ATP Monte Carlo: Nadal in the semi-finals - after a tough fight in set one
Monte Carlo record winner Rafael Nadal won his quarter-final game against Argentinian Guido Pella with a lot of effort. The Spanish world ranking second ultimately won 7: 6 (1), 6: 3.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit:
Apr 19, 2019, 06:28 pm
Round one was highly competitive - and a real break festival: Nadal and Pella gave up their service eight times, the world ranking 35. Pella was already leading 4: 1 and even had three balls to 5: 1, but Nadal was not as usual. Not even when Pella broke again to 6: 5. In the tie-break it was a clear thing for the Spaniard.
The first round lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes in total, it was a tough fight between the two left-handers with long, exhausting rallies - and despite a total of 38 unforced errors, it was a game at a high level.
Crazy: Pella was the first player since Kyle Edmund in 2017 to take Nadal more than five games in one set in Monte Carlo! (Edmund was also the last player to win a set against Nadal in Monte Carlo, Nadal subsequently won in 2017 and 2018 without losing a set.)
It's clear to Nadal in set two
In round two, it was the "Bull from Manacor" who breached, confirmed - and pulled away. And unpacked the hammer on the way to victory ...
Nadal's Monte Carlo streak continues, winning 25 sets in a row - and 18 matches. In the semifinals, he will face the winner of the duel between Zverev vanquisher Fabio Fognini and Borna Coric.