Rafael Nadal, Spain’s 26-year-old tennis champion, advanced to the finals of the 2013 BNP Paribas Open by defeating Tomas Berdych in straight sets on Saturday. This is Nadal’s first hard-court tournament since he withdrew from the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open on March 29, 2012, in which he reached the semifinals but suffered a knee injury.
2013 BNP Paribas Open: Rafael Nadal advances to final in straight sets
Rafael Nadal defeated Tomas Berdych in straight sets to advance to the final of the 2013 BNP Paribas Open, his first hard-court tournament in almost a year.
Stephen Dunn
Nadal, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, defeated No. 6 seed Berdych in the first set, 6-4, and in the second set, 7-5. Nadal will advance to the finals, where he will either face No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic or No. 7 seed Juan Martin del Potro, who face each other in the semifinals. Nadal defeated Roger Federer in straight sets to get to the semifinals.
Nadal is 595-123 in his career and holds 52 career titles. He has 11 wins in major tournaments, his last coming in the 2012 French Open. He was ranked as high as No. 1 in the world in 2008. Nadal is considered better on clay courts than hard courts.
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