Mana Games

[iopzzza]

WEll i'm here to post my US open and afterwards . I was seeded 7th at the Us Open and had Youzny in my Section for 4th round (tough draw , he had a great year).
1R J.Sude - 6/1 6/0 6/1 - well 405th in the world says enough . 2R T.Bellucci - The brazilian was tougher , but stil i've won easy 6/2 6/3 6/3. 3R - vs Granollers. Judging by the first set i thought it will be hard match , i've won with only one break points 7-5 .. he was THAT close from a tiebreak. His level dropped in the two sets ad ive won 6-3 6-4. 4R - As i've said - M.youzhny. He started great as always and i've had a tought first losing 4-6. The i've managed to get on track with two fast 6-3 6-3 sets. Broke him for 5-4 and i was serving for the match in the 4-th set , BUT THIS GUY REBROKE ME and beat me 7-6 in tiebreak :@. I was really down and beaten and he broke me in the 4-th set 4-2, but i didnt lost , i just didnt want to lose 2nd straing grand slam to him. I've managed to recover and somehow won 4 consecutive games to win 6-4 the 5th set.
4/6 6/3 6/3 6/7 6/4. EPIC. The next match i thought it would be my last on this tournamet. 1/4 final vs Djokovic (just like on Garros where i've beat him 3-0 sets SOMEHOW.) I've started bad , he led 3-0 in the first set and after that i just couldnt get on track and lost 3-6. Just like the Youzhny match i started better in second and third set. Winning the second 6-3 with some really good display on serve - 8 aces and good ammount of winners. In the third set he really fought well. I had only one BP and managed to win it for 6-4. There was 36 shots rally :d and one 35 shots. I really watned to finish the match in 4 sets , but he put on the style and didnt missed a shot in the 4th set. He just refused to lose (so frustrating). I've lost 3-6 just like the first set. Unfortunatley the 5th set started similar with 3-0 lead for djokovic ... afterwards i've just started to lose confidence. Won one game for 1-3 , but i wasnt ready for what would happened. He made 2 DF in his game and i led 30-0 on his serve , managed to win two points more and got the break back. And really this 2 DF destroyed his game and i won the set from 0-3 to 6-3. . Wasnt ready for that ,but well.... i was happy
The semifinals were - Berdych vs Murray and Me vs Ferrer. Murray was really playing strong this year and i was thinking that the us open is his to win. HE beat berdych easy 3-1 sets. I've led Ferrer 2-0 sets . 6/2 (he played awful) , 6/4 (he started to fight , but wasnt enought) , before he just went on rampage 1/6 4/6 2/6. So frustrating :X losing from 2-0 sets up. In the final murray beat him easily in 4 sets losing one in tiebreak. I was glad , two semifinals and two 3rd rounds this year on slams, last year 3 QF and one 4th round.

[iopzzza]

Streaming right now !

[iopzzza]

I am back. After Epic Us open i decided to play 4 more tournaments , Tokyo , Shangai , paris, atp finals. In tokyo there was only 2 players ;D - Me and Federer , the other capable of doing something cilic , went out in 1st round. And there it is without problems we made it to the final (he beat me last year in the semis 2-1 sets) . This time it was even worst 6-1 6-3 for Federer and there was no contest who was the better man. After that i played in Shangai. When i've got very easy draw , Bye , 2r Dodig 7/6 7/6 (well i was waiting for my moments and they came ) , 7/6 5/7 6/2 against Benneteau R3.(tough match). 7/6 6 /3 vs Isner (really i have no problems against him i am 5-0 vs him now ) and 3/6 6/1 7/5 against my countryman G.Dimitrov. In the final i've met Del Potro and after tought battle i've won my THIRD MASTERS TITLE (and first on pro 10 difficulty) 7/6 4/6 6/3. Now if i win a slam i will go to master 1. I dont want to talk about paris , the courts there are extremely fast wth low bounce , faster than wimby for sure. Mardy FIsh destroyed me in second round , although i ma decent volleyer. 6/2 6/4. On the atp finals the groups were - Me , Wawrinka , Del Potro, Murray. Fed , Djoko , Nadal , ISNER . The key was the first match against Wawrinka. Last year i've played decent on the finals this year.... 0/6 2/6 in the first match . Then 3/6 0/2 and retiring in the second against Del Potro. I've also retired the match against murray , he won 2 slams and he was having fantastic year , he was number one in the world AND he eventually won atp finals . SO that's all for my second year on the tour . 3 masters titles and some atp 250's. 2 SF at gs (garros and Us) 2 x 3rd round . I've just noticed ferrer and robredo have retired . I was 0-8 against them so no more ferredo. That's all for now

[antimouse]

iopzzza,

A curiosity: can you stream your matches without loss in fps? I tried once to stream through twitch, but the game became too slow for my taste. And I have a recent, very good PC.

