Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal had to work hard in the first set to subdue a spirited Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-3 en route to reaching the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday. The fifth seed, who had lost his last encounter to the 22-year-old Austrian, soon found himself a break down in the first set as Thiem started blasting winners right from the word go.
But the 14-time Grand Slam champion improved his play from there as the 14th seed kept on squandering chance after chance. From 17 break point opportunities, he could convert only two, one in each set. Rafa capitalized on his younger opponent’s inability on the major points to grab the win in 2 hours 3 minutes.
In his quest for an unprecedented ninth title at the Principality, Nadal will next face another former winner, Stan Wawrinka for a place in the semi-finals. The fourth-seeded Swiss hardly broke a sweat as he cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win over 15th seed Gilles Simon.
Federer cruises
Four-time runner-up Roger Federer had a hassle-free time on court as he breezed past Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-2, 6-4. This was just the second competitive match for the third seed after his two-month hiatus from the Tour following a knee surgery.
The former World No. 1 looked sharp and was successful in converting all the three break points he earned to set up a quarter-final meeting with his old foe, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The Frenchman was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over his compatriot Lucas Pouille.
Murray comes back from the jaws of defeat
In an earlier match, second seed Andy Murray had to claw back from the brink to book his place in the last-eight. The Scot was a set and double break down from where he came back all the way to edge past 16th seed Benoit Paire 2-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Riding on 47 winners, the Frenchman had Murray on the ropes as he broke the Scot to even serve for the match in the third set. With the two-time Major winner just a couple of points away from a loss, Paire started fumbling and his double-fault on break point gave Murray a second chance which he made full use of.
The second seed definitely needs to elevate his game for he faces the big-serving 10th seed Milos Raonic next. The Canadian too did not have a comfortable outing as he just scraped past Bosnian qualifier Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5).
Djokovic conqueror out
A day after toppling the top seed Novak Djokovic, the 55th ranked Jiri Vesely could not put up much of a fight and fizzled out in a 1-6, 2-6 defeat to 13th seed Gael Monfils. The Frenchman will lock horns with lucky loser Marcel Granollers, who beat the in-form 11th seed David Goffin, 7-6(1), 6-4.
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