Rafael Nadal cruised through his second match at the Rio de Janeiro on Thursday afternoon, when he beat fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-5. Nadal converted an outstanding four of five break chances before prevailing in one hour and 40 minutes. It was the world No. 5’s second victory of the week at the expense of a countryman, as he also defeated good friend and occasional doubles partner Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday.
Against Almagro, Nadal used one break in the first set to give himself a chance to serve it out at 5-3. He promptly fell into a 0-40 hole but won five consecutive points to get the job done. A huge problem of late for Nadal, however, has been a failure to consolidate service breaks. It plagued the top seed again on Thursday, as he twice got broken back immediately at 4-3 and 5-4 in the second. A third consecutive scalp of the Almagro serve gave Nadal one more chance at 6-4 and this time he made no mistake.
“I’m feeling better physically,” said Nadal, who recently lost to Dominic Thiem in the Buenos Aires semifinals. “Last week I had a little problem with my stomach during the whole week, and with the humidity–it was unbelievable. I felt so bad physically. Here I’m feeling much better because the stomach is much better. That’s the key on the improvement of my game, and victory helps.”
David Ferrer joined his compatriot in the quarters by overcoming Albert Ramos-Vinolas 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. The competition level will go even higher for Ferrer as he is set to face an on-fire Thiem on Friday. After upsetting Nadal last week, the 22-year-old Austrian outlasted Almagro (also in a third-set tiebreaker) for the title.
“He’s a very great player,” Ferrer said. “He’s young. He’s playing with confidence. He’s going to be a top player, for sure. I like his game and tomorrow is going to be tough I know. I’ll have to play my best tennis for a win.”
Nadal will surely say the same thing as he prepares to go up against Dolgopolov. The head-to-head series stands at 5-2 in favor of Nadal, but Dolgopolov has won two in a row. The Ukrainian prevailed in a third-set tiebreaker at the 2014 Indian Wells Masters before scoring a 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-4 victory on the grass courts of Queen’s Club last summer. This time around, Nadal has the benefit of being back on clay–a surface that has seen him defeat Dolgopolov twice in two attempts. The former world No. 1 took care of business 6-4, 6-3 six years ago in Madrid and 6-3, 7-6(3) in the final of this same Rio event in 2014.
Dolgopolov booked his spot in the last eight by beating Thomaz Bellucci (6-7(3), 7-5, 6-2) and Inigo Cervantes (3-6, 6-0, 6-3). The world No. 33 is a decent 5-3 for his 2016 campaign and coming off a round-one Buenos Aires setback at the hands of Diego Schwartzman.
RESULTS – THURSDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2016
Singles – Second Round
[1] R. Nadal (ESP) d N. Almagro (ESP) 63 75
[2] D. Ferrer (ESP) d A. Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 46 61 64
A. Dolgopolov (UKR) d I. Cervantes (ESP) 36 60 63
F. Delbonis (ARG) d P. Lorenzi (ITA) 63 60
G. Pella (ARG) d S. Giraldo (COL) 64 60
Doubles – First Round
[1] M. Melo (BRA) / B. Soares (BRA) d [WC] F. De Paula (BRA) / O. Luz (BRA) 62 63
