Nadal Reaches Toronto Quarters With Win Over Wawrinka
A 45-minute rain interruption did little to stop the progress of Rafael Nadal on Thursday at the Toronto Masters as he defeated Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) to reach the quarter-finals.
Rafael Nadal (Reuters)
Loading...
A 45-minute rain interruption did little to stop the progress of Rafael Nadal on Thursday at the Toronto Masters as he defeated Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) to reach the quarter-finals.
The halt in proceedings came 63 minutes into the opening set after Wawrinka saved a Nadal set point for 5-all, with the Spaniard then holding serve for 6-5. When the weather passed, the pair returned, with Nadal wrapping up the set on his second chance.
The second set was a battle as the Swiss, a three-time Grand Slam champion, fought back from an early break down, took a 2-1 lead, with the pair again trading breaks in the fifth and tenth games. Nadal came from a mini-break down in the tiebreaker and secured victory on his second match point.
Nadal's win was his 17th from 20 played against Wawrinka.
"It was a good match, a very positive victory for me over a tough opponent," Nadal said. "I'm happy to see Stan playing well again. We had a good quality of tennis. I'm very pleased, I needed a match like this. It does much for the confidence."
Meanwhile, Bulgarian fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov laboured for almost two and a half hours to subdue Frances Tiafoe of the United States 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 7-6 (7/4).
He next faces Wimbledon runner-up and fourth seed Kevin Anderson who defeated Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 7-5, 6-3 to also make the last-eight.
Sixth seed Marin Cilic continued his quiet progress, beating Argentine 11th seed Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-2.
Canadian teen Denis Shapovalov went down to Robin Haase, losing 7-5, 6-2, ending local interest. The Dutch winner will take on Karen Khachanov, who beat eighth seed John Isner 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/1)
The halt in proceedings came 63 minutes into the opening set after Wawrinka saved a Nadal set point for 5-all, with the Spaniard then holding serve for 6-5. When the weather passed, the pair returned, with Nadal wrapping up the set on his second chance.
The second set was a battle as the Swiss, a three-time Grand Slam champion, fought back from an early break down, took a 2-1 lead, with the pair again trading breaks in the fifth and tenth games. Nadal came from a mini-break down in the tiebreaker and secured victory on his second match point.
Nadal's win was his 17th from 20 played against Wawrinka.
"It was a good match, a very positive victory for me over a tough opponent," Nadal said. "I'm happy to see Stan playing well again. We had a good quality of tennis. I'm very pleased, I needed a match like this. It does much for the confidence."
Meanwhile, Bulgarian fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov laboured for almost two and a half hours to subdue Frances Tiafoe of the United States 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 7-6 (7/4).
He next faces Wimbledon runner-up and fourth seed Kevin Anderson who defeated Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 7-5, 6-3 to also make the last-eight.
Sixth seed Marin Cilic continued his quiet progress, beating Argentine 11th seed Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-2.
Canadian teen Denis Shapovalov went down to Robin Haase, losing 7-5, 6-2, ending local interest. The Dutch winner will take on Karen Khachanov, who beat eighth seed John Isner 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/1)