It means Nadal wins Group Ilie Nastase after he overcame Murray earlier, and the victor of the clash between the Scot and Wawrinka on Friday will qualify for the last four in second place.
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Nadal, beset by problems during the worst year of his career, at one stage slumped to 10th in the world – his lowest position since 2005.
The powerful topspin forehand, the signature shot which propelled him to 14 grand slam titles and made him virtually unplayable on clay, was deserting him at crucial moments.
On the other hand, Nadal, whose path for the semi-finals was cleared after Wawrinka defeated David Ferrer later that day was happy with the victory. He’s a tough guy to play against for that reason.
“But it is just the beginning”. “Happy for that. I just want to try to keep working the same way to keep confirming that I am in the completely right direction”.
“I feel free”, he said. “I was enjoying on court”.
Nadal only needed to hold serve from there, but he went one better, claiming another break to close out the suprisingly straightforward victory over a by-now despondent Murray in 93 minutes.
The world No. 2 produced a pair of scissors from his bag and gave his fringe an impromptu trim three games into the match and confirmed later it had been getting in his eyes.
“That literally took two seconds”.
Spain’s David Ferrer serves the ball to Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka during a men’s singl … However, Nadal has won their only previous encounter at the O2 Arena, winning 6-3 6-2 at this stage in 2013.
Nadal, back at the Tour Finals after missing out a year ago because of appendicitis surgery, dropped his opening service game to love but then broke Wawrinka’s as the first nine points all went the way of the receiver.
Murray ended up landing only 43 percent of his first serves, and only 38 percent in the second set.
And historically, that is enough for Rafa to beat just about anyone.
The Spaniard was still not satisfied with his lead, breaking the Murray serve and his remaining resolve to open a commanding 5-1 advantage. He will play against Stan Wawrinka in his final round-robin match of the group on Friday.
This was the first time Nadal had beaten a player ranked in the top two since the French Open past year.
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“We know we’re going to go on the court and the victor will be in the semi-finals”, Wawrinka said. Japan’s Kei Nishikori could join Federer in the semis if he beats the Swiss great.
