Rafael Nadal is one match win away from becoming year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the third time (also 2008, 2010).Nadal beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2 in 74 minutes on Tuesday in Group A at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The victory avenged his loss to Ferrer in the BNP Paribas Masters semi-finals on Saturday in Paris. It was their sixth FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting of the season.
The 27-year-old Nadal will qualify for the semi-finals, at The O2 in London, should he beat Stanislas Wawrinka in two sets or if he beats Wawrinka and Ferrer overcomes Tomas Berdych.
Nadal improved to a 72-6 match record on the season. He has won 10 titles – including at two majors and five ATP World Tour Masters 1000s – from 13 finals since early February, when he returned from a seven-month injury lay-off.
There were three breaks of serve in the first five games as the former finalists tried to establish themselves in their 26th clash. Nadal, the 2010 runner-up, won three straight games from a 1-2 deficit and broke 2007 finalist Ferrer to love to clinch the 34-minute opener.
Nadal took a 5-0 lead in the second set to keep Ferrer, who had been aggressive in their Paris semi-final, on the back foot. Ferrer broke Nadal to 15 in the seventh game, but Nadal took Ferrer’s serve for a sixth time to wrap up the match.
Nadal is now 21-4 this year against Top 10 opponents in the Emirates ATP Rankings.
Stats:
| Rafael Nadal | David Ferrer |
| Service Statistics | ||
| Aces | 3 | 1 |
| Double Faults | 3 | 3 |
| 1st Serve % | 54% | 62% |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 21/26 (81%) | 14/36 (39%) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 9/22 (41%) | 11/22 (50%) |
| Break Points Saved | 1/3 (33%) | 1/7 (14%) |
| Service Games Played | 8 | 9 |
| Return Statistics | ||
| 1st Return Points Won | 22/36 (61%) | 5/26 (19%) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 11/22 (50%) | 13/22 (59%) |
| Break Points Won | 6/7 (86%) | 2/3 (67%) |
| Return Games Played | 9 | 8 |
| Points Statistics | ||
| Total Service Points Won | 30/48 (62%) | 25/58 (43%) |
| Total Return Points Won | 33/58 (57%) | 18/48 (38%) |
| Total Points Won | 63/106 (59%) | 43/106 (41%) |
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