(CNN)Rafael Nadal will continue preparations to defend his French Open crown from his lowest ranking position in 10 years.
The Spaniard lost in the final of the Madrid Masters to Scotland's Andy Murray Sunday, falling to No. 7 in the world as a result.
The last time the Mallorcan was that low in the rankings was May 2005.
Victory for Murray, however, saw him claim a second career clay court title after only clinching his first in Munich last week.
The Scot's feat is all the more impressive given the manner of his triumph.
He fought to a three sets win against Philipp Kohlschreiber in a rain-delayed final in Germany Monday before again beating the same opponent in a late night finish in Madrid two days later.
Though clearly tired, Murray had battled to the final showdown with increasing confidence. Yet in Nadal, he faced an opponent who held a 6-0 lead over him on clay and 15-5 overall.The second followed the same pattern. Murray took a double break advantage early before closing out to win 6-3 6-2.In the end, the past counted for little as world No. 3 Murray took advantage of 11 unforced errors to take the opening set.
No comments:
Post a Comment