Nadal advances
> Spaniard moves into third round after Almagro quits with knee problem
RAFAEL NADAL advanced to the Rome Masters third round yesterday when fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro was forced to quit with a left knee injury.
Three-time French Open quarterfinalist Almagro – he lost all three to Nadal – was unable to continue after just 24 minutes while trailing his compatriot 3-0 in the first set.
It was a 50th win for Nadal in Rome and he is on a hot streak after sweeping the titles on clay at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and last weekend in Madrid.
“I am happy with almost everything, I am playing well. I won a lot of matches this year,” said the fourth seed, who next faces Jack Sock as he builds up to Roland Garros where he will be chasing a 10th title.
“There is always things to improve, but it is not the right time to say I’m not happy with one thing or another.
“Always there is the motivation to keep going and to keep improving something.”
Nadal though was distressed to see Almagro injured who he also helped from the court.
“It’s difficult to say something because we need to wait a couple of days. It’s difficult to see what’s going on now just after what happened,” he said.
Joining Nadal in the next round was Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka, who beat Benoit Paire 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 while Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic ended the Rome run of 39-year-old Tommy Haas, 6-4, 6-3.
There was also a win for Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori, with Asia’s best player defeating David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2.
Madrid finalist Dominic Thiem started his week with a win over Pablo Cuevas 7-6 (7/4), 6-4. Sock defeated Jiri Vesely 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/1).
In women’s play, world No. 1 Angelique Kerber crashed out, the top seed beaten 6-4, 6-0 in the second round by Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.
The German’s 56-minute knock-out came two days after she was confirmed at the top of the WTA rankings, displacing Serena Williams after making it to the third round at last week’s Madrid Open.
The defeat demonstrated more of the patchy and inconsistent form which the 29-year-old cannot seem to shake off since starting to duel with Williams at the top of the rankings last season.
Second seed Karolina Pliskova beat Lauren Davis 6-1, 6-1, Madrid champion Simona Halep started with a win over Germany’s Laura Siegemund, 6-4, 6-4 and eighth seed Elina Svitolina put out Alize Cornet 6-4, 7-6 (13/11).
French Open champion Garbine Muguruza of Spain had to recover to post a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Latvian qualifier Jelena Ostapenko. – AFP drought last year at the TPC Four Seasons in Irving, Texas, by defeating American Brooks Koepka in a playoff.
“We have to get going, get back into where we were there and make sure that we get some good confidence,” Garcia said. “Obviously winning Augusta was amazing. It’s the highlight of my career. But I don’t want it to be over. I still feel like I can achieve a lot of things and I want to keep moving forward.
“I need to focus on every week and stop thinking what has happened, which is great, but in the past and I need to keep moving forward. If I manage to do that then we should have an amazing year. We’re excited about that.”
Garcia also won at Dubai this year, taking a three-stroke victory over reigning British Open champion Henrik Stenson.
His next chance at a major crown comes next month at Erin Hills, where world No. 1 Dustin Johnson will try to defend the US Open title he won last year at Oakmont. But Garcia won’t be worrying about that until he’s there to work.
“I haven’t seen Erin Hills. I’ve heard about it,” Garcia said. “I don’t want to be thinking this shot or that shot, it’s good for there. Every course needs to be played one way and I mean you start playing a golf course differently because of how you’re going to play maybe in three weeks’ time, usually you’re not going to have a week then. – AFP Rafael Nadal (right) helps Nicolas Almagro who is forced to abandon the match after an injury.