(AFP) – Rafael Nadal made light work of the unseeded American Jared Donaldson to sprint into the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday.
The world number one, fresh from winning the China Open and the US Open, ruthlessly disposed of the world-ranked 56 Donaldson, 6-2, 6-1 in just 54 minutes.
Rafa, a 16-time Grand Slam winner, plays Italian Fabio Fognini in the next round.
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Rafael Nadal of Spain serves during his men’s 2nd round singles match against Jared Donaldson of the US at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai on October 11, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS ASFOURI (Oct. 10, 2017 – Source: AFP)
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Rafael Nadal of Spain serves during his men’s 2nd round singles match against Jared Donaldson of the US at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai on October 11, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS ASFOURI (Oct. 10, 2017 – Source: AFP)
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
A ball kid gives a towel to Rafael Nadal of Spain in the match against Jared Donaldson of United States in their Men’s Single match during Round 2 of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 10, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 10, 2017 – Source: Kevin Lee/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a return during his men’s 2nd round singles match against Jared Donaldson of the US at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai on October 11, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS ASFOURI (Oct. 10, 2017 – Source: AFP)
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after defeating Jared Donaldson of United States in their Men’s Single match during Round 2 of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on October 10, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Oct. 10, 2017 – Source: Kevin Lee/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Please show him your are number 1 in the world an for sure you are playing like
# 1.
Eye of the tiger🦁🦁🦁🦁🥇🥇
All good to hear all this Rafa you are certainly going places.
now do get some rest and relaxation.
All the best for Fabio.
Love and prayers,
AlaineXXSydneyXXAustraliaXX
No he podido verte pero m imagino x los marcadores ha tenido k ser un partido excelente x tu parte….como siempre y como vienes jugando un CAMPEON… Ahora lo vere en la repeticion….ADELANTE!!!!!
beau match , supers services , quel talent , Vous êtes formidablement talentueux
Un plaisir chaque fois renouvelé quand je vous vois jouer
Laissez poussez vos cheveux et tel Samson , vous restez imbattable !!
Stay healthy and “calm”
Congrats for another win! Way to go Rafa…good luck with Fabio💪💪💪
I can’t help worrying that all this winning is going to cost Rafa the WTF. When does he rest? But then I wasn’t expecting the win in Beijing with such a hard draw but it backed-up the US nicely and stopped the ‘Rafa hasn’t played a top 20 opponent since the FO’ narrative’. Rafa now also holds the Masters 500 record. Wanting to finish the year No.1 is both a blessing and a curse I guess. I just hope Rafa stays healthy enough to keep up this level in November.
I like Donaldson a lot, but Rafa is at another level. I can’t recall him playing any better indoors than now. We all know that Rafa prefers to play outdoors, preferably in the sunshine.
Fabio is next and that can be tricky. I hope for another easy win tomorrow!
Hi Va4favre, Rafa has been playing great as you have said , at one time I might have been worried a little about him playing Fabio but with his form just now and having putting Nick in his place in Beijing ( couldn’t be happier about that especially after Nick’s quitting his match in Shanghai because he lost the first set , disgraceful behaviour especially when people have paid good money to see a match ) I don’t see Fabio as a threat. Is it just me or does Donaldson look like a young Michael J Fox .
Hi Maria, I did not think of it myself, but you are right. There is a resemblance to Fox. Donaldson has only been getting noticed since his play in Atlanta this summer. He is unusual for a US player in that he went to Argentina to learn how to play on clay. I hope he continues to improve except when he plays Rafa.
You are an inspiration to all of us, Rafa. Vaaaaamos!
Good start of the tournament. Vamos Rafa <3
Excellent start to Shanghai campaign, Rafael💪👏👍play on🤗❣️
Donaldson wasn’t even playing that bad. He’s a top 50 player. Yes had some issues with serving but was really solid otherwise. Yet Rafa still thrashed him. I might be wrong but that 2nd set is the best I’ve seen Rafa play all year and Rafa played so crazy good many times already. But to play so scary good at indoors in a tournament he never did well at is so impressive to see. He played at indoors like he played at clay this year. With a better serve. Crazy stuff from Rafa.
CONGRATZ Rafa. I am thrilled it was such a quick match: more energy and positive feelings going forward.
RAFA ROCKS IN 2017