Nadal Tops Berdych, Will Face Del Potro in Surprising Indian Wells Final

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: March 17, 2013

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With sweat streaming down his face under the hot desert sun, Rafael Nadal served himself into the finals at the BNP Paribas Open. 

And by doing so he simultaneously served up an enticing matchup in the finals at Indian Wells that almost no one was expecting when the tournament first started.  

Juan Martin del Potro made his own splash Sunday by beating Novak Djokovic in three highly entertaining sets.  

Against Tomas Berdych, Nadal won 6-4, 7-5 in relatively routine fashion to further boost an already impressive campaign at Indian Wells.

With the win, Nadal officially changed his status on tour from "comeback" to simply "back."

After claiming two clay titles and now an appearance in the Indian Wells final, Nadal served notice that despite recent knee problems he's not to be taken lightly—on any surface. 

Taking Berdych out in straight sets was reminiscent of other matches in a rivalry where Nadal holds a 13-3 career edge. However, those statistics don't tell the entire tale. Nadal won the first 12 meetings before losing three straight meetings on hard court against Berdych in recent competition.

The straight-sets win over Berdych at Indian Wells has some meaningful implications. 

For one, Nadal obliterated the theories of many pundits saying he could no longer be competitive on the hard court surface.



Not only can he be competitive, it seems he can be one of the most competitive—he will stand as one of the final two in a tournament that featured almost all of the world's best players. And on cement, not clay.

Although the semifinal today against Berdych did contain several instances of drama, the overall tenor of the match seemed to favor Nadal. Rafa didn't face a break point on his own serve until the 18th game of the match.

Wearing his familiar Indian Wells attire of an aqua T-shirt an...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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