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3/8/09 4:18 AM | Cheryl Murray
Rafael Nadal shredded Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic in the second singles rubber on Saturday, giving Spain a decisive 2-0 lead over the Serbs before the hosts dropped the doubles rubber.
The singles rubbers between Spain and Serbia was scheduled to be played on Friday, but terrible storms and high winds damaged the stadium in Bernidorm, Spain. A day’s respite did not help the Serbian team. After Novak Djokovic was dispatched in straight sets by David Ferrer, Rafael Nadal took to the court against Janko Tipsarevic.
Nadal was certainly the favorite going into the match. The world No. 1 has never lost a best of 5 match on clay, and has in fact lost just two matches on the surface since 2005. Still, a player of Tipsarevic’s caliber would ordinarily have put up some fight. Instead, the match ended up as a tutorial on the merits of using heavy top spin on clay.
The Spaniard was not even at his best on Saturday. His winner to unforced error ratio was +6, but his first-serve percentage was a low 57% for the match. The heavy, slow conditions are not particularly conducive to Nadal’s game, but Tipsarevic was not able to handle Nadal’s game at all. The Serb was not able to secure a break, but was broken a whopping seven times himself.
Nadal is scheduled to play Novak Djokovic in the fourth rubber on Sunday. Spain leads Serbia 2-1 so Nadal can clinch the tie with a victory.
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way to take care of business, Rafa, but Ferrer stole the show on Saturday
RickyDimon , 3/8/09 5:02 AM