Rafael Nadal plonks Radek Stepanek to cruise into round four – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
World number two, Rafael Nadal, breezed past Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic in straight sets at the Sony Ericsson Open 2012 on Sunday night. He nudged up a 6-2, 6-2 victory against the 33-year-old to secure a place in the round of 16 at this ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Masters 1000 event taking place in Miami, Florida.
The former world number one stayed on track to claim his first Miami Masters title after crushing Stepanek in their sixth meeting. After bagging the match in almost one and half hour, Nadal improved to a 6-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against
the Czech.
Nadal assertively entered the Tennis Center at Crandon Park and held his serve in the opening game. After Stepanek kept his second serve in the fourth game, the Spaniard unleashed flurry of slices to pull out the opener by winning six games to two.
He spectacularly clicked 15 out of 19 points on his first serve share and took a step closer towards the glory in 45 minutes.
Seeded second in this tournament, Nadal went berserk in the following set and wiped out the opening three games in a row before the Czech could hold on. The Spaniard then broke the Czech’s serve once more in the last game to seal the deal with a 6-2 win.
Overall, the high flying Nadal smashed 15 winners and clobbered a better first serve share of 70 per cent as compared to Stepanek’s 62 per cent and cashed in four out of seven break chances.
The left-handed Spaniard has reached the final here three times (2005, ’08, and ’11). He fell to the world number one, Novak Djokovic, in the final showdown last circuit.
"I've played three fantastic tournaments here. Three finals," the Spaniard was quoted. "That's the game, you win, you lose."
Next up for Nadal is the 16th seed, Kei Nishikori, who trounced Stepanek’s compatriot, Lukas Rosol, in straight sets to occupy this spot. The Japanese swiped in entire serves without facing any barrier and broke Rosol’s serve three times to register
a 6-4, 6-2 score line.
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