Nadal back to his best in nick of time
Defending champion Rafa Nadal cranked up his bid for a record-equalling sixth French Open title by routing Robin Soderling in Wednesday's quarter-final then changing his mind about whether he could triumph again.
June 02, 2011 / 10:43 IST
Defending champion Rafa Nadal cranked up his bid for a record-equalling sixth French Open title by routing Robin Soderling in Wednesday's quarter-final then changing his mind about whether he could triumph again.
The world number one, who meets fourth seed Andy Murray in Friday's semi-final, had bemoaned his lacklustre displays over the last two weeks and reckoned he was not in good enough form to equal Bjorn Borg's six crowns.However, his tune had altered markedly after hearing the fans on centre court chant his name in the sunshine after his 6-4 6-1 7-6 demolition of the man who had inflicted his only French Open men's singles defeat in 2009."I said two days ago I am not playing good enough to win Roland Garros. We will see in two days. That's what I said. And today I played better. Much better, in my opinion," Nadal beamed at a news conference."I had the feeling I was really covering the court much better and I was able to run a lot better than recent matches."A first-five set match on the Paris clay in the first round had Nadal flustered and he was tested again in his following encounters. However he was back to his dominant self in all areas against Soderling.The fifth seed, who lost to the Spaniard in last year's final, barely got a look-in despite breaking twice.Always difficultNadal was playing shots he would not have attempted just a few days ago when his confidence was brittle while Soderling, too often staying glued to the baseline in the breeze, also played into the champion's hands."It's always difficult to play when it is windy but it's the same for both players," Soderling said."At least I tried. I'm really happy with the way I finished the match. He played a good match as usual, he didn't miss much."The men's top four seeds are in the semi-finals for the first time since 2006 with red-hot second seed Novak Djokovic facing record 16-times grand slam champion Roger Federer in Friday's other last-four battle.Briton Murray beat Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in straight sets but has been carrying an ankle injury."In my opinion, that's not going to affect him and he is confident to be in the semi-final. He's playing well, he's a big player," Nadal said before analysing the other semi-final where a win for Djokovic will make the Serb world number one."The best player in the world today against the best player in history, so it's difficult to say. I think both of them have chances to be in the final. Djokovic is playing fantastic, Roger did very well during all of this tournament." Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
