Nadal through; to face Gulbis in semis in Rome

World No. 3 Rafael Nadal appears nigh on unstoppable in his pursuit of a fifth title at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and a record-equalling 17th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 shield. Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka played a high level of tennis that would have troubled most players, but was allowed just five games as Nadal raced to a 6-4, 6-1 victory Friday in the quarter-finals in Rome.

Since making his 2010 clay-court debut at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters two weeks ago, Nadal has not surrendered more than six games in a match and is powering towards the defence of his title at the Foro Italico to join his triumph in Monte-Carlo (d. Verdasco).

The Spaniard was held on serve until the 10th game of his clash with Wawrinka, when he engineered a way through the Swiss player’s defences to snatch a one-set lead. The second set was a more comfortable affair for Nadal, who broke serve in the second and sixth games to seal victory in 90 minutes. Nadal is unbroken in three matches this week, saving eight break points in total.

"I think that in the first set today I was in trouble for a long time," reflected Nadal. "He was doing his serve much better than I was and I only won one point before 5-4 and for the whole game, my serve was hard. The important thing was that I was very concentrated because he was playing very well and perhaps better than me in the beginning. But from the 5-4, I started to play it well.


Friday, 30 April, 2010

Singles - Quarter-finals
[6] F Verdasco (ESP) d [2] N Djokovic (SRB) 76(4) 36 64
[3] R Nadal (ESP) d S Wawrinka (SUI) 64 61
[13] D Ferrer (ESP) d [7] J Tsonga (FRA) 64 61
E Gulbis (LAT) d F Lopez (ESP) 76(6) 61

Nadal through after winning 55th consecutive clay match in month of April

Defending champion Rafael Nadal won his 55th consecutive match on clay in the month of April as he dismissed German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-1, 6-3 Wednesday to reach the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tennis tournament in Rome.

The Spaniard has not lost a clay-court match in the month of April since 2005 in the Valencia quarter-finals (l. to Andreev), a five-year spell that has seen him win 10 ATP World Tour titles – six in Monte-Carlo and four in Barcelona.

The 23-year-old Nadal opened his campaign for a fifth title at the Foro Italico in the same ruthless form that saw him lose just 14 games on his recent title run at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. The third seed converted four of six break points and surrendered just nine points on serve in the 70-minute match to improve to a 23-1 match record in Rome. He captured the title from 2005-2007 and again last year, with victory over Novak Djokovic.

"It wasn't my best match but it was a correct match," said Nadal. "I did well, I played safe, I played focused all the time and Philipp tried to play more aggressive for a few moments but he made more mistakes than usual and that helped me a little bit. Philipp is a tough opponent and to play against him in the third round was a challenge for me. I am very happy about my victory."

Nadal next will face Romanian Victor Hanescu, against whom he has a 3-0 career record. "Hanescu is an aggressive player," said Nadal. "He has a good serve, he plays very aggressive from the baseline – he’s fast so he can be a very dangerous player. He focuses all the time and I'll have to play my best tennis."

ATP World Tour No. 7 Robin Soderling rebounded strongly from the disappointment of narrowly losing in the Barcelona final three days ago by defeating Italian wild card Paolo Lorenzi 6-1, 7-5 in his opening match.

The Swede recorded his fifth win in six clay-court matches this season in 74 minutes by saving all three break points he faced and capitalising on three of the seven opportunities he created on Lorenzi’s serve.


