Rafael Nadal won his second straight match at the ATP finals, beating Andy Murray 6-4, 6-1 Wednesday to close in on a spot in the semifinals of the season-ending tournament.
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At 2-1 down in the first set of his ATP World Tour finals match against Rafael Nadal, the Scot sat down at the changeover and promptly snipped a bit of his fringe off with a pair of scissors.
In the other group, Roger Federer has already qualified for the semis, while world number one Novak Djokovic needs to beat Tomas Berdych in his last round-robin match on Thursday.
Ferrer seemed to have the upper hand early, testing Wawrinka’s legs in the rallies and forcing a handful of mistakes. “I’ve only played two tournaments in the last six or seven weeks, seven or eight weeks really”. Nadal’s seventh break point was also a set-point – earned with a ferocious cross-court return – and there was to be no let-off as it was converted with a panther’s pounce onto a volley that Murray had no hope of retrieving. “I had a few hair in my eye and I just wanted to get rid of it. That literally took two seconds”, he told reporters, who were obviously curious about his antics. We as an organisation have worked hard to support the Aegon GB Davis Cup Team, with the staging of three fantastic home ties throughout the year, and we couldn’t be prouder that they have reached the final. While Murray was unable to win a Grand Slam this year, his impressive consistency over the last 11 months has brought him to the verge of finishing second in the year-end world rankings for the first time. “That’s not going to be good enough against him when he’s playing that well”.
“I’m excited to play that match”.
The statistics did not make pretty reading for the Scot, who made 29 unforced errors and won just 10 per cent of points on his second serve in the second set.
The Spaniard played one of his best matches of the season, frustrating Murray with superb winners and passing shots throughout the afternoon. “Today I felt free”.
As Nadal resumed his assault in the second set, Murray again fumbled with his serving and a double fault paved the way for another break.
Murray faces a winner-takes-all showdown with French Open champion Wawrinka on Friday after the Swiss ace beat David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2 later in the evening.
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The decision appeared to have the desired effect as he held serve for the first time in the following game, although he would eventually lose the first set 6-4 – and the match (6-4, 6-1).
