Rafael Nadal in action against Xavier Malisse in the Chennai Open semi-finals on Saturday

Chennai: For long, Xavier Malisse has promised much and delivered little. On Saturday evening in front of 6000 fans screaming for his blood, the 26-year-old Belgian took a major step towards shedding the ‘under-achiever’ tag, dismantling world No. 2 Rafael Nadal 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) and, in the process, booking a title round berth at the Chennai Open.

Austrian Stefan Koubek completed a miserable day for the Spanish Armada — as well as the star-struck fans — humiliating two-time champion Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-1 in a battle between two 30-year-olds. The unseeded left-hander swung his forehand to deadly effect and served big to storm into his sixth career final in 63 minutes.

Constantly under pressure on serve, Moya committed basic errors at crucial moments. Double-faults, a couple of mishit volleys and even a misbehaving forehand hurt the former world No. 1 on a day when his opponent rarely put a foot wrong. This is turning out to be some week for Koubek. He had scalped seeds 7 (Paradorn Srichaphan) and 4 (Julien Benneteau) before conquering fifth seed Moya.

David Nalbandian departed early, now Nadal and Moya are gone: the tennis-loving public wouldn’t surely have dreamt of a singles final bereft of any of the three superstars. They should still throng the stadium on Sunday to watch Nadal and his countryman Bartolome Salva-Vidal play the doubles final against Belgians Malisse and Dick Norman. The Spanish duo beat Bjorn Phau and Alexander Peya 7-5, 6-1 late on Saturday to give Nadal another ‘crack’ at Malisse.

Back to the first semi-final, which contrasted sharply with the Moya-Koubek duel. There were actually two winners in that absorbing match: Malisse and the game of tennis. Nadal, the red-hot favourite who hadn’t dropped a set in three earlier matches, also had a role to play in making it a grand spectacle. For two hours and seven minutes, the Belgian and Spaniard produced some scintillating stuff, full of magical winners and breathtaking points.

The fact that Malisse has won just one out of nine ATP meet finals reflects the inconsistency that has dogged his game. Facing a man he never won a set against in their two previous meetings, Malisse was determined to turn a new leaf.

His quality of groundstrokes was never the problem, his temperament was. Even this week, he showed more than once he was prone to inexplicable lapses in focus. If he had to beat Nadal, he knew he couldn’t afford any such lapses. Matching Nadal from the back of the court, Malisse slapped winners off both flanks and didn’t hesitate to stride up to the net given half a chance.

Nadal wasn’t playing badly, though his forehand seemed to have less of the normal sting. What hurt him was Malisse’s aggression — from the first point to the last. Also, the inability to break serve despite getting several chances. Yes, the Spaniard squandered seven break-points, including six set-points in set 2.

“Previously he (Malisse) would be at his best for three-four games or a set, but today he was very good in the whole match,” Nadal remarked.

Malisse couldn’t have played a better first set. He just didn’t allow Nadal to get a rhythm on his returns and grabbed the first break opportunity. It came in the third game, Malisse getting the break with a wristy backhand crosscourt pass.

The second set was tighter, Nadal grinding his teeth to try and force a third set. With Malisse also reluctant to step into a lower gear, it helped produce some out-of-this world rallies. Time without number, the two players would come up with some unbelievable retrievals only to see the ball back on court. And this, in the course of 16, 18, 20-shot rallies.

Malisse showed signs of tiring towards the end of the second set and that was when Nadal had his best chance to level scores. But the top seed couldn’t take any of the six set-points he got (three each in games 10 and 12). Malisse hung in bravely and pulled through in the tie-breaker to notch up the biggest win of his career.