Wednesday, 28 April

Singles - Second Round
[3] R Nadal (ESP) d P Kohlschreiber (GER) 61 63
[5] R Soderling (SWE) d [WC] P Lorenzi (ITA) 61 75
[6] F Verdasco (ESP) d [WC] S Bolelli (ITA) 76(11) 63
[7] J Tsonga (FRA) d V Troicki (SRB) 62 63
F Lopez (ESP) d [8] M Cilic (CRO) 26 76(2) 64
S Wawrinka (SUI) d [10] T Berdych (CZE) 26 63 76(6)
[11] I Ljubicic (CRO) d N Almagro (ESP) 75 76(3)
[13] D Ferrer (ESP) d [WC] P Starace (ITA) 75 62
T Bellucci (BRA) d [14] J Isner (USA) 76(7) 75
[WC] F Volandri (ITA) d J Benneteau (FRA) 62 60
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d L Hewitt (AUS) 62 63
[Q] S Giraldo (COL) d [Q] M Llodra (FRA) 63 62

Verdasco clinches title in Barcelona after win to Soderling

ATP World Tour No. 9 Fernando Verdasco served up the perfect remedy for his loss in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final last weekend by defeating Robin Soderling 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a high quality title match at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell Sunday.

As champion of the ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tennis tournament, Verdasco earned 500 South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking points and €286,000, while runner-up Soderling received 300 ranking points and €144,000 in prize money. Both players are bidding to qualify for the second year in a row for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 21-28 November.

The 26-year-old Verdasco is playing arguably the greatest tennis of his career at the moment, having last week reached the final of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament (l. to Nadal) for the first time. The Madrid native clinched the fifth ATP World Tour title of his career, and his second of the season having triumphed at the SAP Open (d. Roddick) in San Jose in February.

"I've always dreamed of winning the title here," said Verdasco. "I grew up watching this tournament on television. It's an incredible feeling, it's hard to put it into words. It's my second title in Spain and my first 500 title. In the past two weeks, with a final in Monte-Carlo and the title here in Barcelona, I've won 1000 points. This is maybe the best moment of my career right now."


Sunday, 25 April 2010

Singles - Final
[5] [WC] F Verdasco (ESP) d. [2] R Soderling (SWE) 63 46 63

Verdasco gets into second straight final; will challenge Soderling for the crown in Barcelona

ATP World Tour No. 9 Fernando Verdasco continued his strong clay-court form as he reached his second straight final with a 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-1 victory over fellow Spaniard David Ferrer Saturday in the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open BancSabadell, an ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament.

The fifth-seeded Verdasco, who reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final last week in Monte-Carlo (l. to Nadal), improved to a 10-2 mark on clay in just three tournaments on the surface this season; he was also a quarter-finalist in Acapulco (l. to Monaco) in February.

"This win is very important for me because it is the first time that I have played in two consecutive finals, and I would especially like to win here, so I will try to rest well and to be at my best tomorrow," said Verdasco. "The fact that I have reached two clay court finals gives me a lot of confidence. I feel good and comfortable with my play. This year I have adapted to the surface better than ever; as I get more experienced it becomes easier."

The No. 17-ranked Ferrer looked on course to reach the Barcelona final for the third straight year when he led by a set and a break at 4-3 in the second set. However, Verdasco hit back to level at 4-4 before breaking serve again in a tight 12th game to seal the second set as Ferrer netted a short forehand. Buoyed by the momentum shift, Verdasco raced away with the deciding set, breaking serve twice to claim victory in two hours and 36 minutes.

"David was dominating the match and playing at a very high level; he’s a tough player and I was waiting to see if would give me a chance to get into the match again," reflected Verdasco. "I took that chance as soon as I had it, and that gave me a lot of confidence in myself."

The 26-year-old Verdasco is through to his 12th ATP World Tour final (4-7 record) and third of the season. He captured his fourth title at the SAP Open (d. Roddick) in San Jose earlier in the year.

As he bids to become the eighth straight Spanish champion in Barcelona, Verdasco will face second seed Robin Soderling, who brought to an end Dutch Thiemo de Bakker’s stellar run in Barcelona with a 6-1, 6-4 victory in the second semi-final.

Soderling takes a 4-1 lead into the clash with Verdasco and has won both their meetings on clay, at Roland Garros in 2005 and in Bastad in 2007.

"It’s going to be a very difficult final," said Verdasco. "He has won most of our matches and is ranked higher than me but I think it all depends on how we play tomorrow. Soderling is a player who hits extremely hard, you have to move him around and try to tire him out so that his shots are not as precise."


