Nadal vs. Wawrinka: Breaking Down 2013 Madrid Open Final

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at Internationaled.org

Published: May 11, 2013

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Sunday's 2013 Madrid Open final is now set, with the King of Clay Rafael Nadal set to take on Stanislas Wawrinka.

Nadal had a relatively easy path to a third prospective title in his native capital, not having to play the likes of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Andy Murray along the way.

As the No. 5 seed, Nadal capitalized on the opportunities before him and easily disposed of unseeded Spanish compatriot Pablo Andujar, 6-0, 6-4, in the semifinals. That continues his impressive play after a seven-month hiatus due to injuries and illness, improving his season singles record to 31-2.

But Wawrinka is extremely talented and sports the type of stellar all-around game that translates well to the clay surface. Unfortunately, he will be facing who many argue is the greatest clay player in the history of tennis.



Just last week at the ATP Portugal Open, the Swiss standout toppled David Ferrer in the final, notching his first singles title of 2013. That form has clearly carried over to Madrid, where he beat superior seeds in his past two matches in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych.

Renowned tennis analyst Brad Gilbert is among many extremely happy for Wawrinka's recent surge, which has him in the Top 10 of the ATP rankings:



Finishing the deal in tournament finals has been a challenge for Wawrinka in the past, as his most recent triumph marked just the fourth time in nine attempts he came out on the winning end.

Whatever he's discovered in the past two weeks, though, seems to be working extremely well, and Wawrinka displayed a lot of mental toughness against Tsonga and Berdych.

In the Tsonga clash, Wawrinka dropped a second-set tiebreak, 11-9, but rebounded to win the decisive third set. A similar result occurred when he faced Berdych, as Wawrinka emerged victorious 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

It's going to be difficult to bat back any adversity against a player a...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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