[iopzzza]

Well , i am stremaing at 30 fps Without any problem (and its very good quality , you see everything , there is no LAG). I havnet tried 60 fps , but i guess i will have to lcose skype and mozilla when i stream with 60 fps . My Laptop is not that great , but i think good enough to stream. 6 GB ram , Intel Core i-3 32XX (i think) 2gB video card (i have one integrated and one other). What are your pc spec's ? Of course i cant stream in HD i need better pc , but for tennis elbow you dont need HD really. At 30 fps you see everything that happens on court very good so ...

[danispadi]

So, here we are. In shangai 1000's I was looking for my first win at this level since Indian Wells. The draw was pretty awful: Stepanek in R1, probably Berdych in R2 (if I would won XD), then Davydenko... but I was totally focused on my first match. Stepanek. He's a various player like me, but he goes very often at the net, and that's a good thing because my favourite shot is the passing shot so, in the first set I was seving for first, always kept my service and he was struggling on his. On 5-4 in my favour, I had 3 set points, I had a set point and I trashed it, and also the game. Well, there's a sentene in Italian that says "Break fallito... break subito" which means that if your opponent gaves you the chance to break him, and you don't take it, you'll lose the serve in the next game. And that sentence cam true! now he led 5-6*. I was leading the set, so I had to win that one! I broke him to 0, and went at the tiebreak. Well, I think I've played the worse tiebreak ever! down 0-6, lost 3-7. I was superior to him, my game could beat him, I had only to be patient and the result would come. And the second set was clearly better! wen 3-1, I had a chance to go *4-1 but I miss it; despite this I won the set 6-4. In the third we kept the serve till 4-4. I went 40-15 on his serve, and I broke him no one could broke me in the next game. Three aces, and a forehand winner gaves me the firts victory against a top-25! 6-7(3) 6-4 6-4 and R2 against Berdych. I felt I was playing my best tennis ever, and the match confirmed it. In the first set I was like terminator, I lost only a game. In the second I miss a lot of chances, but on 3-3 I broke him to 0 and I won my first match with a top-20... who could except it!!!! 6-1 6-4, and R3 with Davydenko. The match could be riassumed with a single word: SURREAL. Yes, surreal, because I went 4-0 in the first set! He didn't touch a single ball, it was a rain made of winners by me. Closed the set 6-2, and went a Break up in the second, *1-0, but he managed to broke me back and led 3-5. He close 4-6 and we went to the third set. Again, I went a break up: 3-1*. then the impossible: Down 3-5* in a couple of minutes!! He went 40-0. But the match started ONLY NOW. 3 winners in-a-row, deuce. Saved andother 2 MP and broke him!! So *4-5. but it wasn't enough to save the set... again 40-0 for him. I saved them and another 3 match points, and went 5-5 saving 11 match points. He went *5-6, and agaaaaain.... 15-40. But again I saved them with an ace and a volley totally wrong from him. Tiebreak. No words for it. 6 winners in a row from 0-1**, I close the match at the second Match Point. 6-2 4-6 7-6(2) SAVING 13 MATCH POINTS. In QF I were too tired to fight again, lost 1-6 0-6 with Ferrer. But hey, I've beaten the number 3 in the world!!! best ranking for me at n.53.
after 3 weeks at the maximum level of my game, I was very tired. So lost 6-4 6-2 in Valencia and retired from the Paris Master.Finished the year with a 250's final and a 1000's QF. with 695 points, I classified 55th in the world (skipping almost all the clay season due to a foot injury). Next season I'll try to enter in the top20, I'll start in Brisbane against Udomchoke... see you later for the brisbane Report!!