Saturday, April 24, 2010

Singles - Semifinals
(5) Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. (8) David Ferrer (ESP) 67(3) 75 61
(2) Robin Soderling (SWE) d. Thiemo de Bakker (NED) 61 64

Tsonga, Ferrer, Soderling move into quarters; Ferrero falls to former junior World No. 1 in Barcelona

Second-seeded Swede Robin Soderling required just 58 minutes to reach the Barcelona Open BancSabadell quarter-finals Thursday, firing 11 aces past No. 16 seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain in a 6-3, 6-2 victory at the ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament.

"I feel good," said last year's Roland Garros finalist. "Last year coming into the clay I didn’t play well so well in the beginning, but I think this year I’m playing much better already from the start. Hopefully I can build on this and play even better and better."

For the second time in as many weeks, third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat No. 15 seed Nicolas Almagro of Spain. World No. 10 Tsonga, who also beat Almagro at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters nine days ago, converted four of six break points and hit eight aces for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 victory in just over two hours. He has a 17-7 match record on the season.

"I wasn't sliding well at the start, the clay was quite heavy," said Tsonga. "I was struggling to adjust myself to the ball. Then I started to play a bit more how I play on hard-court which enabled me to get back into the match in the second and third set."

Tsonga will next meet former junior World No. 1 Thiemo de Bakker, who is aiming to break into the Top 50 of the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings this season. De Bakker handed seventh seed and 2001 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero only his third loss in 21 clay-court matches this year.

Ferrero dropped to 18-3 on red dirt this year after falling to de Bakker 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(4) in two hours and 35 minutes. Tsonga said: "It will be difficult against De Bakker next. I played him in Davis Cup on indoor clay. It was a tough match, very difficult. He's going to go up in the rankings in the next few months and has a lot of potential."

Just four days after finishing runner-up at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, fifth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco survived a battle against No. 11 seed Jurgen Melzer of Austria for a spot in the last eight.

Verdasco recovered from a 0-2 deficit in the second set to win his fifth match in six meetings with Melzer 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 in two hours and 13 minutes. It was the 20th win of the year for the World No. 9, who will next challenge Latvian Ernests Gulbis, a 6-1, 6-3 victor over qualifier Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

"It was pretty difficult today with the conditions really heavy," said Verdasco. "It was tough for me to make the ball bounce and make winners also. It was hard conditions, but finally I had enough time to come back and win the match, so I’m happy."

Eighth seed David Ferrer safely advanced to his fifth ATP World Tour quarter-final (or better) this season at the ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tennis tournament. The Spaniard, a runner-up to Rafael Nadal the past couple of years, was leading Simone Bolelli 6-0, 3-0 when the Italian qualifier retired with a right wrist injury after 45 minutes of play.

World No. 17 Ferrer improved to 3-0 lifetime against Bolelli and to a 23-7 season record (17-2 on clay). He will next challenge No. 13 seed Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, who knocked out Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 48 minutes.

Argentine Eduardo Schwank, a quarter-finalist at the Movistar Open and Copa Telmex in February, withstood 13 aces from the racquet of Ivan Navarro for a 6-3, 7-6(7) win in two hours and 12 minutes.


Thursday, 22 April 2010

Singles - Third Round
[2] R Soderling (SWE) d [16] F Lopez (ESP) 63 62
[3] J Tsonga (FRA) d [15] N Almagro (ESP) 57 61 64
[5] [WC] F Verdasco (ESP) d [11] J Melzer (AUT) 36 76(1) 63
T de Bakker (NED) d [7] J Ferrero (ESP) 76(2) 36 76(4)
[8] D Ferrer (ESP) d [Q] S Bolelli (ITA) 60 30 ret. (right wrist)
[13] T Bellucci (BRA) d G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 64 64
E Gulbis (LAT) d [Q] A Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 61 63
E Schwank (ARG) d [LL] I Navarro (ESP) 63 76(7)