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Nadal beats Davydenko, advances to semis against Federer
SHANGHAI—Rafael Nadal rallied to beat Nikolay Davydenko 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
Friday and set up a Masters Cup semifinal against top-ranked Roger
Federer.
Nadal is 6-2 overall against Federer, and the only player in the elite
eight-man draw with a winning record against the Swiss star.
Federer defeated Andy Roddick, defending champion David Nalbandian and
Ivan Ljubicic to finish atop the Red Group in the round-robin stage.
Nadal lost to American James Blake in his opening match and recovered to
beat fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo and No. 3 Davydenko to qualify second
from the Gold Group.
Blake was assured of a top spot in the group before his match later
Friday against No. 6 Robredo. He will play Nalbandian in the semifinals
of the season-ending tournament. It was the first meeting between No. 2
Nadal and No. 3 Davydenko. Nadal has won five titles in six finals in 15
tournaments this year, while Davydenko won five titles in 31 events.
Davydenko ran out of energy in the deciding set against Nadal, as he did
after leading Blake by a set and break before losing. In the first set,
Davydenko controlled from the baseline, using fast, flat ground strokes
to work Nadal from side to side. Davydenko faced the first break points,
needing to fend off three as he rallied from 0-40 to hold in the seventh
game. He held at love in the next game and then broke Nadal in the 12th
game, finishing the first set in 66 minutes on the 20-year-old
Spaniard’s double-fault. Nadal broke Davydenko to open the second set
and evened it at one set apiece.
Nadal needed a medical time out after the second game of the third set
for treatment below his left knee. But it did not appear to hinder him,
closing out the match when Davydenko’s forehand went out.
In doubles matches Friday, second-seeded Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi
finished the Gold Group round-robin stage unbeaten with a 6-3, 7-6 (7)
win over Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjic. Mark Knowles and Daniel
Nestor also advanced 6-3, 6-3 over Poland pair Mariusz Fyrstenberg and
Marcin Matkowski. In the semifinals, Bjorkman-Mirnyi will face Martin
Damm and Leander Paes, while Knowles and Nestor take on Red Group winner
Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett.—Agencies |
