Nadal books place in US Open Final

Originally published on: 11/09/11 03:19

The match on Arthur Ashe Stadium lasted 3 hours and 24 minutes and finished at 9.10pm local time, causing havoc for the organizers who then needed to clear the stadium of ticket holders for the day session and usher in the ticket holders for the night session.

But it was immaterial for Rafael Nadal who takes his place in his 14th Grand Slam final.

The Spaniard was in command of this semi-final match for the first two sets and then having taken the third set, Murray grabbed the momentum at the start of the fourth. “I was playing better and I was starting to get into more rallies and playing, I think, smarter tennis,” the Scot commented of his performance. ”I was maybe going for too many big shots at the beginning of the match.
 
“He’s playing well. I mean, he’s had an incredible year, and I think he hasn’t lost a set in this tournament until tonight,” said Murray.

But Rafa’s 2011 record against his final opponent, Novak Djokovic, makes interesting reading. Rafa has not beaten the Serb in their last 5 matches, including the hard court encounters at Indian Wells and Miami in the Spring.

As Nadal pointed out “He’s (Novak’s) obviously the favourite for the final, and I know I have to do something better than the other matches to try to change the situation.”

“I will try to play a similar match than last year here. I saw that match a lot of times and I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I gonna be able to do it.”

The men’s final is now scheduled for late afternoon on Monday, so both players can have a rest before what should be an intriguing final.

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