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2ND Federer advances, Nadal falls as dream final fades By Bill Scott
Published:
08/10/2006 10:27:57pm
By Bill Scott,
Toronto- Roger Federer survived a third-round challenge
from Russian Dmitry Tursunov to stay alive on a day when top rival
Rafael Nadal was tumbled out of the Toronto Masters Thursday.
The Swiss top seed honed his game despite losing his first set of
the week as he produced a 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 win into the quarter-finals.
"I feel good, my matches have not been that tough," said the
winner. "I reacted well to the lost set, I was happy to close it out
in the third. It was getting tough in the second."
The victory in just under two hours took Federer to 15 victories
in a row, leaving him 81-2 on hard courts over 2005-06. He is seeking
his second Canadian title after winning in 2004.
But the chance of another the dream final evaporated as Czech
Tomas Berdych stunned defending champion Nadal 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.
Nadal, who lost last month's Wimbledon final against Federer, said
he had never assumed he'd reach the last day.
"There are 64 players in the draw, not two," said the winner of
five trophies this season. "We players understand that.
"If you win a lot of matches, then you can play the final. Berdych
is a good players, he has all the shots."
Berdych said he was not disappointed to have ended another
potential Federer-Nadal showdown.
"If I'm a spectator and every week I can see the final
Federer/Nadal, I don't know if it's nice for tennis. It's good that
there will be a different final.
"I hope I can win a couple of more matches and maybe be with Roger
in the final. But there is still a long way to go."
Nadal was caught out in one hour, 48 minutes, breaking only once
while losing his own serve four times.
The 20-year-old winner is ranked a career-best 14th, winning 13 of
his last 17 matches. He placed runner-up last June in Halle, losing
to Federer.
He beat the Spaniard a year ago in the first round of the
Cincinnati Masters, coming back in three sets.
Finnish 14th seed Jarkko Nieminen came through over Italian Davide
Sanguinetti, saving five match points in a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (12-10)
defeat on his own third winning chance.
Chile's Fernando Gonzalez struggled for more than three hours
before finally overcoming fourth seed Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-7 (4-7),
7-6 (7-3) to plow ahead.
The contest turned into a battle early on. But even in defeat, the
Croatian will move back to third in the world in Monday's rankings.
Argentine Jose Acasuso ended the run of Julien Benneteau with a 6-
3, 7-6 (7-4). But Richard Gasquet made up the numbers for France,
putting out Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
British tyro Andy Murray reached his second straight quarter-
finals as he knocked out Spain's Carlos Moya 6-2, 6-4.
The teenager's breaking-in period with new coach Brad Gilbert is
moving from strength after playing last weekend's Washington final
against Arnaud Clement.
© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur
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