TENNIS – World Number 1 Rafael Nadal swept aside Denis Istomin drooping just one game for 6-1 6-0 at the Sony Open in Miami to qualify for the round of 16 where he will play against Italian top player Fabio Fognini who beat Roberto Bautista Agut. Nadal will be looking to reach the quarter final for the seventh time in a row in Miami. Diego Sampaolo
Rafa Nadal played a perfect match in which he converted six of his seven break point chances. It’s the second time in 2014 that Nadal dropped just one game after defeating Sousa in Rio de Janeiro.
Nadal is bidding to clinch his elusive Miami title after losing three finals in 2005, 2008 and 2011. It’s one of the three Master 1000 Tournaments together with Shanghai and Paris Bercy that he never won.
Nadal broke serve in the opening game of the first set to cruise to a easy 4-0. He saved a break point in the sixth game to wrap up the first set with 6-1 in just 25 minutes. He won 63 percent of his first serve points.
The only time he faced some stiff challenge occurred in the first game of the second set when he fended off three break point chances before cruising to a bagel win in the second set.
Nadal’s next rival in the Round of 16 will be World number 14 Fabio Fognini who fought back from a set down to edge Roberto Bautista Agut with 4-6 6-3 6-3. The Italian reached the fourth round in a Master 1000 for the second consecutive time. Fognini equalled his best result in Miami.
The first set went on serve until 4-4. Bautista Agut held to take a 5-4 lead before closing out the opening set following two costly mistakes by Fognini.
Fognini broke serve in the third game of the second set but he made a double fault to face a break back point chance after a double fault. Fognini broke in the final game to win the second set 6-3.
Fognini broke in the early stage of the third set to take a 3-0 lead before closing out the third set 6-3 on his first match point. Fognini improved his best result in Miami of 2013 when he lost to David Ferrer in the third round. He lost all his previous three matches against Nadal but he came close to beat him last year in Beijing where he led 6-2 4-1 in the second set before losing in the third set.
World Number 3 and 2014 Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka also reached the fourth round after beating Frenchman Roger Vasselin 7-5 6-4. The Lausanne player converted his fourth break point chance at 6-5 to close out the first set after 45 minutes. He build up a 4-1 lead in the second set bt Roger Vasselin clawed his way back to draw level to 4-4. The Swiss got his third break of serve to close out the second set 6-4.
Wawrinka clinched his 15th win in 16 matches this year. He will face a very tough round of 16 match against in-form Aleksander Dolgopolov who had to di deep to overcome lucky loser Dusan Lajovic. Dolgopolov, semifinalist in Indian Wells, fought back after losing the first set.
Wawrinka faced two break points at 4-4 in the opening set before closing out the first set in the 12th game with a forehand winner. The Swiss broke serve in the opening game of the second set and got a chance to take a 3-0 lead but he made a double fault enabling Roger Vasselin to break back. Wawrinka closed out the second set on the second match point in one hour and 44 minutes.
After the match was interrupted by rain at 5-5 in the third set, Lajovic built up a 4-2 lead in the tie-break but Dolgopolov managed to clinch the breaker with 7-5 to book his berth in the round of 16. The Ukrainian player equalled his best result in Miami by reaching the fourth round.
Milos Raonic, who lost against Dolgopolov in Indian Wells, dropped just three games and did not face a single break point to ease past Guillermo Garcia Lopez in straight sets with 6-2 6-1 to set up a fourth round match against Benjamin Becker who has become the first lucky-loser to reach the round of 16 in Key Biscayne after Ivan Ljubicic who qualified for the quarter final in 2001.
