Nadal secures semi-final spot

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:48

Third seed Nadal needed just 32 minutes to complete a 7-6 (7/4) 7-6 (7/2) 6-0 victory over the 11th seed from Chile and set up a semi-final on Sunday against sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro.

Five-time defending champion Roger Federer will take on fourth seed Novak Djokovic in the other semi.

Nadal had been leading a by one set to love and was ahead 3-2 in a second-set tie-break on Thursday before showers brought play to a halt, washing out play completely on Friday.

Yet what had seemed so well balanced a match on Thursday night turned into a one-sided rout as Nadal rushed out of the blocks, taking the tie-break with four straight points as Gonzalez failed to get his forehand going with consecutive errors.

The third set was a total blow-out, Nadal steamrollering his deflated and frustrated opponent.

Gonzalez quickly fell 4-0 behind and called for the trainer as light rain started to fall again. The 11th seed had some treatment on his left foot and when play resumed he slipped to 0-40 in the fifth game by way of a double fault.

A saved break point was greeted by cheers that had more than an element of pity about them before Nadal got his third break of the set.

Both players wanted to get the match over with and they stayed on the court rather than take their seats as Nadal prepared to serve for the match, only to be made to wait by the chair umpire.

It was, as expected, merely a stay of execution and Nadal closed out the match in the best possible scenario to give himself at least 24 hours’ rest before his meeting with del Potro.

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here