ATP World Tour No. 1 Rafael Nadal took one step closer to winning his first Sony Ericsson Open title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over GUTSY Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil on Monday to reach the fourth round of the second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament of the season.
Nadal's 23rd victory of the season (23-2) was far from straightforward for the Spaniard. The Mallorca native had an early 3-1 advantage cut as Gil ralled to win three straight games and lead 4-3. Gil was just two points away from the set when he lead 15-30 on Nadal’s serve at 4-5, but the left-hander’s resilience told as he held serve before breaking in the 12th game and closing out a 7-5 first set.
Gil, who toppled No. 26 seed Ivo Karlovic in the second round, surprised the Stadium crowd as he etched out a 2-0 lead in the second set. However, Nadal hit back to win six of the next seven games to close out Gil’s challenge after one hour and 35 minutes.
Nadal's 23rd victory of the season (23-2) was far from straightforward for the Spaniard. The Mallorca native had an early 3-1 advantage cut as Gil ralled to win three straight games and lead 4-3. Gil was just two points away from the set when he lead 15-30 on Nadal’s serve at 4-5, but the left-hander’s resilience told as he held serve before breaking in the 12th game and closing out a 7-5 first set.
Gil, who toppled No. 26 seed Ivo Karlovic in the second round, surprised the Stadium crowd as he etched out a 2-0 lead in the second set. However, Nadal hit back to win six of the next seven games to close out Gil’s challenge after one hour and 35 minutes.
Extrraido do site da Associação de Tenistas Profissionais (ATP).
2 comentários:
Até onde pode o Frederico ir, Duarte? Melhores 50? Melhores 20? Ou, aquilo que seria um sonho para Portugal, melhores 10?
Abraço.
Viva Diogo! Se o Fred entrar no Top 50 será muito bom... Optimo diria eu... Penso que já é um excelente exemplo de até onde se pode ir e sem dúvida um excelente dinamo em termos de motivação para a geração que agora começa. A questão é que o Fred "já" tem 24 anos e não tem nenhum titulo. O Nadal tem 22 anos, 30 titulos,e vais ver que, posso estar enganado ,mas daqui a dois anos o fisico vai lhe começar a dar problemas, porque quando começou, o acompanhamento fisico não é o que era hoje, e ele vai ressentir-se disso. Lembras-te do Guga (Gustavo Kuerten)? Deram-lhe cabo do fisico! O Ténis hoje em dia é muito fisico, é preciso muita preparação para suportar a variação de flancos e de ritmo de jogo... De Qualquer forma PARABENS Frederico, nunca nenhum Português chegou tão longe!
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