Nadal Crashes out of Qatar Open
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Surprise knockout leaves tournament open for Murray.
In a shock upset in the Qatar Open today Rafael Nadal was knocked out of the tournament by Gael Monfils of France.
The Frenchman had never beaten the Spanish World No.1 before, in fact, he had never won a set until today. Monfils was in superb form though and hardly put a foot or racquet wrong as he made short work of the usually indomitable Nadal.
Monfils broke Nadal in the third game of the first set and powered through to take the opening set 6-4 after an epic 10th game which clinched the set for the Frenchman. Nadal, somewhat taken aback, was never able to get into his stride with his booming serve and lightning pace.
The second set was won by Monfils 6-4 who never really struggled once he had taken the first set from Nadal. Monfils now faces American Andy Roddick who cruised past Victor Hanescu 6-3 6-2.
With Nadal out of the tournament, Britain’s Andy Murray has improved his chances significantly of retaining his title.
The World No.4 beat Philip Petzschner of Germany 6-2 6-4 in order to reach the quarter finals of the tournament.
Murray now faces Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhoysky in the quarter final.
Tennis fans will be hoping for a dream showdown between Murray and Roger Federer in the semi final should both players win their quarter final matches.
Murray looks sharp and confident around the court, which is bound to prompt hushed whispers around the court that a British tennis player may finally have a realistic chance of clinching a Wimbledon title.
Nadal will be back though, stronger and hungrier than ever. Regardless of the outcome in Qatar, rivalling the dominance of Nadal in the men’s game will be a tough obstacle to overcome.
