Novak Djokovic recovered from quadruple match point down and fought off five match points in total before outlasting Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-3 in the semifinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Friday night. Djokovic trailed 6-2 in the second-set tiebreaker only to storm back and triumph after two hours and 22 minutes.
The second-ranked Serb also trailed by a set and a break, thus giving Verdasco a chance to seal the deal even before a tiebreaker in the middle frame became necessary. But the 42nd-ranked Spaniard could not maintain his advantage and it all came unraveling for him once he reached the finish line.
Djokovic finished with 28 unforced errors, exactly half of Verdasco’s total. The No. 2 seed committed a mere one error in the third set.
“Can’t describe it with one word,” Djokovic said of his comeback win. “Tough luck for Fernando. He was clearly a better player for a bigger part of this match. He should have won this match. It was just unfortunate; great effort for him. He had some mid-court forehands (on the match points). He should have finished it off; he didn’t.
“It’s definitely one of the most exciting matches I’ve played. I don’t think I’ve saved five match points in my life too many times.”
Djokovic-Verdasco highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oQ5oAI6O-s
Fellow all-time great Rafael Nadal was not as fortunate at the Brisbane International, where he fell to defending champion Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in quarterfinal competition. Raonic blasted 23 aces and saved six of seven break points to advance in two hours and 20 minutes.
“I played very well; I did a lot of very good things,” Raonic assessed. “I obviously served well…. I started creating opportunities. I was dictating, which wasn’t necessarily the case at the beginning.”
“Matches are decided by just a few things,” Nadal explained. “Probably if I make that cross-court forehand passing shot (on a break point), I would’ve had the break in the second set. There’s a big chance that we will be [in the interview room] one hour before with a victory, maybe 6-4, 6-3, or 6-4, 6-4. That’s tennis. That passing shot was long, and that’s it. Then he had the break and the match changes.
“Before he had the break in the second set, I think I was playing better than him. That’s my feeling. And I think that’s the real feeling. I was being better than him on court, and after that he was better than me…. I had a big chance; I didn’t convert that chance. And then he was aggressive and he played well.”
Raonic-Nadal highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6e6de6baeI
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