10 time champion Rafael Nadal eased past Aljaz Bedene 6-1 6-3 to make the third round at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.
The world number one made the perfect start as his topspin caused Bedene all sorts of problems in the early exchanges. After the Spaniard raced to a 3-0 lead, Bedene started to settle into the match as it was clear he was struggling with conditions. Eventually Nadal broke the Slovenian again and closed out a very comfortable set of tennis in 39 minutes.
A barometer of Nadal’s confidence is the forehand down the line and he used that to perfection as he had Bedene on a piece of string throughout the contest. The world number 58 managed to stay with Nadal for half of the second set as he used some very tactical serving to vary his play up. However the Slovenian conceded three games in a row as the favourite for the Roland Garros title in a month’s time secured victory and booked his place into the last 16.
After the match Nadal spoke about the confidence that a win like this brings and his third round match against Karen Khachanov, “It’s a positive start. Important for me to win matches. Since Shanghai last year, I didn’t spend much time on court, so I need it,” Nadal explained. “Khachanov is a tough opponent. I need to play aggressive, otherwise it will be impossible.”
Nadal will play Khachanov after the Russian dismantled Frenchman, Gilles Simon 6-2 6-2 in emphatic fashion. The world number 38 saved all seven break points from Simon as he won in just 1 hour and 23 minutes. There were also wins for Roberto Bautista Agut and Milos Raonic on Day four in Monte-Carlo. While the biggest shock came when 10th seed Diego Schwartzman only won three games against Richard Gasquet. The Argentinian suffered from hand blisters as Gasquet proved too strong as the Frenchman awaits Mischa Zverev in round three.
