2015 Swiss Indoors Basel: Rafael Nadal battles past Dimitrov to advance to the quarterfinals
Rafael Nadal further progressed in Basel after beating Grigor Dimitrov in the second round 6-4 4-6-6-3. The Spanish tennis star is now 7-0 against the Bulgarian player.
Nadal needed two hours and 12 minutes to survive his second round match against Dimitrov, who was aiming for a fourth consecutive Basel quarterfinal appearance. It was the second time that Nadal was pushed to three sets in the tournament after defeating Lukas Rosol with 1-6 7-5 7-6(4) in the first round.
The nine-time French Open champion struck four aces during the match. He saved two out of his six break points. He won 72 percent of his first serve points and 58 percent of his second serve points. The third seed Spaniard will play the winner of the match between seventh seed Marin Cilic and Teymuraz Gabashvili, which takes place on Centre Court Thursday, for a place in the semifinals.
The former World No. 1 is 2-1 against Cilic. He last played against the Croat in the quarterfinals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Rome in 2011, where he triumphed in straight sets 6-1 6-3.
Against the 52nd-ranked Gabashvili, Nadal has a 4-0 win-loss record. Their most recent meeting took place in the Round of 32 of the 2014 Monte Carlo Open, where Nadal won 6-4 6-1.
In other second round match, 2014 Swiss Indoors Basel finalist David Goffin beat qualifier Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-3. Goffin, who lost to Roger Federer in last year’s final, dispatched the 40th-ranked Mannarino in a little over an hour on Court 2 on Wednesday. Mannarino qualified for the main draw after scoring straight-sets win over Australia’s John-Patrick Smith 6-4 6-4.
Meanwhile, Goffin could meet his 2014 finals nemesis, Federer, in the quarterfinals. The Swiss, who is looking to win his seventh title in Basel, will play Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round on Thursday.
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