Nadal beats Roddick to light up London

Written by: Staff on 22nd November 2010

TENNIS: US Open-Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic

Nadal beats Roddick to light up London

Sept. 13, 2010; Flushing, NY, USA; Rafael Nadal (ESP) on day 15 of the 2010 US Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-US PRESSWIRE |

A tournament as well-presented as the ATP World Tour Finals in London deserves at least one firecracker of a match. Whatever else happens this week, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick gave the tournament just that on Monday night, with Nadal somehow fending off a swashbuckling Roddick to win 3-6 7-6 6-4.

Roddick probably still wishes it was as dull as the khaki-coloured Thames and when the American led by a set and a break, a straight sets win appeared to be in the offing. Nobody, least of all Roddick, should have been surprised that the Spaniard chose to ignore the creeping end-of-season tiredness he is evidently feeling and dig in. Nadal, who had never previously won a set at the 02 Arena fashioned a win from perspiration and inspiration to take second spot in Group A, behind the day’s other winner Novak Djokovic.

Roddick has qualified for the season finale eight years in a row and even though a string of injuries meant that he left qualification a little later than usual this year, his presence in London is as much a benefit to the tournament as it is to the player. Roddick’s exploits at Wimbledon down the years, and the good value his wit offers in interviews, has earned him plenty of fans in the UK. This was not quite like the 2009 Wimbledon final he lost to Roger Federer – let’s not get carried away – but Roddick must still be a little tired of being cast as the plucky loser in front of British crowds.

Nadal praised Roddick afterwards, for he knew he had been given a torrid time of it. It took lots of gumption to beat the American but it also took some touches of magic that Nadal often provides and seldom gets credit for in the rush to celebrate his more obdurate qualities. One was when, having retrieved a break of serve in the second set, he then found a searing return of serve at three-all in the tiebreaker. From then on well educated crowd worried for Roddick, who was eventually just worn down by an ever more energised Nadal.

“Finally I won a match here! Last year was tough for me and this year I started the match a little bit nervous and without rhythm,” said the Spaniard. “Andy is always aggressive and with his serve and that was very tough but then I got to play a little bit better. He plays at the back of the court then he comes to the net and he does that very well. Right now I’m very happy that I won the first match.”

Nadal now plays Djokovic on Wednesday evening, with Roddick up against Tomas Berdych in the other Group A encounter, which will be a straight battle for survival for both men. The mathematics can get a little complicated in the round robin format but whoever wins out of Nadal and Djokovic will be as good as qualified for the semi-finals.

It took just an hour and 28 minutes for Djokovic to dispel any doubts over whether his mind is already on helping Serbia host its first ever Davis Cup final, against France in Belgrade 3 – 5 December. He could be forgiven for bucking the trend in sports by prioritising his national team over individual glory but as he showed by brushing aside a lacklustre Berdych 6-3, 6-3 in under an hour and a half, Djokovic is living very much in the present.

For what it’s worth at this very early stage of the event, Djokovic tops Group A, with Nadal behind him and Roddick and Berdych in spots three and four. Group B, meanwhile, has already begun to take shape thanks to the wins of Andy Murray and Roger Federer on Sunday, over Robin Soderling and David Ferrer respectively. Murray and Federer meet on Tuesday afternoon, with Ferrer and Soderling both needing to win their evening session match.

To have assumed that Djokovic might be distracted this week did a disservice both to the Serbian and to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to give this most sparkling of year-end showdowns its proper title. The event formerly known as the Masters Cup has had its ups and downs (the downs coming mostly during its miserable residency in Houston 2003 – 2004) but it has found a welcoming home in London. Crowds, even for the doubles, have been strong with Londoners apparently both engaged in and educated about what they are seeing.

It certainly helps that the field of players is so strong and that Murray qualified to ensure home interest, but credit must also go to Tournament Director Chris Kermode and his team and to everyone at the 02 Arena, a venue which adapts happily to showing tennis in its best possible light. Londoners have no shortage of entertainment options and the city is bursting at the seams with sport, yet Britain’s capital will be very sad to see this event go when the ATP moves it on.

Djokovic and Berdych, it must be said, did not exactly set the place alight with excitement with their match but Djokovic does not have to play well to entertain and his celebration was typical exuberant. After a stand-out Wimbledon, Berdych, too, deserved the cheers he got from the British crowd. The problem for Berdych is that he has won very little since that dazzling summer run, and came to London in a fog of poor form which showed no signs of lifting on a chilly, misty afternoon in East London.

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Read about former World No.1 Carlos Moya’s emotional farewell on Sunday

Topics: 02 Arena, American Tennis, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Atp World Tour, Crowds, David Ferrer, Davis Cup, Director Chris, Entertainment Options, Exploits, Firecracker, Grand Slam, Grand Slam Champion, Gumption, Home Interest, Kermode, Lacklustre, Match, Monday Night, Novak Djokovic, Perspiration, Possible Light, Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling, Roger Federer, Season Finale, Shape Thanks, Spaniard, Straight Sets, Tiebreaker, Tiredness, Tomas Berdych, Torrid Time, Tournament Director, Ups, Ups And Downs, Wimbledon, Win 3