[iopzzza]

My third year started as the first two. Playing at chennai. I had won last 2 tournaments and i was thinking for a third trophy , but i saw nadal also registered for the tournament :X. I am 1-3 career record against him and only win came in Indian Wells final last year. Anyway i've started vs E.Schwank (my stats were lower as usual , but not lower than last year ). I played well 6/2 6/2 win he wasnt anywhere near challenging . In 2n round i've played against good clay courter - L.Mayer , but as it turned out bad hard corter . No problems in first set 6/1 , he fought some time in the second but i've won 6/4. In QF i've got Dologpolov for opponent. Match started well , we both served good , hit good. He was playing very good i was worried for a moment , but after some good shots i've decided to wait for my moment. Unfortunately , THAT moment didnt came he was perfect and he broke me in my last game of serve winning 6/4. I didnt gave up of course and started with 2/0 lead in the second set.It seems that was nothing for him he won 4 games in a row after that and after those 4 games i had just zero chance to broke him , so that is it ... my first lose at Chennai. I've had to play more tournaments before Australian Open , becuase my stats werent nowhere near good for a slam. I queued in Auckland. Had bye in 1St round. Denis Ishtomin in second , winning 6/1 and a tough 6/4 (with only 1 BP). In QF someone named R.Farrah 6/0 (result says it all) ad 7/5 he fought well but in the last game made 2 DF which destroyed his hard work. Marcel Granollers in SF - VERY TOUGH battle dont look the result 6/3 6/3.THe spaniard played amazing but i just refused to lose i just couldnt allow to lose. He started with 3/0 lead in the first set but i won 6 games after that. In the second set i've made on break and started 3/0 after which he just gave up. In the final i've played against 2nd seeded spaniard Almagro. This was the toughest match of the tournament for sure. Started the first set good leading 2-0 but missed 2 backhands and he instantly rebroke. After that there was nothing interesting in serve-volleying (a bit) to 5-5. At 5-5 he had AD at my serve but i stayed in the set and after that broke him in his game of serve 7-5. The second set started with serving and winning games. We went 4-4 in just 5-6 minutes real time . After which second time in a row (first vs dolgopolov) i just collapsed in my game of serve AT THE EXACTLY SAME TIME. He broke 5-4 and won 6-4 the second set. 7-5 4-6. In the third set i just had no more time for mistakes and won easily 6-1. He hadnt answer. My first title for 2015 (my third year) - Auckland. Starting in AO now third seeded.

[iopzzza]

I like your style of playing Danispadi. Many players rest after tough matches but its like cheating . AFter tough match i play another , because if i rest there is real chance of destroying my next opponent (if hes not djoko , nadal ,delpo, fed and some other more). I rest usually at the end of the tournament or when something important comes up to do . Danispadi why dont u try Elite controls ? Its more realistic you will be more entertained for sure

[danispadi]

Thanks Iopzzza, I'll try Elite controls after the AO, but I didn't guarantee good results
So, Started my second season in Brisbane, 7th seed. Of course my stats were dropped a lot :S but in R1 I were very lucky and got Udomchoke, n.172.... the right player to start the year with. destroyed him 6-1 6-0, then I met Starace. I knew him because I'm italian and I know his style. Started immediately 2-0, but on *5-4 I dropped my level and went 5-6 *30-40... saved the set point and went at the tiebreak: usually it's a safe thing for me, I won 6 of the 9 tiebreaks in my whole carreer. But this one was a mess :O went down *0-5, then **2-6; saved three set points but on the fourth he aced me 6-7(5) with a bad tiebreak by me. Reacted almost immediately, went *3-1, but AGAIN when I was serving for the set (on *5-3) he broke me! He also saved me a set point on 6-5. Again tiebreak, and AGAAAAIN a bad one!! went **1-6. thought my match was finished. Aced him and made a winner, 3-6**. he was serving very well, so I was preparating myself to take the tennis bag and flew away from Brisbane. But he started to have fear, and he totally trashed the two serves, I saved the other set point and another one on 8-7. And I close the set 7-6(10) to set a final set (sorry for the word game XD). He didn't gave up, we both kept our services till... yes, till the tiebreak. But then I FINALLY played a good tiebreak, and won the whole thing 6-7(5) 7-6(10) 7-6(2) saving 7 matchpoints. Actually, win saving matchpoints is becoming my strenght in QF I faced Berlocq. He is a defenser, and it's the type of players that I love to play with, because they defend but not like nadal or ferrer, they defend quite poorly. After destroyed him 6-0 6-2, I was destroyed by Chela, 6-2 6-1 (he also beated me in montecarlo, when I was recovering from the injury, 6-1 6-p0 :O )
With 90 points in my tennis bag, I went with a lot of confidence (and experience points ) into the first slam. In R1 I'll face Thomas Johansson from Sweden. Let's see how it goes!

[antimouse]

Hey iopzzza, thanks for the answer.

