Nadal hammered by resurgent Nalbandian
Rafael Nadal was dissapointed to lose in his home tournament
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Friday, 19, Oct 2007 09:18
Home favourite Rafael Nadal was crushed 6-1 6-2 by Argentinian David Nalbandian in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters this evening.
Nadal, who came through a gruelling 150 minute battle against Andy Murray yesterday, looked tired and lacked his usual vigour. The world number two dropped his serve five times as he lost in just over an hour.
"Everything went wrong for me out there. I had a clear idea of how I wanted to play but...it wasn't my day," said Nadal.
"I'm sad to lose in the quarters, disappointed for myself and disappointed for the fans who came to support me. Even though it was a terrible match for the fans they kept on supporting me to the end."
For Nalbandian this was a much needed result as the 2004 Madrid finalist has had a poor season, with this being the first time he reached the semi-final of a tournament.
World number three Novak Djokovic will be Nalbandian's opponent in the last four, after the Serbian beat Croatian Mario Ancic 7-6 (7-2) 6-2, earlier in the day.
Djokovic became the first player to take a set of the big serving Ancic in this tournament as he took the first set on a tie-break. The second set was much easier for the 20-year-old as he broke Ancic's serve twice to win the set and the match.
Top seed Roger Federer was made to work hard by Spaniard Felciano Lopez, but came through 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. He will either face Fernando Gonzalez or Nicolas Kiefer in the semi-final.