Rafael Nadal’s Early Exit Clears Path for Andy Murray at 2013 Wimbledon

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 2, 2013

commentComment        

Rafael Nadal's stunning opening round loss to Steve Darcis at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships is old news by now, but it's a result that Andy Murray is surely still smiling about.

After all, no player on the planet has broken Murray's heart more often than Nadal, especially at Wimbledon. That's why Nadal's early loss will be the springboard that launches Murray back into the men's final this summer.

Murray is just 5-13 all time against Nadal and 0-3 on grass, with all three of those meetings coming in the second week of play at the All England Club.

In 2008, Nadal took out a 21-year-old Murray in straight sets in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. He would go on to win his first-ever Wimbledon title. Two years later, it was Rafa again ousting Murray in straight sets en route to winning the men's crown at SW19; this time beating him in the semifinals.



In their most recent meeting at Wimbledon in 2011, Murray won the first set only to lose the next three and watch Nadal advance to the men's final for the second straight year.

So while both third-seeded Roger Federer and sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga assisted Murray in a big way by bowing out in the second round this year, Nadal's first-round loss will ultimately prove the most vital to Murray's chances of returning to the men's final this summer.



Had Rafa advanced to the quarterfinals at the All England Club this July, he and Murray would be looking at a potential semifinal matchup Friday. While Murray is a much-improved player and one of the elite men on grass, he would have had to climb a massive psychological barrier against Nadal.

Rafa is 6-2 all time against Murray in Grand Slam tournaments and is 7-0 against Murray all time on surfaces other than hard courts.

No other member of the Big Four has challenged Murray the way Nadal has over the years.



The 26-year-old Scotsman kno...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!