RAFAEL NADAL KING OF TENNIS

IPTL 2015 Manila - Indian Aces vs. UAE Royals 

Nadal’s first taste of action came in the fourth set, where he teamed up with Ivan Dodig in men’s doubles action against Daniel Nestor and Tomas Berdych, who were out-matched from the start.

After Nadal and Dodig won the set 6-3, he faced Berdych in men’s singles action for the match’s fifth and final set. Berdych raced off to a quick 3 games to 0 lead, but the Spanish tennis star rallied and took 5 of the next 6 sets.

Berdych won a fifth game to force a shoot-out where he took a 2-1 lead before Nadal was able to score 3 straight. Berdych then committed 3 errors late, awarding Nadal the win and a 2-0 sweep in his IPTL debut.

“Yes, good time. Thank you very much. I’m very happy,” Nadal said after the game to the crowd, some of whom were sporting signs that said Manila loves Rafa.

“Fantastic crowd here in the Philippines,” he said.

In the earlier sets, the superb duo of Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza continued their winning ways with a 6-4 win over Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic in the mixed doubles.

In women’s singles, Samantha Stosur wrapped up a 6-3 victory over Mladenovic. In the third set, Fabrice Santoro defeated Goran Ivanisevic in the men’s legend’s singles.

The Aces scored on 72 first serves and 60 unforced errors by the Royals.

The Aces improved to 82-64, which currently tops the IPTL, while the Royals dropped to 92-94.

Results:

Bopanna/Mirza d Nestor/Mladenovic, 6-4

Stosur d Mladenovic, 6-3

Santoro d Ivanisevic, 6-3

Nadal/Dodig d Nestor/Berdych, 6-3

Nadal d Berdych, 6-5 (7-3)

Source:  Rappler.com

Photo: EPA; AP; IPTL

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On the press conference Rafa said: 

"I think it's not [my] best season, but I finished No. 5 in the world. I hope I'll be ready in the next season to play in the right level," he said. "I don't know if I'm going back to winning Grand Slams. I'm working hard to create opportunities, to make the best of the tournaments. I'm working hard to try to make that happen."

"Every rivalry is different. I know [Novak Djokovic] is an amazing player. He is doing things that nobody did in the past. [Roger Federer] had been so special because he's been a combination of styles. [With Djokovic] we're not that far away with styles. I enjoy both. I'm happy to be a part of it," he said.

"I'm not Federer. I am Rafael Nadal. I try to improve my things … to improve my career. I don't have the chance to play a bit longer, so I'm working hard to improve."

 "I am healthy right now."

Source: philstar.com

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"Я думаю, это не лучший мой сезон, но я закончил его как № 5 в мире. Я надеюсь, что буду готов играть на правильном уровне в следующем сезоне", сказал он. "Я не знаю, вернусь ли я к победам в турнирах Большого шлема. Я упорно работаю, чтобы создать возможности, играть на лучших турнирах. Я упорно работаю, чтобы это могло произойти".

"Каждая  соперничество отличается. Новак Джокович - удивительный игрок. Он делает вещи, которые никто не делал в прошлом. Роджер Федерер был настолько особенным, потому что он был комбинацией стилей. У нас с Джоковичем похожие стили. Мне нравятся оба эти соперничества, и я рад быть частью этого", сказал он.

"Я не Федерер. Я - Рафаэль Надаль. Я пытаюсь совершенствоваться…, чтобы улучшить мою карьеру. У меня нет шанса играть немного дольше, таким образом, я упорно работаю, чтобы улучшить свою игру".

"На данный момент я здоров".

Перевод: Tanika Molvi