Nadal in shock Montreal exit
Source: Agencies |
August 12, 2011, Friday
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RAFAEL Nadal is out at the Rogers Cup in Montreal after a shocking defeat to Ivan Dodig on Wednesday, while No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer recorded personal milestone wins.
Nadal, who surrendered the No. 1 ranking to Djokovic last month, went out in the second round in 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) loss to No. 41 Dodig of Croatia.
In the third set, Nadal broke Dodig's serve to take a 5-3 lead and had a chance to serve for the match. But Dodig refused to quit and broke back immediately. In the tiebreaker, Dodig gave himself a match point with his 19th ace and put the finishing touch with a spectacular cross-court backhand, right on the line.
"He played very well, very aggressive," Nadal said. "He didn't feel the pressure in the important moments. And at the end of the match, probably I was a little bit unlucky today, no?"
Dodig will next face Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic, who beat Spain's Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3.
Djokovic, the 2007 Rogers Cup champion, had to survive a scare before defeating 30th-ranked Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 7-5, 6-1 to improve his stunning 2011 record to 49-1 overall and 25-0 on hard courts. The Serbian player's only defeat came at the hands of Federer in the French Open semifinal.
Former No. 1 Federer defeated Canada's Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-3 in his first match since turning 30.
Djokovic said it felt good stepping onto a court as the world's top player, particularly in front of the loud, tennis-savvy Montreal crowd. But, he's trying to stay grounded amid all the extra attention that comes with his new status.
"Being No. 1 is a big responsibility, not just on the court but off the court as well," Djokovic said. "(I'm) just trying to handle it in the best possible way, but on the other side trying to keep my life very simple, the way it was before."
Djokovic was happy to finally get back on court after a four-week layoff, which he partly blamed for falling behind Davydenko 1-4 in the first set. He said switching surfaces from clay to grass to hard court didn't help either.
Also, American Mardy Fish downed Spain's Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-3.
In other results, No. 5 Gael Monfils of France defeated American Alex Bogomolov, 6-2, 7-6 (5); No. 7 Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic ousted Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; No. 8 Nicolas Almagro of Spain defeated Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-2, 7-6 (5); No. 10 Richard Basquet of France beat Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, 6-1, 6-4; No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France blasted 15 aces to beat Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-3, 7-6 (1); No. 14 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland knocked out American qualifier Michael Russell 6-3, 6-2; and Ivo Karlovic of Croatia beat Germany's Philipp Petzschner 6-7 (0), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (6).
Nadal, who surrendered the No. 1 ranking to Djokovic last month, went out in the second round in 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) loss to No. 41 Dodig of Croatia.
In the third set, Nadal broke Dodig's serve to take a 5-3 lead and had a chance to serve for the match. But Dodig refused to quit and broke back immediately. In the tiebreaker, Dodig gave himself a match point with his 19th ace and put the finishing touch with a spectacular cross-court backhand, right on the line.
"He played very well, very aggressive," Nadal said. "He didn't feel the pressure in the important moments. And at the end of the match, probably I was a little bit unlucky today, no?"
Dodig will next face Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic, who beat Spain's Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3.
Djokovic, the 2007 Rogers Cup champion, had to survive a scare before defeating 30th-ranked Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 7-5, 6-1 to improve his stunning 2011 record to 49-1 overall and 25-0 on hard courts. The Serbian player's only defeat came at the hands of Federer in the French Open semifinal.
Former No. 1 Federer defeated Canada's Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-3 in his first match since turning 30.
Djokovic said it felt good stepping onto a court as the world's top player, particularly in front of the loud, tennis-savvy Montreal crowd. But, he's trying to stay grounded amid all the extra attention that comes with his new status.
"Being No. 1 is a big responsibility, not just on the court but off the court as well," Djokovic said. "(I'm) just trying to handle it in the best possible way, but on the other side trying to keep my life very simple, the way it was before."
Djokovic was happy to finally get back on court after a four-week layoff, which he partly blamed for falling behind Davydenko 1-4 in the first set. He said switching surfaces from clay to grass to hard court didn't help either.
Also, American Mardy Fish downed Spain's Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-3.
In other results, No. 5 Gael Monfils of France defeated American Alex Bogomolov, 6-2, 7-6 (5); No. 7 Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic ousted Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; No. 8 Nicolas Almagro of Spain defeated Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-2, 7-6 (5); No. 10 Richard Basquet of France beat Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, 6-1, 6-4; No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France blasted 15 aces to beat Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-3, 7-6 (1); No. 14 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland knocked out American qualifier Michael Russell 6-3, 6-2; and Ivo Karlovic of Croatia beat Germany's Philipp Petzschner 6-7 (0), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (6).
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