The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Tired Murray exits, Nadal survives

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Tired Murray exits, Nadal survives

PARIS: A tired Andy Murray lost to Radek Stepanek 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 while a sluggish Rafael Nadal survived another three-setter in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday.

Nadal overcame fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes, breaking twice in the last three games.

Defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga enjoyed a more routine win, while U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro saved seven matchpoints.

Lack of sleep

The fourth-seeded Murray couldn’t overcome a lack of sleep following his three-set win over James Blake that ended at 1:45 a.m. on Thursday.

“It’s obviously limited recovery after a long match,” Murray said. “It’s 4 a.m. by the time you get to bed. So it’s not perfect preparation for a match. But you still come out and you try and give it your best shot. Wasn’t good enough,” he said.

Del Potro and Fernando Gonzalez were at 6-7(6), 7-6(6) just before 1 a.m. when Gonzalez retired because of pains in his right knee.

The withdrawal ended Gonzalez’s hopes of making the ATP finals. The Chilean star squandered seven matchpoints in the second set before losing the tiebreaker.

Robredo broke Nadal for 5-4 in the third set and looked ready to claim his first win in six meetings with Nadal, but he missed two easy forehands to let the former No. 1 back in the match.

Nadal, who staved off five matchpoints in the previous round, held serve then broke Robredo again for the match when Robredo dumped another forehand into the net.

“I didn’t play my best but it was better than yesterday,” said Nadal, trying to win first title since the Rome Masters in May. “I had control of the ball and I was able to play long rallies without making mistakes.”

Nadal wary of Tsonga

Nadal, who lost in the Paris final two years ago, will face Tsonga in the quarterfinals.

“He is playing very well, he is at home and on indoor court, so the conditions are with him,” Nadal said of Tsonga. “He will probably be the favourite but I’ll try to play better.”

Tsonga needed only 52 minutes to beat fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-3, and can still grab the eighth and last available spot in London.

The results: Third round: Marin Cilic bt Fernando Verdasco 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; Gael Monfils bt Julian Benneteau 6-4, 6-3; Radek Stepanek bt Andy Murray 1-6, 6-3, 6-4; Rafael Nadal bt Tommy Robredo 6-3, 3-6, 7-5; Juan Martin del Potro bt Fernando Gonzalez 6-7(6), 7-6(6) retd. injured. — Agencies

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