Nadal 'happy' with Open defeat

Updated January 30, 2012 07:12:07

Rafael Nadal says the Australian Open final was one of the best losses of his career after he went down fighting in an almost six-hour epic against Novak Djokovic.

In a dramatic finale to the year's first major, Djokovic outlasted Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 in five hours and 53 minutes, the longest grand slam final in history.

The match started on Sunday evening and finished in the early hours of Monday morning as the world's two best players battled to a standstill in front of a disbelieving crowd.

"Physically it was the toughest match I ever played," Nadal said.

"I think we played a great tennis match. It was I think a very good show in my opinion.

"I enjoyed being part of this event and this match. That's the truth.

"I wanted to win, but I am happy about how I did. I had my chances against the best player in the world today."

Nadal says he is pleased he had been able to match Djokovic physically and mentally, something he had not been able to do in 2011 when the Serb beat him six times in succession.

"I didn't play at a lower level than him for a long time (tonight), so that's a very positive thing for me," he said.

"I am very happy about my mentality tonight."

The Spaniard was also upbeat about his performance throughout the entire tournament, saying it bodes well for a successful 2012.

"[I'm] very happy with my level during both weeks. I realise the whole tournament I did well. I did a lot of very positive things, much more than in 2011 for most of the time," he said.

"I played more aggressive. I played more winners than ever. My serve worked well. The mentality and the passion were there [better than ever].

"So that's very positive aspects on the whole game. So I just lost the final of a grand slam.

"I am not happy to lose the final, yes, but that's one of the losses that I am happy with in my career."

Nadal's defeat in Melbourne was in stark contrast to his classic five-set win over Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2008, when the Spaniard won 9-7 in the fifth set.

"For me it was a little bit more special in 2008," he said with a smile.

"But I really understand that this was a really special match, and probably a match that's going to be in my mind, not because I lost, no, because the way that we played."

Fighting spirit

After appearing out for the count after the third set, Nadal somehow came back to win the fourth and then opened a 4-2 lead in the fifth.

He then had a simple backhand passing shot that would have taken him to 40-15 and on the verge of 5-2, but he missed and Djokovic broke back.

"It's true I had a big mistake with 30-15, but it's not the moment to think about that," Nadal said.

"That's just another moment in an almost six-hour match. Forget about that, knowing that I had very real chances to have the title and to win against a player who I lost to six times last year.

"I never put him in this situation during 2011, so that's another positive thing for me. I didn't have mental problems today against him.

"So that's another positive thing. I've probably never said that many positive things after I lose."

AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, australian-open, melbourne-3000

First posted January 30, 2012 07:06:58

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Stosur happy despite semis defeat

Updated June 18, 2011 23:27:00

Samantha Stosur's run at the pre-Wimbledon warm-up event in Eastbourne has come to an end at the hands for Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli.

The former Wimbledon finalist handled the difficult conditions much better than the Australian on the English south coast, winning 6-3, 6-1.

In wild winds, Stosur struggled to find any rhythm in her game and eventually succumbed in 70 minutes on centre court.

Her normally lethal serve was off in the gusty conditions, winning just 56 per cent of points on her first serve.

Bartoli then later went on to defeat Petra Kvitova 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in the final to claim the first grasscourt title of her career.

Kvitova had progressed after Daniela Hantuchova retired at 7-6 (9-7), 4-2 down.

It was world number 10 Stosur's third semi-final appearance at Devonshire Park, and she had shown encouraging signs before Wimbledon in her opening three rounds, defeating world number three Vera Zvonareva on Thursday.

The Queenslander's attention will turn fully to Wimbledon, where she will meet unheralded Hungarian Melinda Czink in the opening round.

Stosur has never progressed beyond the third round in eight visits at the famed grand slam tournament.

"It's been a really good week for me in spite of this match," Stosur said.

"I'm going into Wimbledon feeling quite good.

"I think I played some really good tennis here and got through some really good matches.

"It's been pretty much been exactly what I would want going into Wimbledon.

"I thought the other day when I played Vera it was the worst [conditions] I'd ever played in, but I think today was even worse than that.

"It definitely wasn't easy at all. It's one of those days where you've just got to try hard and do whatever you can to get through because it's very hard to try and hit the shots that you want."

