Rafa downs Dave ...

I have to say that was one fine tennis match we saw today. David Nalbandian had been a bit of an ogre to Rafa before, once holding a 2-0 H2H over him and he was someone that Rafa was always nervous of. But today - thankfully - Rafa brought some of his best tennis. The pair were well matched in the first set and if anything, Dave was playing better. But the thing was, it was such an evidently purple performance from Dave that with all things considered, you knew that it wouldn't last forever. And the thing was, Rafa was also playing well, but Dave just that bit more so, so when Rafa got broken and there was a hint of possible loss of a first set, none of us were unduly worried.

I only get anxious when Rafa retreats, hides on the back board and hits and hopes for his opponents' errors. But there was none of that today. Rafa was sticking to a game plan, playing his tennis, knew that he was playing well but his opponent was playing that bit better, but he just had to keep doing what he was doing and it would come. And it did. Rafa broke back and it went to a tie break which Rafa won fabulously by 7-5 ... and it shattered Dave.

If he'd had to have any chance in the match, then Dave needed that first set, and it was as if all the momentum was just punched out of him as Rafa raced away with the second set, 6-1.

The third set was a tighter affair - time for Rafa's level to drop a little - so it was tit for tat in service games till Rafa faced a break point and good old Pascal Maria gave him a warning for a time violation. He's not Cilic, so undeterred, he saved it ... only to face another and promptly lost his serve. But Rafa came back out fighting, and immediately got the break back. Before he took his own serve, the trainer came on and Rafa had a MTO to his right foot (not the troublesome one, people) as it looked like Rafa was suffering from blisters, so the MTO was for padding and to make the foot more comfortable.

Rafa then got a break to go 4-2 up and then served for the match at 5-4. But by a mixture of some good play by Dave and some bad play by him, he lost his serve - on a dratted double fault. Rafa went ahead at 6-5 and then held match points on Dave, and double faults at crucial points in the match was a bit of a story today, and Rafa won on one.

But lots of positive things to take from today, and whilst I was a bit perturbed that Rafa could stupidly be taken to a fourth set, he's getting better. Keep at it Rafa ...