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Nadal secures Tokyo quarter final berth
It took the Spaniard just over one hour and a half to secure the final eight berth and go three wins from his fourth title of the season. Winner of the Monte Carlo, Barcelona and French Open events, Nadal managed to keep the sheet clean for the second time in a row this week. He has not dropped a set so far this tournament but he might have a harder life tomorrow when he will be playing Santiago Giraldo who also follows a straight set victory over Dmitry Tursunov.
Nadal broke his opponent once in the opener and once again in the second term while Raonic was given no chance to break through. The Spaniard, who has already qualified for the World Tour Finals in London, won 86 percent of first serve points in the second term, something which helped him to win it much easier than the first term.
Overall, the former world champion converted 77 percent of first serve points, 80 of service ones and 30 of returning points. He also came up with two aces, a double faults and two break point conversions, compared to the Canadian who had a 56 first serve percentage, eight aces, a double faults and a poor 20 return percentage.
Raonic also won 70 percent of service points, but that was not sufficient for a comeback. The head to head series between the two has now gone 2-0 to the Spaniard whose first win dates from the 2010 Japan Open.
Said Nadal, who proved yet again that his service remains one of his lethal weapons. “His serve was impressive, especially at the beginning of the match. It was an important victory for me and now I am in the quarter-finals. Physically I feel fine and I have the motivation to keep going and keep practising hard. I am focused on having a very good tournament. The fans really show their emotions and provide great support.”
Next up for Nadal is Santiago Giraldo who beat Tursunov 6-4, 7-6 in the second round. The two exchanged three breaks in the opener, two of which being taken by the Colombian who took the first set pretty easily. But the second set saw both players hold their services consistently and push the term into the breaker.
Giraldo simply proved to be better than the Russian who lost the tie break at four, packing from Tokyo earlier than expected. The Colombian finished the game with a 65 first serve percentage, a 36 return one and six aces. He also committed a double fault and converted 69 percent of service points.
On the other side, Tursunov came up with a 71 first serve percentage, nine aces and four double faults. The Russian won at the same time 31 percent of return points, 64 of service ones and just 69 points out of 144 played. World number 53 Giraldo leveled the head to head series 1-1. Tursunov’s only win comes from this year’s UNICEF Open in Holland.
Concerning his direct confrontations with the former world champion ,Giraldo is led 0-3 by Nadal whose last win came this year at the Barcelona Open.
On the same first half of the draw, Mardy Fish and Bernard Tomic will also fight for a semi final berth. The American beat Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 6-4 in the previous round and will meet the Aussie for the second time. Fish, winner of this year’s Atlanta event, broke the Latvian twice in the opener when he also managed to keep the sheet clean on his own services.
As for the second set, it was controlled by the same American who picked one more break from Gulbis who failed to build a break point chance, losing the game in nearly one hour and a half. Overall, Fish came up with a 57 first serve percentage, a 42 return one, four aces and three breaks in six tries.
He also won 75 percent of service points, compared to his opponent’s 58 percentage. Gulbis’s performance included a the same time a 65 first serve percentage, a poor 25 return one and seven aces. Fish’s next opponent Bernard Tomic ousted Tasuma Ito of Japan in three sets after surviving an early scare, 6-7, 6-1, 7-5.
The 18 year old lost the opener at tie break which the crowd favorite won at four, but provided a much better showing in the next two rounds. The Aussie rallied past the host, leaving him five games adrift after a three-break run which helped the youngster to push the meeting into the third set.
Finally, Tomic continued to dominate the meeting even in the decider despite losing a service at one point. He broke his opponent twice more to clinch the win in over two hours. The Aussie impressed with 15 aces, a 73 first serve percentage, a 66 service one and six breaks out of 19 tries.
Even more than that, he converted 45 percent of return points and won 116 points out of 213 played. Concerning Ito’s showing, it featured ten aces, five double faults, a 54 first serve percentage and a 34 return one. Tomic will meet world number eight Mardy Fish for the second time, the head to head series having gone 1-0 to the American whose only win was grabbed last year at the Wimbledon event.