-AAP

Tags: sport, tennis, australia, united-kingdom, england

First posted June 18, 2011 23:00:00

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Hewitt happy despite Halle exit

Updated June 11, 2011 09:01:00

Defending champion Lleyton Hewitt was in good spirits despite his exit from Halle's ATP grasscourt tournament, after he went down in straight sets to Philipp Kohlschreiber in Friday's quarter-final.

Kohlschreiber is into Halle's semi-finals for the fourth time in his career after securing a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win over the former world number one in exactly 90 minutes.

"It could have gone either way. It was very tight in the first set, I didn't have a lot of luck in the tie break," admitted Hewitt with Wimbledon set to start on June 20.

"He played extremely well and served well throughout the entire match. It's been perfect preparation for me here after a few months out.

"I didn't come here with any expectations and it's been nice to get some matches here and feel comfortable on the grass."

Kohlschreiber smashed down 14 aces, compared to the Australian's nine, in a hard-fought match and the defeat means Hewitt, who is making his comeback after ankle surgery, is now set to drop out of the top 100 in the ATP rankings.

"Today, I could see an improvement in my game - everything was just fine and I often had a bit of luck on my side," said Kohlschreiber.

"I couldn't do much wrong. This match was good - although he is coming back from injury, Lleyton Hewitt is still one of the best players in the world.

"Now the bar has been set high. The next game will be hard, no matter who is on the other side of the net. Form on the day will decide the match."

It was Kohlschreiber's strong serve which carried him to victory and he will play Gael Monfils, ranked ninth in the world, in Saturday's semi-final after the Frenchman beat Germany's Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-4 in little over an hour.

"I am happy," beamed Monfils, who has won over the crowds here.

"I came here with the expectation to play like a top-10 player and I did that.

"It is always tough for me to adjust to grass. Last year I played three rounds in Wimbledon and this year I wanted to have a good comeback on grass.

"My movement on the court is great and I know, it will be a good match against Philipp (Kohlschreiber).

"I am happy that I have had such a good preparation for Wimbledon here in Halle."

After the withdrawal of world number three Roger Federer on Monday, Tomas Berdych became the top seed and the winner of the 2007 tournament had few problems as he enjoyed a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 win over fifth seed Viktor Troicki.

The firm surface at Halle is favouring the strong hitters and this was a battle of the big guns as Berdych smashed down 13 aces, compared to the Serbian's 11, as both players contributed to 14 aces in the first set alone.

Berdych will meet Philipp Petzschner in his semi-final after the German booked his place by knocking out eighth-seeded Canadian newcomer Milos Raonic.

In a tough last-eight match, Petzschner needed nearly two hours to prevail over 20-year-old Raonic and seal a 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 win.

"It was a tight match on a knife edge. I nearly won it in the second set," said Petzschner, who also reached the semi-finals here last year.

-AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, australia, germany

First posted June 11, 2011 08:02:00

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Stosur happy with form ahead of French

Posted May 16, 2011 16:00:00

Samantha Stosur says she is happy with her form ahead of the French Open despite a 6-2, 6-4 defeat to Maria Sharapova in the Rome International final.

Stosur seemed out of sorts throughout as the former world number one and triple major winner picked up her first title in almost a year.

But Stosur still feels her game is where it needs to be coming into Roland Garros, where last year she reached the final.

"It has been a great week and each week that I played here in Europe I think I have got a little bit better," she said.

"I guess it is what you want heading into a Grand Slam. This is a great event and I have played a lot of good matches.

"Overall I am very happy with the way I played this week. I played very good matches and obviously today was a little bit disappointing but going into Paris, there is nothing to do but go out and practice on court and work.

"It's a matter of maintaining this and trying to take a little bit of a break now and then practice and be as fit and healthy as I can before Paris."

The world number seven came into the final ranked one place above Sharapova but there seemed to be a gulf in class between the two.

It was Sharapova's eighth win in eighth matches against the Australian.

The Russian has won 22 titles to Stosur's two and the 27-year-old acknowledged that her opponent could be rediscovering the form that took her to the top of the rankings.

"I think recently she has started to play a lot better. After she came back, she struggled a little bit and her serve was a little shaky," said Stosur.

"But that has all been sorted out now and she plays very aggressively. I think that that last few months she has definitely improved a lot."

- AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, australia, france, italy

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