Filed under: ATP
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal rallied to defeat eighth-seeded Andy Roddick on Monday 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, during the opening day of round-robin play in Group A at the ATP World Tour Finals in London. Roddick gave a valiant effort and pushed Nadal, but the American was unable to capitalize on two golden opportunities during the match.
The first chance for Roddick came when he was up a set and a break at 2-1 in the second set. Nadal, however, countered and broke Roddick during his next service game. Roddick had another promising opportunity when he was up a mini-break at 3-2 -- with two first-serve opportunities -- in the second-set tiebreak, but proceeded to lose five of the last seven points.
Roddick served well throughout the match, but the American's return game and groundstrokes withered during long rallies. Roddick continuously inched over throughout the match during Nadal's service games. He was favoring his forehand and seemingly running around his backhand that was giving him trouble. Roddick finished with 18 aces and a first-serve winning percentage of 86, but was broken during two decisive parts of the match. Nadal won 75 percent of his first-serve points and finished with a much better second-serve percentage at 59 percent, compared to Roddick's 46.
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