Rafael Nadal cruises past Eduardo Schwank to reach fourth round – Roland Garros 2012
Defending champion, Rafael Nadal, crushed the Argentinean qualifier, Eduardo Schwank, with a breadstick at the French Open 2012, second of the four Grand Slam event held in Paris, France. He penned down a 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 victory against the former top-50 to cruise into the pre quarters on Saturday.
The king of clay stayed on the right path to bid for his seventh Roland Garros title after slaying Schwank in their first encounter. After pocketing the match in two hours and 16 minutes, Nadal not only edged in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series by 1-0 against the world number 192 but also booked a spot in the round of 16 at this major clay court tournament of the circuit.
"I'm very satisfied with my results on clay, and I must admit that my results on clay are quite special," said the ecstatic Spaniard in a courtside interview. "I played a solid match, [it] was similar to the second [round] against Istomin. In general, it is an important victory for me. That's most important thing and I'm happy."
Nadal thundered into the Court Philippe Chatrier and reeled off the opening four games in a row before the Argentine could hold on. He then bagged the last two games and pulled out the opener with a breadstick.
The left-handed Spaniard maintained his intensity in the following set and after getting the critical break in the second game, he leaped to a 3-0 lead. Nadal then swiped in his remaining serves after dusting away both breakpoints he faced and clicked the set with a 6-3 win.
The second ranked Spaniard kept momentum rolling into the third set. He swiped in his entire serves without facing any hindrance and cashed in the lone break opportunity in the third game to pluck the set with a 6-4 success.
Next up for the second seed is the Argentinean number two, Juan Monaco, who battled past Milos Raonic in a five-set thriller to set up this clash.
"He's one of the players I really like on the tour. I really get on well with him," Nadal reflected of Monaco. "We know each other very well, personally speaking, but also from the point of tennis.”
Seeded 13th in the tournament, Monaco, warded off all eight breakpoints he faced and cashed in three out of 16 break chances to register a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 score line against the 19th seeded Canadian.
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