In a rematch of the 2015 Argentina Open final, Rafael Nadal held off Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-4 during second-round action on Thursday night in Buenos Aires.
It was Nadal’s first outing since a surprising first-round Australian Open loss to Fernando Verdasco. And plenty of rust was on display, too. The world No. 5 blooped in his first serves with an alarming lack of speed to go along with consistency (84 percent) that was more perplexing than impressive. Nadal got broken three times but more than made up for those donations by earning five scalps of the Monaco serve.
The Argentine, of course, was even more rusty than Nadal. Because of a wrist injury, Monaco had not played since last August before taking the court against Marco Cecchinato on Tuesday. The 31-year-old cruised through that contest 6-1, 6-3 but did not have enough to get the job done against an opponent as formidable as Nadal.
Highlights:
“I’m happy for the victory,” the 14-time major champion assured. “The start was tough, as Juan is a good player and the big humidity here in Argentina made it difficult. I am happy to be through and hope to be ready for tomorrow.”
Joining Nadal in the quarterfinals are Paolo Lorenzi, David Ferrer, and Pablo Cuevas. Lorenzi needed three sets to beat Diego Schwartzman, while Ferrer and Cuevas earned respective straight-set wins over Renzo Olivo and Santiago Giraldo.
“Paolo is a strong player and he had a great victory today,” Nadal said of his next opponent. “We’ll have an early afternoon start so it’ll be very warm. It’ll be a tough one.”
[polldaddy poll=9307189]
happy for the victory, no?
I reckon relieved is more like it…………………
Hesitantly going with Rafa in straights losing seven or less. I’m thinking it goes this way but it could be tighter.
Pau Ferragut (Redactor a Ràdio MARCA Mallorca): “Nadal played tonight with stomach problems against Mónaco. Not dangerous but he was attended by the doctor. Again the humidity conditions.”
An excerpt from Rafa’s post-match press-conference (in Spanish):
Nadal se sintió mal de la barriga durante el partido con Mónaco en Buenos Aires
[Google translation: Nadal felt bad belly during the match with Monaco in Buenos Aires]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F6eZZAd6nk
Rafa says humid conditions made things a bit difficult & caused him some stomach problems. He hopes to be healthy for the QF match. He’s happy withe the victory & thinks he performed the best at the right times (at 5-4* in both sets). [Translated by Genny]
Rafa’s on-court interview (in Spanish).
Rafa says he’s happy to advance to the next round. It wasn’t an easy match against one of his best friends on tour.
Rafa hopes to play better tomorrow and then be able to make a good tournament. The interviewer asks him if it’s that difficult to separate the friendship from the competition. Rafa says in the end both are professionals and on court both want to win. Then Rafa’s recalled the difficult situation Pico’s coming from. He’s said he followed Pico’s injury very closely and knows very well all that Pico’s gone through.Rafa’s also, once again, been very thankful to the crowd for the reception. He’s happy the tournament has got to bring so many top players. [Translated by Genny]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veEspKv4G08
RT Tomeu Terrasa (Radio Marca Mallorca): ¤¤ Rafa: “Despite of playing at night, the court wasn’t heavy or slow and the bounce of the ball was right.” ¤¤
(Translated from Spanish by Genny)