Nadal loses Shanghai final
Nadal: couldn't convert a first-set set point
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By Matt Halam. |  |
Sunday, 18, Oct 2009 03:51
By James Christie
Rafael Nadal's quest for his first tournament victory since April continues after he was beaten 7-6, 6-3 by Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in the final of the Shanghai Masters.
Shanghai is the first tournament final that top seed Nadal has reached since returning to the circuit in September following a four-month injury lay-off caused by knee and abdominal injuries.
The two players swapped breaks in the first set and sixth seed Davydenko had to save a set point to force a tiebreak.
The Russian admitted that his semi-final clash with Novak Djokovic had left him feeling tired but there was no sign of weariness as a backhand crosscourt volley helped him wrap up the tiebreak 7-3.
Top seed Nadal was broken to love at 2-3 in the second set and the rest of the match went with serve meaning that Davydenko now has a 3-2 career record against the six-time Grand Slam winner.
Davydenko's successful campaign in the Far East this autumn (he won the Malaysian Open earlier this month) means that he now stands a good chance of qualifying for the ATP tour finals which take place in London in November.
The top eight tennis players in the world will be invited to participate in London and Davydenko is currently ranked seventh in the world.