World No. 2 Andy Murray was defeated by Rafael Nadal in their second group match at the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena here on Wednesday.
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An very bad service game from Murray allowed Nadal a quick break in the second set and the Mallorcan needed no second invitation to stomp towards victory.
In the second set, Murray made 16 unforced errors to Nadal’s three and won just 10 per cent of the points on his second serve as the Spaniard raced away with the match.
If Murray wins, he is into the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals and retains his world No2 ranking going into the Australian Open in January.
Wawrinka, a man who participated in this event 12 months back before going on to win the Davis Cup alongside Roger Federer for Switzerland, said he wasn’t sure whether the World No 2 might also be a little pre-occupied with the imminent team tennis final against the Belgians. Many little things, as I said, that were not good today. “Was not at the right time to know that”, Nadal said before praising Murray’s ingenuity with the scissors.
“Like I said, from the middle till the end of the second set he played extremely well”. He’s number two this year, he’s had an wonderful year. But it does not necessarily mean tournament over, for Murray will still probably advance to the last four with a defeat of Wawrinka on Friday.
“When I don’t think about how to hit the ball, but when I think just about where to hit the ball, that’s good news”.
“Obviously I lost comfortably to Rafa today and I could play him in a couple days’ time and it could be a different story”.
Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion, is yet to win this prestigious title.
On Nadal’s upturn in form, Djokovic added: “He’s been raising his level ever since the US Open, I think”. Nadal took advantage of the off-rhythm Murray and won 36 percent (8 of 22) of his first serves and 66 percent (19 of 29) in his second serves.
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The tenacious returner was unable make inroads on the Dimitrov serve in the opening set, but went five-for-10 on break points the rest of the way to secure his fifth win over the Bulgarian (5-1). “That helps to try to start next year in better shape”. Although the Spanish player faced some difficulties earlier this year, all the players go through such difficulties.