P. Mathieu (FRA) / J. Tsonga (FRA) d [4] N. Monroe (USA) / J. Sock (USA) 46 03 ret.
D. Lajovic (SRB) / D. Thiem (AUT) d A. Dolgopolov (UKR) / D. Munoz de la Nava (ESP) 75 75
[WC] R. Dutra Silva (BRA) / J. Souza (BRA) d [LL] G. Duran (ARG) / P. Oswald (AUT) 62 67(3) 10-8
T. Bellucci (BRA) / M. Demoliner (BRA) d A. Bedene (GBR) / A. Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 67(6) 76(4) 10-4
SCHEDULE – FRIDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2016
QUADRA GUGA KUERTEN start 2:30 pm
ATP – [Q] D. Gimeno-Traver (ESP) vs G. Pella (ARG)
Not Before 4:00 pm
ATP – [WC] T. Monteiro (BRA) or P. Cuevas (URU) vs F. Delbonis (ARG)
ATP – [5] D. Thiem (AUT) vs [2] D. Ferrer (ESP)
Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – [1] R. Nadal (ESP) vs A. Dolgopolov (UKR)
QUADRA 1 start 2:30 pm
WTA – [Q] C. Burger (NED) vs F. Schiavone (ITA)
Not Before 4:30 pm
WTA – S. Rogers (USA) vs [Q] P. Goncalves (BRA)
ATP – T. Bellucci (BRA) / M. Demoliner (BRA) vs P. Mathieu (FRA) / J. Tsonga (FRA)
ATP-After Suitable Rest – [1] M. Melo (BRA) / B. Soares (BRA) vs D. Lajovic (SRB) / D. Thiem (AUT)
QUADRA 5 start 2:30 pm
ATP – [WC] R. Dutra Silva (BRA) / J. Souza (BRA) vs [Q] P. Carreno Busta (ESP) / D. Marrero (ESP)
Not Before 5:00 pm
WTA – After Suitable Rest – [WC] A. Lim (FRA) / F. Schiavone (ITA) vs T. Moore (GBR) / C. Perrin (SUI)
ATP – After Suitable Rest – F. Delbonis (ARG) / P. Lorenzi (ITA) vs [2] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL)
Surface: outdoor clay
RESULTS – THURSDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2016
Singles – Second Round
[2] T. Berdych (CZE) d [WC] A. Zverev (GER) 63 36 75
[3] R. Gasquet (FRA) d E. Gulbis (LAT) 76(5) 63
[8] B. Paire (FRA) d [Q] V. Millot (FRA) 63 16 63
A. Kuznetsov (RUS) d [WC] Q. Halys (FRA) 60 64
N. Kyrgios (AUS) d T. Gabashvili (RUS) 64 64
Doubles – Quarter-finals
[2] M. Pavic (CRO) / M. Venus (NZL) d M. Kowalczyk (POL) / A. Siljestrom (SWE) 26 62 10-7
J. Erlich (ISR) / C. Fleming (GBR) d R. Haase (NED) / A. Qureshi (PAK) 63 36 11-9
T. Gabashvili (RUS) / N. Kyrgios (AUS) d M. Draganja (CRO) / J. Knowle (AUT) 63 64
SCHEDULE – FRIDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2016
COURT CENTRAL start 12:00 noon
A. Bury (BLR) / I. Zelenay (SVK) vs [2] M. Pavic (CRO) / M. Venus (NZL)
Not Before 2:00 pm
[4] M. Cilic (CRO) vs A. Kuznetsov (RUS)
Not Before 4:00 pm
N. Kyrgios (AUS) vs [3] R. Gasquet (FRA)
Not Before 6:30 pm
[1] S. Wawrinka (SUI) vs [8] B. Paire (FRA)
Not Before 8:30 pm
[6] D. Goffin (BEL) vs [2] T. Berdych (CZE)
Surface: Hard
RESULTS – THURSDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2016
Singles – Second Round
[5] J. Chardy (FRA) d [WC] N. Rubin (USA) 64 62
[WC] T. Smyczek (USA) d [7] D. Young (USA) 16 76(2) 62
S. Querrey (USA) d A. Krajicek (USA) 64 63
[WC] J. Del Potro (ARG) d [Q] J. Smith (AUS) 64 64
Doubles – Quarter-finals
[3] T. Huey (PHI) / M. Mirnyi (BLR) d C. Guccione (AUS) / B. Tomic (AUS) 63 64
J. Chardy (FRA) / L. Paes (IND) d M. Granollers (ESP) / S. Groth (AUS) 63 46 10-6
SCHEDULE – FRIDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2016
STADIUM start 12:30 pm
[8] A. Mannarino (FRA) vs [4] G. Dimitrov (BUL)
Not Before 2:30 pm
B. Becker (GER) vs R. Ram (USA)
6:00 pm
S. Querrey (USA) vs [WC] T. Smyczek (USA)
Not Before 8:00 pm
[WC] J. Del Potro (ARG) vs [5] J. Chardy (FRA)
Surface: Hard
Topics: 10sballs.com, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Atp World Tour, David Ferrer, Delray Beach Open, Nicolas Almagro, Open 13 Provence, Rafael Nadal, Rio Open 2016, Tennis News