Rafael Nadal continues defence of Madrid Masters title with ruthless win over Simone Bolelli
Saturday 9 May 2015 09:19, UK
Defending champion Rafael Nadal reached the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters with a comfortable 6-2 6-2 win over Simone Bolelli.
The Spanish top seed is yet to win a European clay court tournament this season, but showed signs of his usual dominance on the red dirt in a ruthless performance against the Italian.
Nadal, a four-time champion, broke Bolelli four times and saved two break points before wrapping up the final game in swashbuckling style in front of his home fans.
Serving at 15-0 up, Nadal raced forward to reach a drop shot then sent a heavy top-spun lob over Bolelli to within inches of the corner of the court.
The 28-year-old soon sealed victory and will next face 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who advanced with another notable win over Stanislas Wawrinka.
Dimitrov has defeated the Swiss world no 9 at last month’s Monte Carlo Masters and repeated the feat with a 7-5 (7-5) 3-6 6-3 victory,
Tomas Berdych continued his impressive start to the clay season as he marched into the quarter-finals with a 7-5 6-2 win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
