Rafael Nadal produced a roller coaster performance in his 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, win over Portuguese world No.35 Joao Sousa in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open.
Going into the match Nadal was the overwhelming favorite given his recent form as well as the fact he was playing on his beloved clay in his beloved country. The dominating win by Nadal that many expected failed to occur thanks to some stiff resistance from Sousa.
Unlike his tentative start to his match against Sam Querrey in the previous round, Nadal initially put on a masterclass against the Portuguese underdog. Sousa has won two ATP titles in his career, however, he has a poor record of 1-21 against top-10 players going into his maiden Masters quarterfinals. The 25-minute opening set consisted of Nadal forcing his rival to produce the error as he converted 3/7 break points. The nine-time champion only managed to produced three winners in the set but he was aided substantially by the 12 unforced errors from his opponent.
To the relief of Portuguese tennis fans, the Nadal dominance was slowed down as Sousa finally got on the scoreboard at the start of the second set by displaying some of the tennis that he is truly capable of. Whilst the set was more competitive, the momentum was still in Nadal’s favor. As the rain started to fall, a forehand shot gave Nadal a break point for a chance lead 4-2 before play was suspended for over ten minutes in order the roof to come on.
The disruption to the match resulted in Nadal squandering the break point with a long forehand shot as Sousa levelled 3-3 with a clever drop shot at the net. In contrast to the first set, Sousa was finally on level ground with Nadal as he moved the home favourite about the court with the help of some spectacular angle shots. The closure of the roof seems to have significantly aided Sousa’s form as a shock forehand error from Nadal handed him the break and a chance to serve for the second set. To the shock of the home crowd, the world No.35 took the set with a backhand slice at the net.
Following his second set blip, Nadal still had to contend with some inspiring play from his opponent. The intensity of Sousa’s groundstrokes lead to Nadal failing to find a way to break the Portuguese players serve during the first part of the deciding set. The long awaited breakthrough for Nadal came in the seventh game of the decider as Sousa’s game imploded. A long backhand followed by a double fault handed Nadal the break for 5-3. As the sounds of the Spanish crowd elevated, Nadal raced to two match points due to another costly error from his opponent. The 125-minute match was finally won after a deep forehand from Nadal forced Sousa to return the ball to the net.
After securing his 42nd win at the Madrid Open, Nadal blamed his second set blip on the change of conditions.
“After it started raining, The ball was a little bit heavier,” Nadal said.
“I missed a few good opportunities and then we were 4-All. He broke me and won the second set.”
“I had to fight back and look for a solution. I managed to find a solution and solve it.”
Nadal is under no illusion of how potentially difficult his next match could be against defending champion Andy Murray. Nadal current has a winning head-to-head of 17-6 against the Brit, but he expects a tough match.
“He’s a player that can win against everybody. I know going to be a very hard match for me,” Nadal said about Murray.
“Last year he won in Madrid, so he knows how to play very well here. He’s playing well with wins of 6-3, 6-2 against a big player like Berdych. That’s a great level that he’s playing at.”
Nadal will play Murray at 13:00 (GMT+1) on the Manolo Santana Court on Saturday.
