Rafael Nadal lost to fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) in the quarterfinals on Friday, leaving the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters without its top two players.
Top-ranked Roger Federer’s 55-match winning streak in North America ended on Wednesday with a loss to Britain’s Andy Murray, who was to play American Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals on Friday night.
The result also gave the ATP tour a rarity.
The past 15 times Federer and Nadal were entered in the same tournament, one of them won it — a streak that began after the 2005 Australian Open. The world’s top two players are heading into the United States Open off big upsets.
On an overcast, humid afternoon, the unseeded Ferrero put on one of his best performances of the year, making few mistakes during a match that was delayed because of rain in the second set.
”It’s very special to win today,” said Ferrero, who has slid since his number-one world ranking in 2003.
Unlike Federer, who struggled with his serve and his backhand while losing in straight sets, the second-ranked Nadal simply was outplayed by a former grand-slam champion trying to regain his touch.
”He played his best match against me, for sure,” Nadal said. ”I don’t play the best match of my life, but I wasn’t playing very bad.”
Everything seemed to be in Nadal’s favour at the outset. He played well in the Cincinnati-area tournament this week and was 4-0 career against Ferrero, all of those wins coming last year.
Plus, Ferrero hadn’t even reached a tournament quarterfinals since April, an indication of how far he had fallen since his French Open title in 2003.
”I think I can play like this a lot of matches,” said Ferrero, now number 31 in the ATP rankings. ”I hope to do well at the US Open. I’m ready to have another good result.”
He’ll face number seven Tommy Robredo — another of the four Spaniards who reached the tournament’s quarterfinals — on Saturday. Robredo beat number four Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (6), 6-2 later on Friday.
Ferrero appeared determined in the opening set, at one point diving on the hard surface to try for a volley. He landed hard on his right knee and rolled into the net, bringing Nadal over to see if he was all right.
He was just getting started.
Nadal threw back his head in disgust after his double-fault put Ferrero up 4-0 in the first-set tiebreaker. Instead of pumping his fist after a good point, Nadal was reduced to half-hearted gestures.
Ferrero overcame a pair of break points to stay on serve at 5-4 in the second set when rain delayed the match for 32 minutes, giving Nadal a chance to regroup. He sprinted on to the court for the warm-up, and made an exaggerated fist pump and leg kick after winning the next game to even it up.
But Ferrero didn’t crack. ”Today, I felt very calm in the important games,” he said.
He pushed the second set to another tiebreaker, and then took control with a forehand down the line for a 2-0 lead. Ferrero made no mistakes in the tiebreaker, which ended with Nadal missing on three straight forehands.
Ferrero then turned to the crowd and waved both arms in celebration. — Sapa-AP