Rafael Nadal downed a stern Diego Schwartzman as he sealed a spot in the Quarter-Finals with a 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 victory.
The world number one had to battle hard for victory against the Argentinian as the contest lasted seven minutes short of the four hour mark.
Despite a number of opportunities to break in the first from both men it was the 2009 Australian Open champion who gained a crucial break in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead. The world number one held to love to grab the first set off Schwartzman, 6-3.
The second set proved to be a much trickier test for the Spaniard as he was broken on multiple occasions by the world number 26. The duo shared breaks to start the set before Nadal gained a crucial break in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead. The Argentinian wouldn’t back down from the match and continued to be aggressive especially with his backhand, this earned him the break back for 4-4.
Last year’s finalist was handed the chance to serve for the second set as he broke the Argentinian again with some stunning forehands. However he was once again broken as the second set went to a tiebreak. Nadal couldn’t take his chances and the second set went the way of the Argentinian as he took the tiebreak. It was no more than he deserved as he became the first player to take a set off the Spaniard.
The Argentinian continued to be aggressive and create break point opportunities in the second and third sets, however it came to nothing as the Spaniard made some unbelievable shots to stun Schwartzman. Nadal would break three times in the next two sets for victory and a place in the Quarter-Finals.
There was no denying Schwartzman’s effort and if he continues to play as aggressively as he did today then he will make the top 15 with no problems at all. However Nadal’s spin and speed was just too good for Schwartzman as he progressed to Tuesday’s Quarter-Finals. Here is what he had to say after the match:
“One match like this is confidence for myself… Knowing that I can resist almost four hours on court.”
–@RafaelNadal #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/GNvrzASObW
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 21 January 2018
The Spaniard will now play Marin Cilic who defeated Nadal’s compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta in four sets, which included three tiebreak sets.
