Mikhail Youzhny
Chennai, India (Sports Network) – Russian Mikhail Youzhny stunned top-seeded Rafael Nadal in straight sets to win the Chennai Open final on Sunday.
The fourth-seeded Youzhny blitzed Nadal from the outset and was never threatened in an easy 6-0, 6-1 victory.
It was the fourth career singles title for Youzhny, who is ranked 19th in the world. He won once last year at Rotterdam and was also a finalist twice in 2007.
Nadal, who had a banner 2007 campaign with six titles, was attempting to garner his 24th career crown. But, the Spaniard looked lost from the start and was clearly suffering the effects of his grueling four-hour semifinal win over fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya on Saturday.
"I am very happy with this title but I did not play against Rafael Nadal today," Youzhny said. "He was dead and could not move. I have to thank Carlos (Moya) for keeping him on the court for four hours last night. I really can’t say much more about the final, bad luck for Rafa. This week I started slowly but then played better and better round after round. It is a great start to 2008."
The 25-year-old Youzhny upended Nadal for the fourth time in 10-career matchups and snapped a three-match skid against Nadal.
"Misha played very well and I have to congratulate him," Nadal said. "I don’t want to make any excuses. I played almost four hours last night and maybe it was too much to come back less than 24 hours later and play the final. I did not recover. Last night it was so emotional against Carlos, who is one of my best friends. I am still happy with my week, first tournament and I reach the final."
Source: Youzhny stuns Nadal in Chennai final
