Nadal powers Spain into final
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Shanghai Daily, September 19, 2011
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Spanish player Rafael Nadal returns to French Jo-Wilfried Tsonga during their individual match of the Davis Cup semifinal Spain vs France at Los Califas bullring in Cordoba, southern Spain, September 18, 2011. Nadal won the match 6-0,6-2 and 6-4. |
Rafael Nadal showed he had put his exertions at the US Open firmly behind him when he thrashed France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-0, 6-2, 6-4 to put Spain through to the Davis Cup final yesterday.
Tsonga, who helped France to victory in Saturday's doubles to keep the best-of-five tie alive at 2-1, was powerless against Nadal's relentless claycourt game as the world No. 2 claimed his 17th win in 18 Davis Cup singles matches.
The victory in Cordoba gives Spain, which is bidding for a third title in four years and will play champion Serbia or Argentina in December's final, an unbeatable 3-1 lead with only the final singles rubber to be played.
Serbia won Saturday's doubles in Belgrade to maintain its hopes of defending the title it won last year with a 3-2 victory over the French.
On another sweltering day in Cordoba, Nadal followed up his demolition of Richard Gasquet in Friday's opening singles with another commanding display on his favored surface at the Andalusian city's converted bullring.
The 25-year-old lost a gruelling US Open final to Novak Djokovic last Monday before flying straight back to Spain and he had little time to adjust to clay from hardcourts.
The Mallorca native has not lost a Davis Cup singles since he was beaten by Czech Jiri Novak on his debut in 2004.
Tsonga replaced Gilles Simon for the reverse singles match.
In Sydney, Australia and Switzerland will have to wait until today to complete their battle for promotion to the Davis Cup world group after the deciding rubber between Lleyton Hewitt and Stanislas Wawrinka was suspended due to poor light yesterday.
The Swiss was leading Hewitt 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 5-3 in the deciding set when the umpire suspended play with the Australian to serve.
Wawrinka, who went down to Bernard Tomic in the opening rubber and often struggles on grass, showed good spirit to fight back against the experienced Hewitt after losing the first and third sets.
Earlier, world No. 3 Roger Federer leveled the tie at 2-2 with a 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win over teenager Tomic.
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