1 Response to iw10ljubicic_nadal

1. Voo de Mar says:

   July 25, 2024 at 1:14 pm

   Points won by each set: | 20-28, 34-31, 38-39 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   33 % Ljubicic – 34 of 102
   21 % Nadal – 19 of 88

   Something what for an hour seemed like [3] Nadal’s routine passage, turned into a dramatic victory for the 31-year-old Ljubicic [26], certainly one of the most important ones in his career. Nadal – the defending champion – won the opener easily, collecting the last eight points, breaking the Croat for the second time at the end of the set. In the 2nd set it was realistic to expect a tie-break at most, Nadal had a break point at 2:1, a triple break point at 3:2, finally a game point to lead 5:4, having defeated the Croat in their previous five meetings. Yet suddenly, Ljubicic won four straight games. Nadal broke back immediately at the beginning of the decider, and again he was ahead holding easily while Ljubicic faced a mini-match point at 3:4 – fought it off with a service winner. At 4:5 he was two points away from defeat. Nadal began the tie-break with a 1:0* lead only to lose seven consecutive points – not the serve, but the forehand turned to be Ljubicic’s crucial weapon in the additional game. With a forehand down the line he finished the 2.5 hour contest and screamed in joy. “He was missing more when it was important; he overhit a couple of balls,” Ljubicic said. “I didn’t feel he was in control of the points.”

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