Murray Talks About Beating Nadal In Madrid SF 2016
Murray Talks About Beating Nadal In Madrid SF 2016
May072016
Simona Halep beat Dominika Cibulkova 6-2 6-4 to win the Madrid Open.
The Romanian world number seven, 24, took both her break point opportunities in the first set while Slovakia’s Cibulkova missed all three of hers.
One break was enough in the second set as Halep sealed victory with her third ace after one hour and 20 minutes.
Cibulkova had won three of their four previous encounters but was unable to make an impression on the 24 year old, who has now won 12 WTA Tour titles.
Cibulkova, the world number 38, had spent over four hours longer on court than Halep in reaching the final.
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World No. 2 will go for back-to-back titles
Andy Murray will play for his second consecutive Mutua Madrid Open final on Sunday after beating Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday. The World No. 2, who broke through against Nadal last year in Madrid to win his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title on clay, will play Novak Djokovic or Kei Nishikori and go for his 12th Masters 1000 title.
The Brit controlled play for much of the match with a worldly mix of deep groundstrokes and deceptive drop shots. And when he needed to rely on his booming serve, he could. At 2-4 in the second set, Nadal had two break points to crawl his way back into the match against the No. 2 seed. But Murray climbed out of the hole, hitting a service winner to go up 5-2. The Brit hit eight aces and erased 11 of 13 break points faced during the match.
Nadal looked to be making a comeback again when he broke Murray at 3-5 in the second set. But Murray broke back to advance to Sunday’s final.
The two greats, who practiced together last week in Mallorca, have gone back and forth on clay in recent years. Murray beat Nadal in straight sets at last year’s final in Madrid. But at last month’s Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Nadal got the better of the Brit, coming back from a set down to win. The Spaniard also still leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 17-7.
Defending champion Andy Murray reached the Madrid Open final with a straight-set victory over Rafael Nadal.
British number one Murray beat the nine-time French Open champion 7-5 6-4 in two hours 11 minutes.
The 28-year-old Scot will face either Novak Djokovic or Kei Nishikori in Sunday’s final at Caja Magica.
Murray is looking to hold on to his world number two ranking, which he will lose to Roger Federer unless he retains his title in Madrid.
Murray, who sent down eight aces and saved 11 of 13 break points, said he has been working hard to improve his serve before the French Open, which begins on 22 May.
“I have spoken to a number of coaches, many who work with young players developing technique, to understand such things as different grips, position on the court and the ideal spot to make contact with the serve,” he told Sky Sports.
“You sometimes get bad habits when you are a professional, not as much technical side as the tactical and physical.”
Murray established an early lead in the opening set of the semi-final, earning three break points in Nadal’s second service game and holding his composure to break the Spaniard.
The momentum appeared to swing Nadal’s way when he responded by taking Murray’s serve, but it was the Scot who took the first set with a winning forehand that broke the home favourite for a second time.
World number five Nadal, 29, was looking for a third successive tournament victory following wins in Monte Carlo and Barcelona last month.
But Murray followed his only double fault with an ace at 2-2 to hold in the second set before immediately breaking Nadal.
Nadal repelled a first match point with a break of his own, but Murray did not waste a second opportunity to repeat his victory over the Spaniard 12 months ago.
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British number two Aljaz Bedene is one match away from the main draw of the Italian Open after a 4-6 6-3 6-1 win over Omar Giacalone in qualifying.
The 26-year-old world number 59 will next face either Dusan Lajovic or Kenny de Schepper, who are 70th and 154th respectively in the world rankings.
Britain’s Heather Watson, Naomi Brody and Laura Watson will compete in ladies’ qualifying ‘ later on Saturday.
Andy Murray, seeded second, is likely to be in action in Rome on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old Scot has been granted a bye in the first round and will meet either Borna Coric or a qualifier in the second round.
The Italian Open is the final major ATP World Tour tournament on clay before the French Open, which begins in Paris on 22 May.
ATPWorldTour.com previews Saturday play at the Mutua Madrid Open
SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW: No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal and No. 2 seed Andy Murray will meet on Saturday in a rematch of the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open final and for a spot in the 2016 final. Nadal is on a 13-match winning streak, coming off consecutive clay-court titles at ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo and Barcelona. He is also 7-1 on clay and 17-6 overall against Murray, including a three-set win in Monte-Carlo on April 16. Nadal’s lone clay-court loss to Murray came at the Caja Mágica one year ago, when the Brit was not broken in his 63 62 championship victory.
Murray needs to win his third Madrid title this week in order to remain No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Should Nadal capture his fifth Madrid championship, he would pass Guillermo Vilas with an Open Era-record 50th title on clay and Novak Djokovic with a record 29th ATP Masters 1000 title. Djokovic, however, is still in the hunt for his second Madrid crown, which would break his ATP Masters 1000 title tie with Nadal. The World No. 1 is on a six-match winning streak against his semi-final opponent on Saturday, 2014 Madrid finalist Kei Nishikori. Djokovic has also swept 13 straight matches against other Top 10 players, claiming 29 of 30 sets during that stretch.
In the doubles semi-finals, Nicolas Mahut and Marcelo Melo continue their race for No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings. If Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeat Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, then Melo and Ivan Dodig lose to Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea, Mahut will become the 49th doubles No. 1 on Monday. If the Frenchmen fall on Saturday, Melo will reclaim the No. 1 ranking even if he and Dodig are defeated by the defending champions Bopanna and Mergea. If Mahut and Herbert meet Melo and Dodig for the title on Sunday, the winner will be No. 1.
Mahut and Herbert are on a 15-match winning streak with ATP Masters 1000 titles at Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo. They are bidding to become the first doubles team or singles player to sweep the first four ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in a calendar year. Individually, Mahut is on a 19-match winning streak that includes his Rotterdam championship alongside Vasek Pospisil.
Top seed stays perfect against Canadian
A dominant Novak Djokovic improved to 7-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Milos Raonic with a 6-3, 6-4 quarter-final victory at the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday.
The Serb remains on track to win a record-breaking 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title and will face Kei Nishikori on Saturday. Djokovic has won his past 13 matches against Top 10 players and has only dropped one of 30 sets in that span.
“One of the keys of the match was getting as many returns back in play as possible,” Djokovic said. “I knew that before I stepped on the court that I should not give him too many free points on his serve. That’s where the big servers get a lot of confidence.
“I returned exceptionally well. Every single player, especially big servers, have their patterns when it’s close. But sometimes it’s just instinct. It’s just anticipation, trying to be in the right balance and looking at the toss.”
Raonic, who was broken in his first three matches, only missed three first serves (18/21) in the first set. However, Djokovic neutralised Raonic’s power and converted on the only break point of the opening set to improve to 16-1 in sets against the towering Canadian.
The top-ranked player in the Emirates ATP Rankings reasserted his control over the match early in the second set, breaking Raonic for a second time after the changeover. Raonic raised his level and held three break points as Djokovic served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, but ultimately succumbed in one hour and 44 minutes.