2011 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal makes it into quarterfinals
World number one, Rafael “Rafa” Nadal, moved further in the 2011 Australian Open this week after he defeated the Croat giant, Marin Cilic, in their fourth round match on Monday.
The 2009 champion here, Nadal comes to the event to not only recapture his title but also achieve the “Rafa Slam”. A feat dubbed so by the media in which, Nadal looks to hold all four major titles.
A champion at Wimbledon, Roland Garros and United States Open last year, Nadal hopes to win the title at the Australian Open this week so as to join the ranks of legend Rod Laver. Laver is the only male professional to have achieved the said feat back in
1969.
Enjoying a no set loss record so far in the event, Nadal had setup a fourth round clash with Marin Cilic after dismissing the only remaining Aussie at the event, wild card entrant, Bernand Tomic.
Meeting Cilic for the second time, Nadal looked to level the head-to-head score with the Croat.
Cilic opened serve in the first set but had it broken in the first game giving Rafa a 2-0 lead, which he extended to 5-1 breaking Cilic’s service in the fifth game as well.
Winning the eighth game on his service, Nadal was able to secure a 6-2 victory. Coming in the second set, Nadal broke Cilic’s service once in seventh game to clinch a 6-4 victory for himself.
Leading the set score 2-0 took the profusely sweating Nadal almost two hours, highly unusual for the Spaniard. Nevertheless still going strong, Nadal opened the third set and saw the score tied for six games with each player winning games on their service.
Breaking Cilic’s service in the seventh and ninth game, Nadal was able to clinch a 6-3 victory and maintain his no set loss record.
Although the Spaniard hit 26 winners, six less than the Croat, he capitalized much on the stumbling giant, who registered almost double the unforced errors, a total of 48.
Rafa converted five of fourteen break points and lost only twenty-eight of eighty-eight points on service to secure a berth for himself in the quarterfinal round.
He moves on ahead to play compatriot, David Ferrer.
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