Rafael Nadal loses to David Ferrer on return to courts
28 Dec 2013 5:59 AM IST
It was the world number one’s first match since losing in straight sets to Novak Djokovic in the final of the World Tour Finals in London on 11 November.
Playing ahead of the official ATP season-opener in nearby Doha next week, Ferrer looked the sharper from the start, breaking in the ninth game to take the first set. It was more of the same in the second set as Nadal struggled to find his range against an opponent who already had a game under his belt, having defeated Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
‘I think the fact that I had already played a game on the same surface meant that I was better prepared than Rafa,’ said Ferrer. ‘I am happy with the state of my game and will look to produce my best tennis for the final.’
Andy Murray chalked up his first win since returning to action after a three-month injury lay-off by defeating Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
The 26-year-old Wimbledon champion had back surgery in September and did not play again until he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals of the Mudabala World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament on Thursday. Wawrinka lost to David Ferrer on the same day and the match between him and Murray was to decide who would finish fifth in the unofficial three-day tournament that sees the world’s top two players - Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic joining in at the semifinal stage.
Murray said: ‘I feel pretty good, a lot better than I did a few months ago. I just need to play more matches like this because the intensity’s a lot higher than you can get in practice.
‘It was good to get two matches against top players. Everyone needs matches at this stage, especially me.’
Playing ahead of the official ATP season-opener in nearby Doha next week, Ferrer looked the sharper from the start, breaking in the ninth game to take the first set. It was more of the same in the second set as Nadal struggled to find his range against an opponent who already had a game under his belt, having defeated Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
‘I think the fact that I had already played a game on the same surface meant that I was better prepared than Rafa,’ said Ferrer. ‘I am happy with the state of my game and will look to produce my best tennis for the final.’
Andy Murray chalked up his first win since returning to action after a three-month injury lay-off by defeating Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
The 26-year-old Wimbledon champion had back surgery in September and did not play again until he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals of the Mudabala World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament on Thursday. Wawrinka lost to David Ferrer on the same day and the match between him and Murray was to decide who would finish fifth in the unofficial three-day tournament that sees the world’s top two players - Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic joining in at the semifinal stage.
Murray said: ‘I feel pretty good, a lot better than I did a few months ago. I just need to play more matches like this because the intensity’s a lot higher than you can get in practice.
‘It was good to get two matches against top players. Everyone needs matches at this stage, especially me.’
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