Newly crowned world No.1 Rafael Nadal has extended his flawless record against Richard Gasquet by dismissing the Frenchman 6-3, 6-4, in the second round of the Western and Southern Open.
The top seed experienced little difficulty during the match, saving the sole break point he faced. Dropping just 13 points behind his serve in the 85-minute encounter, Nadal hit a total of eight aces and 25 winners alongside an unforced error count of 19. The win is Nadal’s 15th consecutive against Gasquet, who has never defeated the Spaniard on the tour.
Wednesday’s late night win in Cincinnati comes a week after Nadal suffered a shock loss to Denis Shapovalov at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. The loss delayed his rise back to the world No.1 position.
“The start of the tournament. Was important start for me,” said Nadal. “Always important to win the first match, especially after what happened last week, losing the match that way.”
“So (i’m) just happy for the way that I played, and of course for the victory.”
Nadal has dodged a third round clash with Gilles Muller, who defeated him in a five-set thriller at Wimbledon. The Luxemburg world No.22 was edged out by Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas (5-7, 6-4, 6-4). A player who has lost to Nadal in straight sets in three previous occasions.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) another tough match against Albert. I know him very well. He knows me very well. Going to be a tough one. I hope to be ready to play well.” The top seed said about the upcoming clash.
Back at the top
Knowing he will return to world No.1 next week regardless of how he fairs in Cincinnati is an achievement Nadal puts down to hard work. Despite being continuously ranked inside the world’s top 10 since 2005, the Spaniard’s career has been marred by a series of knee and wrist issues. Making his rise back to the top at the age of 31 more significant.
“It is an important thing to me because to come back to that number after all the things that happened to me since the last time. That I have been in that position is something very important and very difficult. I worked a lot to give me another chance, and here I am,” Nadal said.
Nadal’s only triumph in Cincinnati occurred back in 2013 when he defeated John Isner in the final. It was also the last time he won a Masters 1000 title in North America. A drought he is aiming to end this week.
“My goal is to try to play a good tournament here, and of course then we are going to think about the US Open. But now it’s Cincinnati.” He explained.
Rivals crash out
As Nadal moves on, others has stumbled. Rogers Cup champion Alexander Zverev hit 44 unforced errors during his 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, loss to Fraces Tiafoe. The German appeared to be fatigued in his match against his inspired opponent, who fed of the support of his home crowd. Zverev is the highest ranked player to lose in this year’s tournament so far, but is maintaining a positive outlook on his current form.
“It’s been great. I won back-to-back weeks, two big events. Visiting Montreal was very, very special, as well. It’s been a positive summer so far,” he told atpworldtour.com. “I beat a lot of Top 10 players and have beaten a lot of great players, a lot of tough matches.”
Sam Querrey, who defeated Nadal earlier in the year, dropped serve five times during his 6-2, 7-6 (4) loss to France’s Adrian Mannarino. The American was far from his best, winning just 49% of his service points. Mannarino will next play Dominic Thiem.
Other players booking their place in round three include Grigor Dimitrov and Nick Kyrgios. Dimitrov dismissed Feliciano Lopez in straight sets and Kyrgios hammered 15 aces during his 6-3, 7-6(6) win over Alexandr Dolgopolov.
