Rafael Nadal got right back in action on the heels of a grueling Rio Olympics campaign and started strong at the Western & Southern Open by defeating Pablo Cuevas 6-1, 7-6(4) during second-round action on Wednesday evening. Nadal fought off all five of the break points he faced to advance in one hour and 30 minutes.
The former world No. 1’s status for Cincinnati had been a question mark after he played 11 matches in Rio, where he donned the men’s doubles gold medal along with Marc Lopez and also finished one place off the podium in singles. Nadal’s last two matches resulted in three-setters against Juan Martin Del Potro (in the semifinals) and Kei Nishikori (in the bronze-medal match). But he showed few–if any–signs of fatigue to begin this week, as Nadal rolled over Cuevas in the first set with the loss of just a single game. The Uruguayan managed to make things more interesting in the second, but Nadal saved a set point at 4-5 and eventually got the job done in a tiebreaker.
“I think I played well,” the Spaniard said. “I think I played a good match against a tough opponent in the first round for me for sure. “After coming from Rio and after the marathon that I had, it’s a very important victory for me. So I’m very happy.”
Nadal is joined in the last 16 by Nishikori, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, Gael Monfils, Dominic Thiem, Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in addition to a few unseeded floaters.
Wawrinka came out on top of a rain-delayed showdown from Tuesday night. American teenager Jared Donaldson had some momentum the previous day, but he could not hold on and eventually went down at the hands of the second-seeded Swiss via a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 scoreline.
It was a much-needed victory for Wawrinka, who has been slumping since reaching the French Open semis. The story is a similar one for fellow Roland Garros semifinalist for Thiem, as the Austrian is finally paying the price for overbooking his schedule this whole year. Although he has dealt with both injury and fatigue of late, the 22-year-old managed to battle past John Millman 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday.
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nice one, Rafa