Nadal Overcomes Murray In Thrilling Contest

© Getty ImagesRafael Nadal is chasing a 19th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.

It was an exhilarating contest for two sets, but World No. 1 Rafael Nadal finished strongly to come through one of his toughest clay-court tests in the past year as he defeated Andy Murray 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 on Saturday in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

The pair’s last match at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in November was hailed as one of the best matches of 2010, and the duo came together to produce another high-quality contest before Nadal eventually prevailed in two minutes shy of three hours.

The Spaniard is now one win away from clinching a record seventh consecutive title at the Monte-Carlo Country Club and will face his countryman, David Ferrer, in Sunday’s final after Ferrer dismissed Jurgen Melzer in straight sets earlier in the day.

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"For sure [it] is a fantastic victory for me against a very difficult opponent," said Nadal. "So is a dream for me be in the final here another time in Monte Carlo. [To] start the clay-court season being in the final is very good for me. Everything is positive on the result."

Nadal is also looking to break his own record by winning a 19th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown, after being denied the feat by Novak Djokovic in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami in the past month.

The beginning of the semi-final was delayed by 20 minutes as Murray, who had hurt his elbow the previous day, was given extra time to prepare by the tournament to ensure he would be fit enough to play the match. The Scot later revealed he had a cortisone injection at 2:35 pm, and a practice at 3:00 pm before deciding he would be able to play.

When play got underway, the Scot’s attacking tactics were clear from the start as he caught Nadal off guard and earned an early break of serve. However, Nadal was quick to strike back and raised his level to reel off four straight games. Undeterred, Murray continued to look to get the first strike in and his controlled aggression paid dividends as he fought back to level at 4-4.

Nadal regained the lead by holding for 5-4 and made a decisive move as Murray struggled to find a first serve in the 10th game. Able to get a foothold in the rallies by making telling second serve returns, the Spaniard put Murray under pressure and took the first set as the Scot made a backhand error.

The third-seeded Murray did not let his head drop, though, and after saving a break point in the first game of the second set, he broke through to lead 2-1 as Nadal committed a backhand error. In a marathon fourth game, the Dunblane native then saved five break points before moving into a 3-1 lead with a scorching backhand winner.

With all the momentum, Murray took advantage of a dip in standard by Nadal to earn a double-break lead with a delicately timed drop shot. A loose service game from the Scot then gave Nadal the chance to mount a comeback as he recouped one of the breaks, but Murray immediately made amends with a service break to love before closing out the second set. It was just the third set Nadal had lost on clay in the past year.

However, his efforts in the second set had clearly taken their toll on Murray and the Scot began to wilt physically in the decider, with the pain returning in his elbow as the pre-match injection wore off. Sensing his opponent was there for the taking, Nadal moved in for the kill and raised his game to break twice and lead 4-0. Murray offered up some final resistance, breaking to reduce the deficit to 1-4, but it just delayed the inevitable and Nadal reeled off the final two games with ease to claim a dramatic victory. 

"I think I did better [at] the end of the match," said Nadal. "Especially the last game, 5-1, I played like I would love to play, because I changed directions, I played well with the forehand, longer, closer to the lines. That's what I have to do if I want to have chances tomorrow and during the rest of the clay-court season. If not, for sure I am competitive, I can win, but will have a lot of very tough matches."

Murray commented, "I thought it was a good match. I would have liked to have done better. I think I can play better. Obviously it's good to know you're able to play at a similar level to what he does on the clay. To win against him, you need to be able to do that for three and a half hours, four hours. He's the best player in the world for a reason.

“It's good to be close to him, but I want to try to play better than that. I'll need to, if I want to beat him, because he's going to improve the next few weeks for sure the more he plays on clay."