Madrid -- Nadal vs. Robredo (Set 1) Thursday, October 20, 2005 Rafa is playing Tommy Robredo in the third round of the Madrid Masters. We will be providing live play-by-play coverage as soon as the match starts -- at approximately 11 a.m. PT. Stay tuned . . . . Rafa and Tommy are on court, warming up. Rafa is wearing the same white shorts and orange shirt that he wore yesterday. Only difference is a white bandana, instead of a yellow one. Rafa is wearing the knee bands again. But he was jumping during the coin toss and sprinted to the baseline as usual. The arena is full. The commentators are saying this surface will favor Robredo, because he grew up on hardcourts. So this may be a tough one for Rafa. Vamos, Rafa!!!! Tommy to serve. Rafa hits return long. 15-0. Fault. Tremendous FH angle by Rafa. 15-15. That was a long rally. Fault; let. Great FH pass by Rafa. 15-30. Fault. Tommy hits long. They are blasting forehands at each other. 15-40. Two breakpoints for Rafa! FH winner down-the-line by Rafa. Game Nadal. 1-0, Nadal. Rafa to serve. Adjusts socks. Unreturnable serve. 15-0. Ditto. 30-0. Ditto again. Tommy hits return wide. 40-0. Shows Toni. Rafa hits FH long. 40-15. Fault. UE by Tommy. Game Nadal. 2-0, Nadal. Fernando Verdasco is watching the match. Tommy to serve. Fault. Double fault. 0-15. FH winner by TR after short return. 15-15. Unreturnable serve. 30-15. FH winner. 40-15. TR is playing better now, not as tentative. Fault. Mishit by Rafa. Game Robredo. 2-1, Nadal. Rafa to serve. Fault. Rafa hits BH just out after fending off a number of FH's. 0-15. Crowd is getting noisier. Unreturnable serve. 15-15. Let. Rafa hits FH long. 15-30. Great FH by Rafa; Tommy hits wide. 30-30. Rafa ran around his BH a couple times. Fault. Long FH slugfest. What a rally!!! Power and depth. Tommy into net. 40-30. Great point! Rafa is still breathing hard after that rally. Ace. Game Nadal. 3-1, Nadal. Tommy to serve. Fault. Double fault. 0-15. Tommy hits FH wide. 0-30. BH long by Rafa. 15-30. Fault. Return long. 30-30. Mishit by Tommy. 30-40. Breakpoint for Nadal. FH winner by Tommy. Deuce. Rafa hits return long. Nice volley by Robredo. Game Robredo. 3-2, Nadal. Rafa to serve. Drinks some water, properly places the bottle under his chair. Adjusts his pants and socks. ;-) Fault. Tommy FH into net. 15-0. Tommy is hitting as hard as he can. Shows Toni. Fault. Great forehand sets up volley put away. 30-0. Let. Fault. Return long. 40-0. Great BH by Nadal, Tommy couldn't handle. Gane Nadal. 4-2, Nadal. Ace by Tommy. 15-0. UE by Tommy. 15-15. Let. Fault. Another BH UE. 15-30. Crowd clapping. Fault. Rafa BH into net. 30-30. That was a long rally. Showing Toni again. Let. Bad FH mishit by Tommy. 30-40. Another BP for Rafa. Tommy hits FH long. Game Nadal. 5-2, Nadal. Rafa serving. FH volley by Rafa. 15-0. Fault. FH UE into net by TR. 30-0. Nadal only 6 UE's, 14 UE's for Robredo. Rafa misses BH. 30-15. Fault. FH goes long. 40-15. Two SET POINTS!!! Tommy into net. SET TO NADAL. 6-2, Nadal. To a new thread for second set. posted by Susan @ 10:24 AM