Fourth seed Mikhail Youzhny of Russia got his New Year's gift after he overpowered World No.2 Rafael Nadal 6-0, 6-1, in a one-sided final of the $436,000 ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament played at the SDAT stadium here on Sunday.
Youzhny picked up his fourth career title in a disappointing final that finished in less than an hour. Tournament's top seed Nadal gave little resistance, won only single game, to his Russian counterpart as he was down with physical exhaustion and also received medical attention in the second set.
The Spaniard seemed to lose his golden touch and was completely out of sorts on Sunday. Nadal was back on the field again after playing in less than 24 hours an intense four-hour marathon semifinal against top-seed Carlos Moya.
Youzhny took home winner's purse of $68,800 and 175 ranking points while Nadal gained $37,350 and 120 points.
“In the final Rafa was not Rafa, it was his present to me. Neither I play good nor bad. He just couldn't play. I watched a little bit of last-four match between Carlos and Rafa, it is very difficult to come back after a match like that and play,� acknowledged Youzhny after the match.
“Four match-points and so many emotions. If the final was after one or two days, it would have been a different Rafa that played the finals on Sunday,� added Youzhny.
Youzhny serve worked very well for him on Sunday as he came up with nine aces in a 57-minute match. The 25-year-old world No.19 had a 3-6 win-loss career record against the reigning three-time French Open champion prior to the final, was hardly tested as he broke the 21-year-old Spaniard five times, thrice in the first set.
Nadal could barely move and had to call trainer to attend to his tired legs when down 1-4 in the deciding set. The finals seems to have taken a toll of Nadal as he won a only 17 points, seven of them in the first set, and was virtually stationary for most of the match.
“I don't like to put excuses as he gave all the credit to his opponent, Mikhail played unbelievable,� Nadal said after the match.
“I could do nothing today. I was tired. Semifinal could be a reason. I needed time to recover. But it has been a good start to the season,� added Nadal.
The last title win by Youzhny was in 2007 at Rotterdam and his previous success against Nadal was in the quarterfinal of the Dubai Open last year.
Ratiwatana twins claim doubles
Twin brothers Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana of Thailand won the doubles title, claiming their second ATP title, after edging past the Cypriot-French pair of Marcos Baghdatis and Marc Gicquel 6-4, 7-5 in a keenly contested final.
V. Narayanan, President, TNTA and Fernando Soler, Tournament Director presented Carlos Moya “Vijay Amritraj Sportsmanship Award� on Saturday, while Indian tennis legend Ramanathan Krishnan bestowed with ‘Lifetime Achievement Award' by the Asian Sports Journalist Federation.
RESULTS
Finals: Singles: Mikhail Youzhny (Rus) bt Rafael Nadal (Esp) 6-0, 6-1. Semifinals: Rafael Nadal bt Carlos Moya 6-7(3), 7-6(8), 7-6(1).
Doubles: Sanchai & Sonchat Ratiwatana (Tha) beat Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) & Marc Gicquel (Fra) 6-4, 7-5. Semifinals: Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) & Marc Gicquel (Fra) bt Harel Levy (Isr) & Rajeev Ram (US) 6-7(2), 7-6 (5), 10-8; Sanchai & Sonchat bt Marin Cilic (Cro) & Aisam Qureshi (Pak) 2-6, 6-2, 10-4.
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