Second seed Andy Murray, who is chasing his third title of the season in Tokyo, has made an easy progress into the quarter finals after crashing Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-1, 6-2. The Scott, winner of this year’s Queens and Cincinnati events, dominated his opponent at all facets, breaking him three times only in the first set.
Murray also gave the American no chance to create a break point, needing just half an hour to take the first lead. In the second set, he grabbed a couple of more breaks and kept the sheet clean on his services, something which propelled him through the final eight round.
He finished the game with a 63 first serve percentage, a 57 return one and an impressive 80 service percentage. Also, he hit ten aces past the American whose showing was unrecognizable, given his easy win in the debut against Jarkko Nieminen. Bogomolov came up with a 70 first serve percentage, two double faults and a very poor 20 return percentage.
Murray now leads the direct confrontations with the world number 38 2-1. The Scott first beat the 28 year old at this term’s Western and Southern Financial Group Masters. Next up for Andy is David Nalbandian whom he will play for the sixth time in career.
The Argentine ousted Ivan Dodig in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2 but will have a harder life against Murray in the quarter finals. The two exchanged four breaks in the opener something which led to a tight tie break which Nalbandian would win with some ease. He allowed his opponent to hold a couple of services and then powered through to a five mini break lead which brought him the first lead of the meeting.
As for the second set, it saw the same Nalbandian improve his play and go four games atop of the losing pace Croat, who was chasing his second title of the year in Tokyo. The Argentine broke him three times but also conceded a service amid the term.
He left the court with a 49 first serve percentage, two aces and three double faults. Nalbandian also won 61 percent of service points, 51 of return one and converted five out of 12 break points, compared to his opponent whose showing featured a 57 first serve percentage, 14 aces, four double faults and a 39 return percentage.
The 29 year old Argentine will be chasing his third win over Murray tomorrow, his last win dating from the 2008 Paris Masters. Since then, Murray won all the three matches, last occasion at this term’s Cincinnati Masters.
Finally, David Ferrer and Radek Stepanek are also expected to provide a tense quarter final in the Tokyo quarter finals. Third seed Ferrer, winner of two titles this year in Acapulco and Auckland, edged Aussie Matthew Ebden in three sets and after losing the opener, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The Spaniard allowed Ebden to steal a couple of services in the first set when he also broke his opponent once amid the term. But hardly did the second term start that Ferrer got into a two game lead thanks to an early break. Furthermore, he picked yet another one right afterwards, to even the situation with some ease.
Finally, the third set was also controlled by the Spaniard who set the pace and broke the Aussie three more times. Ebden struggled and grabbed a meaningless break, losing the match in nearly two hours. Overall, Ferrer came up with a 61 first serve percentage, six aces, four double faults, six breaks and a 48 return percentage.
On the other side, Ebden came up with a 55 first serve percentage, four aces, three double faults and a 39 return percentage, insufficient but for a first set lead. Ferrer’s next opponent Radek Stepanek beat Marco Chiudinelli in three tight sets, 7-5, 6-7, 6-1.
Stepanek won the first set thanks to a late break which permitted the Spaniard to draw half a victory. But things looked a bit different in the second term. The Italian pushed the favorite into a tight tie break he eventually managed to win at five. Stepanek, who lacks a title this year, came from behind in the second set and punished his opponent with two breaks which brought him the long awaited victory.
The Czech left the court with a 74 first serve percentage, ten aces, three double faults, a 67 service percentage and a 43 return one. He also converted five out of 12 break points and committed three double faults.
Regarding Chiudinelli’s showing, in featured a poor 33 return percentage, a 57 service one and two breaks. Stepanek will meet Ferrer for the eighth time, being expected to pick his first win over the Spaniard after two years. Czech’s last win comes from the 2009 Wimbledon Grand Slam while Ferrer’s one from the 2009 Davis Cup Final.
Tokyo Prize Money and points:
Winner – $295,000 and 500 points ATP
Runner up – $133,000 and 300 points ATP
Semi finalist – $63,000 and 180 points ATP
Quarter finalist – $30,400 and 90 points ATP
R16 – $15,500 and 45 points ATP
R32 – $8,525 and zero points
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