Nadal and Murray hit form 29 May 2014, 21:22 Rafael Nadal provided a claycourt lesson for one of the games young apprentices at the Roland Garros when he crushed rising Austrian Dominic Thiem with a masterly display to reach the third round on Thursday. The eight-time champion showed flashes of his intimidating best in a 6-2 6-2 6-3 win that was tougher than the scoreline suggested but was never seriously in doubt against a player of whom grand things are expected. While world No 1 Nadal improved his Roland Garros record to 61-1 in ruthless fashion, prospective semifinal opponent Andy Murray cruised into the third round by outclassing Australias Marinko Matosevic. Fifth seed David Ferrer, one of three players to beat Nadal on his favoured claycourts this season, also wasted little energy reaching the last 32, demolishing Italian Simone Bolelli 6-2 6-3 6-2. After the seismic shock of defending champion Serena Williamss second round exit on Wednesday the womens draw was relatively incident free on Day Five, with Simona Halep and Jelena Jankovic among the leading seeds to progress. Perhaps wary of the 20-year-old Thiems reputation as a rising force in the mens game Nadal was quick to stamp his authority on Philippe Chatrier Court - the rectangle of Parisian clay that remains his fortress. I think it was a dangerous match, a dangerous opponent today, Nadal, who appears to be slipping into the groove, said. I think today I played a solid match, I knew that if I didnt I would be in trouble. He briefly was in the third set when Thiem, who stunned world No 3 Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round of the Madrid Masters this month, broke and held serve to lead 3-1. His booming inside-out forehands briefly put Nadal on the back foot but Nadal quickly responded to the challenge and won the remaining games, ending the contest on his second match point when the Austrian sent a forehand long.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 06:16:33 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015