NOVAK DJOKOVIC SAVES QUADRUPLE MATCH POINTS TO BEAT FERNANDO VERDASCO IN DOHA, RAFA NADAL GOES DOWN TO MILOS RAONIC IN BRISBANE

Written by: Staff on 6th January 2017

Brisbane International Tennis Tournament

NOVAK DJOKOVIC SAVES QUADRUPLE MATCH POINTS TO BEAT FERNANDO VERDASCO IN DOHA, RAFA NADAL GOES DOWN TO MILOS RAONIC IN BRISBANE

epa05701064 Rafael Nadal of Spain waves to the crowd as he departs the court following his defeat to to Milos Raonic of Canada in a quarterfinal match at the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament in Brisbane, Australia, 06 January 2017. EPA/DAVE HUNT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

By Ricky Dimon

Novak Djokovic snatched victory from the jaws of defeating, fighting back from quadruple match point down against Fernando Verdasco on Friday night at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. Djokovic saved five match points in total before prevailing 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-3 in in a semifinal thriller that lasted two hours and 22 minutes. Verdasco led 6-2 in the second-set tiebreaker but could not get the job done.

Djokovic also trailed by a set and a break, thus giving the Spaniard a chance to seal the deal even before a second-set tiebreaker became necessary. But Verdasco failed to maintain his advantage and it all came unraveling for him once he neared the finish line.

The second-ranked Serb finished with 28 unforced errors, exactly half of Verdasco’s count. He committed only one error in the entire third set.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Fernando Verdasco of Spain during their semi-final match of the Qatar Open tennis tournament at the Khalifa Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, 06 January 2017. EPA/NOUSHAD THEKKAYIL

“Can’t describe it with one word,” Djokovic said of his come-from-behind victory. “Tough luck for Fernando. He was clearly a better player for a bigger part of this match. He should have won this match. It was just unfortunate; great effort for him. He had some mid-court forehands (on the match points). He should have finished it off; he didn’t.

“It’s definitely one of the most exciting matches I’ve played. I don’t think I’ve saved five match points in my life too many times.”

Rafael Nadal was not as fortunate at the Brisbane International, where he succumbed to defending champion and two-time finalist Milos Raonic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Raonic crushed 23 aces and fought off six of seven break points to prevail in two hours and 20 minutes.

“I played very well; I did a lot of very good things,” Raonic noted. “I obviously served well…. I started creating opportunities. I was dictating, which wasn’t necessarily the case at the beginning.”

“Matches are decided by just a few things,” Nadal added. “Probably if I make that cross-court forehand passing shot (on a break point), I would’ve had the break in the second set. There’s a big chance that we will be [in the interview room] one hour before with a victory, maybe 6-4, 6-3, or 6-4, 6-4. That’s tennis. That passing shot was long, and that’s it. Then he had the break and the match changes.

“Before he had the break in the second set, I think I was playing better than him. That’s my feeling. And I think that’s the real feeling. I was being better than him on court, and after that he was better than me…. I had a big chance; I didn’t convert that chance. And then he was aggressive and he played well.”