Nadal coasts into Italian Open quarterfinals

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Spain's Rafael Nadal in action during his third round match against Serbia's Dusan Lajovic
Spain's Rafael Nadal in action during his third round match against Serbia's Dusan Lajovic

Rome - World number two Nadal next meets Argentine eighth seed Diego Schwartzman who dropped a set before recovering to see off Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-2, 6-4

By AFP

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Published: Fri 18 Sep 2020, 10:47 PM

Last updated: Sat 19 Sep 2020, 1:10 AM

 Rafael Nadal swept aside Serb Dusan Lajovic to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals on Friday as he warms up for the final Grand Slam of the season at Roland Garros.

The nine-time Rome winner came through 6-1, 6-3 against the 25th-ranked Lajovic, who had valiantly but vainly launched a fightback after trailing 4-0 in the second set to the Spaniard.

World number two Nadal next meets Argentine eighth seed Diego Schwartzman who dropped a set before recovering to see off Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Nadal, 34, won his first Rome title back in 2005, and is bidding for a third consecutive crown on clay in the Italian capital and 10th in total.
The 12-time French Open champion is returning to competition, having not played since winning in Acapulco in February, opting to skip the US hard court tour because of coronavirus concerns.


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