And obviously is an important victory for me and important day. That literally took two seconds.
Advertisement
Those of us with longer locks know the struggle, but while most would distractedly play on, Murray made a decision to do something about it. “I cannot think about that, seriously”. It’s always hard to play David and I’m really happy.
“My game start to feel better out there”, said Wawrinka, who finished with three aces and won 67 per cent (20 of 30) of his first-serve points.
“This year, I’ve been anxious about how to hit the ball, not to miss, rather than hit the ball where I can damage the opponent”.
“I probably should have put one back through him, but that’s tennis, and unfortunately it happens”. So I don’t see it as an issue, just very good preparation.
That result means Nadal has won the group following his 6-4 6-1 victory over Murray earlier, and the victor of the clash between the Scot and Wawrinka on Friday will qualify for the last four in second place.
Predictably the Belgians are preparing a slow indoor claycourt to try and blunt the world number two, whereas the court inside London’s O2 Arena is a medium-paced blue hardcourt that requires different shots and movement. It was a poor game from the Spaniard but he quickly recovered and showed his growing confidence is well placed.
On paper, things have not improved that much but, although he will end the season without a grand slam title for the first time in a decade, Nadal is feeling very differently about his game these days. His ATP ranking has also fallen down to the fifth spot, however, the second-ranked Murray was easily beaten by the “King of Clay”.
Murray and Australian Peers took on defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan in a straight shoot-out for a place in the semi-finals and looked poised for victory at 9-5 in the first-to-10 deciding match tie-break.
Both players averaged 74 miles per hour (mph) off their forehand side, with Murray’s backhand averaging 69 mph to Nadal’s 67 mph.
“Just another step for me [to] be able to play at that level against such a great player is good news”, Nadal said. “Yeah, also I didn’t help myself out there today”.
For Nadal, his play so far at the tournament has been a continuation of his late season improvement during a year in which he has lost 19 times, a relatively staggering number for him.
Advertisement
Throughout the match Nadal overshadowed the Scotsman, and during the changeover the world number two decided he’d had enough, taking the initiative to find scissors in his bag and cut off his bothersome fringe.
