TopSpin: May 2013

Saturday 11 May 2013

Rafael Nadal reaches to 7th straight Finale at Mutua Madrid Open 2013

The 11-time grand slam winner posted a 6-0 6-4 result to reach his seventh final in as many tournaments this year.

Nadal ran away with the opening set against Andujar, winning 88 per cent of his first serves in a one-sided contest.

Andujar settled better in the second set, improving his service game and carving out three break point opportunities but without being able to capitalise.

That proved costly and Nadal gained the crucial break in game eight when Andujar hit a weak forehand into the net.

That left the fifth seed serving for the match and he wrapped things up after one hour and 17 minutes with an unreturnable crosscourt forehand.

Nadal is bidding to win his third Madrid title and will face either Stanislas Wawrinka or Tomas Berdych in tomorrow's showpiece.

In the women's tournament, the top two seeds will meet in what is set to be an intriguing final after Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova came through their respective semis in straight sets.

Williams, the world number one, beat Sara Errani 7-5 6-2 and will be aiming to lift her 50th WTA title tomorrow.

The American twice fought back from a break down to win a closely contested opening set before dominating the second to see off the seventh-seeded Italian.

It will be Williams first final on clay since 2002 and overall she was satisfied with today's performance.

''I guess I'm a little happy,'' she told www.stator.com.

''I feel that I played solid. In the second set more than the first I made less errors, which was something that I really needed to do today.''

Second seed Sharapova was a 6-4 6-3 winner over Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, edging a tight first set and then coming back from a break down in the second.

The Russian has a poor record against Williams, winning just two of their 14 encounters and with her last victory over the American back in 2004.

However, Sharapova is up for the challenge and said: ''It's always tough against her.

''I haven't had a win against her in a long time, but the great thing is I'm setting myself up in a position where I can try to change that around.''

Source

Thursday 9 May 2013

Maria Sharapova through to Mutua Madrid Open 2013 Quarter-finals

Maria Sharapova saves 2 set points to def Sabine Lisicki 62 75 for a Mutua Madrid Open QF

berth, that's 19 straight on clay

Rafael Nadal cruised into the quarter-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open 2013

Rafael Nadal cruised into the quarter-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open with a commanding 6-2 6-3 victory over Russia's Mikhail Youzhny.

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos and Atletico Madrid star Radamel Falcao were in the Manolo Santana crowd to watch the 26-year-old win through to the quarter-final, as Nadal made light work of the opening set.

World No. 5 Nadal took a one-set lead in just over 30 minutes in the Madrid humidity, settling the quicker of the two.
Despite both players holding their opening service games in the second, Youzhny squandered saving two break points with a double fault to allow Nadal an early advantage.

The Russian earned his first break point 48 minutes into the match, but Nadal rallied to save and hold. With Nadal set to break again, a fortuitous error from the line judge gave world No. 31 Youzhny a chance to save; this time he took full advantage to reduce the deficit.

The momentum shifted Youzhny's way as he forced Nadal into an unforced net error to level, but Nadal responded with an immediate break back.

Nadal held to move within one game of victory, meaning that Youzhny was serving to stay in the match. An untimely double fault from the Russian gave Nadal the foothold, and the Spaniard did not disappoint as he worked his way to gain two match points.

And Nadal finished in style, rushing to the net to clip the ball back over cross-court for the win, setting up a quarter-final with either Tommy Haas or David Ferrer.

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