Verdasco safeguards Spanish dominance
Source: Agencies |
April 27, 2010, Tuesday
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FERNANDO Verdasco's confidence on clay is sky high as long as he does not have to play Rafa Nadal, the Barcelona Open champion said on Sunday.
Just a week after being hammered by his Spanish compatriot 6-0, 6-1 in the Monte Carlo Masters final, Verdasco beat Robin Soderling to claim the Barcelona title.
Nadal will be overwhelming favorite to win the upcoming Masters events in Rome and Madrid and the French Open, where his hopes of a fifth straight crown were ended by Soderling last year.
"Nadal is a tough proposition on clay and he's one or maybe even two levels above everyone else," 26-year-old Madrid native Verdasco, the world No. 9, told a news conference.
"But I really feel like I can beat anyone else right now and I think I have a good chance of making more finals on clay," he said, including world No. 1 Roger Federer and No. 2 Novak Djokovic on his list of potential scalps.
Nadal, who has won in Barcelona the past five years, withdrew from this year's event to rest and has beaten Verdasco in all 10 of their matches.
Verdasco would not play his Davis Cup teammate in Rome this week unless both reached the final but could potentially meet Djokovic in the quarters and world number five Andy Murray in the last four.
Verdasco has advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros the past three years and said he was not going to push himself too hard in Rome or Madrid.
"The important thing is to get to Roland Garros in good shape," he said.
"I feel like I have made a lot of progress mentally over the past year and I can cope better on the days when maybe not everything is going quite right."
Roared on by the home fans, the 26-year-old sealed his second title of the year when Soderling went wide with a backhand to make Verdasco the eighth straight Spanish winner of the huge Conde de Godo trophy.
He fell to the ground, staining his blue shirt with red dust, before running to the net to shake hands with Soderling and embracing his family and coaching team.
"I have been training here since I was 15 or 16 years old so it's always a very special tournament and winning here is an incredible feeling," Verdasco, who decided to play on a wildcard at the last minute, said in a courtside TV interview.
"I wasn't planning to play here and I won the tournament so imagine how I feel - amazing."
Just a week after being hammered by his Spanish compatriot 6-0, 6-1 in the Monte Carlo Masters final, Verdasco beat Robin Soderling to claim the Barcelona title.
Nadal will be overwhelming favorite to win the upcoming Masters events in Rome and Madrid and the French Open, where his hopes of a fifth straight crown were ended by Soderling last year.
"Nadal is a tough proposition on clay and he's one or maybe even two levels above everyone else," 26-year-old Madrid native Verdasco, the world No. 9, told a news conference.
"But I really feel like I can beat anyone else right now and I think I have a good chance of making more finals on clay," he said, including world No. 1 Roger Federer and No. 2 Novak Djokovic on his list of potential scalps.
Nadal, who has won in Barcelona the past five years, withdrew from this year's event to rest and has beaten Verdasco in all 10 of their matches.
Verdasco would not play his Davis Cup teammate in Rome this week unless both reached the final but could potentially meet Djokovic in the quarters and world number five Andy Murray in the last four.
Verdasco has advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros the past three years and said he was not going to push himself too hard in Rome or Madrid.
"The important thing is to get to Roland Garros in good shape," he said.
"I feel like I have made a lot of progress mentally over the past year and I can cope better on the days when maybe not everything is going quite right."
Roared on by the home fans, the 26-year-old sealed his second title of the year when Soderling went wide with a backhand to make Verdasco the eighth straight Spanish winner of the huge Conde de Godo trophy.
He fell to the ground, staining his blue shirt with red dust, before running to the net to shake hands with Soderling and embracing his family and coaching team.
"I have been training here since I was 15 or 16 years old so it's always a very special tournament and winning here is an incredible feeling," Verdasco, who decided to play on a wildcard at the last minute, said in a courtside TV interview.
"I wasn't planning to play here and I won the tournament so imagine how I feel - amazing."
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