Third-seeded Rafael Nadal on Monday came within two points of defeat by old nemesis Lukas Rosol before sparking into life and reaching the second round of the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel, Switzerland.
Spaniard Nadal was in all sorts of trouble, trailing by a set and 5-4, with 69th-ranked Rosol serving at 30-0, but his Czech opponent framed a basic backhand volley at 30-15 and blew his chance, Nadal going on to win 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4).
A Rosol double fault allowed former world No. 1 Nadal to take the second set and the decider looked like a no-contest as Rosol’s challenge began to unravel.
Photo: EPA
Nadal moved a break ahead but, at 4-2, Rosol played some stunning ground strokes to earn three break points and although Nadal saved two of them, he then blazed a forehand long.
There has been no love lost between the players since Rosol stunned Nadal in the second round of Wimbledon in 2012, with Nadal gaining revenge at the same tournament last year.
Angry looks were exchanged as the decider moved into a tiebreak, in which the Spaniard trailed 3-0 before Rosol’s forehand deserted him and Nadal won seven of the next eight points to get the job done.
“It was a very tough match emotionally,” said Nadal, who lost the opening set in 23 minutes. “At the same time, it’s a great victory. It’s important for me to have these kinds of comebacks. I’ve been in these situations more times than I would like this year, so I’m happy to win a match like this.”
Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion, has already booked his place at the ATP World Tour Finals despite a relatively lean year and is to play Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov or Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky in round two.
VALENCIA OPEN
Vasek Pospisil on Monday advanced to the second round of the Valencia Open following a 6-4, 6-3 win over Santiago Giraldo.
Canadian Pospisil had won all three of his previous matches against the Colombian.
Extending that record proved straightforward, as Pospisil used his big serve and powerful forehand to good effect.
“I played pretty well overall and did a good job despite a few nerves at the end. I came up with some good points and great shots and that was the key to the match,” Pospisil said.
Pospisil, 25, held his serve to love in his opening three service games before breaking Giraldo in the 10th game for the opening set.
Although the South American offered stern resistance in the second, saving four break points in a marathon 10-minute sixth game, Pospisil eventually served out the match.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
PAINFUL VICTORY: Ruud said that felt pain in his rib during the warmup and was put on painkillers so that he could finish the match against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo With the help of painkillers, Casper Ruud overcame a rib ailment to defeat Francisco Cerundolo in straight sets and reach the Madrid Open final on Friday. Ruud is to face Jack Draper, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the other semi-final to make his third final of the year. Ruud received treatment on his rib three games into the match and went on to win 6-4, 7-5 on the Caja Magica center court. The 15th-ranked Norwegian saved 15 of the 18 break points he faced against the 21st-ranked Argentine. Ruud said he felt something in his rib during the warmup, just before
RSS