Rafael Nadal continued his Olympic preparations with a convincing 6-4, 6-4 victory over Cameron Norrie at the Bastad Open on Thursday. The 38-year-old Spaniard exhibited his renowned power hitting, reminiscent of his 14 French Open titles, as he progressed to the quarterfinals. This win marks Nadal’s ninth Tour victory of the year, and his first back-to-back wins since reaching the last-16 of the Madrid Open in April. “Great feelings now, I’ve been a while now without playing on the Tour since Roland Garros and had the chance to compete well against a great player like Cameron,” said Nadal during his on-court interview. “I think I played, for moments, good tennis.” Nadal now holds a 5-1 head-to-head record against the former world number eight Briton. Nadal displayed no signs of rustiness from the outset, delivering a superb forehand winner down the line in the very first game. A crucial moment in the first set arrived at 3-3 when Nadal converted his third break point to gain an advantage over Norrie. He then fended off a late challenge from his opponent to serve out the set. In the first game of the second set, Nadal took a tumble on his backhand side and required brief medical attention on his left elbow. The 2005 Bastad champion made a swift recovery, holding serve. However, Norrie struck first in the second set by chasing down a short ball and executing a delicate drop-shot return to create two break points, converting the second after Nadal overhit a forehand. Norrie consolidated the break by winning a fantastic game point at 40-15 with a cross-court backhand on the run away from the net, taking a 4-1 lead. Nadal soon showcased his clay-court pedigree, breaking back in style by taking Norrie’s serve to love. He finished the game with a resounding doublehanded-backhand passing shot. The 22-time Grand Slam champion was unstoppable as he wore down his opponent with powerful, topspin-heavy ground strokes. He broke Norrie again and served out to love, having won five games in a row to secure the match in straight sets. Nadal will next face Mariano Navone in the quarterfinals, after the fourth-seed Argentinian overcame India’s Sumit Nagal in straight sets. The 23-year-old world number 36 is the highest seed remaining in the draw after Dutch third seed Tallon Griekspoor was eliminated by Kazakh qualifier Timofey Skatov.
Nadal Triumphs in Bastad, Setting Up Quarterfinal Clash
