It was like someone had turned up the volume and intensity to the last notch. The spectators had poured in to watch the Spanish bull-fight, and they devoured every bit of drama Rafael Nadal and Carlos Moya provided.
With their horns bared, Moya and Nadal ran into each other, drawing blood, cheers and jeers in equal measure for almost four hours.
Nadal saved four match points in the second set and came back from a break down in the third to beat Moya 6-7 (3), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (1) in a thrilling semi-final match at the Chennai Open on Saturday.
He will face Russian fourth seed Mikhail Youzhny in Sunday's final.
Earlier, Russian Mikhail Youzhny overcame a mild challenge from Croatia's Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-3.
Having played three straightforward matches to enter the semi-final, the mentor and the protégé knew they had to give the best to win this clash.
While Nadal gave an example of his bare-all aggression and never-say die spirit, Moya showed why, at 31, he's still at the top of his game.
The first was close; both players holding their serve without much discomfort. But when it came to the command from the baseline, Moya was still the master.
He drilled his forehand deep, running around balls to unleash his favourite weapon. Nadal, though he made a dash from corner to corner, for once seemed out of his depth, Moya's forehand somehow always beating him at the baseline.
The elder Spaniard ran through the first-set tie-break, taking it 7-3 with a signature forehand down the line.
But he seemed to let up in the beginning of the second set. Nadal, now being cornered by the crowd, turned on the heat, breaking Moya's serve in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead.
He was serving for the set at 5-4, when he came up with his worst service game in the match. Moya broke him at 15 and leveled the match 5-5 and pushed it into the second tie-break of the match.
After hitting a service winner on the first point; on the second, Moya picked up a volley to draw an error from Nadal. The world no.2 disputed the call, arguing it was long.
The crowd booed him, but the incident clearly ruffled Nadal's feathers.
Moya went into a 4-0 lead and had all but wrapped up the match when he had three match points at 6-3. The red flag was unfurled and Rafa was ready to charge.
Moya made a forehand error and hit a volley wide to see Nadalclimb up to 6-5.
But serving for the match, Moya choked. After making Nadal run around and move forward to kill the point, the Mallorcan failed to put away a backhand volley, pushing it wide.
He missed another forehand to give Nadal the set point, and the latter didn't need an invitation to make most of the chance. After trailing for most part of the tie-break, Nadal won it 10-8.
At that moment, it looked that Nadal would use the momentum and run away with the third set. However, it was Moya who made the first dent, claiming the fifth game on Nadal's serve.
Almost three hours into the match, theplayers were still going strong and the crowds going berserk.
More excitement was to follow, as the two pushed and pulled in the next two games.
The seventh and eighth game almost took an eternity to finish, Moya stepping up where Nadal left a hole and vice-versa.
As if game hadn't been edge-of-the-seat stuff already, the two players decided to heighten the drama.
Moya, serving for the match at 5-4, made a double-fault at 30-15 to let Nadal sneak in. He saved four break points before Nadal won the game and pushed the finish line farther.
Third set, third tie-break.
Again Moya let the nerves get better of him. He slipped into a 0-4 deficit with three straight forehand errors. Nadal won the tie-break 7-1 when Moya overcooked another forehand to complete an epic win.
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