Baghdatis stuns Nadal; Fish, Roddick advance
Source: Agencies |
August 22, 2010, Sunday
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WORLD No. 1 Rafael Nadal fell to Cyprus's Marcos Baghdatis 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters in Mason, Ohio, on Friday as three of the top four seeds went out.
Britain's Andy Murray and Serbian Novak Djokovic both suffered defeats to American opponents with Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick advancing to meet each other.
The only member of the top four to progress was third seed Roger Federer, who meets a confident Baghdatis for a spot in the final after defeating Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 7-5.
Nadal was well below his best against an inspired Baghdatis, whose big serve was on full power -- he blasted 18 aces while the Spaniard could manage just four.
The match turned decisively in favor of the Cypriot, who had lost all six previous meetings with Nadal when the Spaniard double-faulted at break point with the game at 4-4 in the third.
It was a mistake Nadal described as "criminal" and the 20th ranked Baghdatis served out for the win, giving himself a major confidence boost ahead of the US Open, which begins on August 30.
"I'm playing good; I'm feeling happy on court. I'm out of injuries. It's nice when you wake up and you don't have pain somewhere," said the Cypriot, beaten finalist in Washington earlier this month.
An All-American semifinal is a timely boost for the game in the United States which is currently without a top ten male player -- although Roddick's win assures he is back to at least ninth in this week's rankings.
Roddick and Fish are close friends who, since their high school days, have spent many hours together practicing.
"There won't be many secrets that's for sure," Roddick said after beating third-ranked Serb Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, his booming serve looking back to its best.
Fish, ranked 36th, took advantage of an exhausted world No. 4 Murray, who wilted in 38-degree Celsius heat and lost 7-6 (7), 1-6, 6-7 (5) to the unseeded American.
Britain's Andy Murray and Serbian Novak Djokovic both suffered defeats to American opponents with Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick advancing to meet each other.
The only member of the top four to progress was third seed Roger Federer, who meets a confident Baghdatis for a spot in the final after defeating Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 7-5.
Nadal was well below his best against an inspired Baghdatis, whose big serve was on full power -- he blasted 18 aces while the Spaniard could manage just four.
The match turned decisively in favor of the Cypriot, who had lost all six previous meetings with Nadal when the Spaniard double-faulted at break point with the game at 4-4 in the third.
It was a mistake Nadal described as "criminal" and the 20th ranked Baghdatis served out for the win, giving himself a major confidence boost ahead of the US Open, which begins on August 30.
"I'm playing good; I'm feeling happy on court. I'm out of injuries. It's nice when you wake up and you don't have pain somewhere," said the Cypriot, beaten finalist in Washington earlier this month.
An All-American semifinal is a timely boost for the game in the United States which is currently without a top ten male player -- although Roddick's win assures he is back to at least ninth in this week's rankings.
Roddick and Fish are close friends who, since their high school days, have spent many hours together practicing.
"There won't be many secrets that's for sure," Roddick said after beating third-ranked Serb Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, his booming serve looking back to its best.
Fish, ranked 36th, took advantage of an exhausted world No. 4 Murray, who wilted in 38-degree Celsius heat and lost 7-6 (7), 1-6, 6-7 (5) to the unseeded American.
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