El Hormiguero (16/5/11) Fernando Verdasco (2/4)

Online video Ranking: five / 5

NADAL BACKS REAL

Rafael Nadal has said that Borussia Dortmund is a good team, but, he wants Real Madrid to be the winner of the ongoing Champions League tournament.

Nadal wanted to be a football player in his childhood days, but, later, he decided to make his career in tennis. However, he still loves the game of soccer. He follows the matches of quite a few clubs around the world and Real Madrid is one of them.

Real Madrid will be facing Borussia Dortmund in the semi final of the Champions League and Nadal has made it clear which side he is going to support.

When asked which side he will be cheering for in the semi final of the Champions League, Nadal said, “It’s Real Madrid. I follow all their matches and really want them to win this tournament. Borussia Dortmund is also a decent side, but, my heart is with Madrid.”

“I think all the semi-finalist teams are pretty strong and the upcoming matches will be full of excitement. Anyone can be the winner from here. All the teams have got the quality.”

Apart from Dortmund and Madrid, the other two semi-finalist teams in the Champions League are Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona.

When Nadal was asked who between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is a better striker, he said, “Look, this question is really impossible to answer. Both of them are way ahead of the other guys. They are special players and the Spanish fans are very lucky that both are playing in La Liga.”

When asked about his preparations for the Monte Carlo Masters, Nadal said, “I have trained hard for that competition. I love the surface at Monte Carlo. I have always played well there and I am looking forward to have a go on that surface again.”

David Ferrer vs Stanislas Wawrinka Copa Claro ATP 250 Tennis Series [Final 24/2/13]

Video Score: 5 / 5

ALMAGRO VS GOFFIN

Rafael Nadal’s countryman, Nicolas Almagro, will lock horns with David Goffin of Belgium in the third round of the Sony Open on Monday. This will be the second time that he will be facing Goffin.

These two players had faced each other in the Sony Open last year as well. In that match, Almagro had demolished Goffin and had secured a straight set win.

This year hasn’t been that good for Almagro. He has played well at times, but, he has not been consistent. His first tournament in the season was Mubadala World Tennis Championship. He performed quite well in that tournament and reached the title round where he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in three sets.

After that tournament, Almagro participated in the Australian Open and reached the quarter finals there. In the quarter final, he was playing against his countryman David Ferrer. He had a fabulous start in that match and he won the first couple of sets. But, after that, he lost the plot and ended up being defeated.

After the Australian Open, Almagro started struggling with his form and in the tournaments that he played after that, he didn’t manage to put up impressive performances.

Almagro has played 18 matches in the ongoing season out of which he has won 13 and lost 5.

On the other hand, Almagro’s opponent Goffin is only 22 years of age and he is currently at no. 47 in the world rankings. He has had an extremely poor run this year so far. He has been defeated in 8 out of the 13 matches that he has played this year. However, he is a promising young player and he has the capability of pulling off upsets. So, Almagro will have to be careful against him.

Fernando Verdasco 2012 1 / 4

Movie Rating: five / five

FERRER WINS FOR SPAIN

Rafael Nadal’s countryman, David Ferrer, has defeated Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinal of the Australian Open 2013. Ferrer won the match by 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-2. It was an amazing comeback by Ferrer. He was down by two sets, but, he showed tremendous character and didn’t give up. He kept fighting and eventually pulled off the victory to cruise into the final 4.

In the opening set, both the players held their service in the first six games and the scores were levelled at 3-3 at the end of the sixth game. Almagro got a breakthrough in the seventh game and he didn’t let Ferrer recover after that. He held his service in the eighth and the tenth game and won the first set by 6-4.

The second set was also a bit like the first one. Almagro held his entire serve and with the help of a serve break in the fifth game, he won the second set by the same margin of 6-4.

Ferrer was in trouble in the third set as well. He dropped his serve in the seventh game. Almagro served out the next game to take the lead of 5-3.

Almagro only had to hold his serve in the 10^th game to win the match, but, he couldn’t do that. His service was broken consecutively in the 10^th and the 12^th game. Ferrer won the last four games on the trot and sealed the third set by 7-5.

In the fourth set, neither of the two players served well. Both of them dropped their serve four times in the set and the scores were tied at 6-6 at the end of the 12^th game. The set was extended into the tie breaker in which Ferrer held his nerves and won the fourth set.

In the final set, Almagro lost the plot. He looked nervous and played some loose shots. The first four games went with the serve, but, thereafter, it was Ferrer all the way. He won the last four games with the help of serve breaks in the fifth and the seventh game and sealed the fifth set to move into the semi finals.

In the semi final, Ferrer will take on the winner of the match between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych.