Fernando Verdasco provided the first big slip up of the year for Rafa Nadal when he defeated the Majorcan at the Australian Open and heavily dented his confidence. Today, Nadal managed to close that wound in a way after defeating his compatriot 6-0, 7-6 in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.
The first set was a no-show from Verdasco who served incredibly poorly, even for his standards, and allowed Nadal to race away with a bagel. Verdasco has always been incredibly unpredictable throughout his career, with the mental side of his game letting him down, and once he feels he has no chance, the white towel has followed swiftly. Today’s encounter looked like it was heading down that route but, to be fair to Verdasco, he did show mental fortitude in the second set to put his doubles partner in trouble.
Rafa Nadal wasn’t a solid bet himself on his own serve and both players broke each other constantly. Verdasco came alive in the tie break and, more often than not, dictated the tempo of the rallies but Nadal showed what he always shows, that he finds a way to get the ball back and that it takes four winners in a point to actually get it past him. Verdasco served for the set at 6-3 but Nadal just didn’t miss and eventually his opponent missed. A double fault from the Madrid-born player gave the Majorcan a chance to close out the tie break on his serve and eventually a Verdasco shot fired long and the relief was clear to see. Rafa Nadal celebrated the victory like a man who had taken a huge weight off his shoulders; a player who felt the match had to be put to bed before Verdasco could awake. A small revenge for Nadal who will be very seriously tested by the brilliant Alexander Zverev in the next round.
