Rafael Nadal beats Paolo Lorenzi to keep Argentina Open defence on track
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Published 12/02/2016 at 22:48 GMT
Rafael Nadal recorded his 346th win on clay to beat Paolo Lorenzi 7-6 6-2 to reach the last four at a scorching Argentina Open in Buenos Aires.
Rafael Nadal recorded his 346th win on clay to beat Paolo Lorenzi 7-6 6-2 to reach the last four at a scorching Argentina Open in Buenos Aires.
Image credit: Reuters
Temperatures soared to 33 degrees as Nadal, who defeated good friend Juan Monaco on Thursday night, was made to sweat by the 34-year-old, who went big on his forehand and rushed to the net wherever possible.
But the tactic backfired at the end of the first set when Nadal produced a trademark running pass before securing the opening set tie-break.
That gave the Spaniard the confidence to produce some of his best, aggressive tennis as he upped the tempo, secured two breaks in the second set and closed out the match in just under two hours.
Meanwhile, in Rotterdam, world number 32 Philipp Kohlschreiber produced a shock at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament to knock out title favourite Marin Cilic 6-3 3-6 6-4.
“I gained a lot of confidence after my break in the second set and. It gave me belief that I could win the match” said Kohlschreiber, who will face Gaël Monfils or Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals.
“It feels great to stun a great player like Marin in such a big tournament. Sometimes everything falls into place. Looking back, I made the right decisions on the decisive moments.”
Nicolas Mahut, who started the week as a qualifier, was the first player to reach the semi-finals of the tournament on Friday. The Frenchman didn’t waste any time against eighth-seeded Viktor Troicki, winning 6-2, 6-1.
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