Serb Novak “Nole” Djokovic proved to sceptics that he is by far the most improved player of 2007 by breaking the Montreal invincibility of Spaniard Rafael Nadal thanks to a spectacular 7-5, 6-3 win Saturday night in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank.
Nadal, who has won nine straight matches in Montreal since 2005, was never able to set his rhythm against the powerful server. Not only did Djokovic win 80 per cent of the points off his first serve, but he also broke his illustrious opponent twice thanks to his top-quality counter attacks.
The first set wasn’t decided until the 11th game, when the Serb took advantage of the chances he had to break his rival’s serve while at the same time, preventing Nadal from converting his break points.
In the second set, Djokovic came from down 0-40 in the fifth game to stay even with Nadal until the eighth game, when he converted a break point to take a 5-3 lead and serve out the match.
Overall, the Serb saved eight break points during the match, while Nadal only managed to stave off two of four. At the same time, Djokovic hit 11 aces compared to just two for the three-time French Open champion.
The match, one of the hottest of the tournament, lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes and allowed Djokovic to defeat Nadal for the second time this year, both times on hard court. He beat the Spaniard in Miami earlier this year.
“Nole” will take on the formidable Swiss Roger Federer in the finals of the Tennis Masters Series Canada. Federer, who has only been broken once this week, remains the logical favourite since he holds a 4-0 record against the Serb. But Djokovic is playing with so much confidence that Federer will have to arm his best weapons in order to take home his 50th career title.
haha.look who's playing in the finals.
:D
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