By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, May 7, 2016
In a rematch of the 2015 final, reigning champion Andy Murray snapped Rafael Nadal's 13-match win streak, 7-5, 6-4, to return to the Madrid Open final.
Photo credit: Christopher Levy
Rhythmic chants from Spanish fans were ringing in Rafael Nadal's ears as he fought off a match point and served to level the second set.
The Magic Box was a boom box throbbing to the beat of another Nadal rally.
Dialing up the defense, Andy Murray pulled the plug on the comeback.
In a rematch of the 2015 final, Murray used sharp all-court skills—and an abrupt final-game collapse from his opponent—to knock Nadal out on his home soil, 7-5, 6-4, and surge into his second straight Madrid Open final.
More: Murray Takes Video View Into Madrid Semifinals
Murray showed his competitive character in a match of sudden momentum shifts and glaring nerves from both. Murray failed to serve out the first set at 5-3, then couldn't convert a match point in the second set serving at 5-3, but kept his cool.
Overall, the Scot denied 11 of 13 break points, including a tremendous three-ace game as he fought off break points holding for a 3-2 second-set lead.
"I think it's big. Obviously it's not easy," Murray said afterward. "Not loads of players have won against Rafa on clay throughout his career. Very few in the last year for sure when he wasn't playing his best. To beat him in Spain on a clay court is obviously a big, big challenge for any player.
"Very pleased to have beaten him this year. Big, big step for me from where I was four or five weeks ago. I'm going back in the right direction again."
The reigning champion will face either world No. 1 Novak Djokovic or sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori in tomorrow's final.
Shrewdly mixing the pace and angle of his serve, Murray snapped Nadal's 13-match winning streak a year after he bounced the Spaniard out of the Madrid final. The pair spent a couple of days practicing together in Mallorca last week; rallies were shifting propositions in this rematch.
"I think the first set he played better than me. I think in the second was a different story," Nadal said. "I played more aggressive. I increased the intensity and rhythm of the game. I had more opportunity than him in the second, no? Even if he had the two breaks and he had the set, I had many more chances than him on the return. I was playing well, no? So first set I think nothing to say. He was better than me. Second set I believe that I was a little bit unlucky."
Variation was the key to helping Murray unlock his second win in nine clay clashes with Nadal. Both have come in Madrid's higher altitude where Murray gets added bite on his serve and hits his flatter strikes through the court more effectively than Nadal.
The world No. 2 alternated the sharp-angled slider serve on the deuce side with some timely bolts down the middle. Murray served six of his eight aces in the second set when he denied eight of nine break points.
The four-time champion showed flashes of the form that helped him collect back-to-back titles in Monte Carlo, where he fought past Murray in the semifinals, and Barcelona, but Nadal didn't serve as boldly and paid the price for leaving his shots short in the court at critical stages.
At times, Nadal was his own worst enemy. He botched several drop-shot attempts throughout the match then contributed to his own demise slapping a smash and forehand into the net on the final two points.
"He helped a bit in the last game," Murray said. "Obviously he missed a few mistakes, but wasn't so much like that in the first set. I thought I did good, played well throughout the match. Even though when I served for it made a few mistakes, you know, I was still going for it. I felt like I was aggressive throughout. When I had to defend, I did that well, so it was good."
Hammering his backhand heavy and deep into Nadal's forehand wing, Murray made inroads in the fourth game.
When Nadal netted a nervous forehand drop shot, the Scot had triple break point. Nadal erased the first two, but was handcuffed by a return. His miss-timed forehand reply found net as Murray broke for 3-1.
Trying to change up the pace, Nadal netted another drop-shot bid as Murray backed up the break at 15.
Bothered by a broke string in the prior game, Murray was still banging his hand against his racquet face muttering to himself when he faced double-break point. Two biting wide serves denied the break points as Murray cracked a forehand winner holding for 5-2.
Serving for a one-set lead, Murray felt the tension and scattered a couple of errors. Stretching the champion, Nadal drew a sliding forehand error breaking back for 4-5.
As tension escalated, the depth of Nadal's drives diminished. Several topspin forehands landed short in the service box, then the Spaniard overcompensated sending a backhand wide to face triple set point.
Murray only needed one.
Knowing Nadal's second serve was going wide, Murray stepped around his two-hander and slashed a forehand winner down the line to snatch a 62-minute second set with a love break.
The fifth-seeded Spaniard, who had held at love in two of his prior three service games, played his sloppiest game of the set and was victimized by Murray's drop shot in the final game.
Angles were sharpened and points extended to open the second set.
Reaching back for two aces to deny break points, Murray blasted a backhand crosscourt to save a third break point. Nadal, who netted a few drop shot attempts in the first set, bungled another dropper into net as Murray eventually held.
Masterfully mixing finesse and angle, Murray used the drop shot-lob combination as a string to jerk the Spaniard around the court like a marionette, finishing with a backhand volley. Murray rapped his fifth ace capping a beautifully-controlled hold for 2-1. Fighting through a 10-minute fifth game, Murray cracked three aces, carving out a subtle backhand volley to hold.
Wavering confidence in his second serve meant Nadal played it safer on the first. Consequently, he wasn't earning free points. Down break point in the sixth game, Nadal was on the defensive when Murray darted forward for a high backhand volley. Nadal had a clear look at a forehand pass but put it into the net as Murray broke for 4-2.
A flurry of forehands set up a routine smash, but Murray failed to move his feet and slapped it into net for double break point. An absurdly casual forehand drop shot erased the first and Nadal sailed a forehand on the second.
By then, Murray had swept aside all seven break points in the set, extending to 5-2.
"Perhaps I needed to play a little bit more bravely," Nadal said. "It was a second serve. Apart from that, it is not that they were breakpoints that I had options to dominate and I didn't. Wasn't that today. He was serving very well at very high speed since the beginning. It's not that I did a disaster in those moments. I was there trying my best."
Playing bold strikes down the line put Murray in match point position so you can't blame him for the backhand drive down the line that landed long on match point. Murray tightened up after that netting a backhand and putting a flat forehand into net.
An adrenalized Nadal roared right along with the crowd breaking back for 4-5.
Then Nadal wilted. A brilliant defensive dig from Murray forced Nadal into a tough bounce-smash from the sideline. He pulled it off but short-armed a routine smash into net covering his face with his hand at the transgression while facing another match point. A final forehand into net brought a sudden end to a two hour and 11-minute match of highs and lows.