RICKY DIMON SHARES CINCY TENNIS ALSO KNOW AS THE WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN OBSERVATIONS

Written by: Staff on 20th August 2015

RICKY DIMON SHARES CINCY TENNIS ALSO KNOW AS THE WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN OBSERVATIONS

epa04890842 Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Feliciano Lopez of Spain during their third round match in the Western and Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, USA, 20 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Feliciano Lopez of Spain during their third round match in the Western and Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, USA, 20 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

Nadal loses but gets top 8 seed in New York, Federer cruises in Cincinnati

By Ricky Dimon

Feliciano Lopez sent Rafael Nadal packing early from the Western & Southern Open with a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(3) third-round upset on Thursday night. Lopez fired 14 aces before prevailing in two hours and 24 minutes.

After getting broken three times in the first set, the underdog completely turned things around. He saved the only break point he faced in the second and did not face a single break point in the decider.

Neither Spaniard had any trouble holding serve throughout the third, but the tiebreaker was all Lopez. The 33-year-old took it to Nadal with aggressive tactics and closed things out in appropriate fashion at 6-3–with one last ace.

Feliciano Lopez of Spain in action against Rafael Nadal of Spain in the third set tie-breaker of their third round match in the Western and Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, USA, 20 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

“I played well today,” Nadal assessed. “I didn’t play a bad match at all. I think Feli played great. I played against an opponent [who] played a fantastic match. He played [his] best match ever against me, without a doubt.”

The world No. 8 had another reason to be somewhat content with his day at the office. By virtue of Marin Cilic’s loss to Richard Gasquet a few hours earlier, Nadal clinched the eighth seed for the U.S. Open.

While Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray toiled through three-setters on Thursday (Djokovic and Murray managed to score come-from-behind victories), Federer had no such issues. The 33-year-old Swiss slaughtered Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-1 in a mere 55 minutes

“I think the first break always gives you a bit of a boost,” Federer explained. “It was important to keep it up with my serving and I did that very well tonight. It was a rock-solid performance. I didn’t expect this kind of result, of course.”

Next up for the defending champion is Lopez. Djokovic will face Stan Wawrinka in Friday’s quarterfinals, while Murray and Gasquet are set to do battle.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Cincy Tennis, Feliciano Lopez, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Sports, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News, Western and Southern Open

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10sBalls_com says:

August 20, 2015 at 9:30 pm

-@Dimonator SHARES @CincyTennis ALSO KNOW AS THE WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN OBSERVATIONS- http://t.co/HIG1ZShqWv #Cincinnati #CincyTennis #ATP