My PC specs are: 8GB RAM, 4GB video card and i5-4670k. I don't remember how much fps I lost, but it was perceptible. I haven't tried lowering resolution though, I'll try that later.

[iopzzza]

I am almost sure , you can stream in HD without any problems . You just have to check your options though and what program are you streaming with ?

[danispadi]

Here we are, for the Slam Down Under.
So, R1 against Johansson: broke him in the 3rd game, and kept my service till 6-4 in my favour. Second set was pretty similar, but I got broke 6-3 for him. the third part was very thight, and he went up *4-3. But there were 10 p.m., so there wasn't enough light to continue. The day after, he didn't won a point in the rest of the set :O 6-4 and broke him on 1-0. Had some problems during the last game, but I manage to win 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-3. R2 vs Grosjean :O he started very focused and led by 4 games to 2, but I managed to re-broke him and went 5-4. We went at the tiebreak: at the moment I'm 8-4... I went immediately down **0-3, and I couldn't get a minibreak I went 4-6*. We made an incredible point, and I managed to resist at his accelerations and made a winner! another point for me and 6-6. Ace for me, and he made an UE so 4 points in-a-row and 7-6(6). In the next two sets I managed to break him on the 9th and the 11th game, to win 7-6(6) 6-4 7-5. R3 against Baghdatis, no.12, was a high-level match. He broke me in my first game of serve and he managed to win 6-3 the first part. I get a revenge, and I broke him on 5-4 to win the set 6-4; then he raised his level insanely: i couldn't touch a ball, he won 6-1 the 3rd... somehow I managed to keep my serve till the tiebreak in the 4th, but he was too strong for me. Lost 3-6 6-4 1-6 6-7(2), but at least I've defended my 2006's points in this major
Next stop will be Zageb: R1 was against Muller, broke him once per set and won 6-3 6-4; then my opponent, Lars Burgsmuller, won 0 games and only 13 points in the whole match, it says all
Now I have to play against the 3rd seed (I'm 7th) Stepanek, which I beat at shangai in three sets last year. It will be also my first match with elite controls, hope it will be a good one!

[iopzzza]

Well its time for some iopzzza again. As ivé said , i was seeded third in AO this year. Last year i've played one of my best matches on the tour against nishikori , i've lost 1/3 sets but the playing was amazing, there was all , drop shots , lobs , aces , everything. I was defending 4th round so it was a hard task to deffend points. I've started in the first round against F.Delbonis. A tough opponent for the first round , but i've made it easyer. 6/2 6/4 7/5. WIth 4 breaks to win the match in what was good match , entertaining enough . In second and third round i've played agaisnt weaker players. G.Jones - Australian i've beat him 6/3 6/1 6/2 in a very easy match. He has bad stats for top tenis and was ranked 132. In 3-rd round there was another one like him G.Kalovelons . This time ti was even worst 6/1 6/1 6/0 for me . In the 4th round i'vep layed gasquet but i've noticed WAWRINKA lost to BERDYCH. And my opponent for 1/4 final was Berdych , and after that semis agaisnt Murray (who wasn in same for as last year). As i've may noticed i love to play against berdych . Against gasquet i've had my toughest match on the tournament. I've started good with 2-0 lead , evnetually extending it to 4-0 and giving up only 2 games in the first set for 6-2. The second set was the real deal, i feel if i lose its very likely i lose the whole match. Amazing display by both for 6/6 and 2 MINI BP in the tiebreak for 7/6 for me. The third set was with only on break and i've won 6/2 7/6 6/4. In QF there was no real deal against berdych, i always beat him... 6/2 6/1 6/3. In semi's agaisnt murray i tought he will fight more , last year he was AMAZING player, but as it seems this year his level dropped , he is still numba one in the world , though . I've started well with serving one game and breaking him, because i've served first the set finished 6-3 for me. In the second i wasnt ready for what would've come. His level dropped even further and i've baggelled him 6/0. He fought little bit in the third set , but there was no place for errors i've wont 6/3 6/0 6/4 (missing 2 MP , though ). The funny thing - THE QF in the DOWn quarter were : Nadal - Djoko , Fed - Del Potro . 1-4 vs nadal , 0-4 vs fed , 2-3 vs delpo, 3-4 vs djoko. The semi was Nadal - Fed and nadal WON. In the final there was REALLY no place for me on the court , i've tryed everything but he WAS ON FIRE. 5/7 1/6 and after 1/4 i've retired . Anyway its my first SLAM FINAL i am not far from my first GS title. I've made it to number 2 in the world , STABLE number 2. Forgot to say , last year i was NUMBER 1 , after i've won SHangai , but only for 1 week . More to come soon

