World No. 5 Rafael Nadal erased the bitter memories of his painful first round defeat at the 2016 Australian Open with a 6-0, 7-6(9) win over compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday.
The last time the two Spaniards had locked horns, it was Verdasco who emerged victorious at Melbourne Park in five sets. But this time, the fourth seed was more cautious and did not let his elder countryman come back into the match even as Verdasco held five set points in the second-set tie-break.
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“I lost matches similar to this one in Australia, in Bueno Aires, in Rio de Janeiro, so it’s important winning sets like this for me,” the 14-time Grand Slam champion said.
“I feel lucky to win the tie-break, and at the same time I think at the end of the tie-break I played well with not many mistakes and going for the points.”
Up next, for the former World No. 1 is 18-year-old Alexander Zverev, the youngest player left in the draw. The German sizzled in his third round match and posted an easy 6-2, 6-2 win to see off 16th seed Gilles Simon.
Djokovic made to work hard vs Kohlschreiber
After edging Philipp Kohlschreiber in a close first set, the top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic seemed to be cruising in the second set. He even led 5-2 and had four match points when he served for the match but that is where the veteran German got a second wind and fought back. The Serbian eventually reigned supreme 7-5, 7-5 in 1 hour 39 minutes.
He will next square off against 18th seed Feliciano Lopez who edged past 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut, 7-6(5), 6(10)-7, 6-4 in a titanic battle that lasted 3 hours 16 minutes.
Djokovic met Lopez as recently as the Dubai Open quarter-finals in February where he had to retire due to an eye ailment after losing the first set.
Earlier in the day, fifth seed Kei Nishikori beat American Steve Johnson and will now face John Isner, who defeated Adrian Mannarino, 6-4, 7-6(4).
Amongst the other winners were the in-form Dominic Thiem who outlasted Jack Sock, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-1. The win set up the 11th seeded Austrian against the seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who thrashed Sam Querrey, 6-3, 6-4.
WTA – Serena to meet Halep in blockbuster clash
World No. 1 Serena Williams eased past qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a blockbuster quarter-final clash with the defending champion Simona Halep. The fifth-seeded Romanian won 6-3, 1-0 when Barbora Strycova retired due to an upper respiratory illness.
Former champion Victoria Azarenka overcame a second-set surge from the 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur for a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 victory. Her quarter-final opponent will be Magdalena Rybarikova who won 6-2, 2-0 as ninth seed Roberta Vinci retired owing to a left foot injury.
Earlier in the day, third seed Agnieszka Radwanska and eighth seed Petra Kvitova won their respective fourth round matches for a mouth-watering quarter-final showdown with each other.
The final last-eight match will feature the talented 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina versus the 18th seed Karolina Pliskova. While Kasatkina comfortably beat 12th seed Timea Bacsinszky 6-4, 6-2, Pliskova staved off a stiff challenge from British 25th seed Johanna Konta to emerge a 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-1 winner.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
