Nadal casts doubt on another Grand Slam win

Federer makes no qualms about loving his visits to India in this interview with CNN-IBN, and would love to run into an Indian opponent eight months down the line at the Rio Olympics next year.

As temperature dropped, the crowd increased slightly under the floodlights for the later game.

Federer again made a comeback, saving two match points, to break back and force a shootout after 5-5 amidst incessant shouts of “Vamos Nadal” and “Come on, Federer“.

“It’s great fun with the team”.

Federer: We try to play best possible tennis in all matches. A country, which is starved to see quality players, as many times as we can motivate people, it will be good. Maybe that helped. But with this format, everything happens so fast.

Today he will face world No2 Andy Murray, who in 2008 beat Federer in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. “She was a hero of mine while I was 15, because she was winning Grand Slams then… at the age of 16!”

“It’s important that the IPTL is coming to the UAE, and that we have a great time”.

“I had a slower start as Rafa was ready. Normally, I am not benched for mixed doubles but Herbert is also playing so well”, the disappointment was palpable for the Olympic bronze medalist, who won three mixed doubles Grand Slam titles with Martina Hingis this year.

“After all, it’s been 15 years since we last played”, he added.

And while the continental audiences from India to Japan seem to have embraced the competition, it has yet to truly catch fire going by the early impressions from yesterday.

Rafael Nadal’s debut season in the International Premier Tennis League came to an end this past weekend, but not before he positioned his Indian Aces team extremely well for a berth in the championship match.

Just when it looked as if supporters of the Swiss maestro would leave almost empty-handed, he saved three set points (basically, match points) on his serve at 3-5 down, and followed it up by breaking Nadal in sensational style.

The Indian, who had earlier complained about not being picked for the mixed doubles clashes by his team, was visibly rattled by the loss and was seen engaged in an animated discussion with teammate Marat Safin, who warmed the bench for a third successive day. We work hard. We work with passion, with love for what we are doing and just trying to do right things to improve every year. “He was waiting (in the final), I hope next year may be”, said Federer referring to the 2010 edition of the US Open in which he lost a grueling semifinal to Novak Djokovic. He was a lot of fun to talk to – and he is a legend. The last set was both the shortest and the most uninteresting.