After his match against the feisty Fabio Fognini on Wednesday, Spaniard Rafael Nadal raised his level today to overcome with ease his test against Australian Nick Kyrgios and qualify to the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open.
Nadal, four-time champion in the Spanish capital, beat Kyrgios 6-3 and 6-1. The Australian could not withstand the Spaniard’s powerful tennis and his resistance faltered dramatically as the match progressed. If on Wednesday Nadal needed almost three hours to beat Fabio Fognini, today it took him just 71 minutes to get rid of Kyrgios.
Nadal, ranked fifth in the world, will play tomorrow in the quarterfinals against Belgian David Goffin, who earlier in the day beat Canadian Milos Raonic 6-4 6-2.
The Spaniard saved his difficult Madrid debut against Fognini on Wednesday and was aware that another under-performing match could cost him the win against Kyrgios, ranked 20th in the world.
Nadal learned from his mistake and attacked the Australian from the start.
Kyrgios, of enormous talent but famous for his ups and downs during matches, ineffectively tried to resist Nadal’s powerful game in the first set, but disappeared completely in the second one.
Nadal was sharp with his backhand and aggressive with his right hand, used all kind of shots to demoralize a Kyrgios that showed just glimpses of his many skills.
Once he lost the first set, Kyrgios disappeared from the match. The last point, which was supposed to be an easy right-handed shot to the center of the court was sent out of bounds by Kyrgios, perfectly reflecting what happened in the second set.
Nadal is looking for his fifth title in Madrid as he continues his great campaign on clay, which he hopes to crown with another win at the French Open. A few weeks ago he won his tenth title in Monte Carlo and seven days later he raised his tenth Barcelona Open trophy.
