In Rotterdam, the final was highly anticipated as #2 seeded Amdy Murray took on the number 1 player in the world, Rafael Nadal. Murray triumphed in the first set, as he played consistent yetr agrresive tennis to win the 1st 6-3. In the first game of the second set, Nadal injured his knee. Nadal the fighter that he is, was able to come up with a strategy which allowed him to stay in it and keep the points short. Nadal won the second set 6-4, and many were thinking that Nadal was about to beat Murray on one leg. Nadal hit the ball much harder during rallys so he could keep the points short, but his serve suffered the most, as Murray said he took about 30 kph off it in the second. In the third set however, Nadal's injury proved to much to overcome, as Murray bageled the Spaniard. "I could see him shaking his head. But he's not the kind of guy who's going to stop chasing the ball unless there's a good reason. He said that he sometimes has a knee problem when he plays a lot on hard court." Although many players would blame the loss on their knee, Nadal was too much of sportsman to take the victory away from Murray. ”I had a problem with the injury but I don’t want to talk about that. Andy played very well today and he deserved to win the tournament. I am very happy with my performance this week. I came here without the best preparation after Australia, so it was a great result for me to get to the final here and I am very happy with that.”
In the women's finals in Paris and Pattaya City, Amelie Mauresmo and Vera Zvonareva came out victorious, as they each racked up their first title of 2008. Zvonareva, coming off her semifinal appearance in Australia, defeated Sania Mirza 7-5, 6-1 after the Russian dominated most of her opponent en route to the final. Mauresmo however had a tougher fight,w inning the first set 7-6 (7), losing the second 6-2, and returning to form in the third to win it 6-3. Mauresmo has now won the tournament in her hometown 3 times, which is the most ever for the tournament. Mauresmo claimed that she has a new dynamic for 2009, and after looking like the 2006 Mauresmo all tournament, she looks liek she plans to return to the top 10. It was the frechwoman's first title since 2007.
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