Archive for the 'Rafael Nadal' Category

Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia upset second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Indian Wells final Saturday to win her first title in five years (6-3, 6-4). Hantuchova was seeded 14th, which happened to be the number of unforced errors she made that day. She will rise to number 12 in the world rankings today.

There’s something special about this place. I love it…I was just so confident from the first point, and I didn’t really think about the score. I just went out there and tried to play my game and really just enjoyed every moment on the court. Maybe this time I was much more confident, because I had so many matches this week already behind me already. Mentally, I was just not going to let it go, and I was ready to take whatever it takes to get through this one today.”
– Daniela Hantuchova

In the men’s finals at Indian Wells, Spaniard Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in just two sets on Sunday (6-2, 7-5). This was his first win since Roland Garros last June. For a record 86 consecutive weeks, Nadal has been ranked No. 2 in the world.

It was a very great week for me, a very, very important week. I have (gone) eight months without any title, but I came back with a big one. Sometimes you’re a little luckier, a little bit more confident. But, well, I wasn’t a disaster in those eight months.”
– Rafael Nadal

Men’s semifinals at Indian Wells features a clash between Spaniard Rafael Nadal and American Andy Roddick–hot, hot, hot!! Second seed Nadal made short work of Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in the quarterfinals (7-5, 7-5). Third seed Roddick beat Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia in two tough sets that went to tie break (7-6 (7), 7-6 (8)).

I was excited because I was playing the way I wanted to in the breakers. I kept going forward. I won some points. I lost some points. I hit a new little chip short one, that won me a couple points. I was happy with that. I thought all in all, I gave myself a chance to win and eventually was able to do it.”
– Andy Roddick

The other side of the men’s bracket will be Novak Djokovic (12) of Serbia against either Andy Murray (13) of Scotland or Tommy Haas (9) of Germany.

In women’s semifinal action at Indian Wells, second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia defeated 33rd seed Sybille Bammer of Austria (6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1). Daniela Hantuchova, seeded 14th and hailing from Slovakia, overcame Na Li of China who was seeded 12th (7-5, 4-6, 6-1). Hantuchova and Kuznetsova battle tomorrow to see who will wear the ladies’ crown at Indian Wells in 2007.

Rafael Nadal advanced to the third round, though he seemed to struggle a bit before defeating German Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in yesterday’s final match. Nadal was hit hard twice by backhands at the net during play, one shot actually sent him sprawling. Nadal claimed that he felt Kohlschreiber aimed to hit him the second time. The match lasted over three and a half hours.

Men’s third round matches to watch include Roger Federer vs. Mikhail Youzhny, Andy Roddick vs. Marat Safin, Rafael Nadal vs. Stanislas Wawrinka, James Blake vs. Robby Ginepri, Nikolay Davydenko vs. Fabrice Santoro, and Mardy Fish vs. Wayne Arthurs.

Rafael Nadal beat out Nikolay Davydenko 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on Friday to make it to the Masters Cup Semifinals in Shanghai.

Nadal will now face Federer whom he has beaten this year, but on outdoor courts. The Masters Cup is played on an indoor court, where Nadal is not as comfortable. Federer, on the other hand, seems to like any surface, indoor or outdoor. Federer looks past the surface and the arena and just looks to play his best tennis.

It will be a grueling match nonetheless.

technorati tags:Rafael, Nadal, Tennis, Federer, Match

Here’s a great little montage of Rafael Nadal clips that we found via youtube today. Enjoy the video embedded below.