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China Open: Nadal struggles against ex-ball boy, Djokovic catches fire

Spaniard broken four times by lowly ranked Wu before coming out on top

Afp October 06, 2015

Nadal was playing for the first time since his third-round defeat at the US Open, but it was a far from satisfying return as the 14-time Grand Slam winner continued to grope for form. PHOTO: AFP

BEIJING: Rafael Nadal stuttered to victory against one of his former ball boys at the China Open on Tuesday as top-ranked Novak Djokovic swept imperiously to his 25th straight win in Beijing.

Out-of-sorts Nadal was broken four times by China’s 230th-ranked Wu Di, who once tossed him balls and towels in Shanghai, before winning an error-strewn match 6-4, 6-4.

“We don’t need to talk more about confidence, rhythm,” he said, after reaching the second round. “That’s my level today, and I’m going to work hard to try to improve my level of today.”

On a heavily polluted day in Beijing, Wu anticipated superbly when he lunged for a forehand volley winner for his first break of the Spaniard early in the first set, and he wasn’t done yet.

Wu broke again to go ahead in the second set but with both players uncomfortable on serve, Nadal was able to wrap it up after 86 minutes and progress to a second-round meeting with Vasek Pospisil.

Nadal and Wu then yielded the smoggy centre court to Djokovic and the Serb, fresh from winning his 10th Grand Slam title in New York, had little difficulty dispatching Simone Bolelli 6-1, 6-1.

The five-time champion was all over Bolelli’s second serve as he hustled the Italian off the court in just 71 minutes to take his incredible unbeaten record into a sixth China Open campaign.

It was an afternoon which underlined the gulf that has opened up between Djokovic and Nadal, once his close rival but now down to eighth in the world and a shadow of his fearsome best.

As for Wu, 24, it completed a journey after he was a ball boy for the Spanish great at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, and later progressed to become his practice partner.

“I served as the ball boy for Rafa at for the ATP Finals [Tennis Masters Cup] and right now I played against him. It’s not a small deal,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2015.

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