[iopzzza]

So i continue with my career. After this loss at AO FINAL i was furios. Hurryed up to start clay season in Vina Del Mar (chile). First seeded. 1st round hanescu - 6/0 6/1 . 2R Capdeville 6/1 6/0. QF B.Baker 6/1 6/0 . SF Careno Busta 6/0 6/2. And Final vs DJOKOVIC . As you've noticed clay is my best surface so far. I love playing it . Started good first set dominating and winnig most of the points. Early break for 2/0 and then 3/0 on my serve was enough to seal the set. After 3/0 the set just died a bit i've won 6/3. The second set was a mirror ,but for djokovic he broke me at the same time and won 6/3. So 6/3 3/6. I dont know what happened in third but he led me 3/0 and was serving up for 4/0 . Went 40-15 , but after that i've just raged , got 1 minute break and won 6 consucutive games to win 6/3 3/6 6/3 my 1st clay title of the season. After VINA DEL MAR i've missed atp 500 and played Buenos Aires , another clay tournament. I was 1st seeded and Nadal 2nd seed. Started easy 1st round E.Schwank 6/0 6/1. (he was playing like master 2 unbeliavable Form of the day , still.) I've noticed many of the player's i ma playing has very good Form of the day stats . 2R G.Muller gave me a fight but lost in tight first 6/4 and no so tight second set 6/2. IN QF against a Clay specialist Falla i've won 6/0 6/2 destroying him. In semi's ive had my revenge over Monaco who beat me at last year wimbledon at 3rd round. 6/3 6/0. And in the final i've met nadal. Started very good first set taking the lead 2/0 and eventually serving for 3/0 going 40/15 up but CAME SHORT , couldnt finish the game. He rebroke and made it 2/2. There were many LONG RALLIES , 35 strokes , 45 strokes and more like that. It was massacre. We both didnt break to 4/4. But i felt he had the upper hand and the break didnt came late. He broke me to win 6/4 the set , he was just in same form like Australian open . In the second set i've started playing EVEN BETTER i dont know how its possible. I went up 3/0 and managed to save that game difference unti the end of the set wininig 6/3 the second set. Made the same thing in 3rd set also , but after that just collapsed i dont know what happened (i've streamed that match to one of my friends ) and he won 6 consecutiv games to win 6/4 3/6 6/3. Anyway final was good also , losing on clay to the king of clay. More to come soon

[Krish4791]

Hi guys, fantastic to read your posts again! Thanks for the detailed reports iopzzza, I'm enjoying following your career!
Been a long time since I've posted, but I've managed to continue my strong career. Let us pick up where we left off.
I just won the 2008 Australian Open (without losing a set) and now head to Dubai to try and pick up another title:

2008 Dubai:

R1: Zeiner def. Korolev 6-0, 6-1 - comfortable win to open up proceedings
R2: Zeiner def. Tsonga 6-4, 6-2 - this was a good win because Tsonga had been in good form at the AO. I broke in the opening game and was untroubled on serve in set 1. Then I raced into a 4-0 lead in set 2, eventually sealing the win with an ace
QF: Murray def. Zeiner 5-7, 6-1, 4-6 - Andy Murray played really well to record his first win over me! He hit just 6 errors in the whole match, and I was not at my best.

2008 Indian Wells:

R2: Zeiner def. Falla 6-3, 6-2 - this was a routine win, but I usually have easier opening matches, he was playing like an Incredible level 3 player!

R3: Zeiner def. Wawrinka 6-4, 6-1 - tight first set. Wawrinka had 3 break points at 3-3, but I quickly erased them all Then he double faulted on set point, and I took control.

QF: Zeiner def. Nalbandian 6-1, 6-1 - Nalbandian was awful lol

SF: Zeiner def. Roddick 6-4, 7-6 - big serving Andy Roddick played well, but I got a crucial break at 3-3 in first set, sealing a lead with a forehand whipped passing shot. The second set was closer and went to a tie-break. I found myself 3-5 down, but hit a backhand return winner as Roddick decided to approach the net! I sealed the win with an ace, extending my record with Roddick to something like 11-1 or 12-1

F: Zeiner def. Nadal 6-3, 6-4 - I won the title in superb fashion! I continue my dominance over Nadal, who did well to even reach the final. Overall, the angles I found with my forehand and my volleys at net were too much for him.

