Rafael Nadal crushes Marcel Granollers in the third round – Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2012
Newly demoted world number three, Rafael Nadal, showed no respite to his countryman, Marcel Granollers, as the former crushed latter in the third round at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Italy on Thursday. The King of
Clay took just an hour and 28 minutes to thrash Granollers in twin sets 6-1, 6-1.
Nadal and Granollers began by winning their opening serves to take the score to 1-1. It was all Rafa show later on, as he snatched three breaks and did not lose his own till the end, clinching five straight games to win 6-1.
The former top ranked player gave mixed serve performance in the first set, not hit any ace and committing three double faults. The 25-year-old, however, had a decent first delivery percentage and conversion rate, putting in 71
and winning 11 of the 15 points on them.
Nadal kept on dominating the proceedings, as he grabbed opening three games of the second set to attain a 3-0 advantage. Granollers succeeded in opening his account by holding serve in the fourth but lost it again in the sixth
to go down 1-5. Nadal did not give his compatriot any chance to come back in the match, closing it 6-1.
The Mallorca, Spain resident once again did not smack any ace but this time he, at least, reduced his double faults to only one. The 6ft 1in tall delivered 85 percent of the first serves and bagged 16 of the 22 points on them.
The 10-time Grand Slam champion played tremendously well on the returns, pocketing nine of the 15 first and two of the four second reply points.
Nadal accepted, while talking to the reporters after the match, "I started the match bad with two double faults with my serve, but after the first two or three games, I started to play well - good forehand, control of the point
and going to net. Conditions were difficult and windy but I think I found rhythm and after third game I played very solid."
The Spaniard will try to capture this title and regain his second spot in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. He is aiming to win Internazionali BNL d’Italia crown for the sixth time in his career.
Nadal is pitted against Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych, seeded seventh at the event, in the quarter-final. Berdych outclassed Nicolas Almagro in straight sets in the third round.
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