Rafael Nadal wins his Beijing opener in straight sets over Santiago Giraldo on Tuesday. Nadal is joined in the second round by David Ferrer, who held off Vasek Pospisil in a third-set tiebreaker.
(2) Rafael Nadal d. (Q) Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 6-4
Nadal converted five of six break to beat Giraldo in one hour and 29 minutes during first-round action at the China Open on Tuesday afternoon. The second-ranked Spaniard took control with a break at 2-2 in the opening set and he broke again at 4-2 before serving it out. Nadal, still undefeated on hard courts in 2013, served at just 52 percent in the opener and had to save one break point along the way.
Giraldo’s chances all but ended when he was broken to begin the second. The 87th-ranked Colombian, who qualified to get into the main draw, fell behind 5-2 but continued to battle and broke out of just about nowhere to stay alive. Giraldo held for 4-5 only to see Nadal wrap up the proceedings with the match on his racket a second time. Next up for the No. 2 seed is Philipp Kohlschreiber, who survived Albert Montanes in a third-set tiebreaker on Monday.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuYgezKmJjw]
[polldaddy poll=7440279]
(3) David Ferrer d. Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2)
Pospisil lost in a final-set tiebreaker for the fourth time in his last five tournaments after going down to Ferrer in two hours and 10 minutes in Tuesday’s nightcap. The hard-luck Canadian fell in similar fashion in the Montreal semifinals, the Cincinnati second round, and the U.S. Open first round. Pospisil managed to force a decider this time around after playing from behind most of the way. The world No. 40 played his way into a third set by losing only six points in five second-set service games and he constantly served from behind throughout the third but held easily the entire way.
Ferrer appeared to be in especially serious trouble when he fell into a 2-0 hole in the ‘breaker. The fourth-ranked Spaniard, however, got the mini-break back for 1-2 when Pospisil missed a forehand and he came up with a brilliant drop-volley for 2-2. Ferrer ended the match on a streak of seven points in a row. He will go up against Marinko Matosevic for a place in the quarterfinals.
From Rafa’s post match interview answering the question did he think he could surpass Federer’s slam total.
“Here we are, 27 years old, and it’s much more than what I ever dreamed,” said Nadal. “So I’m going to try to keep working hard. If I’m able to do it, if I am able to be healthy and to compete well for the next four years, I am going to try to create opportunities to keep winning in important tournaments.
“If that happens, I will have the chance to keep being at the top. If I am at the top, I will have a chance to win more tournaments. But to overtake Roger is something that nobody did in I don’t know how many years of history. So it’s going to be a big coincidence if that happens in a period of ten years.
“[Whether it happens or not], the only thing I am sure of is when I am going to leave this tour, I am going to be very happy about what I did. I tried everything in every practice, in every match. I gave everything.”
A quintessential Rafa response.
RT @tennis: “BREAKING NEWS: David Nalbandian announces his retirement from tennis; stay tuned for more on http://TENNIS.com“
Really liked Nalby, brilliant in his prime. Inevitable though, long term shoulder injury plus being 30+.
Doesn’t he love fast cars and fast women though….so some consolation awaits…..
Just made “fast women” bit up btw…;)
As a Non-American, totally agree with following tweet:
RT @Ringham7: “Too few Americans realize damage done to image abroad when Congress acts like this. How can US leadership be taken seriously now?”
US is looking more and more like an Empire in decline, am afraid………….Anthony Bourdain’s still cool though!
at least we’re awesome at tennis!
oh wait
^^^Hahaha! You are running a successful tennis website, Ricky, that counts…………..
I could not agree more. For it to come to this in my country, is really shameful.
Chin up, @nny, at least your guys are still clinging to their sense of decorum, no matter how flimsy, something Taiwanese Law-Makers no longer give a flying hoot about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_OD8jDzcHs
Bottoms up……
Empires rise, decline and fall. Inevitable. Unfortunately some Brits are still in severe denial of that fact.
ritb,
Thanks! I wonder if it may come to that! 🙂
glad that Rafa is still holding his amazing HC run
Thanks for the video, Ricky. The picture quality is not great, but it’s fun to hear Chinese commentary. They’re pretty sedate, only commenting: “Nice shot!” with some comments about forehand and backhand. I can do that job! 😀
Thanks for the video, Ricky. I got to see six minutes of highlights from the match.
On vb, someone uploaded the youtube video of the entire match. I wasn’t up to watching the whole thing right now.
All I can do is wish Rafa good luck in his match with Kohls. By the time I get up, it will be over.