Shanghai, October 18, 2009

Rafa’s run at the Shanghai Masters Series Tournament has ended without the title after a straight set loss, 7-6(3), 6-3 to Russian Nikolay Davydenko on Sunday.

After two hours of play, Rafa tried the best he could against Davydenko but it was clear he was struggling with his serve and soon went down an early break.

He restored parity as a close-fought first set went to a tie-break which the world number eight, whose tactics were spot-on against Rafa, won with confidence.

The nerveless Russian broke again in the second set to establish control and served out the match at the first opportunity, securing the Masters title.

"Davydenko played better than me, that's tennis. I hope to come back and win next time," said Rafa during the trophy ceremony, half happy for having reached the final, and a bit upset for not winning.  

"I don't like to lose, but I had my chances. He beat me. He played [a] very good match. I just want to congratulate him, because he deserved the victory. He did very well, and with this victory probably he's closer to being in London."

“[It was] the first match after my injury comeback against one top player. I was competing all the time at very good level, trying to find solutions all the time, and I did well, but he did a little bit better than me," assessed Rafa. "I really felt I really had chances to win. So that's the first time, and that's the most positive thing for me. I fought all the time with [a] positive attitude, no physical problems. So that's very good news for me".

The champ travelled back home to Mallorca (on Sunday) where he will prepare for the end of the season.