MADRID.- The young Manacorian Rafael Nadal wasn't able to get the victory in his first grand final of the ATP circuit. In spite of taking the first set, the Spanish tennis player yielded in the tournament of Auckland, endowed with 315,000 euros, and lost against the Slovak player Dominik Hrbaty in three sets (4-6, 6-2, 7-5).
Nadal went to enjoy an advantage of 3-0 in the last set, but Hrbaty equalized the scoreboard with 11 consecutive points and assured the triumph with a break of service in the eleventh game.
The Spaniard, that in his walk to get to the final defeated players such as Sjeng Schalken and Jiri Novak, declared that this hadn't been "the best match of the week" for him, although despite it all he was "very satisfied" of his role in the tournament.
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