Sports

Nadal aces 300th clay win

Spaniard books quarter-final with compatriot Ferrer in Monte Carlo.

Afp April 17, 2014

Nadal became the 11th player to register his 300th win on clay after beating Italian Adreas Seppi. PHOTO: AFP

MONTE CARLO: World number one Rafael Nadal finished with an ace on match point to seal his 300th career victory on clay and advance into the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters after beating Italian Andreas Seppi on Thursday.

Nadal, the eight-time Monte Carlo champion, became just the 11th man to crack 300 wins on the dirt — the last to do so was Spaniard Carlos Moya, who ended his career in 2007 with 337 victories.

The Spaniard said he felt an improvement in his play against Seppi, with the win taking him into another meeting with compatriot David Ferrer. Spanish sixth seed booked his place against Nadal by beating Bulgarian number 12 Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-2.

Nadal still has ground to cover on clay before approaching the all-time top winner on the surface Argentinian Guillermo Vilas who compiled a record of 644 wins on the surface three decades ago.

“I did what I had to in order to get a win,” said Nadal.

“But playing Ferrer is never easy. If you are not at the top of your game you will lose. I’m just glad to be in the quarter-final.”

Federer, Djokovic outclass opponents

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer spent just 57 minutes in going past Czech Lukas Rosol 6-4, 6-1 to line up against ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Federer, the record 17-time Grand Slam winner, came back from a break down in the first set before crushing his opponent.

Second seed and title holder Novak Djokovic, who beat Nadal for the 2013 title, beat Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 6-0, 6-1.

In other matches, Frenchman Tsonga celebrated a win in controversial circumstances over Italian Fabio Fognini, who went into meltdown in a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 defeat. The 10th seed won just four points in the final set, where he was jeered by fans.

Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka earned a free trip into the last eight when Spain’s Nicolas Almagro retired before their third-round match with a foot injury.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2014.

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