Tennis - Nadal pulls ahead

Nadal pulls ahead

By adding the first major grand prix tournament at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells right after his Australian Open win, Rafael Nadal has pulled further away from Roger Federer. This time there was no Federer in the final but Andy Murray. The final though, showed that if Murray is finally almost at par with the top two, Nadal is by far the more adaptable, tactically sound player.

This tournament exposes a growing chink in Federer's earlier impregnable armoury of tennis skills. The backhand unravels under stress. Relentless pressure on Federer's backhand coupled with disciplined shot making helped Murray win 6-1 in the 3rd with Federer as good as giving up. Troubled times indeed for Roger but more mental than physical.

Under normal conditions, the final would have been a tough to predict match. In fact, given Murray's recent wins over both Federer and Nadal, he would have had a slight edge. But he showed an inability to adjust to unfavourable, windy conditions and succumbed easily 6-2, 6-1. This tournament gives the winner 1000 points and Nadal extends his lead further from Federer even as Murray closes in on world number three Novak Djokovic.