Top seed Rafael Nadal might not have an impressive year so far, but his performance in the ongoing Hamburg Open has been top notch. In such impressive form, Nadal will meet fourth seed Fabio Fognini in the finals of the Hamburg Open on Sunday.
The Spaniard did not start the competition in the manner in which he would have liked, as he dropped his first set in the first round of the competition against fellow countryman Fernando Verdasco, but came back to win the second and the third set.
After his three-set win against Verdasco, Nadal has not been troubled much by anyone in the competition as he has not a dropped a set since. Nadal should be confident for Sunday's Hamburg Open final for the Spaniard had a cruising win against Andreas Sippi in the semi-finals of the competition to set up date with Fabio Fognini. The score read 6-1 and 6-2.
The Spaniard has been playing quality tennis and his 21 winners against Seppi just stands testimonial to the fact. Nadal was in full show against Seppi as he unleashed all his shots such as forehand down the line and the top spin as well.
"From the beginning I played great, since the first game that I hit a few winners," ATP official website quoted Nadal as saying.
"I was very comfortable on court today, feeling the ball well, with topspin to his backhand and then changing to his forehand down the line - a very important shot for me. In general it was a very positive match."
"Every victory is important. And this year with the up and downs that I've had, obviously every improvement is important. I played at a very high level. I'm very happy for that, playing with not many mistakes, very well with my backhand, very well with my forehand, hitting winners, changing speeds, changing directions. I think I played a great match, "added Nadal.
Fabio Fognini needs to be on top of his game if he is to come any close in grabbing the Hamburg Open title this season. But Forgini could take inspiration from his performances against Nadal of late, where the Italian has already defeated Nadal twice this season. The fourth seed should not be short of confidence.
But this final at Hamburg will be a completely different affair with Nadal in top form. One can expect a classic final with Nadal having an eye on revenge against Fognini.
The Italian has been impressive in his last two matches against Lucas Pouille and Aljaž Bedene in the semi-final and quarter finals respectively as he defeated them in straight sets, but prior to which Fognini was stretched to three sets in the first two rounds.
Neither Nadal nor Fognini are new to the finals of this competition as the Spaniard won the title in 2008 and the Italian in 2013.
Where to Watch Live
Rafael Nadal vs Fabio Fognini Hamburg Open final is scheduled for 1pm local time (4:30pm IST, 12pm BST, 7am ET) start with live TV coverage in India on Ten Sports.
Viewers in the UK can watch Rafael Nadal vs Fabio Fognini Hamburg Open final live on Sky Sports 3 and the US viewers can watch the game live on Tennis Channel.
Viewers around the world can live stream the Rafael Nadal vs Fabio Fognini final on ATP official website.
