THE LATEST TENNIS NEWS – RAFAEL NADAL LOOKS TO END HARD-COURT TITLE DROUGHT

Written by: Staff on 8th October 2015

THE LATEST TENNIS NEWS - RAFAEL NADAL LOOKS TO END HARD-COURT TITLE DROUGHT

epa04967759 Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Vasek Pospisil of Canada during their second round match of the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China, 07 October 2015. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA |

Rafael Nadal is a step closer to snapping a 21-month title drought on hard-courts after downing Vasek Pospisil 7-6(3), 6-4 on Wednesday at the China Open. Nadal has three titles on the year (Hamburg, Stuttgart and Buenos Aires) but has not won a hard-court title since Doha 2014 (d. Monfils).

The No. 3 seed overcame his Canadian opponent in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting in one hour and 47 minutes and advanced to his 12th quarter-final of the year (6-5). The former champion improved to 16-7 on hard courts this year in his first ATP World Tour tournament since surrendering a two-set lead against Fabio Fognini at the US Open in September.

Nadal’s 2005 China Open title was his second on hard courts (2005 Montreal, d. Agassi). In the 10 subsequent years, he has captured 14 more tour-level titles on the surface. Barring an injury-marred period between wins in Tokyo 2010 and Indian Wells 2013, Nadal has never experienced such a drought at hard-court ATP World Tour events.

“I’m happy for the victory,” said Nadal. “It’s a victory against a good opponent like Vasek, which is good news for me. Today, I did few things much better than yesterday. That’s a good thing for me; it’s very important for my game.”

The 29 year old was not broken in the match despite not hitting an ace. Meanwhile, the 25-year-old Pospisil struck 10 aces, but gave up the lone break of the match midway through the second set.

“Beijing is a very important tournament, a very important event, and I am going to fight for every ball to try to have the best result possible,” Nadal said.

In the next round, the World No. 8 will face Jack Sock, whom he beat at Roland Garros in their only previous meeting.

Jack Sock of USA in action as he with teammate Vasek Pospisil of Canada play against Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Djordje Djokovic of Serbia during the match in the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China, 08 October 2015. EPA/WU HONG

“He’s a very good young player with a fantastic serve and a very strong forehand,” said Nadal. “He is going to be a big opponent for the quarter-finals. I will need to play better than today.

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/nadal-beats-pospisil-to-make-quarter-finals-beijing-2015 )

Topics: Atp, Beijing, China Open tennis, jack sock, Men's tennis, Rafa Nadal, sports news, Tennis, Vasek Pospisil

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10sBalls_com says:

October 8, 2015 at 11:10 am

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