ARTICLE Nadal mows down Ferrero to reach Beijing final
BEIJING (AFP) - Top seed Rafael Nadal dominated fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero for the fourth time this season, producing a 6-4, 6-4 victory to reach the final of the 500,000-dollar China Open.
The reigning French Open champion will aim for a 10th title of 2005 -- equal to the output of Swiss rival Roger Federer -- on Sunday when he faces second seed Guillermo Coria.
The Argentine took his place in the afternoon as he saved three match points on the way to a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over frustrated Swedish fourth seed Thomas Johansson.
The Nadal-Coria clash will be a re-run of the Italian Open final in Rome which Nadal claimed last May after nearly five hours of struggle with the South American.
The 19-year-old Nadal has yet to drop a set against Ferrero, who lifted his last title nearly two years ago in Madrid.
Nadal swept through unhindered, winning on his second match point in less than 90 minutes. "It was a good match for me," said the youngster, 71-10 this season.
"I had to play my best to beat Juan Carlos, he's a great player.
"It was not easy, but I had my chances. I'm happy with how well I've played here.
"I came to China unsure of my form after the US Open, where I played badly. This was my best match of the week by far. In the final, anything can happen, it will be the first time I've played Coria on a hardcourt."
Nadal stretched his current win streak to 21 against fellow Spaniards, with his last loss to a compatriot coming in Stuttgart in 2004, against David Ferrer.
[...]
Nadal: “Ferrero is a very good player. The break at 4-4 was important for my confidence and in the second set I felt a bit better. I think I played my best match of the week today so I’m happy. I improved my level a lot.”
Ferrero: “Nadal runs so much and I have to be so aggressive to win points. I think I missed a lot of balls where I tried to finish the point in the middle of the court. I had a lot of chances to finish points and I missed them and gave him a lot of free points. It was a close match but I think I missed too much.”
BEIJING (AFP) - Top seed Rafael Nadal dominated fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero for the fourth time this season, producing a 6-4, 6-4 victory to reach the final of the 500,000-dollar China Open.
The reigning French Open champion will aim for a 10th title of 2005 -- equal to the output of Swiss rival Roger Federer -- on Sunday when he faces second seed Guillermo Coria.
The Argentine took his place in the afternoon as he saved three match points on the way to a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over frustrated Swedish fourth seed Thomas Johansson.
The Nadal-Coria clash will be a re-run of the Italian Open final in Rome which Nadal claimed last May after nearly five hours of struggle with the South American.
The 19-year-old Nadal has yet to drop a set against Ferrero, who lifted his last title nearly two years ago in Madrid.
Nadal swept through unhindered, winning on his second match point in less than 90 minutes. "It was a good match for me," said the youngster, 71-10 this season.
"I had to play my best to beat Juan Carlos, he's a great player.
"It was not easy, but I had my chances. I'm happy with how well I've played here.
"I came to China unsure of my form after the US Open, where I played badly. This was my best match of the week by far. In the final, anything can happen, it will be the first time I've played Coria on a hardcourt."
Nadal stretched his current win streak to 21 against fellow Spaniards, with his last loss to a compatriot coming in Stuttgart in 2004, against David Ferrer.
[...]
Nadal: “Ferrero is a very good player. The break at 4-4 was important for my confidence and in the second set I felt a bit better. I think I played my best match of the week today so I’m happy. I improved my level a lot.”
Ferrero: “Nadal runs so much and I have to be so aggressive to win points. I think I missed a lot of balls where I tried to finish the point in the middle of the court. I had a lot of chances to finish points and I missed them and gave him a lot of free points. It was a close match but I think I missed too much.”
