Nadal off to roaring start
Credit to Author: Tempo Online| Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2019 13:00:47 +0000
MONTE CARLO, Principality of Monaco (AFP) – Rafael Nadal charged out of the blocks Wednesday to hammer Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-1, 6-1, in his opening match at the Monte Carlo Masters.
The 11-time champion showed no sign of the knee problems which forced him to quit ahead of an Indian Wells semifinal against Roger Federer a month ago.
The 32-year-old had expressed pre-tournament caution regarding the health of his knee – a worry which appeared to be groundless after a 76-minute masterclass.
Rafael Nadal needed just 76 minutes to score a 6-1, 6-1 win over Roberto Bautista Agut. (AFP)
Nadal collected the opening five games of the afternoon in 17 minutes as he set the tone for another dominant display in the principality.
He was equally in control during the second set, where he saved three break points in the fourth game and two more in the sixth.
Bautista Agut has now lost to his Spanish countryman in all three of their meetings, while Nadal improved his incredible record here to 69-4 as he takes aim at a fourth consecutive title at the event.
Roland Garros finalist Dominic Thiem, who lost to Nadal in Paris last June, beat Slovakia’s Martin Klizan 6-1, 6-4.
Thiem, who won the Indian Wells title over Federer, made a successful switch to his favourite surface as he prepares for the pre-French Open sequence of events.
Fourth seed Thiem won with a break in the final game after Klizan held a 40-0 lead.
Alexander Zverev rediscovered traces of his best form with a 6-1, 6-4 defeat of Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime.