Madrid -- Rafa v. Ljubicic (Set 3) Sunday, October 23, 2005 Rafa is down two sets to love, and things aren't looking good for him at the moment. Ljubicic is playing too well, and I don't see that changing. Also, Rafa is not 100%, there's no question. I just don't think Rafa can play 3 more sets in any event. Rafa to serve. 15-0, after ace. 15-15. BH into net. 30-15. Come on, Rafa. BH down the line winner 30-30. IL is driving me nuts now. Rafa FH forces error from IL. 40-30. FH winner by Nadal. He holds. 1-0, Nadal. Ljubicic to serve. Fault. Unreturnable serve. 15-0. UE by IL. 15-15. Ace. 30-15. Another ace. 40-15. Too good. Game IL. 1-1, on serve. FH goes long. 0-15. Fault. Bad call for Rafa. 0-30. Rafa is upset that a long ball was not called long. IL hits wide. 15-30. IL hits long. 30-30. Rafa is fighting. Mishit by IL. 40-30. Crowd is getting into match. OH by Rafa. He sprints to chair. I love the fact that he's not giving up. 2-1, Nadal. IL to serve. Successful dropshot by Rafa. 0-15. Fist pump. He'll take whatever he can get on IL's serve. Fault. Crowd cheers. Rafa tried hard on that point. 15-15. Fault. UE by IL. Crowd is going wild. 15-30. 30-30, after great serve. Fault. Double fault. 30-40. BP for Rafa. Great serve. Deuce. Rafa is frustrated. Ace. Ad Ljubicic. Fault. FH winner by Rafa. Deuce. Rafa has a second wind or something. He wasn't playing like this earlier. Fault. S&V by IL. Ad Ljubicic. Winner by Rafa. Deuce. He's fighting. Fault. Double fault. Third of the game. Ad Nadal -- finally. Fault. Second serve. Rafa BH missed. Deuce. IL hits long. Another Ad Nadal. Crowd is happy. Fault. He got the break, after a great point. 3-1, Nadal. He's a long way from winning the match, but at least it's something to cheer about. Dropshot by IL, Rafa into net. 0-15. He had to work so hard to get that break. Return into net. 15-15. 15-30. Important point. Go Rafa! Fault. Total silence. IL hits volley wide. 30-30. Rafa hits long. 30-40. BP for IL. Come on, Rafa. Rafa is hitting harder, and paid the price there. Great serve. Deuce. Fault. Rafa hits wide. Another BP. Ad IL. IL into net. Deuce. Rafa is being more aggressive. Rafa hits long. Ad IL. Vamos, Rafa! Great passing angle by Rafa. Deuce. Three BP's saved. IL overhits. Ad Nadal, finally. Rafa holds, as IL overhits. Rafa sprints to chair. 4-1, Nadal. IL to serve. Unreturnable serve. 15-0. Ace. 30-0. Ace. 40-0. He's back to normal, I see. Another ace. Game, IL. 4-2, Nadal. Rafa to serve. Rafa passes. 15-0. Fault. Rafa can't get to volley. 15-15. Rafa hits FH wide. 15-30. Toni is encouraging Rafa. Nadal camp is looking less than happy at the moment, though. Great lob by Rafa. 30-30. Go Rafa! Return goes long. 40-30. Santana is looking nervous. Let. Deuce. Another dogfight game. Great dropshot by Rafa. IL into net. Ad Nadal. Fault. Double fault. Deuce. Rafa is pressing a bit. Second DF for Rafa. Great serve. Ad Nadal. Vamos, Rafa! IL hits long. Game Nadal. 5-2, Nadal. IL to serve. Return goes out. 15-0. Fault. Crowd is noisy. Rafa tells crowd to quiet down. Rafa into net. 30-0. Fault. 40-0. FH winner by IL. Ace. Game IL. 5-3, Nadal. Rafa to serve for set. Vamos, Rafa! New balls. Dropshot by IL. Rafa can't get to it. 0-15. S&V by Rafa. 15-15. Fault. Late call. Return winner by IL. 15-30. Rafa is going to have to be very careful here. Vamos, Rafa! Great serve. It was called a fault, and then overruled. So Rafa gets a first serve; he's not happy about the bad call. But he gets the next point anyway. 30-30. Crowd is going wild, clapping. Return goes wide. 40-30. Set point. Match is 2 hours old. Vamos, Rafa! Great point by Rafa. He wins set. 6-3. Vamos, Rafa! posted by Susan @ 7:59 AM