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10/8/09 3:19 PM | Cheryl Murray
Rafael Nadal was given a stern test by American James Blake in the second round of the China Open.
This second-round match should have been a straight-set victory for Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard served for the match at 5-4 and had two match points on his own serve, only to be broken.
The first set was pretty evenly matched, with Nadal and Blake trading breaks of serve early in the set, but Nadal got the edge late in the set with another service break. The Spaniard carried the momentum of the first set into the second.
Both players were able to secure service breaks early in the second set as well, but Nadal was the better player for most of the set. The Spaniard had a match point on Blake’s serve at 5-3, but the American was able to hold on to force Nadal to serve it out.
With a routine straight-set victory still in his grasp, Nadal served for match at 5-4. The Spaniard appeared to get a bit jittery, because he wasted another two match points with ill-timed double-faults, and he was broken to level the set at 5-5.
Blake played excellent fast-court tennis in the tiebreaker. Nadal was unable to keep up with the American’s pace of shot. After facing three match points, Blake leveled the match at a set each with by taking the tiebreaker seven points to four.
Nadal got in trouble on his serve early in the third set. Blake had 0-40, but Nadal--with his signature mental toughness--managed to claw out a service hold. The American had another small opportunity in Nadal’s next service game at 0-30, but he was once again thwarted. After the rash of missed opportunities, Blake lost his fire. Nadal secured the only break of the set at 4-3 and made no mistake serving out the match on his second opportunity to do so.
Nadal will take on surprise quarterfinalist Marat Safin in the next round.
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