Rafa roams in Rome

Rafael Nadal won his 30th consecutive match on clay today and his 16th consecutive win this year to Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard didn't disappoint the crowd today as he won the first set 76(2) after failing to win it at 5-4 on serve. The second set saw Djokovic drop his momentum and Nadal took control of the situation in superb form as he captured his 15th Masters shield, just 2 behind now retired Andre Agassi who has 17 of them.

Djokovic will drop to fourth in the world on May 11 and Andy Murray will take over the third place in the rankings.

Results for May 2, 2009

Saturday, 2 May, 2009

Singles - Semi-finals
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [12] F Gonzalez (CHI) 63 63
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) d [2] R Federer (SUI) 46 63 63

Doubles - Semi-finals
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d [5] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM) 61 36 10-7 
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) 64 67(6) 10-8

Nadal and Djokovic set up showdown

Rafael Nadal put his streak at 29 matches won in a row on clay today as he defeated Fernando Gonzalez. Nadal didn't have any trouble defeating Gonzalez this time and did it with a score of 63 63.

Novak Djokovic played the most exciting match of today as he faced Roger Federer. Federer made his statement for the first part of the match as he took the first set 64. The crowd was pretty sure that Federer would make it to the final, but Novak stepped up to the test to defeat Federer with a final score of 46 63 63.

If Djokovic loses to Nadal tomorrow, Andy Murray will become the new number three in the world.

A lot at stake for Novak tomorrow, but if he will be aggressive, he probably might win.

Results for May 1, 2009

Friday, May 1, 2009

Singles - Quarter-finals
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [6] F Verdasco (ESP) 63 63
[2] R Federer (SUI) d [Q] M Zverev (GER) 76(3) 62 
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) [5] d J Del Potro (ARG) 63 64
[12] F Gonzalez (CHI) d [Q] J Monaco (ARG) 26 63 64 

Doubles - Quarter-finals
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d [7] M Mirnyi (BLR) / A Ram (ISR) 46 64 11-9
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [8] J Coetzee (RSA) / J Kerr (AUS) 64 64 
[4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) d [6] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 63 64
[5] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM) d [3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) 75 63 

Top 3 into semis

All three top seeds got through to the semifinals today in Rome. The top seed Rafael Nadal continued his run after beating sixth seeded Fernando Verdasco in straight sets 63 63, making it the Spaniard's 28th straight clay court win. Second seeded Roger Federer had a tougher time against his opponent qualifer Mikhail Zverev, but eventually won with a score of 76(3) 62. The Swiss former World No. 1 will face No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic, who defeated No. 5 seed Juan Martin del Potro, 63 64. Nadal's opponent will be No. 12 seed Fernando Gonzalez, who fought to win to qualifier Juan Monaco, 26 63 64.

This is the first time that the top three seeds have reached the semifinals together in Rome since 1981. That year Guillermo Vilas, Ivan Lendl and Jose-Luis Clerc were the top trio.