and confidence gained from the earlier seasons rather than the artillery at his disposal.

Even in these unfortunate circumstances when Rafa had been battling with physical injuries and family problems, he has shown considerable performances by matching his effort at the Flushing Meadows with last year, and has been consistent enough to reach the semis or finals in the tournaments he played after that.

He may have lost some weight, and power baseliners in Del Potro and Cilic might be ascending rapidly, but it does not mean that he will have no answer to them.

The spring hard court season will be very important for Rafa and he will have more affinity towards the surfaces of Australia, Indian Wells and Miami, while he will thrive in the heat and humidity of these places than at the indoor season where fitness becomes much less a factor.

Nadal has forever been known as a fighter. His ground strokes may have deserted him, his topspin on indoor courts may not spit the same venom as other surfaces, his confidence may be at the lowest, but his will to win is still apparent even when all seems lost. Champions find their way out of misery and the man from Mallorca is a proven champion.

It will be premature to write him off based on his post-injury performances at his least favorite surface.

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Inside London's Dome With The Best Men In Tennis

Marianne Bevis — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:45:44 -0500

London may be cold, grey and storm-ridden. Parts of this wintry country may be submerged in floods from the heaviest rainfall since records began. Yet the purple clouds that hang over one white dome crouched beside the steel-grey Thames prefigure a purple rectangle of delight nestled below. For the best tennis players in the world have lit up the capital like a dose of sunshine. What’s more, the closing finale of the men’s tour is threatening to put the green-and-white brilliance of Wimbledon in the shade. Because amongst the eight elite men competing for the year-end title is a Brit. London is holding its breath in the hope of a home champion.

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Soderling Continues Fine Form in London, Ousts Djokovic in Straight Sets

Nima Naderi — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:13:16 -0500

Barclays ATP World Tour Final—London

Tour finale wildcard Robin Soderling made the best of his status this week in London, defeating No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (5), 6-1 in the round robin portion of the season ending championships.

Soderling, who had ousted No. 2 ranked Rafael Nadal in straight sets on Monday, needed five set points to capture the opening set.

Djokovic, who saved three set points at 4-5, staved off a subsequent set at 6-4 in the tiebreaker with an unreturnable serve.

Serving his first set point of the set on his serve, Soderling blasted a service winner at 6-5 to lead by a set.

Although Soderling's net play was atrocious throughout the two sets, the Swede managed to maintain stellar serving numbers for the match, striking 10 aces, winning 80 percent of his first serve points and 60 percent of his second serve points, during the one hour and 34 minute affair.

After bagging a one set lead, Soderling's confidence hit another gear, while Djokovic's listless body language all but ended his day.

Losing his serve on three of five occasions in the second set, Djokovic appeared resigned from the mental fatigue of not capturing the opening set.

The Serb's recent sublime Tour record had included winning back-to-back titles in Basel, Switzerland and Paris, France, as well as well winning a tough opening round robin match against Nikolay Davydenko.

Djokovic, who is the defending champ of the event, will now have to defeat Nadal in Friday's final round robin contest if he is to advance to the semifinals.

Djokovic is also vying to overtake Nadal's No. 2 position in the world rankings with a deep performance in London.

With the win, Soderling became the first player in the event to clinch a semifinal berth at this year's world tour finals. For his efforts thus far, Soderling has pocketed $240,000 in prize money, while moving up a spot in the world rankings to the No. 8 position.

Tuesday's win improved Soderling's year-to-date record against top 10 opponent's to 6-8, while capturing his first career win over Djokovic in six matches.

The Swede will next face Davydenko on Friday, leading the Russian 6-3 in career head-to-head meetings, and 3-1 on the year.

The night session at the O2 Arena will be highlighted by continued struggles of Spaniard Nadal.

The current world No. 2 will battle Davydenko in a must win encounter.

After falling to Soderling on Monday, Nadal needs to defeat Davydenko in order to remain in contention for the weekend's festivities.

The Mallorcan, who is currently riding a two match losing streak, appears mentally frail for the first time in his career.

Resorting to an exclusive array of defensive shots, Nadal's court positioning and shot selection seem to have drifted away from his once first strike game plan.

Davydenko by contrast, has been in sharp form as of late, winning two indoor titles during his fall campaign, while defeating Nadal in the pair's last meeting in Shanghai, China.

Nadal currently leads Davydenko 4-3 in career meetings, but with the way the Spaniard is playing as of late, don't be surprised if he loses his third tour-level match against the Russian.

Thursday's order of play in London will feature:

Andy Murray vs. Fernando Verdasco (Murray leads 7-1 in head-to-head action), while year-end champ Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin del Potro (Federer leads 6-1 in head-to-head action).

With Tuesday's convincing win over Murray, Federer solidified his No. 1 ranking for the fifth time in his career. The Swiss trails only Pete Sampras, who finished the year ranked No. 1 six times during his illustrious career.

“It means a lot to have returned to No. 1 and to finish the year again at No. 1,” said Federer. “It was an incredible year for me both on the court and off the court and to be able to break the all-time Grand Slam record and finish the year on top is amazing.”

Please check back on Thursday for continuing daily coverage from the Barclays ATP World Tour final in London.

Quotes courtesy of theatpworldtour.com.

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