ARTICLES:
- Nadal Battles Into Doha SFs | ATP World Tour
Nadal, the 2014 champion, converted five of his 10 break point opportunities in a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over No. 79-ranked Andrey Kuznetsov in a two-hour and eight-minute encounter.
“Kuznetsov played some amazing shots, so it was difficult to control the match,” Nadal said. “It’s true that I missed my serve more than I wanted to, but I really only played one bad game, at 4-3 in the second set. His returns were amazing and his level was very high. Fortunately I played a great third set, with a lot of intensity.”
“Winning matches in three sets is very good news and very positive thing,” Nadal told reporters.
“That happens when you are fresh mentally, when you are able to analyse well what’s going on in the match.
“And last year I lost a lot of matches like today’s match. So for me it’s so important to win these kind of matches.”
Nadal added that he was happy with his game other than his serve, which was broken four times.
Already regarded as one of the finest exponents of spin in the history of tennis, Nadal will unveil his new stringing at the Australian Open in two weeks.
The Spaniard has opted for Belgian natural gut string as a replacement for the synthetic fibres which yielded 14 majors, including a record nine French Open crowns.
- #360stats: Milestones in sight for Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in 2016 | sport360.com
75 – Nadal (70) will attempt to surpass Guillermo Vilas (75) for the most Grand Slam matches won on clay.
49 – Nadal (47 clay-court titles) will be hoping to break Vilas’ all-time record of 49 and he could also become the first man to win 50 titles on clay.
PHOTOS: Nadal beats Kuznetsov to reach Qatar Open semi-finals
VIDEOS:
- Qatar Open: Rafael Nadal practices with Malek Jaziri | Sport News 7-24
- Qatar Open QF – Full Match: Nadal vs Kuznetsov | Nadal Power
- Qatar Open QF – Highlights: Nadal vs Kuznetsov | Nadal Power
What string is Rafa using now?
All the best for the year. Vamos Rafa!
VAMOS DEAR RAFA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) GREAT MATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) Rafa just beautifully won the 1st SET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) SPEEDY FAST with BRIGHT ACES …………..FUN MATCH! : ) GO………………………….GO……………………….GO………………………….
What a lovely photograph of Rafael and the 3 young boys.