Top-seed Rafael Nadal stretches himself for a forehand during his quarter-final match against Ernests Gulbis yesterday. PICTURE: Jayan Orma

By Satya Rath/Doha


Their head-to-head series, before yesterday’s quarter-final clash at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open here, stood six-nil, in Rafael Nadal’s favour.
But then, stats rarely give the true picture. In all those six match-ups, Ernests Gulbis never let his high-profile opponent win easy. The script followed a similar pattern yesterday too. Though the top-seeded Spaniard won 7-5, 6-4, it was his Latvian opponent, ranked 24th and seeded seventh here, who cornered the biggest cheers for his lion-hearted display.
The start gave an early indication of the course the match was going to take. Nadal got the break in the very first game, thanks to a couple of unforced errors by Gulbis, but the mercurial Latvian broke right back. The set went on serve till the 11th when two double-faults by Gulbis gave Nadal the chance get the decisive break and the Majorcan served out the set in the ensuing game.
It was Gulbis’ turn to hit back in the second, when he broke Nadal in the second game and served out the third to race to a 3-0 lead. One got to witness some scintillating stuff in the next four games as Nadal not only drew level, but reeled up six consecutive games to storm into the semi-finals. Nadal is now just two more wins away from his maiden Qatar title in what will be his sixth attempt.
“He’s a player you don’t want to meet because he hits every ball very hard, has a very strong first and second serve. He also hits the ball very, very, very fast from the baseline, forehand/backhand. I knew he’s a difficult player to play against,” said Nadal after the one-hour 51-minute match.
Earlier, in a battle of two qualifiers, Gojowczyk beat his German compatriot Dustin Brown in three error-strewn topsy-turvy sets, lasting close to two hours, to make his first semi-finals of an ATP tour event in his career.
The 24-year-old Gojowczyk looked on course for a comfortable afternoon when he took the opening set 6-3, but Brown fought back in the second to force a decider. The third set could have gone either way, thanks to the basketful of unforced errors from both (Brown was the bigger culprit with as many as 37 for the match to Gojowczyk’s 23).
The pair shared six breaks of serve in the deciding set and the tie-break, too, went on level terms before a double fault (his fourth) at that critical moment sealed Brown’s fate and helped his countrymate live another day.
Gojowczyk admitted he was nervous from the start but regained his composure as the match wore on. “I was so nervous in the beginning… I went all the time to the toilet. At 5-4, serving on match point, I was just praying, ‘God, put the ball in.’ It was like that throughout the match. I played point by point and just kept going. And here I am, in the semi-finals!”
He will be playing Nadal in the semi-finals. Is he prepared? “The last time I met him (at last year’s US Open), I had asked for his autograph. He’s the No. 1 in the world. But I have nothing to lose.”