Madrid -- Nadal vs. Robredo (Set 2) Thursday, October 20, 2005 Getting ready for the second set, after Rafa took the first 6-2. It's apparent that Robredo has been a bit intimidated by Rafa. His strategy has been to hit hard, and if that doesn't work, hit harder. And it isn't working well at the moment. Vamos, Rafa! Commentators are talking about how carefully he places his water bottles under his chair. They are saying that Rafa probably had a tidy bedroom as a kid. Guess they haven't listened to his Mom. Tommy to serve. 15-0. That FH worked. 30-0. Ace. 40-0. Tommy is picking up his serving here. Fault. UE by Tommy. 40-15. FH winner. Game Robredo. 0-1, Robredo. Rafa to serve. Fault. Tommy hits FH long after rally. 15-0. Fault. BH down the line is just wide. Late call. 15-15. Let. Tommy hits BH long. Overhitting a bit by TR. 30-15. Great scrambling by Rafa to win that point. 40-15. Fault. Another FH UE. Game Nadal. 1-1, on serve. Rafa to change racquet. Tommy to serve. Tommy hits FH wide. 0-15. Rafa hits dropshot. Tommy gets to it, but hits wide. 0-30. Fault. Commentators think Tommy is trying too hard. Great scrambling by Rafa, and then he misses the easy one. 15-30. Good FH by Robredo. 30-30. Wonderful FH angle by Rafa. 30-40. BP for Rafa. Fault. Second serve. Bad UE by Tommy. Game Nadal. 2-1, Nadal. Great serve. 15-0. UE by Tommy. 30-0. Rafa FH long. 30-15. Second UE from Nadal in this set. TR has 7 in this set. BH UE by Robredo. 40-15. Rafa has won 28 baseline points, and lost 17. He's been in control of baseline. TR goes to net, forces Nadal error. 40-30. Return goes wide. Game Nadal. 3-1, Nadal. Sorry, had some technical problems. It is now breakpoint in Robredo's favor. 30-40 on Nadal's serve, after Robredo held. Robredo BROKE, with a passing shot. So back on serve. 3-3, on serve. Double fault. 0-15. Come on, Rafa! FH winner by Robredo, who seems to be playing better. 15-15. Volley FH winner by Robredo. 30-15. 9/14 at net for TR. Long rally, with BH mishit by Robredo 30-30. Great FH angle by TR. 40-30. Rafa hits BH wide. Game Robredo. 4-3, Robredo. Rafa seems to have let up a bit, and Tommy is taking advantage, becoming more aggressive. Hopefully Rafa will keep fighting, too. Vamos, Rafa!!! Rafa to serve. Rafa UE into net. 0-15. Return long. 15-15. Tommy runs into backboard, can't handle FH. 30-15. Ditto. 40-15. Let. Fault. FH winner by Tommy, right on the baseline. 40-30. Rafa's been hitting too many short balls. Let. Rafa hits FH out, forced error. Deuce. Come on, Rafa. Fight! Great serve and FH's; Tommy hits into net. Ad Rafa. Unreturnable serve. Game Nadal. 4-4, on serve Tommy changes racquet. New balls. TR to serve. Great serve, even better return, TR can't handle volley. 0-15. Fault. Tommy his FH long. 0-30. Shows Uncle Toni. Long rally. Tommy UE into net. 0-40. Three breakpoints. Fault. FH winner by TR. 15-40. Saved one breakpoint. Commentators note that TR has been inconsistent. Great BH by Rafa, and Tommy responds into net. Game Nadal. 5-4, Nadal. Rafa to serve for match. Rafa changes shirt. John Barrett says it probably isn't going to get very wet. He also notes that Rafa seems to be moving well, without much pain, if any. Fault. Double fault. Come on, Rafa! Barrett is saying "he is human after all." 29 UE's for Robredo. Just hit hit his 29th. 15-15. His 30th. 30-15. Tommy seems surprised that Rafa is able to return some of his FH's. Volley winner by Rafa. Fist pump. 40-15. Two matchpoints. Tommy hits FH long. MATCH TO NADAL, 6-2, 6-4. He acknowledges the crowd. Rafa 11 UE's, 11 winners Robredo 31, UE's, 17 winners Tommy only had 1 BP; Rafa converted 4 of 6. Great match for Rafa!!! Stepanek is next! posted by Susan @ 11:43 AM