Rafael Nadal, the number 2 tennis player in the world, came away from the third-round of play at the Sony Ericsson Open victorious over David Nalbandian in a hard-won 6-7 (8), 6-2, 6-2. He's made it to the final after 10 months without a tournament win. He's seeded 4th in this tournament and may be on track to play against the current #1, Roger Federer because second seed Novak Djokovic and third seed Andy Murray were both eliminated in their first matches of the tourney.
He could be up against 5th seed Andy Roddick who made it to the finals after defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-2, 6-1 in less than an hour. But as to who Nadal will actually face in the final, he doesn't care but is instead pleased to get there. Many hope for a showdown against Nadal and Federer, the world #2 and #1, who haven't played against each other since May of 2008.
Nadal had to rally to defeat Nalbandian because in the beginning of play the latter player simply performed better. This is a player who's defeated the world #1 Federer 8 different times and had been among the top 5 players in the world. Hip surgery sidelines him for a while, but now he's back and didn't make it easy for Nadal to advance. The first set lasted over an hour, and a double-fault with an off-the-mark serve left doubt whether Nadal could make it. That serve which was six feet off base set the first match at 5-all. Nadal set point, then lost the 3 last points.
After that, however, Nadal kept his serve up and Nalbandian began making unforced errors. Nadal has also had problems with his knees and is looking forward to playing on more clay courts when the American hardcourt play is over, where he excels--he's won the French Open four times--and has fewer knee problems because of the softer surface. His most recent almost-win came at Indian Wells earlier in March where he was eliminated in the semi-finals by Ivan Ljubicic. Previous attempts at Key Biscayne had him end as runner-up twice, in 2005 and again in 2008.
Nadal's next opponent will be David Ferrer who recently defeated Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (5), 6-3. Thomaz Bellucci will also advance, as will Juan Carlos Ferrero who recently defeated John Isner. In the women's matches, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters have both advanced to the 4th round. Both women are known for their comebacks after time away from the sport. Last year's winner, Victoria Azarenka, and second seed Caroline Wozniacki have also advanced.
Henin is unseeded in this tournament and Clijsters is seeded 14th. Clijsters eliminated Shahar Peer 6-0, 6-1 in a short 51 minutes. Wozniacki was trailing, held back by a virus which has made her ill and dizzy and had to stop 5 games in to be checked by a trainer before she could resume play. She defeated Maria Kirilenko 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Photo Credits: mirsasha
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