Rafael Nadal slaughters Juan Monaco to cruise into quarters – French Open 2012
World number two, Rafael Nadal, slew the 13th seed, Juan Monaco, with double bagels at the Roland Garros 2012 on Monday. He jolted down a 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 victory against the world number 15 to breeze into the final eight at this prestigious clay court tournament taking place in Paris, France.
Seeded second in the tournament, Nadal went on a 17-game killing spree to crush the Argentine in straight sets in their fifth meeting. After earning the glory in one hour and 46 minutes, the Spaniard improved to a 4-1 lifetime in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series against Monaco.
"Very happy the way I played," said Nadal. "I think he's playing probably the best tennis of his career, but probably not today, especially the last set, when he started to miss. I saw him suffering a little bit on court at the end. He's one of my best friends on tour. I feel very sorry for him."
The former world number one high-spiritedly enter the Court Suzanne Lenglen and held his serve in the second game to tie the scores at 1-1. After Monaco kept his serve in the third game, the Spaniard unleashed flurry of groundstrokes and stroke out the following five games in a row. He kept his entire serves without facing any difficulty and cashed in both break chances to register a 6-2 success.
The 26-year-old perfected his game in the follow-up set and earned the desiderated break in the opening game. He blasted exquisite forehands from his arsenal of skills to wind up all six games consecutively and eventually pulled out the set with a bagel. Nadal dusted away both breakpoints he encountered and converted three out of four break chances to his advantage.
Nadal maintained his intensity in the third set and swiped all six games successively to formulate a spectacular 6-0 score line. He kept his entire serves without facing any barrier and capitalised on three out of four break chances.
Next in line for the defending champion is his 12th seeded compatriot, Nicolas Almagro, who stomped over the Serbian number two, Janko Tipsarevic, in straight sets to set up this battle.
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