Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka progress at the French Open 2013 – Tennis News
Seven time champion, Rafael Nadal, and the ninth seed Stanislas Wawrinka secured a spot in the quarter-finals at the Roland Garros 2013 on Monday. The Spanish star crushed the Asian number one, Kei Nishikori,
with a breadstick whereas Wawrinka triumphed over Richard Gasquet in a five-set thriller at this major clay court tournament.
Seeded third in this event, Nadal showed his master class on clay and squeaked past the world number 15 on his 27th birthday. He jolted down a 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 victory against the Japanese
to stay on track for his eighth crown.
The Spanish top ranked star, Nadal, commented in a courtside interview after the match, "I played much better today than the first three matches, no doubt about that. I started to have feelings with my forehand
when I had a chance to hit my forehand. I started to change directions well. I started to feel that I can hit the ball longer and am having more confidence in every stroke."
Nadal required a single break of serve in the fifth game to bag the opener with a 6-4 success.
The former world number one went berserk in the following set. After Nishikori held his opening serve, the Spaniard reeled off six games to pocket the set with a breadstick.
The Spanish star got the coveted break in the fourth game of the third set. He smoothly held his entire serves and conquered the set with a 6-3 victory.
Nadal will square off against the Swiss contender, Wawrinka, in the last eight. He currently leads 9-0 in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against the Wawrinka.
The ninth Swiss star reflected about his victory in a post match presser, "It's ranked really high in my wins if you look at my level and how I decided to fight for this match. And also the fact that I won for
the very first time the round of 16, and it was such a crowd that was supporting us for four hours."
Wawrinka made a superb comeback from two sets down to outclass the world number nine, Gasquet. The contenders last met each other at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris seven years ago and after bagging this match,
he levelled the head-to-head series against the Frenchman.
Ranked 10th in the Emirates Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Wawrinka got the much awaited break in the end of the third set. As a result, he clicked the set with a 6-4 win.
He maintained consistency in the proceeding set and slid his entire serves with conviction. The Swiss cashed a break opportunity in the last game and grabbed the equaliser by winning seven games to five.
In the decisive set, the Swiss veteran got the breakthrough in the 14th game and subsequently clinched the decider with a 8-6 score line.
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