Thursday 9 August 2018 17:08, UK
Top seed Rafael Nadal blew past Benoit Paire 6-2 6-3 on Wednesday night to begin his quest for a fourth trophy at the Rogers Cup.
The world No 1 was untouchable in the second round as he schooled Paire for the fourth time, taking 74 minutes as he broke six times.
Nadal won the event in 2005, 2008 and 2013.
"I was not at my 100 per cent today," Nadal said. "It's true that I did good work here the last five days, but at the same time it's true that I didn't work very hard at home.
"So the first match is an important victory for me, for my confidence. It's important that I have another match tomorrow too. So just try to keep going.
"I played a solid match, in the second set I had some troubles, but my return worked well. It was more about the mistakes from the baseline."
The 32-year-old will bid for the quarter-finals here for the first time since 2015 when he plays Stan Wawrinka, who staged another fightback in three sets, beating Marton Fucsovics 1-6 7-6 7-6.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev, seeded second and winner at the weekend in Washington, also advanced easily beating Bradley Klahn 6-4 6-4.
Two generations of local players split the difference with Milos Raonic, 27, heading out while teenaged gun Denis Shapovalov moved on.
American Frances Tiafoe beat Raonic 7-6 4-6 6-1 in a match hit by a weather interruption of more than two and a half hours.
Teenage prodigy Shapovalov eliminated Fabio Fognini 6-3 7-5.
The Rogers Cup resumes, live on Sky Sports Arena, at 4pm on Thursday.
We have the US hardcourts covered from all angles via our website skysports.com/tennis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.
Our next tennis action comes from the ATP Masters 1000 in Toronto. Watch the action throughout the week on Sky Sports Arena with the final on Sunday, August 12 from 6.30pm.
Never miss the big kick-off or have to deal with interrupted games or low-quality streams with a NOW TV Sky Sports Pass this summer. You'll get exclusive coverage of The Ryder Cup, ATP Tour and loads more starting from just £7.99. No contract.
