Rivals support Nadal comeback bid

Updated January 02, 2013 10:18:36

Two of Rafael Nadal's top ten rivals have spoken out against critics who say that the winner of eleven major titles can never again be the player he was.

David Ferrer, the world number five from Spain, and Richard Gasquet, the French world number 10, both contradict the idea that Nadal's prolonged absence is too long even for him to become the world's best player again.

The murmurs of doubters increased with Friday's news on Nadal that his six months on the sidelines with a damaged knee will be followed by more weeks out, reportedly because of gastro-enteritis.

But Ferrer, voted Spanish player of the year in Nadal's absence, talks differently.

"The good news is he doesn't have pain in the knees, so that's the most important," he said, contradicting suggestions that the statement that Nadal has been unwell is merely cover for continued mobility problems.

"I spoke with him few a days ago. He was sick with a virus, and he preferred to stop (practising). And he will come back in South America (Acapulco in February).

"Rafael, he can do it because he's a very good player. He's a special player, no? He's not like anyone else. Rafael, he's very competitive, he's a winner, and he's young also.

"I have confidence that when he comes back he will play good.

"Maybe not in his first tournaments because they are often tough, but I am sure he is coming back to number two or number one in the world."

Gasquet sounds even more certain of Nadal's resilience, suggesting that the seven-time French Open champion will be adding to his record-breaking exploits as soon as June.

"For sure he has problem with his knee, but I'm sure he's coming back on clay in a month, and I'm sure he will be ready for Monte Carlo, that kind of tournament," Gasquet said.

"He will be 100 per cent. I'm pretty sure he will come back at his best level soon.

"He's coming back on a clay court, which is better for his knee. For sure he will come back at his top form for Monte Carlo (in April), these kind of tournaments. And for me he's still the favourite for Roland Garros.

"Nadal is one of the best. He's incredible. I'm sure he will come back at his best level, and that he can still win a lot of grand slams."

Asked therefore why there were so many people who doubted that such things were possible, Gasquet had a one-word answer - "journalists."

AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, spain

First posted January 01, 2013 08:07:05

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Baghdatis rides fan support to victory

Updated January 12, 2012 23:39:46

Marcos Baghdatis was spurred on by a vocal crowd as he knocked top seed Juan Martin del Potro out of the Sydney International.

The 2010 champion, Baghdatis fought back from a slow start to complete the 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 victory in one hour and 40 minutes.

Del Potro, the last of the seeded players in the men's draw, was clearly agitated by vocal sections of the crowd who were cheering on the popular Cypriot and had a lengthy discussion with court umpire Fergus Murphy at the end of the first set.

It did little good for the giant Argentine, who struggled to deal with Baghdatis' tremendous defensive qualities in the second set.

Baghdatis made the decisive break in the seventh game of the second set, before serving out the match much to the fans' approval.

The 26-year-old says he has enjoyed so much success at the tournament in part because he feels at home - and his grandmother's cooking.

"I have lots of relatives here, my grandma lives here and I just love coming back every year," Baghdatis said.

"My Lebanese food from my grandma makes me feel good."

Del Potro looked in control in the first set, having broken Baghdatis in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead.

But Baghdatis broke back soon after to make it 5-5, before both players held serve to force a tie-break.

Again del Potro took the early advantage and had two set points, but through brilliant defensive tennis, and with a bit of good fortune from the net, the scrappy Cypriot saved both and not long after only needed one set point of his own to take out the set.

Baghdatis was pleased to have improved from a hard-fought three-set victory over Australian Matthew Ebden in the previous round.

"I played great today, I had a not so good match yesterday in tough conditions and (my coach) just said to go for it and I went for it," he said.

"I was playing really aggressive. It was great."

In other quarter-final action, Finland's Jarkko Nieminen beat American Bobby Reynolds 6-3, 6-3, third seed Richard Gasquet was upset 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) by Denis Istomin, while Julien Benneteau downed Alex Bogomolov Jnr 6-2, 6-4.

AAP

Tags: tennis, sport, sydney-2000

First posted January 12, 2012 22:56:29

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