Vintage Nadal Routs Murray at ATP Finals

November 18, 2015 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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Photo credit: Lee Seidner

Rafael Nadal moved to 2-0 in the Ilie Nastase Group at the ATP World Tour Finals in London, needing just 92 minutes to defeat Andy Murray 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday.

Nadal began his run in London with a straight-set win over Stan Wawrinka in his first-round robin match, and looked every bit as strong in his match against Murray. The Spaniard set up seven break points on Murray’s serve in the opening set, and was the more aggressive player all-match long.

After the two traded breaks midway through the opener, Nadal broke at 5-4 to close out the first set 6-4.

And he carried that momentum into the second set. He broke Murray in the second game and framed it with a couple of holds of serve to build a commanding 3-0 lead.

He would break one more time to go up 5-1, and then wrapped the match up on serve to win 6-4, 6-1 and claim his second straight match in London.

“I think I played well in general,” said Nadal afterwards. “The tactic against Murray is to play very well. He has all the shots so the only way to try to damage him is to play with high intensity and be aggressive. I didn’t think I made that many mistakes. I’m very happy. I’m working hard to play matches like this.”

Nadal has lost just 10 games in his first two matches at the ATP World Tour Finals, and could qualify for the semifinals before his third match depending on the outcome of this afternoon’s match between Wawrinka and David Ferrer.

If Wawrinka wins or Ferrer wins in three sets, Nadal will book his spot in the final four.

At 1-1 in round-robin play, Murray’s hopes of reaching the semifinals are still alive. He will take on Wawrinka in his third and final round-robin match. 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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