Right OK so now I'm moving onto my pick of the matches from the European clay court season and some of the best ones played on the red dirt. So here is my top five.
5. Rio open semi finals, Rafael Nadal d. Pablo Andujar 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(12-10)
Right I thought this is a great one to start with as it was a terrific clash between two Spaniards one of them being the best clay court player of all time and the other putting in a really good performance to test the king of clay to the limit at the Rio open. And Andujar from the start played some powerful and aggressive tennis and landed a double break to grab the first set from a struggling Rafa. In the 2nd however Rafa started digging deep to fight back and doing what he does he sezied his chance to break Andujar and he levelled the match a set apiece. And in the 3rd set both men played some thrilling points as the match went into a gripping epic tiebreak, which saw momentum swing to and fro and Andujar had match points, which Rafa staved off until he himself triumped in a tough battle 12-10 in the break to reach another clay court final. In this match it has to be said Rafa was below his best but he still showed what a great champion he really is and he coped with adversity incredibly well. Andujar also played his part in this match and he played some terrific tennis especially as he kept himself in the final set's thrilling tiebreak, but in the end it was Rafa again who came through in a gripping encounter which deserves its place on here.
4. Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome open) semi finals, Novak Djokovic d. Milos Raonic, 6-7(5-7), 7-6(7-4), 6-3
In this clash it was the battle of the serves as the World No.2 came up against one very tough customer in the big serving Milos Raonic in what was an epic three hour battle. And from the first set Nole found it incredibly hard to get any points on the Raonic serve and play went into a tiebreak, which Raonic took 7-5 and the set with it. In the 2nd set play went by serve again and Djokovic somehow managed to secure the 2nd set tiebreak 7-4, which is no mean feat against such a big server as Raonic. However in the 3rd set the big Canadian's serve was finally broken as Novak moved ahead and finally served it out to reach the final in Rome after three exhaustive hours. This match really was a brutal serving contest and Novak was almost incredibly luck in the end to come through it but his experience also got him over the finish line. Raonic it has to be said as a player is a bit one dimensional as he relies on his big serve and isn't the best returner, but he still played his part in turning this match into a gripping contest, which was certainly worth watching.
3. Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome open) 2nd round, Rafael Nadal d. Gilles Simon, 7-6(7-1), 6-7(4-7), 6-2.
At a tournament which was packed with excellent matches and certainly one of them being one of the best matches of the season, this was a real brutal contest between Rafa and the talented Frenchman, Gilles Simon. Rafa having shown some ropey clay court form coming into this tournament having come close to losing in the final of Madrid to Kei Nishikori only to turn it around just when Nishikori's back injury got the better of him, got off to a rough start here as well, but somehow managed to grab the first set. In the 2nd set Rafa again had to scrap hard against the gutsy Simon and this time Simon's dilligence paid off as he levelled the match by winning the 2nd set breaker. However in the 3rd Rafa finally worked through the gears and garnered a double break from the fading Frenchman, which saw Rafa seal his place in the next round after an exhaustive three hour fight. Rafa again here showed what a great competitor he really is as Simon threw everything he had at him although Rafa was admittedly below par in form, but the match still produced some great tennis for the crowd and it certainly deserves its place on this list.
2. French Open 3rd round, Andy Murray d. Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 12-10
In what had proven so far to be an up and down season for Andy Murray he started to appear to hide his stride when he arrived at the French open, although he made life hard for himself at times in this erratic but still high quality clash with the very talented Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. And in the match Andy got off to a bad start no thanks to his usual ropey serving and he went down a break to lose the opening set. However Andy in the 2nd set started to turn things around as he broke the German and grabbed the 2nd set and he also nabbed the 3rd to take a two sets to one lead. And in the 4th set Andy broke again and appeared to have things under control, when his serve let him down and Kohlschreiber went on to break Andy and level the match at two sets all. In the 5th set we were treated to a thrilling contest where momentum swung back and forth at times and Andy went down a break but he somehow managed to break back. And from here play went by serve until 7-7 when play had to be suspended due to darkness and when it resumed the next day both men played some high quality tennis for the crowd, which finally ended with a break from Andy to seal his place in the last 16. As far as rollercoaster matches go this was right up there and it has to be Andy did not make life easy for himself at all as he should really have closed this one out in the fourth set as he went a break up only to squander it. However Kohlschreiber also deserves a great deal of credit in this match as he played great tennis and for the most part he was the better player, but in the end it was down to Andy's grit and skill as a player that he came through this one. It also marked the first match Andy had played in a grand slam that past 6-6 in the deciding set, so to somehow win this one 12-10 in the 5th set made it that bit more special as well. And this match easily ranks as one of the highlights of the French open.
1. Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome open) quarter final, Rafael Nadal d. Andy Murray 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.
There is no doubt this match deserves its place at the top of the list as it was a much anticipated clash between two of the best players in the world and it marked their first ever meeting in nearly three years so it had alot to live up to. And it sure delivered on its promise as the match proved to be a superb contest, which saw Andy made a strong start and hit a subpar Rafa off the court to grab a double break and the first set with it. In the 2nd set however Rafa started to weave his way into the match as Andy's level started to dip and he broke serve to go on and take the set. And in the 3rd set both men played some incredible stuff for the crowd with Rafa taking an early break, but Andy somehow managed to break back and saved game point for Rafa to consolidate his break with a spectacular passing shot. And Andy then went on to break Rafa to move 4-2 up but Rafa was still not done and he broke back again and play went on until 5-5 where Rafa started to pull the trigger and make his move as Andy double faulted to hand the break to Rafa, who went on to serve out for a place in the semis and emerged victorious in a great match. This easily ranks as one of the best matches of the year and its great to see that Andy and Rafa's first clash in almost three years (two years and seven months to be exact) was a real classic, however it was just a pity that Andy wasn't able to hold serve at 4-2 as he could have went on to win the match. But Rafa once again showed why he is the greatest clay court player to grace the red dirt and his fightback from a set down for the 3rd successive match at the tournament in Rome was remarkable in itself. So for me this is easily the best clay court match of the year and thoroughly deserves its place at the top of the list.
Ok so that's it for the clay court season matches, time to move on to the grass.
Back soon....
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