MIAMI, March 30, 2015
The bottom half of the Miami Open by Iatú draw was in action on Sunday and therewith the first part of the third round matches were played.
Fernando Verdasco gained his first victory against Rafael Nadal on hard courts winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in two hours and 15 minutes. The 31-year-old from Madrid beat the second seed for a second consecutive time. Verdasco defeated Nadal at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid in 2012 on blue clay. The 28-year-old from Mallorca will leave Crandon Park Tennis Center again without winning the title. It was the eleventh time, Nadal falling short in Miami.
He played well in the third [set] so he deserved to win more than me without any doubt tonight. Just congratulate him for the victory,” Nadal said.
“It’s not the question of tennis,” he noted. “The thing is the question of being relaxed enough to play well on court. One month, or one month and a half ago, I didn’t have my game. My game in general has improved since a month and a half. At the same time, I’m still playing with too much nerves for a lot of moments, in important moments, still playing with a little bit of anxious[ness].”
He said that he has been able to control his emotions for “90, 95 percent of my matches of my career,” but on Sunday, it was “tougher to be under self-control.”
“But I’m gonna fix it,” Nadal promised. “I don’t know if in one week, in six months, or in one year, but I’m gonna do it.”
Third seed Andy Murray took out Santiago Giraldo winning 6-3, 6-4 in 84 minutes.
Miami’s number eight Tomas Berdych beat Bernard Tomic 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 in a close encounter to seal victory in two hours and 35 minutes.
Seventh seed Stan Wawrinka suffered defeat when he lost to Adrian Mannarino in two breaks after two hours and 12 minutes. The 30-year-old Swiss traditionally feels problems playing in Miami. In seven attempts, Wawrinka has never gone past the fourth round. The Frenchman gained his first ever victory over a top ten player and will face Dominic Thiem next, who emerged victorious from the “battle of the youngsters”.
“It was a good match, I served good and it was quite nice to watch to I guess. I went on court very concentrated, Günter and me had a talk two minutes before the match, like we always have. But this time we didn’t talk about tactic or technique, we talked about something completely different and that was the key to success for me, I guess! I am facing the strong Adrian Mannarino next round, he is playing his best tennis right now. I warmed up with him for the match against Sock, he is an outstanding good leftie and very strong from the baseline. I am expecting a tough battle tomorrow,” stated Thiem on his Facebook site.
The 21-year-old Austrian beat one year older US-American Jack Sock winning 6-4, 6-3 in 84 minutes.
