Former No.1 reaches semi-finals with partner Mónaco at the VTR Open in Viña del Mar.
Rafael Nadal secured another doubles victory with Argentine teammate Juan Mónaco at the quarterfinals of the VTR Open in Viña del Mar on Thursday.
The long-time friends went head-to-head with Frenchman Guillaume Rufin and Italy’s Filippo Volandri, scoring a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win in an hour and a half. The match marked another positive step of Nadal’s journey back to competitive play after seven months off with an injured leg.
This is the fourth career event for the Nadal-Mónaco team, who quickly assumed a commanding lead breaking their opponents twice in the first set. The Spanish-Argentine pair’s coordination faltered in the second however, with much tighter play. Luckily Nadal’s trademark serve leveled the tables at 6-6, taking them to a tie break before they went on to claim victory.
It was Nadal's third match in three days, after his successful singles debut saw him secure an easy win in straight sets against Argentine Federico Delbonis. This advanced him to the quarterfinals of the tournament where he will face fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver on Friday.
Last year’s VTR Open champion, Mónaco, was thought destined to challenge Nadal in the finals of the singles event on Sunday. However the defending champ was ousted by World No. 93 Guillaume Rufin on Wednesday, in a shocking first round defeat.
Luckily Mónaco got a second chance to level the scores alongside Nadal in the doubles, with the duo now progressing to the semi-finals where they will square off against Argentines Carlos Berlocq and Leonardo Mayer.
By Lucy Hughes Jones (hjones@santiagotimes.cl)
Copyright 2013 – The Santiago Times
Rafael Nadal secured another doubles victory with Argentine teammate Juan Mónaco at the quarterfinals of the VTR Open in Viña del Mar on Thursday.The long-time friends went head-to-head with Frenchman Guillaume Rufin and Italy’s Filippo Volandri, scoring a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win in an hour and a half. The match marked another positive step of Nadal’s journey back to competitive play after seven months off with an injured leg.
This is the fourth career event for the Nadal-Mónaco team, who quickly assumed a commanding lead breaking their opponents twice in the first set. The Spanish-Argentine pair’s coordination faltered in the second however, with much tighter play. Luckily Nadal’s trademark serve leveled the tables at 6-6, taking them to a tie break before they went on to claim victory.
It was Nadal's third match in three days, after his successful singles debut saw him secure an easy win in straight sets against Argentine Federico Delbonis. This advanced him to the quarterfinals of the tournament where he will face fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver on Friday.
Last year’s VTR Open champion, Mónaco, was thought destined to challenge Nadal in the finals of the singles event on Sunday. However the defending champ was ousted by World No. 93 Guillaume Rufin on Wednesday, in a shocking first round defeat.
Luckily Mónaco got a second chance to level the scores alongside Nadal in the doubles, with the duo now progressing to the semi-finals where they will square off against Argentines Carlos Berlocq and Leonardo Mayer.
By Lucy Hughes Jones (hjones@santiagotimes.cl)
Copyright 2013 – The Santiago Times
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