2008 Miami:

R2: Zeiner def. Hewitt 6-2, 6-0
R3: Zeiner def. Aydin 6-0, 6-0
QF: Zeiner def. Karlovic 7-6, 6-0 - this was tough initially, but I began to read Karlovic's serve amazingly well in set 2, and I recorded yet another dominant performance
SF: Zeiner def. Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 - I clashed with Djokovic again, who has been developing his game really well. I got the early break for 1-0 after he played a sloppy game, then served out the set 6-4. In set 2, he started finding the lines and broke me for 5-3, then sent down 4 aces in a row (!!) to win the 2nd set. Djoko had the momentum in set 3, but I forced my way into his service game at 6-5, 30-30, before playing a fantastic drop shot to set up match point. He hit a forehand wide and that was it, I was through to another Miami final!

F: Zeiner def. Federer 2-6, 7-6, 6-2 - I had yet another tough match but came through brilliantly against Federer. He was too good in set 1, not much I could have done about it as he broke me twice to win it. I was the better player in set 2, but he saved 7 break points before eventually I won the tie-break (7-4). Then momentum switched and I palyed a fantastic game to break for 4-2, before breaking again to seal the match with an overhead smash for 6-2!

Overall, very happy with my form and now we head into the clay season.

2008 Monte Carlo:

R2: Zeiner def. Berlocq 6-1, 6-0
R3: Zeiner def. Coria 6-2, 6-2
QF: Zeiner def. Ferrer 6-4, 6-3
SF: Nadal def. Zeiner 4-6, 6-7 - I looked comfortable throughout the tournament but Nadal played one of the best matches of his career so far to beat me. I led 2-0 in the first set, but I played too much to his forehand and he overpowered me. I also led 5-3 in set 2, but yet again he came back and I made too many mistakes in the tie-break, but now at least I have settled down on clay.

2008 Madrid:

R2: Zeiner def. Soeda 6-0, 6-3
R3: Zeiner def. Ferrero 6-1, 6-4
QF: Zeiner def. Del Potro 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 - i think this was my first meeting with DelPo, where he played solid to take the first set, 8-6 in tie-break. I bounced back by breaking for 2-1, then served out the 2nd set. Then I raced into a 4-0 lead in set 3, finally winning with ease.

SF: Zeiner def. Djokovic 7-6, 7-6 - Both of us played like servebots! I did not lose any points on my serve in the 1st set, and only lost 5 in total in the match, producing 16 aces - my best serving display ever
F: Zeiner def. Cilic 6-2, 6-4 - Cilic was very much a surprise finalist, so I cleaned him up with ease and won my 5th CONSECUTIVE Madrid Open Title! Now onto Roland Garros! I still keep my no. 1 ranking as well, even though I have opted not to play Rome.

2008 Roland Garros:

R1: Zeiner def. Lacko 6-1, 6-0, 6-1
R2: Zeiner def. Lu 6-2, 6-1, 6-0
R3: Zeiner def. Bogmolov Jr 6-0, 6-4, 6-1
R4: Zeiner def. Robredo 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1 - The opening 3 rounds were all comfortable for me, but against Robredo I had some problems. I was broken in my 1st service game, and Robredo was 5-2 up quite quickly. He even had set point at 2-5, 40-Adv but I saved it after a 68-shot rally where I ended up just pushing the ball back! I went on to hold, and won 7 straight games to take the first set 7-5, and go 2-0 up in the 2nd set. I served for the 2nd set at 5-4, but got broken back. I recovered to win the set 7-2 in the tie-break, but more errors from the backhand made me lose the 3rd set, before I eventually regained control to run through set 4.

QF: Zeiner def. Berdych 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 - I played a solid match, breaking at 4-4 in each of the first 2 sets before winning a 3rd set tie-break with an ace, to move into another RG semifinal

SF: Nadal def. Zeiner 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 5-7 - Nadal has really really improved this clay season and although I won the first set, I needed 67 minutes to do it! I got taken to deuce 11 times in one service game! I slowly started to get sucked into playing Nadal's game and gave him too many short balls to hit with his forehand. I did lead 4-2 in the 4th set, but got broken back easily and was unable to force a final set, eventually losing the set 7-5. Nadal narrows down our head to head to 3-13, and he went on to beat Federer in the final to win his 1st Slam Title, so well done to him!
I am now just 95 points away from losing the no. 1 ranking to Federer, and Nadal is back up to no. 3, but we will see how this goes as we enter the grass season!