Nadal and Goffin sail through in Mubadala
abu dhabi – The Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2017 saw reigning champion Rafael Nadal and tournament debutant David Goffin bag easy wins at the centre court of International Tennis Centre in Zayed Sports City on Thursday.
The Spaniard seemed to be in a hurry as he dismissed long-time rival Tomas Berdych 6-0, 6-4 to set up semifinal clash against World No. 3 Milos Raonic on Friday.
World No. 9 Nadal meant business and the dew factor, too, would have played on his mind. Seeking a quick exit, he launched an onslaught of fiery first serves, which World No. 10 Berdych had no answers to. And before the fans settled down it was 3-0 and then 5-0 and a first set wrapped up in 28 minutes. There were some majestic backhand and forehand winners that left Berdych dazed. The Czech star, however, staged a return in second set and matched point for point. He had drop shot winners but Nadal had an answer to every cheeky Berdych poser. And he closed the match 6-4 with an ace in 1 hour 15 minutes.
Earlier, World No. 11 Goffin, playing first time in Abu Dhabi, beat No. 12 and friend Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.
The first quarterfinals, unexpectedly,
Rafael Nadal beat Tomas Berdych 6-0, 6-4 David Goffin beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
Today’s matches: Semifinals
Andy Murray v David Goffin (5 pm) Rafael Nadal v Milos Raonic (7 pm)
Fifth and sixth place play off
Tomas Berdych v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2.30 pm)
started as a one-sided match. Goffin was on cruise mode and Tsonga rusty. The world No. 11 raced to a 4-1 lead and it felt the match would be end soon.
Tsonga had issues with returning serves but soon the big Frenchman found his bearings on the hard court. There was a double break and Tsonga capitalised on it. Goffin’s game too dropped a level allowing Tsonga to make a return. What followed were rallies for each point and few forehand winners. But at 6-6, Goffin upped his game to prevail 7-2 in first set tie break.
The two players, friends off court, had contrasting styles. Goffin was his athletic best and Tsonga preferred stand and deliver game.
There were some beautiful drop shots from Goffin. And when you see Tsonga miss an easy smash that pretty much shows it’s not his day. Even as each point was well fought, the Belgian won the final set 6-4 to set a semifinal date with World No. 1 Andy Murray.