The Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney had an event this Friday. For the second time in his career only, Rafael Nadal lost a single in a team competition in the shirt of Spain. The Spaniard had not suffered a setback since his very first selection in the Davis Cup, in 2004 against the Czech Jiri Novak. Since then, “Rafa” has had 32 successes (29 in the Davis Cup, 3 in the ATP Cup) and remained on 34 sets won consecutively. The incredible series ended against the Belgian David Goffin (6-4, 7-6 [3]).
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The only player with Dominic Thiem to have taken a set at Nadal at the last Roland-Garros, the 11th in the world applied the same tactic on Friday, namely being ultra aggressive, sometimes leaving you to miss. It worked perfectly for a set and a half. In extreme humidity conditions – Goffin had to change his shoes in the middle of the match because they were filled with water – the Belgian, more enterprising and devilishly precise in his attacks (34 winning strokes in total against 30 for Nadal) , logically ended up with a round and a break ahead, 6-4, 4-2. He even got two double break balls and the opportunity to serve to win the game. He did not catch them and, as often in these cases, his opponent, especially when his name is Nadal, returned.
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But the world n ° 1, which appeared quite heavy on the ground and not always inspired by the bottom of the court (26 direct faults), missed the tie-break of the second round. Goffin concluded the game on an ace and allowed Belgium to equalize to one everywhere before the decisive double. In which should take part “Rafa” with Carreno Busta against the pair Gille-Vliegen. Unless Goffin, fortified by his victory in singles, returns to the court. The winner will face Australia on Saturday in the ATP Cup semi-finals.
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