New Delhi: World No 2 and top seed Rafael Nadal was eliminated from the Chennai Open on Saturday when Xavier Malisse of Belgium defeated the Spaniard 6-4, 7-6 (4) to enter the final of the season-opening ATP tournament.
Malisse who is ranked 36 in the world at the moment played the big points well to overcome the 20-year-old crowd favourite in a little over two hours.
Nadal, who wasn't stretched in any of his previous games in the competition, was taken by surprise by the Belgian, bowing out of the competiton where Spanish players have generally excelled.
Way too many unforced errors proved to be Nadal's undoing. While Malisse served well to keep hold his serve, he didn't stretch the points too long, which often means playing into the muscular Spaniard's hands.
It got worse for the Spaniards when two-time champion Carlos Moya too was knocked out by Austria's Stephan Koubek in the other semi-final. Koubek won 6-3, 6-1.
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