Rafael Nadal devastates Mikhail Kukushkin to reach the quarter-finals – Monte Carlo Rolex Masters 2012
Seven-time Monte Carlo Masters champion, Rafael Nadal, stamped his authority over the clay courts yet another time on Thursday. He blasted past the bleak Kazakh qualifier, Mikhail Kukushkin, in the third round battle of the star-studded
event, ousting him with double breadstick, 6-1, 6-1, to book a quarter-final berth.
The ruthless Spaniard took merely 60 minutes of play to reign supreme over the 68th ranked opponent, registering his 19th victory of the season and the second consecutive one over Kukushkin in singles combats.
These two last met in Bangkok, Thailand, two years back and Nadal outshined the Kazakh 6-2, 6-3, in the quarter-finals of the tournament. It was a way easier victory for the reigning world number two on Thursday and he gave absolutely no chance to Kukushkin
to have any sort of impact on the game.
The second seed Spanish contender had a phenomenal serve game in the contest, delivering with 82 per cent precision breaking the Kazakh serve five out of six times en route to victory. Nadal merely dropped four points on his first
serve, bagging 24 out of 28 points and went on to win 18 out of 27 return points on Kukushkin’s serve to come out as the winner. The Kazakh qualifier was seen struggling to time his strokes and remained in a terrible state throughout the matchup. He utterly
failed to craft a single break opportunity in the match and was pathetic on converting his serve points.
"The match started in the perfect way," said Nadal. "I played much better than yesterday, in my opinion. More aggressive, more solid. My serve was much better. The return, too. In general today I was very happy with how I played."
The world number two is eyeing to bag his eighth championship title at this coveted ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event. He hasn’t lost a single match at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters since his third round
defeat to Guillermo Coria of Argentina way back in 2003. The Spaniard will face the unseeded Swiss tennis ace, Stanislas Wawrinka, in the quarter-final battle of the tournament on Friday.
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