Paris (November 3, 2017): Spanieard Rafa Nadal survived a second set blip to beat Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of Paris Masters here yesterday.
Nadal who appears determined to end the year as world number one by reaching the third round, had to dig deep to see off Cuevas and set up a meeting with Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic.
“It’s been a long year. It’s been a very successful one. (I’m) very happy for everything,” Nadal has already won French Open and the US Open this year said.
The world No. 1 and top seed was in complete control of the contest in the opening set, but a series of lost points on net approaches in the second-set tiebreaker proved costly as his unseeded opponent rallied to push the match to a decider.
In the end, however, the Spaniard’s ground strokes were too solid for Cuevas, who lost the match despite posting sharply better serving numbers: 11 aces to Nadal’s three and one double fault to the Spaniard’s seven.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion is seeking his first title at the Paris Masters, a tournament played on an indoor hard court that is less well suited to his game than other surfaces.
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