Nadal, Djokovic, Federer all advance on Thursday

Rafael Nadal held off a red-hot Andrey Kuznetsov 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Thursday. Nadal needed two hours and eight minutes in what was his second three-setter of the week in order to reach the final four. He had previously been pushed the distance by Pablo Carreno Busta in round one.

But Kuznetsov was arguably even more dangerous than Carreno Busta. The Russian almost doubled Nadal’s winner count, but relative inexperience may have doomed him in the end. Kuznetsov dropped each of his last two service games and Nadal consolidated at 5-4 in the third to clinch victory.

“Kuznetsov played some amazing shots, so it was difficult to control the match,” Nadal explained. “It’s true that I missed my serve more than I wanted to, but I really only played one bad game–at 4-3 in the second set. His returns were amazing and his level was very high. Fortunately I played a great third set, with a lot of intensity.”

Nadal hits arguably best and most important shot of the match at 4-4 in the third:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5-UB6rWvV4

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic joined Nadal in the semis by defeating Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 7-5. Mayer led by a break in each of the two sets but could not seal the deal. Serving at 5-4 in the second set, the Argentine got broken at love with two missed overheads, a shanked backhand wide, and a shanked forehand long.

Djokovic-Mayer highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMNtaFzcJVI

At the Brisbane International, meanwhile, Roger Federer kicked off his 2016 campaign with a 6-2, 6-1 beatdown of Tobias Kamke that required only 55 minutes.

“I’m extremely pleased I was able to win today,” the defending champion commented. “In practice…it’s been great. I have been hitting the ball well. I am where I want to be.”

Where he’ll be on Friday is a tennis court with Grigor Dimitrov on the other side of the net. Federer has won all three of their previous meetings and is 6-0 in total sets against the Bulgarian. They most recently faced each other at this same Brisbane event last year, when the Swiss cruised 6-2, 6-2.

Federer-Kamke highlights:

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3 Comments on Nadal, Djokovic, Federer all advance on Thursday

  1. I’m really tempted to pick Marchenko to be honest. After Rafa barely got past kuznetsov I could definitely see Marchenko getting the win. I’m gonna think about this one for a little.

  2. I’m gonna go with Rafa in 3 but I’m really interested to see that match and think it could go either way to be honest.

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