Nadal ousted in Chennai Open

Chennai:

Xavier Malisse of Belgium shocked world number two Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-4 7-6 (4) to storm into the final of the Chennai Open ATP tour tennis tournament in Chennai on Saturday. Third seed Malisse, ranked 37, proved right Nadal's pre-tournament fears of a tough road ahead to retain his World No 2 position for the third straight season. He quelled the Spaniard's challenge in a little over two hours. Having played relatively easy opponents in his earlier three matches, Nadal found Malisse a tough customer. Also, he made a lot of unforced errors, much to the disappointment of the jam-packed crowd rooting for him at the centre court. The Belgian, who did not give any quarter to his superior rival, produced a stunning effort saving three set points each in the 10th and 12th games before ousting the top seed. The win also helped him avenge his head-to-head record of 0-2 (in 2005) against Nadal, including the loss in Rolland Garros. "If you keep playing against him, he will just make you run around and tire you out. I served well. Overall my game was perfect," a jubilant Malisse, on his maiden visit here, said. Malisse, who commented yesterday that he had nothing to lose in the clash with Nadal and would play his own game, lived up to his words giving the top seed a run for his money from the start. Except his first game win, Nadal, who won five ATP titles last year, looked uncomfortable in tackling Mallise. Right from the third game, the rivals were mostly playing from the baseline and the Belgian held an edge and was able to teach a few lessions to the World Number two. Mallise showed more agility and swiftness in his retrievals to emerge winner in rallies while Nadal ran out of ideas.