TORONTO — Rafael Nadal is ranked No. 1 in the world for a reason, and the Spaniard showed why Wednesday night at the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
The 24-year-old from Majorca survived an epic 26-game first-set tiebreaker and then wore down his opponent, Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka, 7-6 (14), 6-3 on the grounds of York University.
Wawrinka, at No. 24 in the world, is an unusually tough opening match assignment for Nadal and he gave the reigning Wimbledon champion all he could handle in the first set, more than once having Nadal facing a set point at Rexall Centre.
“I knew before the match it was going to be difficult,” said Nadal. “I was worried about the match.”
But each time Nadal found himself down, he came up with the goods, employing his speed to get to balls most other players could only wave at and using a variety of spins to send Wawrinka running all over the court, often in vain.
There are no official stats on ground covered or calories burned, but it’s safe to safe as close as the score was in the first set, the 25-year-old Wawrinka was forced to exert far more energy than his opponent, and it showed in the second set.
“I’m happy with the way, that I played,” Nadal explained. “I played more aggressive on the second set with returns. The important thing for me now is to keep playing matches.”
Nadal will next play Kevin Anderson in the Round of 16 Thursday evening after the South African upset red-hot American Sam Querrey on Wednesday.
Djokovic survives Benneteau, heat
Former champion Novak Djokovic survived a shaky first set, and the stifling heat Wednesday at the Rogers Cup to advance to the round of 16, with Rafael Nadal set to take the court for the first time this week later in the evening.
Djokovic, the world No. 2 and 2008 Rogers Cup champion, looked exhausted throughout the match, nevertheless he defeated Julien Bettenteau of France 7-5, 7-5 and will now play unseeded Victor Hanescu in the next round.
"It was a big struggle," said Djokovic, who complained that the 30+ degree Celsius heat on centre court was getting to him. "I wasn’t feeling my best. Today I was really at the edge."
The 23-year-old Serb uncharacteristically dropped serve four times and at one point, smashed his racquet out of frustration.
The outburst is not unusual for Djokovic — he smashed one racquet per match on his way to winning the Queen’s Club doubles title earlier this summer — and he says it usually has a claming effect on him.
"I tend to have a positive reaction (with my game) after doing that," he explained. "I seem to find some relief after."
As for his chances later this week with the forecast expected to stay well above 30 degrees at court level, Djokovic says it’s simply something he’ll have to deal with.
"Nobody can do me a favour and turn off the sun," he joked.
Earlier Wednesday, Djokovic’s next opponent, Hanescu, eliminated the last Canadian standing in the singles’ draw, Peter Polansky, 6-4, 7-6.
Meanwhile Andy Murray, the defedning Rogers Cup champion clawed his way through a tough opening set against his opponent Xavier Malisse, before finding his stride in the second set and cruising to a 7-5, 6-2 win. The victory earned the world No. 4 at date with No. 15 seed, Frenchman Gael Monfils in the next round.
Also Wednesday, David Nalbandian continued his march back into tennis’ elite easily dispatching Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-0 to set up a Round of 16 showdown with No. 5 seed Robin Soderling.
The 28-year-old Argentine needed just 56 minutes to eliminate the Robredo.
Last week in Washington, D.C, Nalbandian returned from a long layoff due to a hamstring injury to win the Legg Mason Classic and on Tuesday in his Rogers Cup opener he turned heads again by upsetting No. 10 seed David Ferrer, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. But in Soderling, Nalbandian will face his toughest test yet in his comeback.
The 25-year-old Swede is in the midst of a career-year on Tour and has reached the past two French Open finals.
Seeds eliminated Wednesday: Querrey (16), Youzhny (12), Verdasco (9)
Seeds advancing Wednesday: Nadal (1), Djokovic (2), Murray (4), Davydenko (6), Monfils (15)
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Thursday’s Match of the Day:
(5) Robin Soderling vs. David Nalbandian, 11:00 a.m.
Head-to-head: Nalbandian leads 5-1
Last meeting: Stockholm, Sweden, 2008 (hard court). Nalbandian won 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
The Skinny: A lot has changed since these two men last met two years ago. Injuries saw Nalbandian plummet from the Top 10 all the way out of the Top 100 while his Swedish opponent Thursday, Soderling, is playing the best tennis of his life at a career-high ranking of No. 5. Nalbandian has won 10 straight matches, but at some point fatigue might become a factor given this is just his second event coming back from a hamstring injury. The victor earns a date in the quarterfinals with the winner of the Andy Murray-Gael Monfils match.