Nadal stumbles on Murray’s lead on his return

(With information from EFE and photo from Mexico)

Rafael Nadal’s return to the slopes four months later saw England’s Andy Murray, who beat the Spaniard 6-3 7-5, advance in the semi-final duel of the Abu Dhabi Exposition Championship, which will be her title. An attempt against the Russian Andrei Rublev.

The new version of the “Mubadala World Tennis Championship”, a tournament chosen by Nadal for his new launch, presented a classic before, the confrontation that years ago was part of the elite in the ring. Head to head in search of any great title or famous ending.

It has nothing to do with that day, as both the Spaniards and the British are striving for their place in the ring. Nadal has not jumped on a track since last August 6, in the quarter-finals of the Washington Championships, he lost to South African Lloyd’s Harris. Later, he stepped aside to recover from an injury to his left foot and had to undergo surgery.

However, Murray has progressed since he announced his retirement in January 2019 due to a hip injury that he underwent surgery twice. The Scotsman lives with a metal prosthesis and has shown a certain amount of progress, especially in the middle of the season ending, as he has been regularly taking part in tournaments.

The Briton, winner of three Grand Slam titles (two Wimbledon and one US Open) and two Olympic golds, Nadal showed a longer distance, a clear adaptation to the competition. He broke in the sixth game of the first set he won. After that, the balance was maintained until the eleventh, during which he received a new “break” for victory.

Nadal showed signs of improvement in the second round, as he was more daring, with a greater rhythm and had occasions to break his opponent’s serve, although he did not take advantage of them.

He acceded to Murray’s request, but lacked the precision to extend the duel and gain time on the track.

It took Murray an hour and 49 minutes to score his eighth win in 25 matches against Nadal, his first since the 2016 Madrid Masters.

The Scotsman will play the title he already won in 2009 and 2014 against Andrei Rublev, the Davis Cup champion with Russia in Madrid, who beat Denis Shapovalov. Before that, Nadal will play the Canadian in third place.

The Spaniard, after facing North America and concluding his participation in Abu Dhabi, where he won in 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2019, will attend the Melbourne Championship, from January 3 to 9, to later face the Australian Open, from 17 to 30.