After beating Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal completed a hat-trick of wins at the ATP World Tour Finals against David Ferrer.
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Nadal would break again to serve for the match at 6-5, but again Ferrer responded superbly, succeeding on his fifth break point opportunity of the game to get it back to 6-6. But the Spanish sensation, at 5.50, will take a few comfort from the fact that he has won 15 of his last 19 matches since a disappointing US Open campaign.
The pair each saw off break point chances in the opening four games of the match during a tight opening; the precursor to a thrilling opening set.
With Wawrinka’s form rising Murray struggled to stay in the match and finally yielded.
The sixth game showcased the all-round backhand power of Wawrinka, first a victor down the line, then one crosscourt for a love hold, 4-2. He will be joined by World No. 7 David Ferrer, former World No. 4 Tim Henman, and rising Briton Kyle Edmund in a six-man field for the event, which sees all matches settled on a first-to-10 tie-break. The set remained on serve until 4-4, when Nadal came through with the crucial break, and proceeded to serve out the set to move to 3-0 in London.
While trying reach t another huge cross court shot from Wawrinka, Murray wriggled, giving a fright to the home crowd.
It was typical of Nadal’s honesty that he put everything into a match yesterday that had nothing riding on it other than ranking points and additional prize money.
Wawrinka took his second match point to close out the ill-tempered match in one hour and 54 minutes. “It’s a big chance to be in the top eight at the end of the year”. Nadal leads Djokovic 23-22 in their career head to head, while Federer has won 17 of his 20 meetings with Wawrinka.
The added complication for Murray is he wants to be in prime shape for next weekend’s Davis Cup final on clay in Belgium and Wawrinka, who was in a similar position previous year, feels that could be a factor. But was Nadal concerned that putting in such effort would tire him for semi-final tomorrow?
Federer was already assured of a 13th semifinal spot in 14 years at the season finale, so it was perhaps only natural his level would drop off as he squeaked past an inspired Kei Nishikori 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in a match full of twists and turns.
Wawrinka also admitted the dynamic between himself and Federer has altered since he became a grand slam champion at the 2014 Australian Open. “I hope that’s how all of the players view it”. But Nadal would not be beaten, breaking in the ninth game to serve out the win, 6-4. This is their first ATP World Tour Finals meeting since “Mirka Gate” at last year’s Tour Finals where Wawrinka blew a late lead in the semifinals.
Murray gamely broke back once and almost twice – smashing his racket on the ground at the disappointment of missing out.
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Andy Murray: “Normally first set is important”. He had wins over Nadal, Federer, Kei Nishikori and Djokovic this season, but he and Murray had not met for a surprisingly long time.
